On Wednesday, April 27, Moroccan police raided a cafe in Casablanca and arrested individuals eating and drinking during the daytime. The detained individuals were accused of breaking their fast during Ramadan.
Morocco, a Muslim-majority country, is observing the month of Ramadan, which runs from April 1 to May.
For the third year, the United States panel on international religious affairs recommended labeling India as one of the "countries of particular concern." The report accuses India and other countries of engaging or tolerating "systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations" of religious rights.
On April 6, Spain’s Senate approved landmark legislation that criminalizes the harassment of women who are undergoing abortions.
The new legislation was approved by 154 versus 105 votes, ushering in a change to Spain’s penal code. The law is expected to come into effect as soon as it gets published in its official gazette.
Atheist Republic’s Twitter account, the largest atheist account on the platform, has been suspended yet again. Susanna McIntyre, the CEO of Atheist Republic, reports that she was met with an “Account Suspended” notification when she tried logging in to Atheist Republic’s Twitter on Friday, April 1st, 2022.
A 17-year old Amritdhari Sikh girl was allegedly asked to take off her turban while attending class in Mount Carmel College in Palace Vasanth Nagar. The incident is part of the ongoing controversy involving students’ religious garments.
A Catholic priest in Arizona resigned effective February 1 after discovering that the baptisms he had administered were invalid. In his letter addressed to his community, Rev. Andres Arango said he is saddened to learn that he has performed invalid baptisms. According to Arango, he had used an incorrect “formula” when administering baptisms.
On January 19, a 17-year old girl died after consuming an insecticide in a suicide attempt in Thanjavur, a district in the Tamil Nadu state of India. According to local news outlets, Lavanya, a grade 12 student at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, committed suicide due to an alleged forced conversion to Christianity.
On January 19, 2022, the French Senate voted in favor of banning religious veils in sporting events held by an official sports federation. The bill passed in a 160 to 143 vote with overwhelming support of the French right-wing party, Les Republicains.
On January 18, 2022, a cybercrime court in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, sentenced 26-year-old Aneeqa Ateeq to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 200,000 ($1,132 USD), as well as death by hanging.
On January 15, 2022, Yati Narsinghanand, the controversial priest of the Dasna temple in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, and main organizer of the Hindu nationalist events held in Haridwar City, India, between December 17-19, is now under legal custody for two weeks for two different cases. No BJP leader has condemned the speeches nor the event.
