-
Are You Aware? The Same Privilege
This is part II in our “Freedom of Religion” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Yesterday was the first day of fasting for the Islamic religious holiday Ramadan. I woke up this morning at 4:30 to prepare breakfast for my husband and my children who are old enough to fast. For 30 days, our Muslim-Mormon family will refrain from food and drink from sunup to sundown — approximately 16 hours a day by the end of the fast. During Ramadan, I am always more acutely aware of the religious differences not only in my own household but between my family and the rest of the community…
-
Awareness Wednesday :: Xenophobia, Part IV — Let Them Worship
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may (Articles of Faith 1:11). India is a secular federal republic of more than 1.3 billion people, governed by a democratic parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multi-ethnic society. About 80% of the population is Hindu. Nearly 15% are Muslim. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of the Republic of India. He was committed to the idea of India being a secular nation. In 1950, when the Republic was first formed, perhaps some felt they had…
