Adrian Liberto

Contributing editor

People with bigotted or selfish agendas have always tried to hijack religion, but there have always been spiritual adherents who have understood that kindness is paramount and they have highlighted the essence that unites us rather than the dross that divides us. Here are some inspirational quotes from a range of religious thinkers.

Mutilating the sexual organs of a child (circumcision) in the name of culture, religion or dubious preventative medical claims is outrageous and a blatant breach of the child’s human rights. Female genital mutilation is thankfully on the decline and relatively rare in developed countries.

Written in stone There are thousands of religions in the world today and many thousands more have come and gone. Many of these claim or have claimed a monopoly on truth relating to the divine and the moral, as well as to the rituals necessary to accompany a devout life.

Africa 02.01.21: Niger. Scores of villagers were slaughtered by suspected Islamist terrorists in coordinated attacks on two villages near the border with Mali.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is an Iranian human rights lawyer who has been in and out of prison since 2010 for no other reason than defending men, women and children who suffered under the oppressive Iranian regime. Her clients included opposition politicians, journalists, abused women and children, women who were arrested for not wearing the hijab and prisoners on death row for crimes they allegedly committed when they were minors.

2020 has certainly been an Annus Horribilis, but it wasn’t all bad.

Africa 03.12.20: Central African Republic. The top court rejected former President François Bozizé’s bid to run for president in the December 27 election against incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadéra.

Hey members and readers! We need your assistance for our next publication of The Gordian, which will focus on ANIMAL RIGHTS. Please contribute material or ideas to ensure it will be a vibrant and interesting issue. Help us raise our banner in support of animals, who cannot speak for themselves other than with their eyes and screams; “words” most people are immune to.

On 27 July 2020, UN-aligned sent a letter to the Burmese Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu asking him, amongst other things, how he could reconcile his hostility to the Rohingya with his Buddhist creed. The letter was sent registered.

On 9 October 2020, the World Food Programme (WFP) was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee: “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.” No doubt this was a safe political move since even leaders who are hostile to the United Nations, of which the WFP is a branch, cannot feel affronted by such a selection. In dangerous times, however, a safe move is often a cowardly one and, in this case, it certainly feels like one.

Europe 02.10.20: UK. The EU has set in motion legal proceedings against the UK after it reneged on sections of its Brexit “divorce” deal.

Letter dated 30 September 2020 from UN-aligned to the representatives of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Hiding behind democracy Any lover of democracy would be justified in feeling a sense of alarm when faced with such statements as “an assault on democracy…” and “a direct political attack against the democratically elected government…”, but as the Bard of Avon put it: “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” The above two quotes come from Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, respectively. They are directed against the EU presidency for calling their countries to task for their deteriorating record on human rights.

The slow pace of same-sex marriage… Same-sex marriage is now legal in almost thirty countries in the world. Considering same-sex unions date back over 12,000 years and that there are almost 200 countries in the world, this is not much of an achievement.

A raft full of migrants who are fleeing war and famine are awaiting at the bay. What would “you” do? Picture this: you have five buttons in front of you.

AFRICA 02.08.20: Cameroon. In a vicious grenade attack targeting a camp for displaced people, as they slept, suspected Boko Haram militants murdered over 16 people and wounded several others in the village of Nguetchewe, northern Cameroon.

Bhante Ashin Wirathu, I am writing to you on behalf of UN-aligned, an international organisation that focusses on the need to replace the United Nations with a more effective and principled organisation, although we also work to promote human and animal rights, as well as the welfare of the planet. Institutionalised religion has had a sad history in a number of countries around the world owing to its bigotry and abuse of power.

A Grim Trend July seems to have accelerated the grim trend that has been eroding civility and security over the last few years. The month dawned with Hong Kong finding itself stripped of many of its civil liberties.