Word: religion
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...known as a basketball player while growing up and a great football fan, his favorite club being Arsenal. But his passion for sports seemed to have waned with time, religious fervor taking its place, according to friends. "Farouk was a devoted Muslim who took his religion seriously and was a committed student," Alfred told TIME. "Some people call him ustaz [Arabic for teacher], others call him alfa [Muslim scholar], but he is a complete gentleman." Alfred says that the banker's son took seriously the Islamic recommendation for prayer five times a day. The son was also known...
...psychological problems, only wanted to share her holiday wishes with the Pope, tough questions remain for those responsible for the well-being of the Holy Father, a world leader who requires what may be an unmatched mix of both special protection and universal accessibility. (See the top 10 religion stories...
...most North Koreans, Christmas has long been a nonevent, in part because the government keeps a tight rein on information about religious holidays from entering the country, and in part because Christians can be arrested for celebrating it. Though the country's constitution does grant freedom of religion to all citizens, North Korean authorities don't seem to pay the idea much heed. The government also monitors other religions - such as Buddhism and Cheondoism, a popular Korean belief system that combines elements of several faiths - but underground churches are particularly feared by authorities because they're estimated to have helped...
...Life in the North wasn't always so rank-and-file. In the early 1900s, Pyongyang was widely known as the "Jerusalem of the East" for its vibrant milieu of Christians. American Protestant missionaries arrived as early as the 1880s (Catholics arrived centuries earlier but the religion didn't catch on as widely), building religious schools and universities across the capital. Later, as Christianity gained popularity, worshippers held group prayers in public every Christmas. But after the Japanese government took control of Korea in 1910, the new administration began suppressing religious gatherings, and by the 1950s, - after the Korean...
...government took a more nuanced - if short-lived - approach to religion in the following decades. In 1988, South Korea expanded economic ties with its neighbor, bringing in more foreigners on business and exchange trips; the following year Pyongyang hosted the World Festival of Youth and Students, a massive socialist festival that attracted 22,000 people from 177 countries. With an influx of foreigners, the government saw a need to build four state-run churches in Pyongyang in the following years, though critics maintain they're facades to show the world that it supports freedom of religion. "[Foreign missionaries] are allowed...