Islam in the Philippines

Islam is the first-recorded monotheistic religion in the Philippines. Islam reached the Philippines in the 14th century with the arrival of Muslim traders from the Persian Gulf, Southern India, and their followers from several sultanate governments in the Malay Archipelago. The Muslim population of the Philippines has been reported as about 6% of the total population as of a census in 2000. According to a 2015 report of Philippine Statistics Authority, 6% of Filipinos are Muslims. While the majority of the population are Christians, some ethnic groups are Hindus, Buddhists, Animists, Sikhs, or non-religious.
According to national religious surveys, there are about 5.1 million Muslims in the Philippines, composing 6% of its population, mainly in the south. However, a 2012 estimate by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) and the U.S. Department of State, stated that there were 10.7 million Muslims, or approximately 11% of the total population. Most Muslims live in parts of Mindanao, Palawan, and the Sulu Archipelago – an area known as Bangsamoro or the Moro region. Some have migrated into urban and rural areas in different parts of the country. Most Muslim Filipinos practice Sunni Islam according to the Shafi'i school. There are some Ahmadi Muslims in the country.
Islam arrived in the southern islands of Philippines, from the historic interaction of Mindanao and Sulu regions with other Indonesian islands, Malay islands and Borneo. The first Muslims to arrive were traders followed by missionaries in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. They facilitated the formation of Sultanates and conquests in Mindanao and Sulu. The people who converted to Islam came to be known as the Moros. The Muslim conquest reached as far as the Kingdom of Tondo which was supplanted by Brunei's vassal-state the Kingdom of Maynila. Muslim Sultanates had begun expanding in central Philippines in the 16th century, when the Spanish fleet led by Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines. The Spanish conquest during the 16th century led to Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion in most of the Philippines, and Islam a minority religion.
History.
In 1380 Karim Al Makhdum the first Arabian trader reached the Sulu Archipelago and Jolo in the Philippines and established Islam in the country through trade in several regions of the island. In 1390 the Minangkabau's Prince Rajah Baguinda and his followers preached Islam on the islands. The Sheik Karimal Makdum Mosque was the first mosque established in the Philippines on Simunul in Mindanao in the 14th century. Subsequent settlements by Indian Muslim missionaries traveling to Malaysia and Indonesia helped strengthen Islam in the Philippines and each settlement was governed by a Datu, Rajah and a Sultan. Islam was introduced by Chinese Muslims, Indian Muslims, and Persians. Islamic provinces founded in the Philippines included the Sultanate of Maguindanao, Sultanate of Sulu, Sultanate of Lanao and other parts of the southern Philippines.
When the Spanish fleet led by Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in the Philippines in 1565, they were met by local datus as they traveled in the islands. Arriving in the Kingdom of Maynila, a vassal-state of the Sultanate of Brunei, in 1570 they were met by the Muslim rajah, Rajah Sulaiman III.
By the next century conquests had reached the Sulu islands in the southern tip of the Philippines where the population was Buddhist and Hindu and they took up the task of converting the animistic population to Islam with renewed zeal. By the 15th century, half of Luzon (Northern Philippines) and the islands of Mindanao in the south had become subject to the various Muslim sultanates of Borneo and much of the population in the almost of South were converted to Islam. However, the Visayas was largely dominated by Hindu-Buddhist societies led by rajahs and datus who strongly resisted Islam. One reason could be the economic and political disasters preeuropean Muslim pirates from the Mindanao region brought during raids. These frequent attacks gave way to naming present-day Cebu as then-"Sugbo" or scorched earth which was a defensive technique implemented by the Visayans so the pirates had nothing much to loot.
Invasion of Bruneian Sultanate.
In the year 1498–99, the Bruneian Empire conducted a series of raids against the natives of the Kingdom of Taytay in Palawan and the island of Mindoro which had been subjugated to the Islamic Bruneian Empire under Sultan Bolkiah. The Muslim conquest reached as far as the Kingdom of Tondo which was supplanted by Brunei's vassal-state the Kingdom of Maynila.
The Muslim Bruneian Empire under the rule of Sultan Bolkiah, who is an ancestor of the current Sultan of Brunei subjugated the Kingdom of Tondo which was ruled by Rajah Sukwu during 1500. The aftermath of the battle was the formation of an alliance between the newly established Kingdom of Guihulngan (Selurong) and the Sultanate of Brunei, to crush the power of the Kingdom of Tondo and the subsequent installation of the Pro-Islamic Rajah Sulaiman into power. Furthermore, Sultan Bolkiah's victory over Sulu and Seludong (modern day Manila), as well as his marriages to Laila Mecanai the daughter of Sulu Sultan Amir Ul-Ombra (an uncle of Sharifa Mahandun married to Nakhoda Angging or Maharaja Anddin of Sulu), and to the daughter of Datu Kemin, widened Brunei's influence in the Philippines.
A new dynasty began under a local Lumad leader who accepted Islam and became Rajah Salalila or Rajah Sulayman I. He also started to established a trading challenge to the already rich House of Rajah Lakandula in Tondo. Islam was further strengthened by the arrival of Muslim traders and from Jolo, Mindanao, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Rajah Suleyman and Rajah Matanda in the south (now the Intramuros district) were installed as Muslim rajas by converted Muslims and the Buddhist-Hindu settlement was under Raja Lakandula in northern Tundun (now Tondo.)
Influences of Zheng He's voyages.
The Chinese Muslim mariner Zheng He is credited with founding several Chinese Muslim communities in Mandaue and along the shores of Lapu-lapu, the Bohol Peninsula, and the Philippines during China's early Ming dynasty. These Muslims supposedly followed the Badjao school in the Chinese language. This Chinese Muslim community was led by Hajji Yan Ying Yu, who urged his followers to assimilate and take local names.
Spanish encounter.
Rajah Sulayman was the Rajah of Maynila, a kingdom at the mouth of the Pasig River where it meets Manila Bay, at the time the Spanish forces first came to Luzon.
Sulayman resisted the Spanish forces, and thus, along with Rajah Matanda and Lakan Dula, was one of three Rajahs who played significant roles in what was the Spanish conquest of their kingdoms of the Pasig River delta in the early 1570s.
Moro (derived from the Spanish word meaning "Moors") is the appellation inherited from the Spaniards, for Filipino Muslims of Mindanao. The Spanish distinguished the Moro from the "Indios", which referred to the Christianised people of Luzon and the Visayas. Islam continued to spread in Mindanao, from centers such as Sulu and Cotabato.
The Muslims seek to establish an independent Islamic province in Mindanao to be named Bangsamoro. The term "Bangsamoro" is a combination of an Old Malay word meaning "nation" or "state" with the Spanish word "Moro" which means "Muslim". A significant Moro Rebellion occurred during the Philippine–American War. Conflicts and rebellion have continued in the Philippines from the pre-colonial period up to the present. Other related issue with the Moro secession is the territorial dispute of eastern Sabah in Malaysia which claimed by the Sultanate of Sulu as their territory.
The Moros have a history of resistance against Spanish, American, and Japanese rule for over 400 years. The violent armed struggle against the Spanish, Americans, Japanese and Filipinos is considered by current Moro (Muslim) leaders as part of the four centuries long "national liberation movement" of the Bangsamoro (Muslim Nation). The 400-year-long resistance against the Japanese, Filipinos, Americans, and Spanish by the Moro/Muslims persisted and morphed into their current war for independence against the Philippine state.
Muslim leaders in Zamboanga petitioned the Ottoman Empire to send a representative to advise them on religious matters. A scholar from the Shaykh al-Islām was sent in response.
There is also a growing community of Filipino converts to Islam known popularly as Balik Islam (return or returnees to Islam), often led by former Christian missionary converts.
Modern age.
In 2012, research was conducted on various cultural properties in Islamic areas in Mindanao. The research included the 'Maradika' Qur'an of Bayang, description of the notes found in the Qur'an of Bayang, the Qur'an and Islamic manuscripts of the Sheikh Ahmad Bashir collection, the 'Dibolodan' Qur'an of Bacong in Marantao, the Qur'an and prayer scroll of Guro sa Masiu in Taraka, the 'Story of the Prophet Muhammad' at the Growing Memorial Research Center of the Dansalan College, and the Islamic Manuscript Art of the Philippines. In 2014, the Maradika Qur'an of Bayang was declared as a "National Cultural Treasure", the first Islamic manuscript in the Philippines to be declared as such.
Bangsa Sug and Bangsa Moro.
In 2018, a unification gathering of all the sultans of the Sulu archipelago and representatives from all ethnic communities in the Sulu archipelago commenced in Zamboanga City, declaring themselves as the "Bangsa Sug" peoples and separating them from the "Bangsa Moro" peoples of mainland central Mindanao. They cited the complete difference in cultures and customary ways of life as the primary reason for their separation from the Muslims of mainland central Mindanao. They also called the government to establish a separate Philippine state, called "Bangsa Sug", from mainland Bangsa Moro or to incorporate the Sulu archipelago to whatever state is formed in the Zamboanga peninsula, if ever federalism in the Philippines is approved in the coming years.
Bangsamoro Region.
Most Muslims in the Philippines live on the island of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago and Palawan. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is the region of the Philippines that is composed of all the Philippines' predominantly Muslim provinces, namely: Basilan (except Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. It also comprised the cities of Marawi, Lamitan, and Cotabato City and the 63 Barangays in North Cotabato who opted to join the autonomous region. It is the only region that has its own government. The regional capital is at Cotabato City, which is outside the jurisdiction of the former and defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) but is now part of the Bangsamoro region after the majority of the residents voted in favor for their inclusion in the autonomous region in the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law on January 21, 2019.
Other provinces and regions with large Muslim populations as well have a significant history with Moro/Muslims include North Cotabato, Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and the Zamboanga Peninsula. However, these are not part of the Bangsamoro region.
Demographics.
The predominantly Muslim ethnolinguistic groups of the Philippines are the Iranun, Jama Mapun, Kalagan, Kalibugan, Maguindanao, Maranaw, Molbog, Sama (including the Badjao, Balanguingui, and various Tawi-Tawi Sama groups), Sangil, Tausūg, and Yakan.


