As the much-anticipated Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie in the titular role stirred political controversy and was banned in Vietnam for a scene showing a map that seemingly depicted the “nine-dash line” used by China for its claims on the South China Sea, the Greta Gerwig-directed film found itself in another scandal, this time a religious one after an American pastor called for holy judgment over its LGBTQIA+ content.
Female university students were barred from universities in Iran after refusing to follow the country’s mandatory hijab laws. This resulted in sham disciplinary “hearings,” class suspensions, and threats of being given zero grades.
Students barred from Iranian universities for refusing to wear a hijab https://t.co/zN4h9KxF2B
A Filipina drag performer stirred controversy after a viral performance at a local bar where she dressed up as Jesus Christ and danced to a remixed version of a Filipino-language Catholic Mass worship song, sparking a heated debate on where to draw the line between “expression” and “mockery”, especially in a country like the Philippines, where around 79% of the population identify as Catholic.
A young Christian man in Pakistan was fined and sentenced to death by a court on June 30th for allegedly committing blasphemy. This decision came after the Pakistani government agreed last month to try blasphemy suspects under the country’s anti-terrorism laws and existing anti-blasphemy laws.
Leaving one’s religion can be difficult and more challenging for some people than others. Such is the case of the Ex-Muslims of Kerala (EMU) members, an organization formed by former Muslims living in the southern state of Kerala in India.
Several human rights groups in Indonesia have called on the government to place a moratorium on blasphemy, urging them to amend the country’s laws on blasphemy and calling on the police to temporarily halt the enforcement of blasphemy-related articles to stop the abuse of religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country.
Around 2,500 people were arrested in Bangladesh on June 4th after an allegedly blasphemous Facebook post defaming the Prophet Muhammad sparked street violence in the Muslim-majority, South Asian nation.
Most of those arrested for participating in the violence in the country’s capital Dhaka were unidentified. Bangladeshi authorities also arrested a man named Mohammad Sohel for making the reportedly blasphemous social media post.
Filipino pastor and self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God” Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy couldn’t stop YouTube from terminating his channel for alleged violations of the platform’s community guidelines on June 21st.
Quiboloy’s YouTube channel was taken down after Canadian YouTuber Mutahar Anas, also known on the platform as SomeOrdinaryGamers, flagged YouTube’s support team on Twitter on June 20th and informed them about the pastor’s prior cases of human trafficking and his FBI warrant.
Students at a Pakistani university received a disciplinary notice for participating in Holi celebrations at their campus, sparking debate on celebrating religious activities from other faiths in the Muslim-majority nation.
Pakistan's Higher Education Commission bans Holi celebrations across all educational institutes saying that such activities portray a complete disconnect from the country’s sociocultural values and are an erosion of the country’s Islamic identity, reports Aaj News.
The Pakistani government entered into an agreement with a radical Islamist party to try blasphemy suspects under the country’s anti-terrorism laws along with existing anti-blasphemy laws in the Muslim-majority nation.
