On Friday, US crypto firm Harmony claimed that hackers stole&nbsp;digital coins worth close to $100 million from one of their key products, reported Reuters. Hackers have targeted the crypto sector for a long time, and this is an addition to the string of cyber heists in the recent past.

The crypto firm builds blockchains for what is referred to as decentralised finance - peer-to-peer sites offering services such as loans without the traditional gatekeepers such as banks and non-fungible tokens.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/crypto-crash-bitcoin-last-down-74-at-18915-489531">Crypto crash: Bitcoin last down 7.4 per cent at $18,915</a>

In a statement, Harmony claimed that it had a global team working tirelessly to address the issue.

Harmony added that the heist hit their Horizon "bridge," which is a tool for transferring crypto between different blockchains. It is also essentially the underlying software that is also used by other digital tokens like bitcoin and ether.

Blockchain bridges are being increasingly targeted, and several crypto firms are experiencing such forms of theft.

According to London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, over $1 billion has been stolen from bridges since the beginning of 2022.

Watch |&nbsp;Why is the crypto market crashing?

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/why-is-the-crypto-market-crashing-488907/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"Working with national authorities and forensic specialists to identify the culprit and retrieve the stolen funds," Harmony tweeted without any additional details.

A spokesperson from Harmony added that "We are currently narrowing down the potential attack vectors while working to identify the culprit."&nbsp;

The person also claimed that the company had already tried to contact the hacker through a transaction to their crypto wallet address.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/crypto-industry-fears-contagion-as-bitcoin-slips-under-20000-490041">Crypto industry fears contagion as bitcoin slips under $20,000</a>

According to Elliptic, which tracks publicly visible blockchain data, the hackers had stolen multiple different cryptocurrencies from Harmony, which includes ether, Tether, and USD Coin, which was later swapped for ether using the seemingly decentralised exchanges.

Hackers have stolen nearly $615 million worth of cryptocurrency in March alone from Ronin Bridge which is used to transfer crypto in and out of the game Axie Infinity. The theft is being linked to North Korean hackers.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

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You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

On Friday, US crypto firm Harmony claimed that hackers stole digital coins worth close to $100 million from one of their key products, reported Reuters. Hackers have targeted the crypto sector for a long time, and this is an addition to the string of cyber heists in the recent past.

On Friday, US crypto firm Harmony claimed that hackers stole digital coins worth close to $100 million from one of their key products, reported Reuters. Hackers have targeted the crypto sector for a long time, and this is an addition to the string of cyber heists in the recent past. The crypto firm builds blockchains for what is referred to as decentralised finance - peer-to-peer sites offering services such as loans without the traditional gatekeepers such as banks and non-fungible tokens. Also read | Crypto crash: Bitcoin last down 7.4 per cent at $18,915 In a statement, Harmony claimed that it had a global team working tirelessly to address the issue. Harmony added that the heist hit their Horizon "bridge," which is a tool for transferring crypto between different blockchains. It is also essentially the underlying software that is also used by other digital tokens like bitcoin and ether. Blockchain bridges are being increasingly targeted, and several crypto firms are experiencing such forms of theft. According to London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, over $1 billion has been stolen from bridges since the beginning of 2022. Watch | Why is the crypto market crashing? "Working with national authorities and forensic specialists to identify the culprit and retrieve the stolen funds," Harmony tweeted without any additional details. A spokesperson from Harmony added that "We are currently narrowing down the potential attack vectors while working to identify the culprit." The person also claimed that the company had already tried to contact the hacker through a transaction to their crypto wallet address. Also read | Crypto industry fears contagion as bitcoin slips under $20,000 According to Elliptic, which tracks publicly visible blockchain data, the hackers had stolen multiple different cryptocurrencies from Harmony, which includes ether, Tether, and USD Coin, which was later swapped for ether using the seemingly decentralised exchanges. Hackers have stolen nearly $615 million worth of cryptocurrency in March alone from Ronin Bridge which is used to transfer crypto in and out of the game Axie Infinity. The theft is being linked to North Korean hackers. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Hackers steal $100 million worth digital coins from US crypto firm Harmony

Josh Groban is wishing for some 'Harmony'&nbsp;as he releases a new album with that title during a virtual concert tour that lacks the usual live action and applause.