Islam in Kosovo

Islam in Kosovo has a long-standing tradition dating back to the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, including Kosovo. Before the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the entire Balkan region had been Christianized by both the Western and Eastern Roman Empire. From 1389 until 1912, Kosovo was officially governed by the Muslim Ottoman Empire and a high level of Islamization occurred among Catholic and Orthodox Albanians, mainly due to high taxes, discrimination and socio-political opportunism. Despite these events, both Christian and Muslim Albanians intermarried and some lived as "Laramans", also known as Crypto-Christians. During the time period after World War II, Kosovo was ruled by secular socialist authorities in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). During that period, Kosovars became increasingly secularized. After the end of Communist period religion had a revival in Kosovo. Today, 95.6% of Kosovo's population are Muslims, most of whom are ethnic Albanians. There are also Slavic speaking Muslims, who define themselves as Bosniaks and Gorani, and Turks.
History.
Until the sixteenth century the degree of Islamisation in Kosovo was minimal, and largely confined to urban centres. The pace of conversions to Islam only increased significantly in the second half of the sixteenth century, possibly because high taxes, Ottoman retaliations and forced conversions. Prior to the Ottomans, both Catholic and Orthodox Churches had waged a ruthless war over the hearts, minds and souls of the Albanians, and this situation was exploited by the Ottomans. Both the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Sultan viewed the conversion of Albanians to Islam as something positive as it weakened Balkan Catholic nucleus, and the Sultan received new subjects.
Converts also became exempt from the "cizje", a protective tax levied only on non-Muslim males. But that was certainly not the only cause of the people turning to Islam. the tax burden tended to go up as Ottoman power relative to foreign Christian powers came under challenge. So far as Catholic Albanians were concerned, the Catholic church was less powerful and privileged within the Ottoman Empire than the Serbian Orthodox Church (and less well staffed); the Bektashi order of dervishes carried out a conversion campaign which stressed the similarities between their version of Islam and Christianity (the Bektashis drank wine and had a quasi-Trinitarian doctrine). A phenomenon of "crypto-Catholicism" developed in Kosovo Albanian society, where large numbers of people would convert officially to Islam but follow Catholic rites in private. From 1703 ecclesiastical decrees banned this practice and did not accept that crypto-Catholics could receive holy rites. In 1717, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the British Ambassador to the Sublime Porte wrote that her Albanian escort from Belgrade to Istanbul claimed to go to the mosque on Fridays and church on Sundays. At any rate, by 1750, most Christian families had converted to Islam, for the benefits of social networking of the citizens and for financial soundness. Albanians in Kosovo who had been passing as Muslims were declaring themselves Catholics (to avoid conscription) as late as 1845.
The Kosovo War.
Numerous Albanian cultural sites in Kosovo were destroyed during the Kosovo conflict (1998-1999) which constituted a war crime violating the Hague and Geneva Conventions. Of the 498 mosques in Kosovo that were in active use, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) documented that 225 mosques sustained damage or destruction by the Yugoslav Serb army. In all, eighteen months of the Yugoslav Serb counterinsurgency campaign between 1998-1999 within Kosovo resulted in 225 or a third out of a total of 600 mosques being damaged, vandalised, or destroyed alongside other Islamic architecture during the conflict. Sufi lodges (tekkes), Muslim theological schools (madrasas) and Islamic libraries sustained damage or destruction resulting in the loss of rare books, manuscripts and other collections of literature. Archives belonging to the Islamic Community of Kosovo with records spanning 500 years were also destroyed. During the war, Islamic architectural heritage posed for Yugoslav Serb paramilitary and military forces as Albanian patrimony with destruction of non-Serbian architectural heritage being a methodical and planned component of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. In the aftermath of the war, a wave of revenge attacks on dozens of Serbian Orthodox churches by Muslim Albanians resulting in being damaged or destroyed. These attacks effectively ended after six weeks, with 35 churches destroyed or damaged, at the end of August 1999, after appeals by Kosovo's political leaders and by the Mufti.
Organization.
Since Yugoslav times, the official organisation of Muslims in Kosovo has been the Islamic Community of Kosova (Alb: "Bashkësia Islame e Kosovës"), led by its Grand Mufti, currently Naim Tërnava. Bektashi tekkes are subject to the Bektashi order, and in some areas funding from Saudi Arabia or other countries has led to concern about possible Wahhabist attempts to influence Kosovo and its social habits, although such influences are very rarely visible.
Inter-Faith Relations.
There have long been contacts between the Islamic Community of Kosovo and the Catholic Church in Kosovo, and in 2011 regular meetings began at the level of Mufti and Bishops both of the Catholic Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo. But for most of Kosovo's history, there has been a rift between Serbian Orthodox Christianity versus Albanian Catholic Christianity and Albanian Islam, as existing in the country.
Political influence.
While individual politicians may be influenced in their attitudes or decisions by Islamic beliefs, only one political party - the Justice Party (Alb: Partia e Drejtësisë) includes in its party programme a commitment to traditional Islamic values. It argued in 2010 for Islamic religious teaching in state schools for children from families with a Muslim family background: this was rejected by the Kosovo Assembly. In the parliamentary elections in Kosovo it took part in an electoral coalition led by the AKR (Alliance for a New Kosovo), together with firmly secular parties, presumably because it was unlikely to reach the threshold for parliamentary representation on its own. The AKR coalition itself came in fourth place in the elections with 7.29% of the total vote. (In the 2001 elections the Kosovo Christian Democratic Party, a Kosovo Albanian political entity, won one seat in the Assembly elections; its leadership included people with Muslim names).


