What Makes People Tick?

Source : Pew Research Center Sometimes you need to read the numbers and see the statistics to understand just how often something happens. Take harassment or discrimination based on one's religion, for example. Pew Research reports that in Europe, 51% of Christians, 69% of Jews and 71% of Muslims face harassment. In other parts of the world, the numbers are just as shocking. Take the Middle East and North Africa where 65% of Christians, 70% of Jews and 75% of Muslims face religious harassment. "In nearly three out of every four countries of the world, religious groups experience harassment by individuals or groups in society. The harassment and intimidation take many forms, including physical or verbal assaults; desecration of holy sites; and discrimination against religious groups in employment, education and housing." Source : Social Harassment of Religious Groups , Pew Research Center

Headscarves, hijabs, chadors, niqabs, burkas, you name it - In the West they're a hot topic representing freedom and faith to some while they're seen as a sign of oppression by others. In the Middle East they're everywhere, it seems. Covering the body in proper Islamic fashion is mandatory in countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran. Interpretations vary across the board, however roughly speaking this means that women wear loose-fitting non-see through clothing with only hands and face showing (some include feet, some don't) and the neck, head and hair covered. Some Iranian women have recently turned to Facebook to express their dissatisfaction with the mandatory head- and hair covering. A Facebook post by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad started the movement, as reported by Vocativ (found through George Takei 's Facebook page ) which has attracted quite a following and a lot of talk since. Iranian women are posting photos of themselves with uncovered h...

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I say that is equally true about trends and fashion. What serves as inspiration for one person is sacred religious imagery to another... Fashion designer Roberto Cavalli has used religious imagery in the past and it appears he is now doing so again. The logo for his Just Cavalli brand looks an awful lot like a Sufi religious symbol, as Chris Dickman reports. "In 2004 Roberto Cavalli was taken to task for a line of underwear and swimwear ... based on representations of Hindu goddesses. This shocked the Hindu community to the extent that the line had to be withdrawn...  Ten years later and Roberto Cavalli [does it] again, this time in the form of a logo for its Just Cavalli brand. The design [bears a] marked resemblance to the registered logo employed by the MTO Shahmaghsoudi School of Islamic Sufism . Sufism is a branch of Islam, with the school having more than 500,000 students in centers worldwide. ... The school's emblem ....