“Not just because of the obvious musical connotations, but just because of the effort that needed to come as far as just bringing some order to the chaos,” said the 39-year-old singer-songwriter.

Groban, who has battled depression, said the pandemic led him to be more proactive in dealing with his mental health.

“It’s the hardest album process I’ve ever had in my career... So, it was a word that represented everything that had to go into it.”

The album, due out on Friday, features covers of classics including 'Impossible Dream,'&nbsp;'Angels'&nbsp;and 'I Can’t Make You Love Me.'&nbsp;It also has original duets with Leslie Odom Jr., Sara Bareilles and gospel star Kirk Franklin.

As his live concerts were canceled due to COVID-19, Groban reluctantly decided to livestream three concerts.

“I was skeptical. I knew that there’d be no applause,” said Groban, who shot to fame in 1998 standing in for tenor Andrea Bocelli in a rehearsal with Celine Dion for the Grammy Awards.

“It was going to be singing in a very isolated kind of void. And so, I said, OK, well, sure, I know this is what we have to do, but will I enjoy it?”

In October, the first concert - a salute to Broadway -revealed a silver lining.

“You have these thousands of little boxes in 85 countries, all sharing an hour and a half where we’re able to get out of ourselves for a minute and escape,” he said.

A Thanksgiving show is next, followed by a holiday show on Dec. 19.

Josh Groban is wishing for some 'Harmony' as he releases a new album with that title during a virtual concert tour that lacks the usual live action and applause.

Josh Groban is wishing for some 'Harmony' as he releases a new album with that title during a virtual concert tour that lacks the usual live action and applause. “Not just because of the obvious musical connotations, but just because of the effort that needed to come as far as just bringing some order to the chaos,” said the 39-year-old singer-songwriter. Groban, who has battled depression, said the pandemic led him to be more proactive in dealing with his mental health. “It’s the hardest album process I’ve ever had in my career... So, it was a word that represented everything that had to go into it.” The album, due out on Friday, features covers of classics including 'Impossible Dream,' 'Angels' and 'I Can’t Make You Love Me.' It also has original duets with Leslie Odom Jr., Sara Bareilles and gospel star Kirk Franklin. As his live concerts were canceled due to COVID-19, Groban reluctantly decided to livestream three concerts. “I was skeptical. I knew that there’d be no applause,” said Groban, who shot to fame in 1998 standing in for tenor Andrea Bocelli in a rehearsal with Celine Dion for the Grammy Awards. “It was going to be singing in a very isolated kind of void. And so, I said, OK, well, sure, I know this is what we have to do, but will I enjoy it?” In October, the first concert - a salute to Broadway -revealed a silver lining. “You have these thousands of little boxes in 85 countries, all sharing an hour and a half where we’re able to get out of ourselves for a minute and escape,” he said. A Thanksgiving show is next, followed by a holiday show on Dec. 19.

Josh Groban seeking 'Harmony' through new album

Take a lead in ensuring peace, unity and harmony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told BJP Parliamentarians and asserted 'development is our mantra'.

The Prime Minister told party MPs that we are here for the national interest. He said the country is supreme and national interest is above all. He said development is our mantra. Prime Minister Modi said that peace, unity, and harmony are prerequisites of development.

He urged MPs that they should take lead in ensuring peace, unity, and harmony," Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pralhad Joshi told reporters quoting Modi who had spoken at the BJP`s Parliamentary party meet on Tuesday.

Also read:<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pm-modi-news-its-a-chance-for-women-to-take-over-pm-narendra-modis-social-media-accounts-283916">&nbsp;It's a chance for women to take over PM Narendra Modi's social media accounts</a>

The comments of the Prime Minister assume significance as they came days after the violence in North-East Delhi which has claimed 47 lives.