Religion in South Ossetia


Teej

Teej (
, ISO 15919: "Tīja" ) is the generic name for a number of Hindu festivals that are celebrated by women in many parts of India (mainly in North and Central India) and Nepal. and welcome the monsoon season and are celebrated primarily by girls and women, with songs, dancing and prayer rituals. The monsoon festivals of are primarily dedicated to Parvati and her union with Shiva. Women often fast in celebration of "Teej."
Etymology.
 refers to the third day that falls every month after the new moon (), and the third day after the full moon night of every month. The monsoon festivals of include , and .
 refers to the monsoon festivals, observed particularly in western and northern states of India and Nepal. The festivals celebrate the bounty of nature, arrival of clouds and rain, greenery and birds with social activity, rituals and customs. The festivals for women, include dancing, singing, getting together with friends and telling stories, dressing up with "henna"-coloured hands and feet, wearing red, green or orange clothes, sharing festive foods, and playing under trees on swings on .
The festivals are dedicated, in many parts of India and Nepal, to Parvati.
Types of.
 festivals are traditionally observed by women to celebrate the monsoons during the months of Shravan and Bhadrapada in the Hindu calendar. Women often pray to Parvati and Shiva during "Teej".
 (lit. Green "Teej") is celebrated on the third day after the full moon in the month of "Shraavana"/"Sawan" (of the Hindu calendar). As Shraavana falls during the monsoon or rainy season when the surroundings become green, the is also called . A fast is kept and the focus is the moon.
The festival is also celebrated to remember the reunion of Shiva and Parvati, the day when Shiva accepted Parvati as his wife. Parvati fasted and was austere for many years and was accepted by Shiva as his wife in her 108 birth. Parvati is also known as (lit. "Teej " mother).
On married daughters receive the gifts by her mother such clothes, bangles, bindi, "mehandi", etc. , a special sweet, are given to them on this day. These gifts are known as .
Observance of.
The traditional areas of celebration are: Punjab region and Rajasthan.
Punjab region.
 is a festival when girls play on swings that are set up under trees or open courtyards. During , in-laws, husbands and other family members give gifts, typically new clothes and accessories, to girls and women. Boys fly kites. prepare churma and sweets especially ghevar at their home.
The festival is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
Chandigarh.
Chandigarh administration makes special arrangements for celebration in the Rock Garden in the city. School children present plays and other cultural programs on this day. The female members of the family, especially daughters, are given gifts and dresses.
Haryana.
 is one of the famous festivals of Haryana, and is celebrated as an official holiday. Many functions are organised by the Government of Haryana to celebrate this festival, which welcomes the rainy season. Boys traditionally flew kites from morning to evening, though this tradition is losing its charm in big cities due to high rise buildings and lack of terrace space.
Swings are set up in open courtyards, under trees for the season. Girls apply henna to their hands and feet and are excused from household chores on this day. On , girls often receive new clothes from their parents.
On , just as on Karva Chauth, the mother sends a or gift. The puja is performed in the morning. The , which consists of a variety of foodstuffs, is placed on a at a place of worship where a (square) has been decorated, and an idol or picture of Parvati has been installed. The evenings are set aside for folk singing and dancing, including the women's prayers for their husbands' longevity and their families.
Punjab.
 is known as "Teeyan" in Punjab and is seen as a seasonal festival which is dedicated to the onset of the monsoon. The festival is celebrated by women of all faiths, and lasts from the third day of the bright half of the lunar month of Sawan as per the Punjabi calendar to the full moon of Sawan (about 13 days). Teeyan involves women getting together and performing Gidda, married women visiting their families and receiving gifts. It is also traditional for women to ride on swings.
Fairs are organised in schools and colleges where dance competitions are held.
Rajasthan.
 welcomes the monsoon and observed in the month of Shravan (July/August). The monsoon rains fall on the parched land and the pleasing scent of the wet soil rises into the air. Swings are hung from trees and women dressed in green clothes sing songs in celebration of the advent of the monsoon.
This festival is dedicated to Parvati, commemorating her union with Shiva. Parvati is worshipped by seekers of conjugal bliss and happiness. An elaborate procession is taken out in Jaipur for two consecutive days on the festive occasion which is watched by people in large numbers. The idol is covered with a canopy whereas the Gangaur idol is open. The traditional "ghevar" sweet is also associated with the festival.
During , Parvati is worshipped. The day before , is celebrated as "Sinjara", wherein women put mehandi on their hands and eat.
 is celebrated in the North Indian Lunar month of Bhadrapud: the third day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada. is also called . In Rajasthan, is called (lit. Bigger "Teej") as it follows , which is known as (lit. Smaller "Teej").
Women in Uttar Pradesh pray to Shiva on . It is also customary to sing folk songs known as . The focus of the lyrics is usually on separation expressing the pining of a woman for her beloved in her parents' home, where she has been sent to celebrate , or waiting in anticipation to be collected by brothers to celebrate . The kajri is a folk song composed and sung in the regions of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and in parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Women who observe the fast go without food and water. is associated closely with , which also involves praying to the moon. The fast is broken by eating sattu. The other focus of the day is to pray to the neem tree. A fair is held in Bundi in Rajasthan to celebrate .
 is a combination of the Hindi words and which means "abduction" and "female friend" respectively. According to the legend of , Parvati, incarnated as Shailaputri
On the third day of the bright half of Bhadrapud, Parvati made a out of her hair and prayed. Shiva was so impressed that he gave his word to marry Parvati. Eventually, Parvati was united with Shiva and was married to him with her father's blessing. Since then, the day is referred to as as Parvati's female () friend had to abduct () her in order for the goddess to achieve her goal of marrying Shiva.
Accordingly, is seen as a major festival and is celebrated on the third day of the bright half of the North Indian Lunar month of Bhadrapud. The festival women feasting during the evening of , praying to Parvati and Shiva, remembering their wedding and staying up all night listening to prayers. The fast (also called nishivasar nirjala vrat) commences during the evening of and is broken the next day after a full day's observance which involves women not even drinking water. The focus is on praying to Parvati whom Shiva desired should be worshipped under the name Hartalika.
The main areas of celebration are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand. In Rajasthan, an idol of Parvati is taken out in procession in the streets accompanied by singing, and music. has also spread to parts of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
 of the north is not to be confused with of Maharashtra which is connected to the festival of Gowri Habba.
Elsewhere in India.
 (also called Akshaya Tritiya) falls on the third day after full moon in the month of . It is an auspicious day of the birthday of Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu. On this day Veda Vyas and Ganesha began to write the Mahabharata. Jains celebrate this day to commemorate Tirthankara Rishabha's ending of his fast by consuming sugarcane juice poured into his cupped hands. is observed in many parts of the Indian subcontinent.
of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
 is celebrated in the month of in parts of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It is not associated with the trio of the monsoon festivals of as the month of occurs during spring.
 coincides with the swing festival of also known as or which is associated with Krishna and Radha, and is celebrated at Banke Bihari Temple and other temples in the Vrindavan area of Uttar Pradesh. The festival lasts until Krishna Janmashtami for 13 days.
On the day of , idols of Krishna and Radha are placed on swings in the temples and the focus of is religious. The green theme, popular in neighbouring Rajasthan and Haryana on , can also be seen in the . Idols of Krishna and Radha are dressed in green clothes.
 and fall on the same day, but the is a monsoon festival dedicated to Parvati whereas, Jhulan Utsav is dedicated to Krishna and Radha.
of Telangana.
 in Telangana forms part of a wider celebration which is a forerunner to other festivals being celebrated and is known as . is one of the Banjara tribe's biggest festivals.
of Gujrat.
, also known as , is a festival observed mainly in Gujarat. The festival is celebrated on the third day of the Shukla Paksha (waxing of the moon) of in Gujarat. This observance is similar to the fast (). Married and unmarried women observe a fast on the day and offer the flower (pine screw) to Parvati and Shiva.
Tay or Tayi.
Tay/Tayi is celebrated in Goa and by other Konkanis in Karnataka, and Kerala.
Observance in Nepal of Haritalika Teej.
Dedicated to Parvati, commemorating her union with Shiva, the festival is celebrated for well-being of spouse and children and purification of one's body and soul. The festival is a three-day-long celebration that combines sumptuous feasts as well as rigid fasting. (also romanised ) is celebrated by women, for the long life of her husband and long and firm relationship between them in this life and all the lives to come. It is particularly celebrated by women from various castes of Nepalese society, particularly the Bahun Chettri and others, on the third day after the new moon of the month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September).
Amongst some communities it is viewed as a "festival of sisterhood", Teej has traditional and modern values as a festival of celebrating good times with siblings. Although it looks like it is celebration of sisterhood because when married women get rare chance to meet with sisters and friends from their birthplace, there is a strong role of brothers to celebrate the festival as they are to call their sisters in this auspicious occasion and cook special food for their sisters, and all the girls enjoy time doing make up to look the best and dance to forget the pain they get from their inlaws, which is expressed in the form of folk songs with particular rhythm.
Traditional values.
According to Hindu mythology, Shree Swosthani Bratakatha, Parvati ran away from her home with her friends to jungle as she was afraid that her father Himalaya promised to Vishnu to give his daughter Parvati in marriage. She then went to jungle and started praying Shiva to fulfil her wish to marry him. He said "" meaning he will fulfil her wish. That was the day of when Parvati got her husband as her undying wish. So this day is celebrated to get the husband of their dream by unmarried women and for long, healthy and prosperous life of husband by married women.
First day.
The first day of Teej is called . On this day the women assemble at one place in their finest attire and start dancing and singing devotional songs. Amidst all this, the grand feast takes place. What is unusual about this day is that the feast is hosted by men. Women, who work hard throughout the year, do not have to do anything that day. That is the day for them to embellish themselves in — dressing up and using make up to the full extent, indulge in good food, and dance. Oftentimes, because women are invited by multiple brothers for the feast, they try to dance off some food before they are ready to eat more. The food served is supposed to be rich and abundant.
This is probably the only day in a year that allows women full freedom of expression. Consequently, women have traditionally used this occasion to express their pains and pang in the songs they sing while dancing. With the advancement of communication and awareness, women these days use this occasion to voice their concerns about social issues and discrimination against women. The jollity often goes on till midnight, after which the 24-hour fast starts.
Second day.
The second day is the day of fasting. Some women don't eat or drink food and water while others drink liquids and eat fruit. The fasting is observed by married and unmarried women. Married women abstain strictly from food and drinks with a belief that their devotion to the gods will be blessed with longevity, peace and prosperity of their husband and family. Unmarried women observe the fast with a hope of being blessed with a good husband.
They dress gaily and visit a nearby Shiva temple singing and dancing on the way. The Pashupatinath Temple gets the highest number of devotees. At the temple, women circumambulate the , which symbolizes Shiva, offers the praying with flowers, sweets and coins. The main puja (religious ceremony) takes place with offerings of flowers, fruits, etc., made to Shiva and his wife Parvati, beseeching them to grant their blessing upon the husband and family. The important part of the puja is the oil lamp which should be alight throughout the night. It is believed that by the light of an oil lamp all night will bring peace and prosperity to the husband and family.
Third day.
The third day of the festival is Rishi Panchami. After the completion of the previous day's puja, women pay homage to seven saints or sages, offer prayers to deities, and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan bush, along with its leaves. The Rishi Panchami revolves around the purity of women. It is a time when women cleanse themselves of the possible "sin of touching a man during menstruation." During this festival, which occurs two days after the Tij, the women participate in ritual baths and puja (worship). One of the defining characteristics of the Tij Festival is the songs the women sing. Traditionally, these songs emphasized the subservient role of women in Nepalese society in addition to reinforcing traditional Hindu ideology of gender relations. Within the past few decades, as Nepal and the surrounding area experiences rapid development and modernization, the Tij songs have become more of a critical commentary on gender relations from women's perspectives. These songs "extend the women's thoughts and experiences of hardships from a intimate conversation to a public setting". The Tij songs allow women to effect change in their respective societies by giving them a public voice.
Sindh.
The Sindhi community in India and Pakistan celebrate Teej which is known as Teejdi or Teejri. However, Sindhis celebrate Teejri on the third day after the full moon of Sawan.


Hindu Temple of Atlanta

The Hindu Temple of Atlanta is a Hindu Temple located in Riverdale, Georgia and serves the Indian Hindu population in the Metro Atlanta.
History.
The temple was built in 1990 and was built in a similar fashion to Southern India's Dravidian architecture.
Design.
The Hindu temple has two complexes – one complex with Lord Venkateswara as the presiding deity and the other with Lord Shiva as the presiding deity. In addition to the presiding deity, both complexes have shrines for other deities.


Parish of Tuggeranong

Tuggeranong Parish is a parish of Murray County, New South Wales, a cadastral unit for use on land titles. It is now about a third of the size it was in the nineteenth century, after most of the land in the parish was transferred to the Australian Capital Territory in 1911. It currently includes a small section of land in New South Wales between the ACT border (Queanbeyan-Cooma railway line) and Jerrabomberra Creek, but once included most of what is now the Canberra town centre of Tuggeranong.
Former boundaries.
Before 1911, its border to the west was the Murrumbidgee River and its border to the east Jerrabomberra Creek. The southern boundary was in what is today the suburb of Gordon, near Tuggeranong Hill. The northern boundary was just north of Wanniassa and south of Mount Taylor.


