Religious & Ethnic Diversity

From the field The Plight of Religious Minorities in Pakistan

In South Asia, and particularly in Pakistan, the case of religious violence is not new but in present times violence in the name of religion has developed its deeper roots. In 2008, during my trip to Nepal, I met hundreds of asylum seekers belonging to the Ahmadiya community of Pakistan. At that point, I couldn’t completely understand their plight of living with no identity in Nepal while facing numerous hardships. But when, in May 2010, a couple of Ahmadiya mosques were attacked by terrorists in Lahore (Pakistan) then I realized that the country is increasingly becoming insecure for religious minorities. This has become a huge push factor for Ahmadiyas to migrate to other countries, such as Nepal, Canada, UK, USA, Germany and so on. Read more >>>

Awoodah: An Encouraging Case of Coexistence and Brotherhood

The Awoodah neighborhood in the town of Medani, some 200 km south of the capital Khartoum, demonstrates many examples of southern and northern families living peacefully side by side in the quarter of the town they came to live in some 30 years ago. George, a small southern child, innocently expressed to me his love for the [...] Read more >>>

Creating Sustainable Peace in South Thailand

Faith Community Network The Faith Community Network helps communities in South Thailand to resolve conflicts, working with local religious leaders. Many of the problems that have contributed to the violence in South Thailand have in fact existed for a long time. Differences in religion and culture have been cited as causing violence. In fact, it [...] Read more >>>