In Chechnya there is official support for attacks on women when they are considered to have ‘flouted’ Islamic rules by not wearing a headscarf or covering up enough. Tanya Lokshina listened to some of the women’s despairing accounts.
Six months into office, Yanukovych has moved swiftly to strengthen government. Indications are mounting that his intention is comprehensively to curtail the freedoms won by Ukraine since the fall of communism. But there is reason to hope that civil society may prove robust enough to withstand the
Patriarch Kirill was received with acclaim in Ukraine, but there was more to his visit than Orthodox fervour. Alexa Chopivsky sees another step in the reinforcing of Russo-Ukrainian ties, both political and religious, and the desire of both countries to capitalize on the failure of the Orange Revo
Several European states - France, Italy, Belgium and Britain among them - are involved in legal, social or political disputes over the dress-codes of Muslim women. A detailed and alert survey of the variegated experiences and attitudes involved is the best way to understand a complex issue, says S
The current form of governance of the Catholic church and the Vatican City State raises fundamental questions about these institutions - and their titular head, says Michael Walsh.
The high-profile Dutch politician Geert Wilders is closer to mainstream centre-right politics in the Netherlands than his hardline rhetoric about Islam might suggest, says Cas Mudde.
After decades of repression, Siberia’s shamans are re-emerging. Ken Hyder is a musician who performs with a Tuvan shaman. His novel describes the culture of contemporary shamanism as it emerges after decades of repression. Part three of three.
The dubious tactics used by some party campaigners in Britain’s general election need to be examined as part of a wider fraud inquiry, says Delwar Hussain.
After decades of repression, Siberia’s shamans are re-emerging. Ken Hyder is a musician who performs with a Tuvan shaman. His novel describes the culture of contemporary shamanism as it emerges after decades of repression. Part two of three.
After decades of repression, Siberia’s shamans are re-emerging. Ken Hyder is a musician who performs with a Tuvan shaman. His novel describes the culture of contemporary shamanism as it emerges after decades of repression. Part one of three.
The sexual violation of young people within the Catholic church is the poisonous legacy of a long tradition of contempt for human sexuality in an institution which has privileged secrecy and unaccountable power over transparency and participation. But the silence and darkness revealed by the scand
The doctrinal contempt of Islamist regimes for popular festivals such as the Iranian nowrooz (new year) extends to suspicion of every expression of spontaneous life. The result is to conjure the very rituals of resistance they fear, says Asef Bayat.
