Week Commencing 12th July 2021

18th July

The Guardian reports: Turkey’s cabinet ministers have criticised a European Union court’s decision to allow employers to ban headscarves from their workplaces, saying it is “a blow to the rights of Muslim women” and that it would “grant legitimacy to racism”.

16th July

From Aljazeera, the annual Hajj pilgrimmage has kicked off in Saudi Arabia with only a few-thousand people gathered on the Plain of Arafat as attendance has been limited to 60,000 vaccinated Saudi citizens.

15th July

From The Guardian: Private employers in the EU can ban employees from wearing religious symbols, including headscarves, providing such prohibition is part of a policy against all religious and political symbols.

In The Guardian, The Salvation Army has been accused of a “grave injustice” by refusing to pay former full-time officers who quit before their official retirement date but gave years of dedicated service.

14th July

Aljazeera reports, India’s Supreme Court has questioned the government over its decision to allow a key Hindu pilgrimage even as experts warn that a third COVID-19 wave was inevitable in the country.

13th July

Religion News Service reports, JewBelong, an 8-year-old group working to help disengaged Jews to feel more a part of their faith, has gone digital with a set of billboards displaying bold messages against anti-semitism.

12th July

From Religion News Service, in a recent political profile study, Kathleen Marchetti, an associate professor of political science at Dickinson College, reported that likely 93% of American pagans agree with policies supporting LGBTQ rights.