On Saturday, December 18, 2021, a man was beaten to death after attempting to steal a ceremonial sword that is kept next to the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism's holy book, during prayers inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. The event was caught on camera in the video below.
On Monday, December 6, Rohingya Muslim survivors filed a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, now rebranded as Meta. The cases, filed first in the US and then in the UK, alleged Facebook's platform allowed and intensified hate speech against the Rohingya in Myanmar.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate release of the Saudi-based Yemeni journalist Ali Abu Lahoum. Lahoum was arrested in August and charged with apostasy and insulting Islamic sanctities. On October 26, a criminal court in Najran sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
Editor’s Note: In the previous draft of this article, the actions were presented accurately except for the location. It was mentioned that Ryadh was the UAE's capital but it's actually Abu Dhabi. We apologize for this inaccurate information.
On November 18th, the Nozha Misdemeanors Court of Egypt sentenced Ahmed Abdo Maher to five years in prison. The sentence stated that Maher is guilty of "contempt of Islam, stirring up sectarian strife and posing a threat to the national unity."
A November 10, 2021 press release of the US Department of Justice announced that two top leaders of Lev Tahor were convicted of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation. 39-year old Nachman Helbrans and 45-year old Mayer Rosner, the US leaders of the ultra-orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor, are both facing life sentences.
Atheist Republic celebrates the recent release of Iranian atheist activist and blogger Soheil Arabi from prison! While Soheil is still facing legal hurdles before he can be truly freed from the stranglehold of the Islamic Republic of Iran, his recent release is a massive victory and relief for Iranian atheists and their allies.
On Monday, November 15, a group of right-wing Hindus set fire to Salman Khurshid’s house in Satkhol Village, near the Nainital district in the Uttarakhand state. In October, Khurshid, the former Foreign Minister of India, published a book where he compares extremist Hindutva groups to Islamist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram.
A lawsuit against a Hindu organization based in New Jersey has been amended with more plaintiffs and more respondents spanning five states. The case against Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a Hindu organization based in New Jersey, now includes temples in California, Illinois, Texas, and Georgia.
