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Growing numbers of Muslims in the Middle East and in predominantly Muslim countries in Asia and Africa are rejecting Islamic extremism and the use of suicide bombing, according to a new 47-nation global attitudes survey released by the Pew Research Centre on Tuesday.
The percentage of Muslims who say that suicide bombing is justified in the defence of Islam has declined dramatically over the past five years in countries such as Lebanon, Bangladesh, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia.
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After a landmark superior court decision downgraded secular law and constitutional guarantees against Islamic rules, a storm of protest has been building up as government and civil society rush to find a solution to the religious impasse.
The verdict, last week, held that the constitutional right to freedom of worship does not apply to Muslims and that civil courts have no jurisdiction over Islamic matters.
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The stunning decision by Malaysia's highest secular court this week that freedom of worship, a constitutional guarantee, does not apply to Malay Muslims is a major blow to freedom and constitutional democracy, lawyers and human rights activists say.
The Federal Court also reaffirmed that the civil court had no jurisdiction over any Islamic matters, even when non-Muslims are involved.
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The Catholic Church is losing members every day in
Colombia, despite its deep-rooted religious tradition in this country,
while evangelical congregations are filling their churches to overflowing.
"In times of crisis, because of civil war or financial difficulties,
people look for something transcendent to give them a sense of security,
and religion offers them that," sociologist Ana Mercedes Pereira said.
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Burma's persecuted Christian minority is receiving
a long overdue hearing in the Western capitals of the world, a turn that
could invite more international pressure on the country's military regime,
already under fire for a litany of human rights abuses.
Christians Pay for Junta's Insecurities
Tuesday saw testimony from the Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a
global human rights organisation championing religious freedom,
presented at a hearing on Burma at the European Parliament in Brussels. It
came weeks after a delegation from Burma's Chin and Kachin ethnic
communities, where a majority are Christian, raised the issue of religious
persecution for the first time during visits to meet government officials
in London, Washington D.C., New York and Berlin.
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