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Belief

A view of Paris, France, with the iconic Eiffel Tower in the distance.

20 years after France’s hijab ban, the issue remains divisive

Women & Gender

Two decades ago, France introduced a law banning the hijab and other religious symbols in public schools. Today, with French athletes prohibited from wearing any religious items while competing at the summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, the issue is more divisive than ever.

Wafaa Mustafa was married to American ISIS fighter Russell Dennison.

‘We have no future’: A Syrian woman speaks about her life with an American ISIS member

Shadow of ISIS
Riot police check spectators' bags as they guard an area at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall prior to the concert of the rock group Picnic and the symphony orchestra Tavrichesky, in St. Petersburg, Russia, March 27, 2024.

Central Asians in Russia face increased scrutiny, discrimination after mass shooting 

Race
The sun rises over a Mosque on the Persian Gulf in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 9, 1990.

Saudi Arabia’s conservative clerics have a new relationship with the government under Mohammed bin Salman

Lifestyle & Belief
Striped red-and-white flags adorn a sacred grove in a quiet neighborhood in Ranchi in India. The ubiquitous flags are an assertion of tribal identity.

Adherents of Sarnaism try to preserve their identity and culture by pushing for more recognition of their faith in India

Sacred Nation
A main street on the edge of Mea She'arim, a Haredi (religious) neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Neturei Karta: an Orthodox Jewish sect that doesn’t believe in the concept of a Jewish state of Israel

Israel-Hamas war

Neturei Karta is an Orthodox Jewish Haredi sect that takes an anti-Zionist stance. Its members who live in Israel say they do not vote, run for office or take assistance from the government, while openly supporting the return of all of Israel to Palestinians.

A view of the process on a montior as lab staff use a microscope stand and articulated hand controls to extract cells from 1-7 day old embryos that are then checked for viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro fertilization lab in Hous

Why an international court struck down Costa Rica’s IVF ban

Reproductive rights

The World’s host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Lynn Morgan, a medical anthropologist focused on Latin America, about Costa Rica’s legal battles and religious debates about allowing access to IVF.

From left, students Shakked Klein, Nearodey Chhoem, Angelina Hadad, Nico Ben Jacob and Chidinma Okoli. About half the students at Givat Haviva come from abroad.

This school in Israel is opening dialogue among its Jewish, Arab and international students

Israel-Hamas war

In a country where most Arabs and Jews typically start going to separate schools starting at around kindergarten, one school in northern Israel is trying something different.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators fill Munich’s Ludwigstraße, one of the cities main boulevards, in protest against recent revelations about a meeting between members of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

‘I’m here to fight for democracy’: Tens of thousands protest against the far-right in Germany

Protest

The AfD, or Alternative for Germany, has been around for over a decade and has significant public support. But there’s been widespread protests against them since news broke that AfD members had met with neo-Nazis to discuss mass deportations from Germany.

A construction crew works on Ram Mandir, a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ram in Ayodhya, India, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.

‘Religious triumphalism’: A grand Hindu temple opens on a controversial site in India 

Sacred Nation

On Jan. 22, a temple of Lord Ram will open its doors in Ayodhya, in northern India. The temple stands where the Babri mosque once existed, before it was torn down by a Hindu mob. The occasion marks a victory for Hindus and a sorrowful reminder for Muslims of the ongoing tensions between the two groups in a Hindu-majority country.