RELIGION - The African Mirror

Jul

2022

Islam has a small presence in Nigeria’s Igbo region: what a new Quran translation offers

A new translation of the Quran into the Igbo language was launched on 1 July 2022 at the Ansar-Ud-Deen Mosque in Abuja, Nigeria. According to the translator, Muhammed Muritala Chukwuemeka, the project to produce this Nso Koran began five years ago. This is the third of Nigeria’s main languages to have its own version of the Muslim scripture. The Quran is also available in Yoruba and Hausa, which are spoken by large populations of Muslims. The Yoruba make up about 21% of the country’s population – estimated to be over 216 million – and about half of the Yoruba are…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Pope names women to bishops advisory committee for first time

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis has named three women, two nuns and a laywoman, to a previously all-male committee that advises him in selecting the world's bishops, the Vatican said. He had disclosed the decision in an exclusive interview with Reuters earlier this month, explaining he wanted to give women more senior and influential positions in the Holy See. The three women are sister Raffaella Petrini, an Italian who is currently the deputy governor of the Vatican City, French nun Yvonne Reungoat, a former superior general of a religious order, and an Argentine laywoman Maria Lia Zervino, president of the World…

Jun

2022

By The African Mirror

Court challenge tests authority of Islamic religious law in Nigeria

RELIGION

HAMZA IBRAHIM A Nigerian court reserved judgment on a challenge against sharia law in the mostly Muslim northern state of Kano in a case that will test the authority of Islamic religious law in Africa's most populous country. Nigeria's constitution is neutral on religion. The country is divided between the largely Christian south and mostly Muslim north. Kano is one of the foremost states that enforce sharia law, including the death penalty against blasphemy. In 2020, a 22-year-old singer, Yahaya Aminu Sharif, was sentenced to death while a teenager was jailed for 10 years by Kano Sharia Court over accusations…

May

2022

By The African Mirror

Putting stamp on future, pope names cardinals with tilt towards Asia

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis announced that he would appoint 21 new cardinals, including one based in Mongolia, as he again put his stamp on the Roman Catholic Church's future by elevating more men from the developing world to the high rank. Sixteen are cardinal electors under 80 and eligible to enter a conclave to elect his successor from among themselves after his death or resignation. Eleven of the electors are from, or based in, countries outside Europe or North America. Cardinals rank second only to the pope in the Church hierarchy and serve as his closest advisors at home and…

May

2022

By The African Mirror

List of new cardinals named by Pope Francis

RELIGION

HERE is a list of the 21 men Pope Francis will install as Roman Catholic cardinals at a ceremony known as a consistory on Aug. 27. Cardinal Electors under 80 will be able to enter a conclave to elect the next pope after Francis dies or retires: 1. Archbishop Arthur Roche (British) - Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments 2. Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik (South Korean) - Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy 3. Archbishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga (Spanish) - President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and…

May

2022

By The African Mirror

Indian court limits Muslim gatherings at mosque after Hindu idols found, lawyer says

RELIGION

SAURABH SHARMA A court banned large Muslim prayer gatherings in one of north India's highest-profile mosques after a survey team found relics of the Hindu god Shiva and other Hindu symbols there, a lawyer involved in the case said. The judge at the court in Varanasi - Hinduism's holiest city and the site of the historic Gyanvapi mosque - ruled that Islamic gatherings there should be limited to 20 people, lawyer H. S. Jain said. The court ordered the survey of the mosque after five women - represented by Jain - sought permission to perform Hindu rituals in one part…

May

2022

By The African Mirror

Tigray’s ancient rock-hewn churches are under threat: why it matters

RELIGION

ETHIOPIA’S ancient civilisations are believed to date back more than 3,000 years. Many of the country’s most famous ancient artefacts are found in Tigray. The region has been embroiled in war since November 2020. Fighting between forces allied to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Tigrayan troops has led to the deaths of thousands of people and displaced millions. It has also caused the destruction of numerous historical monuments. With the region under a blockade, it has been difficult to track the scale of the damage done. Hagos Abrha Abay, a philologist, is documenting the region’s heritage loss. He sheds…

May

2022

By The African Mirror

What is Eid al-Fitr and how do Muslims celebrate it? 6 questions answered

RELIGION

EDITOR’S NOTE: Muslims all over the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, one of the religion’s principal festivals. In July, Muslims will celebrate Eid al-Adha. Ken Chitwood, a scholar of global Islam, explains the two Islamic festivals. Author KEN CHITWOOD, Lecturer, Concordia College New York | Journalist-fellow, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, Concordia College New York 1. What is Eid? Eid literally means a “festival” or “feast” in Arabic. There are two major eids in the Islamic calendar per year – Eid al-Fitr earlier in the year and Eid al-Adha later. Eid al-Fitr is a three-day-long festival and is…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Atheism in Kenya: why accurate numbers are hard to come by

RELIGION

THE accuracy of statistics on religious affiliations in sub-Saharan Africa is questionable. This makes it difficult to assess religious trends. The issue has come to the fore recently in Kenya with the release of statistics around religious affiliation. In particular, the fact that the census showed that 1.6% of Kenyans identified themselves as atheists, agnostics or as following no religion in particular. In the parlance of the census, they were classified as ‘nones’. But is this number accurate? I think it’s doubtful. There are two major reasons why. Author P. PRATAP KUMAR, Emeritus Professor, School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics,…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Vatican mulling Jerusalem meeting between pope, Russian patriarch

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA THE Vatican is studying the possibility of extending Pope Francis' trip to Lebanon in June so he can fly to Jerusalem to meet their Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has backed Russia's war in Ukraine, two sources told Reuters. It would be only their second meeting. Their first, in Cuba in 2016, was the first between a pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism that split Christianity into Eastern and Western branches in 1054. Kirill, 75, has given his full-throated blessing for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a position that has splintered the…