The Icelandic government has proposed a law that would ban male circumcision for non-medical reasons and this has, understandably, sparked outrage and opposition from the Jewish and Muslim communities that traditionally carry out the practice. Anti-male circumcision groups, such as Men Do Complain, are calling for a ban on ‘ritual’ male circumcision in the UK. The…
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Nasir al-Mulk Mosque (or Pink Mosque) in Shiraz, Iran Spanish Synagogue in Prague, Czech Republic Lotf Allah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran Selimiye Mosque in Edime, Turkey Golden Mosque in Registan, Uzbekistan Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona, Spain
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Initiation rites are an integral part of traditional societies. An initiation rite is a ritual or ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. In modern society, initiation ceremonies usually mark the transition into adulthood, as demarcated by the community. Examples of such ceremonies would include the Christian baptism, the Jewish Bar and…
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The human mind is geared towards compartmentalising the world. What this means is that the mind has an inbuilt tendency to divide the inner mental world and outer world into discrete sections or categories. The inner mental world is full of categories such as memories, goals, personality traits, and concepts that divide external reality into…
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Gobekli Tepe has been dubbed ‘the world’s oldest temple’. This archaeological site is located 6 miles from Urfa, an ancient city in southeastern Turkey. Based on radiocarbon dating techniques, this structure is over 11,000 years old, which astonishing, because it means that Gobekli Tepe is 6,000 years older than Stonehenge. The temple consists of huge…
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