Otkhara Cave Monastery Complex

The Otkhara cave complex is a group of caves at the foots of the Bzyb Range in Abkhazia, an entity in the South Caucasus with a disputed political status. It is located on a steep rock near the village of Otkhara, some 20 km northwest of the town of Gudauta. The caves are also known as those of Mchishta after a karst river effluxing from the base of the rock. The openings are at least partially artificial. Local legends and a scholarly hypothesis suggest religious use in the Middle Ages, but the exact function and timing remains unknown.
Description.
The cave entrances are located at the height of several metres above the ground surface and arranged in several tiers. They are rectangular in shape, ostensibly human-hewn, and faced by stones, joined together with lime mortar. Each of these caves is a narrow grotto of about 2 to 3 metres in width, but as high as 15 metres. Wooden details of rock-hewn openings have survived. According to local legends, the caves used to house a community of monks, but later it was used as a shelter for brigands. In the latter half of the 19th century, a nobleman from Otkhara, Mazhar Shervashidze, led a group of locals in an attempt to explore the caves. He was able to ascend the first tier and reportedly recovered a couple of silver objects, the subsequent fate of which is unknown. It was only in 1958 that the caves were first explored scientifically, by a group of specialists from Tbilisi with the help of rockclimbers. Several utensils of everyday use found in the caves are dated to the 13th-14th-century.


British debate over veils

The British debate over veils began in October 2006 when the MP and government minister Jack Straw wrote in his local newspaper, the "Lancashire Evening Telegraph", that, while he did not want to be "prescriptive", he preferred talking to women who did not wear a "niqab" (face veil) as he could see their face, and asked women who were wearing such items to remove them when they spoke to him, making clear that they could decline his request and that a female member of staff was in the room.
Straw said he told the newspaper this information to open a debate on the subject, and not because of the upcoming deputy leader election in the Labour Party. Straw was Foreign Secretary at the time of the Iraq War and since 1979 had been the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Blackburn, where at least one quarter of the population are Muslim. Straw later stated that he would like to see the veil "abolished" altogether, adding that he was worried about "implications of separateness".
Straw's views were met with a mixed response, with some agreeing to the idea of a debate, some arguing that Muslim women should not wear veils in the United Kingdom, and some, such as the newspaper the "Daily Express", calling for the veil to be banned. Others were opposed to Straw's intervention, and some accused him of encouraging prejudice.
In 2010, Jack Straw publicly apologised over his 2006 comments, stating "If I had realised the scale of publicity that they [his comments] received in October 2006, I wouldn’t have made them and I am sorry that it has caused problems and I offer that apology."
Background to the debate: the face veil in Islam.
One of the tenets of Islam is a requirement for modesty in both men and women. This concept is known in Arabic as "hijab", which refers to far more than Islam and clothing. The word "hijab" has entered English and other European languages with a somewhat different meaning, referring either to sartorial hijab, or to one article thereof, namely the headscarf worn by many Muslim women.
Muslims follow various schools of thought ("madhhabs") which have differences of opinions on Islamic law ("sharia"). Women who wear a face-veil tend to observe the "hadiths" (sayings of Muhammad) instructing women to cover all that is not essential, which some interpret as everything except the eyes and hands. This belief is a minority position. Most Muslims believe women should allow their faces to be visible, but should cover the hair (and, in many cultures, the throat as well). An even smaller minority wear all-covering garments such as the "burqa". These rulings ("fatwa") are based on the understandings of modesty and the public display of the body ("awrah").
Expressions of opposition to the wearing of the "niqab".
Following Straw's comments, support came from fellow Labour members, the then-opposition Conservatives, right-wing national press and others.
Tony Blair, then Labour Prime Minister, described veils as a "mark of separation", and Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, agreed with this approach, adding that he thought it would be "better for Britain" if fewer Muslim women wore the veil, and that he supports "what Jack Straw has said".
Labour MP Nigel Griffiths, then Deputy Leader of the Commons, said "it's all very well for Muslim women to say that they feel comfortable wearing the veil but ... the veil does not make other people feel comfortable. In that way it could be said that they are being selfish." Phil Woolas, another Labour MP, who had a position in charge of race relations policy, said that Muslim women wearing the veil are "frightening and intimidating" and congratulated Straw for starting the debate.
The Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis of the Conservatives, suggested that Muslims were responsible for white flight, adding that the Parliament may be "inadvertently encouraging a kind of voluntary apartheid". Bill Deedes, a former Conservative Party politician, added his weight to the debate in an opinion piece in "The Daily Telegraph", saying that Islam "is the only faith on Earth that persuades its followers to seek political power and impose a law — sharia — which shapes everyone's style of life", and that Islam "forbids" Muslims from conforming with British society.
Simon Jenkins wrote a piece for "The Sunday Times" asking why Muslim women who wore the veil wanted to live in the UK; however, he cast doubt on the effectiveness of Straw's statements.
Speaking to "The Jewish Chronicle", French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy asserted that "the veil is an invitation to rape" because, as philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas said, "[having seen] the naked face of your interlocutor, you cannot kill him or her, you cannot rape him, you cannot violate him."
In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the "Daily Telegraph". As part of an article arguing that burqa bans like the one introduced in Denmark were wrong, as women should be free to wear what they want, Johnson nevertheless said that Muslim women who wore burqas "look like letter boxes" and compared them to "bank robbers". In response to the piece, the Muslim Council of Britain accused Johnson of "pandering to the far right", while the Labour MP Jess Phillips said she would report Johnson to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The Conservative Party chairman, Brandon Lewis, called on Johnson to apologise for his remarks. The Conservative peer Baroness Warsi accused Johnson of indulging in "dog whistle" politics and called for disciplinary action if he did not apologise. The Conservative MP Nadine Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough" and it was the Government which should be apologising. Dorries said the burqa should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this".
In the aftermath of the Johnson article, Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for the Labour Party, said about British Muslim women who decide to dress in the "niqab", "I wouldn’t want my four year old looked after by somebody wearing a burka."
Opposition by political parties.
The UK Independence Party (UKIP) has had a policy to ban full-facial coverings since 2010, while the British National Party (BNP) favoured banning it only in schools. In 2014, UKIP clarified their stance, favouring only a ban at schools and places where security is a concern, while the BNP are now in favour of a total ban.
Opposition to raising of the issue.
Opposition to the debate mainly came from left and far-left politicians, parties and newspapers, but also from some Conservative politicians.
Ken Livingstone, then the Labour Mayor of London, said that he was "amazed by his [Straw's] insensitivity", adding that "bearing in mind this person [the constituent] has come to you to ask for something, the power imbalance in that relationship means it’s completely unacceptable behaviour on Jack Straw’s part. That a powerful man can say to a completely powerless woman, I think you should take your veil off, I think is completely and utterly wrong and insensitive." The socialist Respect Party urged Straw to resign. "Who does Jack Straw think he is to tell his female constituents that he would prefer they disrobe before they meet him," George Galloway said in a press release. "For that is what this amounts to. It is a male politician telling women to wear less." The Socialist Workers Party said that Straw's words allowed for an "open season for all who want to blame Muslims for the problems in Britain and to blame the victims of racism for the racism in society".
Jon Cruddas, a Labour MP and a candidate for the post of Deputy Leader, suggested that ministers were playing "fast and loose" with religious tensions adding, "The solution does not lie in an ever more muscular bidding war among politicians to demonstrate who can be tougher on migrants, asylum-seekers and minorities. Nor is it in using racial or religious symbols to create controversy. That only makes the situation worse. It is not the role of politicians to play fast and loose with symbols of difference, especially when they drive the political centre of gravity to the right as a consequence."
Writing in "The Guardian", Madeleine Bunting claimed that Straw's "singling out" of Muslim women actually intensifies the division that Straw says he wants to remove.
Rabbi Alex Chapper of the Ilford Federation Synagogue wrote that "I feel his comments were totally unacceptable and display, at best, insensitivity to, and at worst, an ignorance of the laws, customs and practices of Islam. It is nonsense to suggest that, 'women who wore veils made community relations more difficult', rather it is remarks such as these that create divisions and intolerance in Britain," adding "if you're going to single out for condemnation, or even ban, one style of dress where do you draw the line? Could the kipah or sheitel be next, are they divisive in Mr Straw's eye?."
Daniel Hannan, prominent Conservative MEP and columnist for "The Daily Telegraph", stated that "clothing ought not to be a matter for the courts." He also pointed out that other highly offensive pieces of clothing (to him) such as Adolf Hitler T-shirts, Che Guevara T-shirts, and Osama bin Laden T-shirts are inherently considered legal due to freedom of expression. Baroness Warsi, a Muslim Conservative peer and cabinet minister, has defended women's right to wear the burka. She has said, "Just because a woman wears the burka, it doesn't mean she can't engage in everyday life. If women don't have a choice they are oppressed." She has also said, "There are women who wear the burka who run successful internet businesses which don't require you there face to face." Minister of State for Immigration Damian Green has labeled a ban on face-coverings as "un-British" and "undesirable" for a "tolerant and mutually respectful society" like the U.K.
Violent attacks.
Muslim groups blamed Straw's comments in part for an arson attack on an Islamic centre in the Scottish town of Falkirk and an attack on a woman wearing a "niqab".
Media spoof.
The "Daily Star" was prevented from publishing a mock-up page of what it would look like if it was run by Muslims. The mock-up "Daily Fatwa", which promised a "Page 3 Burkha Babes Special" and competitions to "Burn a Flag and Win a Corsa" and "Win hooks just like Hamza's", was prepared to run as page 6 in that day's edition till members of the National Union of Journalists refused to co-operate on the grounds that it was deliberately offensive to Muslims. "Zoo Magazine", one of the classic "lads' mags", instead announced plans to publish a double-page spread making fun of Muslim law. (Ben Knowles is the deputy editor of the "Star", and former editor of "Zoo".) The section will be labelled "Your all-new veil-friendly Zoo!", while other headlines include "Public stonings!", "Beheadings!" and "Absolutely nobody having any fun whatsoever". The magazine, which regularly features naked women will, on these pages, instead feature a woman in a "burqa", with the heading "A girl! As you've never seen her before!".
Opinion polling.
Ipsos MORI conducted a more thorough opinion poll on 11 October 2006. This found that 51% of the public agreed (saying they "strongly agree" or "tend to agree") that Straw was right to raise the issue, with 31% saying he was wrong. It also found 61% agreed with the statement: "By wearing a veil Muslim women are segregating themselves". However, 51% of the public thought that Straw's comments would damage race relations, and 77% agreed that "Muslim women should have the right to wear the veil".
In July 2010, Yougov conducted a poll of 2,205 adults in Britain, it found that 67% supported a complete ban on wearing the Burka across Britain.
A further Yougov poll, in August 2016, suggested 57% of British people favoured banning the burka in public, with 25% being against such a ban.
In 2018, following Boris Johnson's comments on the Burka, Sky found that 59% agreed that a Burka ban should be put in place, with 26% being against a ban.
Foreign commentary on the UK debate.
Speaking of the British debate, Fox News correspondent John Gibson said the veil "is clearly a sign of separation, clearly a sign of wanting to avoid assimilating in the western culture, whether it's here or Britain or Italy. And it is clearly a sign of a subculture that wants to establish its own rules separate and apart. Speaking as an American: no Sharia law, no veils. If you're here, be American," a remark which prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations to encourage people to complain about Gibson's remarks.
Parliamentary debate.
A private member's bill titled "Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill 2010-11", sponsored by Conservative MP Philip Hollobone was scheduled to be debated in the UK Parliament on 20 January 2012, during a Second Reading debate. The bill would make it an offence to wear a face covering in certain public and private venues in the UK. Hollobone has since submitted the bill for debate again.
Further cases.
The veil in schools.
The debate was compounded when Aishah Azmi was sacked from a Church of England school after refusing to remove her "niqab" in front of the small children she had been hired to teach. She had not mentioned this condition at her job interview, at which she had not worn a "niqab". She took her case to an employment tribunal, which saw, unusually, many British politicians commenting on it before it was heard. They included the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who said he supported the school's actions, and race relations minister Phil Woolas, who said she should be "sacked". Azmi lost her case for unfair dismissal but intends on appealing the decision to a higher court.
On 20 March 2007 new guidance was given to schools in England that they will be able to ban pupils from wearing full-face veils on security, safety or learning grounds. Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said successive ministers had failed to give proper guidance about schools' obligations regarding religious dress and "to now proceed to issue guidance against Muslim communities is simply shocking".
Birmingham Metropolitan College, with a large Muslim enrolment, banned all face coverings for security reasons in September 2013, a decision supported by Prime Minister David Cameron. Union activism had the ban overturned. Several newspapers claimed that private Islamic schools in Tower Hamlets, Southall and Lancaster force pupils to wear face veils when they are outside the school buildings. The three schools in question clearly denied this. However, their school uniforms contain headscarfs and the jilbab, a long gown. The former Mayor of London and current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, opposes having children wearing veils.
The veil in crime.
Veils have been accused of hindering the fight against crime:
The veil and identification at national borders.
Conservative politician Douglas Hogg asked minister Liam Byrne what instructions had been given to officers at borders in dealing with people wearing veils or other garments obscuring their identity. Byrne stated that in accordance with the Immigration Act 1971 all persons arriving in the United Kingdom must satisfy an immigration officer as to their nationality and identity. Where there are sensitive or cultural reasons why it is not possible for a person to remove a veil or other garment at the immigration control, they will be taken to a private area where a female officer will ask them to lift their veil so that their identity can be verified. There are powers to refuse entry to persons who cannot be satisfactorily identified.
The veil in court.
In November 2006, "The Times" reported that a judge adjourned a court case and took advice after lawyer Shabnam Mughal twice declined to remove her "niqab". Judge George Glossop requested that she do so as he was struggling to hear her during the hearing.
In August 2013, a judge ordered an East London Muslim woman to remove her veil during her trial. However, in September, a compromise was reached that she would only have to do so while giving evidence. The judge, Peter Murphy, said "the niqab has become the elephant in the courtroom".


