Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha; Muslims and Hindus celebrate Eid and Diwali together, Assessing Religious Freedoms via the Smith and Sherbert Tests; China’s Xi Visits Tibet; Qualified Immunity Won’t Protect College Administrators who Discriminate Against Religion; Chinese Authorities Raid Zoom Church Service
Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha
Muslims around the world are celebrating the Eid al-Adha religious holiday, which, in Arabic, means the “festival of the sacrifice” and marks the end of Hajj, the five-day pilgrimage Muslims undertake to cleanse the soul of sins and instill a sense of equality and brotherhood. Eid al-Adha commemorates the story of the Muslim Prophet Ibrahim’s test of faith when he was commanded by God to sacrifice his son, Ismail. The belief holds that God stayed his hand, sparing the boy and placing a ram in his place.
Muslims and Hindus celebrate Eid and Diwali together
Assessing Religious Freedoms via the Smith and Sherbert Tests
China’s Xi Visits Tibet
China has in recent years stepped up controls over Buddhist monasteries and expanded education in the Chinese rather than Tibetan language. Critics of such policies are routinely detained and can receive long prison terms, especially if they have been convicted of association with the 86-year-old Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since fleeing Tibet during an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. China doesn’t recognize the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile based in India, and accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to separate Tibet from China.
Qualified Immunity Won’t Protect College Administrators who Discriminate Against Religion
A federal court of appeals this month agreed with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, that University of Iowa officials “turned a blind eye to decades of First Amendment jurisprudence” by punishing Christian, Muslim, and Sikh groups for the crime of asking their leaders to agree with their faith.
Chinese Authorities Raid Zoom Church Service