August 2004's Issue
Spirituality and religion are a fact of life. They appear in virtually every culture known to humans in some shape or form. But recent times have seen an upsurge in religious extremism. The name of `God’ has been invoked to justify some of the most appalling acts - including the 9-11 bombings, communalist killings in Gujarat, the war on Iraq, and social violence especially against women and gay people. Can religion be a force for good and social change in the world today? Or is it, as some secularists believe, the most grave threat to democracy? At what point does wholesome spirituality become murderous fanaticism? And how are fundamentalist tendencies to be tackled-both within and outside faith systems?
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Featured in issue 370
Suffer little children
Religions often target the young. Marilyn Mason counts the human cost.
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Paradise lost in the Maldives
repression cheek by jowl with tourism in the Maldives
- Rebecca Cork
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Saving the secular
Sadanand Menon assesses the health of India’s secular tradition after the Hindu fundamentalists’ election defeat.
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Torn in two
When a Peruvian woman's children were kidnapped by their Lebanese father, Reem Haddad was asked to intervene.
- Reem Haddad
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
On the street
Why young Western Muslims are going abroad to fight for Islam by Shaista Aziz.
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
In the shadow of the torturer
Jeremy Seabrook draws an unholy line from the obscene imagery of Abu Ghraib to the growing repression in Bangladesh.
- Jeremy Seabrook
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
The white curse
Eduardo Galeano on the white curse that has afflicted the terrible history of Haiti.
- Eduardo Galeano
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Bablu Chowdhury
A floating hotel for the poor, photographed by Bablu Chowdhury from Bangladesh.
- Bablu Chowdhury
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
In the name of GOD
Vanessa Baird examines the special relationship between religion and violence.
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Maria Livanos Cattaui
Oiling the wheels of corporate domination – International Chamber of Commerce head Maria Livanos Cattaui.
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Seeds of Deception: Exposing corporate and government lies about the safety of genetically modified food
Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey M Smith
Somalia: The Untold Story. The war through the eyes of Somali women
Somalia: The Untold Story edited by Judith Gardner and Judy El Bushra
- Maggie Black
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Attac! Another World is Possible
Attac! Another World is Possible by Various
- Louise Gray
- 1 Aug 2004
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The Story of the Weeping Camel
The Story of the Weeping Camel directed by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni
- Malcolm Lewis
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
List of Lights and Buoys
List of Lights and Buoys by Susanna and the Magical Orchestra
- Louise Gray
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Justice vs Vatican
Brazil’s rebellious priests are still putting the poor first. Jan Rocha reports.
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Interview with David Hartsough
Few pacifists can put themselves in danger as much as David Hartsough, co-founder of the Nonviolent Peaceforce.
- Chris Richards
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Mixing it
Novelists Ben Okri and Amy Tan talk to Bel Mooney about their eclectic spirituality.
- Bel Mooney
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
Let's get literal
A faithful, though perplexed, listener asks for holy guidance from radio show host Dr Laura Schlesinger. Illustrated, with piety, by Brick.
- 1 Aug 2004
- 0
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– Emma Thompson –
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