Paul Suru Maforikan

Paul Suru Maforikan was appointed Pastor and spiritual leader of the Celestial Church of Christ following the death of Gilbert Oluwatosin Jesse in October 2003.
Early years.
Maforikan was born on 19 September 1930 in Ajase, Benin, where his father had moved from Badagry, Nigeria.
He was a member of Christ Apostolic Church before joining the Celestial Church Of Christ in 1948 shortly after its foundation.
He followed the Pastor Founder S.B.J. Oschoffa to Nigeria.
He was Oyo State Evangelist for 10 years before being appointed a Deputy Pastor in December 2002.
He was proclaimed Pastor of the Celestial Church Of Christ Worldwide within two days of the death Gilbert Jesse.
His appointment was made by the council of superiors of CCC Worldwide.
He took up this position at a time when the CCC had split into four factions. The others were led by Rev pastor st Agbaosi of Porto Novo in Benin, and in Lagos by Superior Evangelist Josiah Kayode Owudunni of Ijeshatedo Parish and by Pastor Emmanuel Oschoffa who was chosen by members of the Board of Trustees.
Leadership disputes.
In an attempt to resolve the dispute over church leadership, in March 2005 Pastors Moforikan and Oshoffa met with other church leaders in Porto-Novo, Benin home of the founder of the church. They agreed to hold a further meeting two weeks later with eleven delegates from each side to take every possible measure to resolve the issue.
In November 2005 Iepe Asebiomo, leader of the "Unification and Renaissance Mission of the Celestial Church of Christ", noted the growing number of factions with heads claiming to be CCC pastor. These included Daniel B. Agbaosi of Benin, and in Lagos, Nigeria Paul Maforikan in Tejuosho, Emmanuel Oshoffa in Ketu, Josiah Owodunni in Ijeshatedo and Edward Oladokun in Ikorodu. US-based Bolanle Shonekan was also a claimant. Yet others had formed separate churches.
In November 2006 pastor Jacob Ediémou Blin laid a complaint with the prosecutor in Côte d'Ivoire against Moforikan for usurpation of title.
Later that month church officials expressed shock when Blin said at Port-Bouet that the CCC was all his private property. This brought the number of factions of the church up to five.
Maforikan paid a long visit to South Africa in 2008, arriving on 11 June 2008 and visiting all the parishes over the three-month period.
In an April 2009 interview in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire Maforikan said the founder "Papa" Oshoffa had prophesied in 1961 that Maforikan would be his successor. He described the disunity in the church as the work of the devil.
In April 2010 a group of leaders called the "Celestial Church of Christ Unification and Reform Group" petitioned the Inspector-General of Police to arrest those claiming to be pastors of the church. They said that such claims were contrary to a Supreme Court ruling that there would be no pastor in the church until it had rewritten its constitution.
The claimants were Josiah Owodunni, Paul Maforikan, Steven Orovboni, Godwin Shonekan, Emmanuel Oschoffa and Edward Oladesu.
They were invited by the Lagos state police to give information to a fact finding investigation, but only Orovboni and Maforikan responded in person.
The group's secretary, Dele Ojogbede, said the self-styled pastors had been told that they would be held for contempt of court unless they dropped their claims and worked towards unity.


Protestant Church in East Timor

The Protestant Church in East Timor IPTL "(Igreja Prostestante iha Timor Lorosa'e)", former Christian Church of East Timor GKTT "(Gerja Kristen Timor Timur)" is a Reformed Protestant denomination in East Timor.
During Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, which lasted until the country was annexed by Indonesia in 1975, Protestantism was suppressed. The Protestant Christian Church in East Timor came into being in 1979. Synod was established in 1988; that is the founding date of the denomination. Membership grew from 6,668 to 34,625 in 1996. In 1998 it joined the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the World Council of Churches.
The denomination publishes a monthly magazine, "Tatoli", which means "message". It has a presbyterian church government.
The church maintains a relationship with the American United Church of Christ.


Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship (PNG)

Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship (Papua New Guinea) is an evangelical student movement across university campuses in Papua New Guinea. It is a member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). According to IFES, the Papua New Guinean student movement involves 10,000 students in 66 chapters plus an additional 6 graduate networks. Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship (PNG) is involved in evangelism as well as raising awareness of social issues in Papua New Guinea such as HIV/AIDs.


Guillaume de Farges

Guillaume de Farges was a 14th-century French priest: a nephew of Pope Clement V, he was Archdeacon of Leicester from 1310 until his death in 1346.


