Culture
Latest stories
Non-Praying People are 'Animals', Turkish Academic Says on State TV

A Turkish professor sparked a furore in Turkey Monday by branding people who don't pray as "animals", on a state television program celebrating the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

W140 Full Story
Pakistan Clerics Issue Fatwa against Honor Killings

An influential group of Pakistani clerics have issued a fatwa against honor killings, with a spokesman calling them "unethical and unjustifiable" Monday following a series of attacks on women that have caused national outrage.

W140 Full Story
Pakistan Cop Accused of Beating Hindu Man for Not Fasting

Pakistani police have arrested a fellow officer after he was accused of beating up an elderly Hindu man for not fasting during Ramadan, an incident that sparked a social media outcry.

W140 Full Story
Same-Sex Kiss Cut from Singapore Staging of Les Miserables

A kiss between two male actors in a production of Les Miserables in Singapore has been cut after complaints from the public.

W140 Full Story
Malaysia Shuts Down First Sharia-Compliant Airline

Rayani Air, Malaysia's first Islamic-compliant airline, has been shut down, regulators said Monday, months after it was suspended from flying for breaching aviation regulations.

The carrier launched only in December with Muslim flight crew wearing the hijab while non-Muslim members were forbidden from wearing revealing clothing. In-flight meals were completely halal and alcohol consumption banned.

W140 Full Story
Assault Case Puts Spotlight on Rape Culture at U.S. Campuses

A high-profile sex assault case in California reverberating across the globe has prompted soul searching in America and reignited a debate about rape culture on U.S. college campuses.

The case burst into the spotlight after the victim made public a powerful letter to the judge who sentenced her attacker -- 20-year-old former Stanford University student Brock Turner -- on June 2 to six months in jail on three felony convictions.

W140 Full Story
Scottish Church Takes First Step to Gay Marriage

The Scottish Episcopal Church on Friday became the first Anglican Church branch in Britain to take a step towards allowing gay marriage in church.

W140 Full Story
Swimming Lessons for Migrants Cause Storm in Austria

Swimming lessons for refugee children have whipped up a storm in Austria, with a lifeguard's car window smashed and a newspaper on Friday filing charges against a woman who said the migrants should drown.

W140 Full Story
Queen Elizabeth II Begins 3 Days of Birthday Celebrations

A beaming Queen Elizabeth II greeted flag-waving crowds outside St. Paul's Cathedral Friday despite being delayed by London's traffic as she made her way to celebrate her official 90th birthday.

W140 Full Story
India's Muslim Women Fight 'Triple Talaq' Divorce

Only three words were scrawled on the letter from her husband and posted to her parent's home in central India, but they were enough to shatter Sadaf Mehmood's life.

Using an ancient and controversial Islamic practice, Mehmood's husband wrote "talaq, talaq, talaq" or "I divorce you" three times in Arabic, instantly ending his marriage of five years.

W140 Full Story