ReligionDispatches.org

The funeral of an atheist friend inspires examination of the Here and the Hereafter. Does death rob life of meaning or does it provide it?

Humanists are right to think that there is more to life than atheism, but wrong to think that they are the ones to provide it.

An interview with a singer marked for death by the Taliban. Curiously, while the Taliban claims that music is a violation of Islamic law, they do have their own melodies and hymns.

Iran’s Green Revolt is about freedom and democracy, sure. But it usually has to take form in a particular issue or, as in the case of a growing portion of Iran’s youth, in song. Meet the resistance in the form of the underground music scene.

At the largely symbolic “Durban II” conference, some Islamic states and their allies are busy equating faith with race, conflating religious criticism with bigotry, and fashioning new political cudgels with which to pummel the West.

Capitalizing on the Muhammad cartoon riots and Western anxieties over the persecution of Muslims, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution urging member states to prosecute for “religious defamation.” Problem is, those likely to suffer most are religious minorities.