Islam in Serbia

Islam spread to Serbia during the five centuries of Ottoman rule. The Muslims in Serbia are mostly ethnic Bosniaks, Albanians and minor but significant part of Roma people as well as members of the smaller groups, like ethnic Muslims, Gorani and Serbs.
Demographics.
According to 2011 census, there were 228,658 Muslims in Serbia (3.1% of total population. The census was boycotted by some Bosniaks from the Sandžak region, since Muamer Zukorlic one of the leaders of the Party of Justice and Reconciliation, called upon his followers not to take part in the census. Moreover, the largely Albanian population of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medvedja municipalities boycotted the census, too. Thus, the actual number of Muslims in Serbia is likely to be at least about 50,000 higher. Largest concentration of Muslims in Serbia could be found in the municipalities of Novi Pazar, Tutin and Sjenica in the Sandžak region, and in the municipalities of Preševo and Bujanovac in the Preševo Valley.
Geographical distribution.
The municipality of Novi Pazar is home to Serbia's largest Muslim population, with 82,710 Muslims out of 100,410 inhabitants (82% of its population). The municipality of Tutin has the highest share of Muslims in Serbia, with around 94% of its population being Muslim. Sjenica Municipality has also a very large Muslim population (79%), followed by Prijepolje Municipality (45%). Most Albanians, who belong to the Islamic faith, living in Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa boycotted the 2011 census, but statistics from the 2002 Census shows that Muslims constitute a majority in those municipalities with 89% and 55%, respectively and in Medveđa they numbered around 29% of the population.
Organization.
Adherents of Islam in Serbia are organized into two separate bodies: the Islamic Community in Serbia subordinate to the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Islamic Community of Serbia founded in 2007 which traces its origins to the Principality of Serbia. In 2012, the reis-ul-ulema Mustafa Cerić of Bosnia published a fatwa against Adem Zilkić, leader of the Islamic Community of Serbia, categorizing his actions as "Masjid al-Dirar".
The Islamic Community of Serbia ("Islamska zajednica Srbije"), with seat in Belgrade, is administered by reis-ul-ulema Sead Nasufović. It is divided into:
The Islamic Community in Serbia ("Islamska zajednica u Srbiji"), with seat in Novi Pazar, is administered by mufti Mevlud Dudić, which include:


Hindu Temples of Kabul

Kabul was the capital of the great Hindu Shahi kings. Afghanistan was a great center of Vedic culture. There were many Hindu temples in Afghanistan. Some temples in Kabul have survived the recent turmoil.
List of Hindu temples in Kabul.
In Kabul, there are several Hindu temples:
Hindu temples in Kandahar.
In Kandahar, there were Hindu temples in Shikarpuri Bazaar, Kabuli Bazaar and Jhampeer Sahib (near Sarpooza) and Devi-dwara (near Dand).
Hindu temples in other cities of Afghanistan.
There have also been Hindu temples and Gurudwaras at Chasma Sahib, Sultanpur, Jalalabad, Ghazni, Helmand (Lashkerga).
Hindus of Afghanistan.
The main Hindu residents of Afghanistan have been Mohyals, Khatris and Aroras, some other communities like Bhatias, and Brahmins other than Mohyals have also been present there.


Hinduism in Switzerland

Hinduism is a minority religion practised by 0.6% of the population of Switzerland. Approximately 90% of Hindu adherents are foreign-born, and about a third of them have the status of refugee or asylum seeker. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland, the Arulmihu Sivan Temple located in Glattbrugg is dedicated to Shiva, and the latest foundation is the Sri Vishnu Thurkkai Amman Temple in Dürnten in 2010.
History.
The first yoga school in this country was founded 70 years ago. The Hungarian pianist and sculptor Elisabeth Haich moved from Budapest to Zurich in the 1940s, together with her Indian husband and doctor Selvarajan Yesudian. Together they opened in 1948 the first yoga school in Switzerland. Although yoga today is understood primarily as a form of relaxation and exercise, it still arouses interest among many practitioners in Hinduism, knowing that yoga originally had a deeply religious-spiritual approach. The first Indian monk who founded an association in Switzerland was Swami Omkarananda, who founded the Divine Light Center in Winterthur in 1966. In the early 1970s, the Osho community under the leadership of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), founded by Swami Prabhupada, also spread.
The Srilankan Tamil Hindus came to switzerland as refugees during the ethnic conflict in 1983 .While in the early days, the Krishna Temple on Zürichberg, which was opened in 1980, provided a first refuge for many Tamils, various communities formed over the years, so that in 1986 the first Tamil temple was opened in Basel. More temple openings followed in all parts of Switzerland, so there are over 20 different Tamil Hindu temples today.
Demographics.
In earlier censuses, Hinduism figured together with other non-Abrahamic traditions (mainly Buddhism) as "other churches and communities". These accounted for 0.12% in 1970, 0.19% in 1980, 0.42% in 1990 and 0.78% in 2000 (0.38% Hinduism, 0.29% Buddhism, 0.11% other). Hinduism overtook Judaism as the third largest religion in Switzerland (after Christianity and Islam) during the 1990s and was tied at 0.38% with the New Apostolic Church in 2000.
The 2000 census reported 27,839 residents of Switzerland self-identifying as Hindus (0.38% of the total population; 1.11% in Berne, 1% in Zurich, 0.27% in Geneva). Most of them are Sri Lankan Tamils (81.2%).
In 2017, Hindus constituted 0.6% of the population of Switzerland.There are about 50,000 Hindus in Switzerland.There is also an ISKCON community in Switzerland with about 400 members and a circle of about 2000 friends and sympathizers.
Hindu Associations.
"Schweizerischen Dachverband für Hinduismus" or The Swiss Federation for Hinduism (www.hindus.ch) is the main Hindu association in Switzerland.It was formed in 2017.


Nagapattinam

Nagapattinam ("nākappaṭṭinam", previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval Cholas (9th–12th century CE) and served as their important port for commerce and east-bound naval expeditions. The Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam constructed by the Srivijayan king Sri Mara Vijayattungavarman of the Sailendra dynasty with the help of Rajaraja Chola I was an important Buddhist structure in those times. Nagapattinam was settled by the Portuguese and, later, the Dutch under whom it served as the capital of Dutch Coromandel from 1660 to 1781. In November 1781, the town was conquered by the British East India Company. It served as the capital of Tanjore district from 1799 to 1845 under Madras Presidency of the British. It continued to be a part of Thanjavur district in Independent India. In 1991, it was made the headquarters of the newly created Nagapattinam District. Nagapattinam is administered by a Selection-grade municipality covering an area of and had a population of 102,905 as of 2011.
A majority of the people of Nagapattinam are employed in sea-borne trading, fishing, agriculture and tourism. Kayarohanaswami Temple and Soundararajaperumal Temple, Nagapattinam are the major Hindu pilgrimage sites. Nagapattinam is the base for tourism for Sikkal, Velankanni, Poompuhar, Kodiakkarai, Vedaranyam, and Tharangambadi. Roadways is the major mode of transport to Nagapattinam, while the city also has rail and sea transport.
Etymology.
"Nagapattinam" is derived from "Nagar" referring to people from Sri Lanka who settled here and "pattinam" referring to town. It was also called "Cholakula Vallipattinam" during the period of Kulottunga I, when it was one of the important ports. Ptolemy refers to Nagapattinam as Nikam and mentions it as one of the most important trade centres of the ancient Tamil country. This view is doubtful as there are no contemporary evidences to prove the existence of a metropolis in the name of "Nikama" or "Nikam". Nagapattinam was referred by early writers and the Portuguese as "the city of Coromandel". Appar and Tirugnanasambandar, the 7th-century saint poets refer to the city as "Nagai" in their verses in "Tevaram". The town was originally called "Nagai" and the word "Pattinam" was attached during the Chola era when it emerged as an important port.
History.
There are urn burials in and around the city from the Sangam period indicating some level of human habitation. Except the mention in Ptolemy as 'Νίγαμα Μετρόπολις,' there are no direct references to Nagapattinam during the 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE). The neighbouring port, Kaveripoompattinam (modern day Poompuhar), was the capital of the Chola kingdom of the Sangam Age, referred to widely in Tamil scriptures such as "Paṭṭiṉappālai".
The early works of "Tevaram" by the 7th-century poets Appar and Tirugnanasambandar mention the town had fortified walls, busy road building and a busy port. The inscriptions from the Kayarohanswami temple indicate the construction was initiated during the reign of the Pallava king, Narasimha Pallava II (691–729 CE). A Buddhist pagoda was built under Chinese influence by the Pallava king and the town was frequented by Buddhist travelers. Thirumangai Azhwar, the 9th century vaishnavite saint poet, is believed to have stolen the golden Buddha statue to fund the Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam; the authenticity of the theory is questionable.
In the 11th century CE, Chudamani Vihara, a Buddhist monastery, was built by the Sailendra king of Srivijaya Sri Mara Vijayattungavarman with the patronage of Raja Raja Chola. It was named "Chudamani" or "Chulamani" Vihara after the king Sri Mara's father As per the small Leyden grant this Vihara was called Rajaraja-perumpalli during the time of Kulottunga I. Nagapattinam was the prominent port of Cholas for trade and a conquering gateway to the east.
In the early 16th century the Portuguese made commercial contacts with the town and established a commercial centre in 1554 CE. The Portuguese also conducted missionary enterprise here. In 1658, the Dutch made an agreement with King Vijaya Nayakkar of Thanjavur on 5 January 1662, by which ten villages were transferred from the Portuguese to the Dutch — Nagapattinam Port, Puthur, Muttam, Poruvalancheri, Anthanappettai, Karureppankadu, AzhingiMangalam, Sangamangalam, Thiruthinamangalam, Manjakollai, Nariyankudi. Ten Christian churches and a hospital were built by the Dutch. They released Pagoda coins with the name Nagapattinam engraved in Tamil. As per agreement between the first Maratta King Egoji of Thanjavur and the Dutch, Naagapattinam and surrounding villages were handed over to the Dutch on 30 December 1676. In 1690, the capital of Dutch Coromandel changed from Pulicat to Nagapattinam.
This town fell into the hands of the British in 1781 after the two naval battles between British and French fleets were fought off the coast of Negapatam, as it was then known: the first in 1758 as part of the Seven Years' War and the second in 1782 as part of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. The town was taken by the British from the Dutch in 1781 (who had been formally brought into the war in 1780). When the Dutch and British reached a peace agreement in 1784, Nagapattinam was formally ceded to the British. 277 villages, with Nagore as the headquarters, were handed over to the East India Company.
From 1799 to 1845 CE Nagapttinam was the headquarters of Tanjore district. Nagapattinam and Nagore were incorporated as a single municipality in 1866 CE. The town remained one of the chief ports to the Madras Presidency. The port suffered decline after the inclusion of Tranquebar and Tuticorin ports. After India's independence, Sirkazhi continued to be a part of Thanjavur district until 1991, and later became part of the newly created Nagapattinam district. Nagapattinam was severely affected by the tsunami which followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. It is well developed in the year 2016 where there are many Big textiles showroom (Krishna, Murasons etc.), Confectionery Houses (Mehala traders, Uma etc.), Schools, Colleges and Variety of fishes available in here.
Geography.
Nagapattinam lies at . The town is bounded by Bay of Bengal in the east, Uppanar river in the south, Thiruvarur district in the west, Thanjavaur district in the north west and Karaikkal & Puducherry in the north. The town lies in the sea level. The municipality covers an area of Nagapattinam is situated at a distance of from Chennai, from Karaikal, from Mayiladuthurai, from Kumbakonam, from Thanjavur and from Thiruvarur.
Nagapattinam lies on a plain terrain of alluvial soil consisting of sand, silt and clay. The Vettar River and the tributaries of river Cauvery are the major water bodies. Paddy is the major crop in the region, followed by groundnut, pulses, sugarcane, cotton and sesame. The town is one of the cyclone-prone zones and was devastated during the 2004 tsunami. A very fine layer of high saline soil was deposited in the paddy fields.
Climate.
Nagapattinam has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen "Aw") with a wet season from October to December due to the northeast monsoon. The city receives an annual rainfall of . Proximity to the sea results in a high humidity throughout the year, which reaches 70% from August to May and an average of 71% annually.
2004 tsunami.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, which triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean. Nagapattinam district was the most affected part in Tamil Nadu, accounting for 6,064 off the 8,009 casualties in the state. A large number of the casualties were from the fishing community, who resided close to the seashore especially Akkaraipattai, Keenchankupam . The property losses impacted the fishing industry, as most of the boats were damaged by the inundation. The immediate aftermath created a lull in tourism.
Demographics.
According to 2011 census, Nagapattinam had a population of 102,905 with a sex-ratio of 1,026 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 11,884 were under the age of six, constituting 6,089 males and 5,795 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 8.67% and 0.62% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 78.74%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had 24688 households. There were 33,532 workers, comprising 209 cultivators, 320 main agricultural labourers, 605 in house hold industries, 29,875 other workers, 2,523 marginal workers, 35 marginal cultivators, 130 marginal agricultural labourers, 64 marginal workers in household industries and 2,294 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Nagapattinam had 71.4% Hindus, 24.79% Muslims, 3.68% Christians, 0.01% Sikhs, 0.02% Buddhists, 0.01% Jains and 0.08% following other religions.
The decadal growth rate was higher during the decade ending in 1981, due to an increase in the town limits from to . The overall growth rate has declined over the period due to migration of people to other urban centres. There are 40 slums in the town as of 2001, with an estimated 44% residing in these slums. Out of 40 slums, 14 were affected by the 2004 tsunami. With the help of grant schemes and tsunami assistance programmes, these were rebuilt to tsunami-proof houses.
Economy.
The main occupation of Nagapattinam is fishing in the waters of Bay of Bengal. The fish are sold in the daily and weekly fish markets in the town. There is a large number of ice factories for preserving the fish. The industry suffered a setback after the tsunami that struck the coast on 26 December 2004.
There is limited agricultural activity, but much agricultural commerce is conducted in the town. A majority of the people are employed in service industry, belonging to the tertiary sector. The town is also the centre of retail provisions trading for the towns and villages surrounding Nagapattinam.
Tourism is a major economic driver with the presence of heritage and historic points like Nagore, Velankanni, Sikkal, Kodikkarai, Vedaranyam, Mannargudi and Tharangambadi.
There is limited industrial activity — the major industries are household, tailoring, embroidery, plastic wire and metal manufacturing. Cauvery Basin Refinery, a subsidiary of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) is near Nagapattinam. Established in 1993, it is a major contributor to the economy of the town. The development of industries is constrained by the town being linear and by the applicability of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regulations that prevent large-scale construction and industrial buildings.
All major nationalised banks such as State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and private banks like ICICI Bank, City Union Bank have branches in Nagapattinam. All these banks have their automated teller machines located in various parts of the town.
Transport.
Nagapattinam municipality accommodates of roads; of cement roads, of bituminous roads, of WBM roads and of earthen roads. Nagapattinam is connected by two national highways, NH 45A to Villupuram and NH 67 to Coimbatore and Gundlupete in Karnataka state. Nagapattinam is connected with Chennai, Vellore, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Karaikal and other major towns of Tamil Nadu through the state highways SH 22 from Grand Anaicut to Kaveripoompattinam, SH 23 from Mayiladuthurai to Thiruthuraipoondi, SH 64 from Kumbakonam to Sirkazhi, SH 67 from Nagore to Nachiyar Koil, SH 147 from Kumbakonam to Karaikkal, SH 148 from Nagore to Vettar. SH 149 from Sembanarkoil to Nalladai, SH 150 from Vaitheeswarankoil to Lower Anaicut and SH 151 from Kilvelur to Kachanam. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operates close to 175 daily services connecting various cities to Nagapattinam. Most of the buses via Nagapattinam operated by the corporation ply between Trichy and Velankanni. The corporation operates a computerised reservation centre in the municipal bus stand of Nagapattinam. It operates 25 town buses satisfying the local transport needs of Nagapattinam and the neighbouring villages. The State Express Transport Corporation operates long distance buses connecting Nagapattinam to Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Marthandam.
Great South Indian Railway Company (GSIR) had its headquarters at Nagapattinam between 1861 and 1875. A broad gauge railway [BG] line was operated between Nagapattinam and via , between 1861 and 1875. During 1875 it was converted into a meter gauge (MG) line. The GSIR headquarters was shifted to Tiruchirapalli during 1875. The railway workshop was at Negapatnam till 1929 and contributed to the growth of the town. It was also moved to Golden rock [Ponmalai] during 1929. connects in the west, in the north and in the south. There are passenger trains to , , , , and . There is a daily express train to via and via (Tea Garden Express). There are two triweekly trains from to (Pamani Express) and to (Goa) (Vasco Velankanni Express) that pass via .
The port of Nagapattinam is in the Bay of Bengal in the mouth of river Kuduvayyar. Nagapattinam was the most important port of the Chola empire. All the eastern naval expeditions of Rajendra Chola I (1012–44 CE) were through the port. The port was widely used by the Dutch, Portuguese and British as one of the major ports of the Coramandel Coast for trading purposes. Most of the principal exports to Sri Lanka from the port during the British period were rice, piece goods, livestock, cigars, tobacco and hides. The trade of Nagapattinam was mostly with Sri Lanka, Straits Settlements, Burma and to a small extent to the United Kingdom and Spain. The port also served passenger traffic to Singapore, but this was suspended due to a fire accident. The modern day port has a commercial port complex and a dockyard that are protected by a river mouth sand bar facing the port. The port handles only a limited amount of edible oil imports. The Nagapttinam lighthouse is the first conventional lighthouse tower, built inside the port premises by the British in 1869. The port and the lighthouse are maintained by the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board under the Government of India.
The nearest Airport is Tiruchirapalli Airport, located away from the town.
Culture and tourism.
Tourism plays a key economic role for the town, even though fishing is the major occupation. Nagapttinam is a base for heritage and historic points like Nagore, Velankanni, Sikkal, Kodiyakkarai, Vedaranyam, Mannargudi and Tharangambadi.
Nagore Durgha, a 16th-century minaret located in Nagore, is one of the important pilgrimage centres of the town. Kanduri festival is a 14-day event celebrated for the annual "urs" (anniversary) of the saint Hajrath Shahul Hamid (1490–1579 CE), in honor of whom the minaret was built. The festival is celebrated in commemoration of the anniversary of the saint's death, and pilgrims from various religions participate in the rituals and rites. The festival is also seen as a sacred exchange between Hindus and Muslims expressing solidarity of mixed faith in the region. It is believed that 60 percent of the shrines were built by Hindus and historically the minaret garners many domestic and international visitors. There are three other prominent mosques; one near Nagai Pudhur Road, one near the new bus stand, and another at Moolakadai Street.
Kayarohanaswami Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. The temple has been in existence from the 6th century CE and has been reverred by the verses of "Tevaram", the 7th–8th century Saiva canonical work by Appar, Campantar and Sundarar. The temple is one of the seven temples of the Thyagaraja cult, classified as "Saptha Vidangam", where the presiding deity Thyagaraja is believed to portray different dance styles. The temple is also known for the shrine of Neelayadakshi, the consort of Kayarohanaswami.
Soundararajaperumal Temple is a Hindu temple in the town dedicated to Vishnu. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in "Nalayira Divya Prabandham" by Thirumangai Azhwar, one of the 12 poet saints called Azhwars belonging to the 6th–9th century. Nagapattinam is base to some of the prominent Hindu temples like Sikkal Singaravelan Temple at Sikkal, Vedaranyeswarar Temple at Vedaranyam, Ettukudi Murugan Temple and Koothanur Maha Saraswathi Temple.
Velankanni is a pilgrimage centre located from Nagapattinam. The town is known for the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, a Roman Catholic church built during the 17th century. Pilgrimage to the basilica is common during September when people of many faiths, especially Hindus, Muslims and Christians of all denominations visit the basilica. The town has four prominent churches; the Lourdhu Madha (Sindhathurai Madha) Church, the Madharasi Madha Church, T.E.L.C. Church and the Protestant Church.
Education and utility services.
St. Joseph's College, opened in Nagapattinam in 1846 and transferred to Tiruchirappalli in 1883, is one of the oldest higher educational institutions in India.
Nagapattinam has 12 elementary schools, 8 high schools and 7 higher secondary schools. There are 2 arts and science colleges, one engineering college, 2 polytechnic colleges and one industrial training institute (ITI) in the town.
The electricity supplied to the town is regulated and distributed by the Nagapattinam circle of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The water supply is provided by the Nagapattinam Municipality, through borewells from Vettar river — the distribution is done through pumping stations located at Kurukathi, Andipalayam and Solomon Park. About 55 metric tonnes of solid waste are collected from the town every day. Nagapattinam municipality does not have an underground drainage system and the current sewerage system for disposal of sullage is through septic tanks and public conveniences. The storm water drainage system is made up of the natural river drainage and man-made storm water drains.
Nagapattinam comes under the Nagapattinam telecom circle of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), India's state-owned telecom and internet services provider. Apart from telecom, BSNL provides broadband internet service. There are six government hospitals in the town, with the largest being the District Government Hospital. There are 28 other private hospitals, clinics, and medical shops.
Politics.
Nagapattinam was declared a municipality in 1866 during British times. It was promoted to a second grade municipality in 1986 and selection grade in 1998. From 1991, the municipal limits were expanded to include Nagore. The municipality has 36 wards and there is an elected councillor for each of those wards. The functions of the municipality are devolved into six departments: General administration/personnel, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, Town planning and IT. All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the supreme executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 36 members, one from each of the 36 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected chairperson, assisted by a deputy chairperson. The town became the district headquarters when the Nagapattinam district was created as a separate district.
Nagapattinam comes under the Nagapattinam assembly constituency and it elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly every five years. From the 1977 elections, the assembly seat was won by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) once during the 1996 elections, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) twice during the 1991 and 2001 elections, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) five times during the 1977, 1980, 1984, 1989 and 2006 elections. The current MLA of the constituency is K. A. Jayapal, the minister for fisheries in the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Nagapattinam is a part of the Nagapattinam (Lok Sabha constituency) — it has the following six assembly constituencies — Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Thiruthuraipoondi, Vedaranyam, Kilvelur (SC) and Nannilam. The current Member of Parliament from the constituency is Dr. K. Gopal from the AIADMK party. From 1957, the Nagapattinam parliament seat was held by the Indian National Congress for five times during 1957–1961, 1962–67, 1967–71, 1991–96, and 1996–98 elections. CPI won the seat for five times during 1971–77, 1977–80, 1989–91, 1996–98 and 1998 elections. DMK won four times during 1980–84, 1999–2004, 2004–09 and 2009 elections. AIADMK won the seat twice during the 1984–89 elections and 2014 elections.
Law and order in the town in maintained by the Nagapattinam sub division of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by a Deputy Superintendent (DSP). There are three police stations in the town, one of them being an all-women police station. There are special units like prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and special branch that operate at the district level police division headed by a Superintendent of Police (SP).


Edvard Magnus Rodhe

Edvard Magnus Rodhe (17 December 1878 – 12 April 1954) was a Swedish theologian and Bishop of Lund 1925-1948.
Biography.
Edvard Rodhe was born in Lund, son of the clergyman Edvard Herman Rodhe (1845-1932), bishop of the Diocese of Gothenburg (1888-1929). He graduated from the Gothenburg Latin gymnasium 1896 and matriculated at Lund University the same year. He completed his Bachelor of Arts ("filosofie kandidat") degree in 1898, and completed his theology degree in 1904, after having spent time at the universities of Leipzig, Marburg and Berlin. He defended a dissertation for a docentship in 1905 and taught in Lund until he was appointed professor of practical theology at Uppsala University and vicar of Gamla Uppsala parish in 1912, becoming Doctor of Theology at Lund University the same year. He was professor of practical theology and canonical law at Lund University from 1919 until 1925 and appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Lund in 1925, retiring in 1948. Rodhe was the last bishop of Lund to serve as Pro-Chancellor of Lund University. Edvard Rodhe was married to Ruth Billing (1876-1951), daughter of Bishop Gottfrid Billing.


Islam in Zanzibar

Islam is the most prominent religion on the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago and could be considered the Islamic center in the United Republic of Tanzania. Between 98 percent of the population in the islands are Muslim, with the vast majority being Sunni with a minority Ibadi, Ismaili and Twelver Shia. Islam has a long presence on the islands, with archeological findings dating back to the 10th century, and has been an intrinsic part in shaping mercantile and maritime Swahili culture in Zanzibar as well as along the East African coast.
History of Islam in Zanzibar.
Origins.
Archeological findings suggest that Islam has been present in the Zanzibar archipelago for more than a millennium. Of the oldest archeological findings are large Friday mosque in Ras Mkumbuu, which has been dated back to the 10th Century, and Kufic inscriptions on the mosque in Kizimkazi dated at A.D. 1106. There are different historical accounts on how Islam was introduced along the East African coast, the Zanzibar archipelago included. Some suggesting that Islam was brought through Arab traders from the southern part of the Arabic peninsula, others consider the spread was initiated by groups of Zaidites from Ethiopia and Somalia, and a third group suggest that Islam came via Persia. Despite these different trajectories Islam has worked as unifying force, through which a mercantile, cosmopolitan and urban Swahili culture was formed in relation to the African hinterlands.
Civilization.
Historically, being Swahili along the East African coast has meant having an understanding of the message of Islam and, at least nominally, some active participation. In a context of trans-cultural interactions Islam connected people via common ethics and moral conduct and placed people along the coast within a universal imaginary of the Islamic "umma". Swahili townspeople were viewed to have more in common with their trade partners and fellow Muslims abroad than they had with groups in the nearby African mainland. This often meant that ancestral roots were placed outside Africa, with groups stressing shirazi origin of Persia and with Zanzibar becoming a central location for the Omani sultanate in the 1800s also of Arab descent. Over time Islam became valued as a central aspect of what it meant to be a civilized person (in Swahili "muungwana, mstaarabu"), that contained assigning prestige to things connected with the distant Islamic heartlands.
Muslim Denominations.
Sunni.
In Zanzibar today, around 90 percent of all Muslims belong to the Sunni tradition and generally follow the Shafi’i school of jurisprudence.
Sufi Movements.
Sufi brotherhoods include the Qadhriyya and Shadhiliyya. Sufi brotherhoods grew in influence during the 19th Century in relation to increased movements and flows of migrants during a time when the archipelago was a cultural, commercial and religious center along the Swahili coast. Spread through migrants from Hadramaut (Yemen) and Benadir (Somali Coast) Sufi brotherhoods were in contrast to Ibadï Islam of the ruling Omani ruling class open to former slaves and came to facilitate ways of integrating people from the African hinterlands into the Swahili society.
Salafi Movements.
Salafi inspired groups have been present in Zanzibar during the last part of the 20th century, and includes the Wahabi-influenced movement Ansâr Sunna (the "defenders of the Sunna"). The latter are characterized by engagement in "da'wa" (mission) in order to revive Islam while criticizing the impact on local and traditional customs ("mila") on Muslim practices on the Archipelago. This includes critique of practices such as "ziara" (visiting tombs of shaykhs), "tawasud" (blessing of saints in prayers), "khitma" (prayer for the dead), and "Maulid" celebrations (the birthday of the Prophet). Salafi groups critique also include practices of traditional healing (locally refereed to as "uganga") and western influences, the latter especially in relation to Zanzibar's growing tourist sector which are seen related to a general moral decay in the society such as increased alcohol consumption, improper clothing and prostitution.
Shia.
Shia Muslims in Zanzibar include Shia Ithna’asharis, Shia Bohras and Shia Ismailis. Many within the Shia minority are of Asian descent with origins in India. For Shia Bohras, links to India remain important and are manifested in for instance marriage practices aimed at maintaining Asian identity. For Twelver Shia, Sheikh Abdulrazak Amiri, a Pan-Africanist Shia cleric based in Arusha, is working hard to spread the teachings of Ahlulbayt in Zanzibar.
Muslim Politics.
Uamsho.
Uamsho (lit. awakening) is the popularized name of Jumuiya ya Uamsho na Mihadhara ya Kiislamu Zanzibar (the Association of Islamic Awareness and Public Discourse in Zanzibar)—also known by its Swahili acronym Jumiki. Uamsho was formed in the late 1990s an registered as an NGO in 2002. The organization's aim was to promote Muslim unity and Muslim rights via public preaching. Uamsho was from the start critical towards the political party of Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), accusing the government of restricting Muslim rights and corrupting Zanzibar by its inability to uphold moral order in society. In 2012, Uamsho engaged in widespread protests for a more autonomous Zanzibar in relation to a constitutional review process in Tanzania leading to tensions with the state after holding a public march in May 2012 despite a ban on religious public meetings. With the arrest of the Uamsho leader Sh. Musa Juma, supporters took their anger to the streets leading to riots with institutions linked to CCM and Christian churches being attacked. With tensions escalating during 2012 with a new round of riots in October all of Uamsho's main leaders, such as Sh. Farid Ahmad, were eventually arrested and jailed.


Anthony Tu Shihua

Anthony Tu Shihua (; November 22, 1919 – January 4, 2017) was a bishop of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
Ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1944, Tu Shihua was ordained a Roman Catholic bishop without papal mandate in 1959 for the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and served as the illegitimate bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hanyang.
A few months before his death, Bishop Shihua asked to be readmitted into full communion with the Pope, who welcomed him with the title of Bishop Emeritus of Puli.
Shihua died in Beijing, China on January 4, 2017, aged 98.