The Prime Minister also attacked the opposition stating that "even today some parties are putting their interest above the national interest".

The Prime Minister said that "the national interest and party interest also came in the freedom struggle. Even today some parties are putting their party interest above the national interest. But BJP people should consider national interest at the top," Joshi said quoting Modi.

Also see:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/thinking-of-giving-up-my-social-media-accounts-tweets-pm-modi-nosir-says-twitter-283824">Thinking of giving up my social media accounts, tweets PM Modi; #NoSir says Twitter</a>

Joshi quoted the Prime Minister as saying that "while during the independence struggle an issue was created over Vande Mataram, similar attempts are being made against Bharat Mata ki Jai".

"The Prime Minister said that the national interest is supreme and `Bharati Mata ki Jai` should be our slogan," Joshi said. Asked about notices given to Congress MPs, Joshi said: "Our MPs have written to the Speaker about their (Congress) MPs behaviour. No decision has been taken regarding this."Congress MP Ramya Haridas had lodged a complaint with the Lok Sabha Speaker alleging physical assault on her by BJP member Jaskaur Meena.

The Minister also stated that there was no discussion on Prime Minister`s tweet through which the PM said that he may be giving up his social media accounts on coming Sunday. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to hold an interaction, via video conferencing, with beneficiaries of Jana Aushadi centres on March 7.

Take a lead in ensuring peace, unity and harmony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told BJP Parliamentarians and asserted 'development is our mantra'. The Prime Minister told party MPs that we are here for the national interest.

Take a lead in ensuring peace, unity and harmony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told BJP Parliamentarians and asserted 'development is our mantra'. The Prime Minister told party MPs that we are here for the national interest. He said the country is supreme and national interest is above all. He said development is our mantra. Prime Minister Modi said that peace, unity, and harmony are prerequisites of development. He urged MPs that they should take lead in ensuring peace, unity, and harmony," Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pralhad Joshi told reporters quoting Modi who had spoken at the BJP`s Parliamentary party meet on Tuesday. Also read: It's a chance for women to take over PM Narendra Modi's social media accounts The comments of the Prime Minister assume significance as they came days after the violence in North-East Delhi which has claimed 47 lives. The Prime Minister also attacked the opposition stating that "even today some parties are putting their interest above the national interest". The Prime Minister said that "the national interest and party interest also came in the freedom struggle. Even today some parties are putting their party interest above the national interest. But BJP people should consider national interest at the top," Joshi said quoting Modi. Also see: Thinking of giving up my social media accounts, tweets PM Modi; #NoSir says Twitter Joshi quoted the Prime Minister as saying that "while during the independence struggle an issue was created over Vande Mataram, similar attempts are being made against Bharat Mata ki Jai". "The Prime Minister said that the national interest is supreme and `Bharati Mata ki Jai` should be our slogan," Joshi said. Asked about notices given to Congress MPs, Joshi said: "Our MPs have written to the Speaker about their (Congress) MPs behaviour. No decision has been taken regarding this."Congress MP Ramya Haridas had lodged a complaint with the Lok Sabha Speaker alleging physical assault on her by BJP member Jaskaur Meena. The Minister also stated that there was no discussion on Prime Minister`s tweet through which the PM said that he may be giving up his social media accounts on coming Sunday. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to hold an interaction, via video conferencing, with beneficiaries of Jana Aushadi centres on March 7.

Development is our mantra, take lead in ensuring peace, unity and harmony: PM Modi tells BJP MPs

BSP supremo <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/mayawati-holds-the-key-to-2019-194234">Mayawati</a> on Wednesday extended greetings on New Year and said that peace and harmony should be maintained in the country.

"Some parties who are playing politics for their personal gains should not forget that India is a secular country and we should respect all religions. Peace and harmony should be maintained in the country," Mayawati said.

Mayawati further stated that 2019 was mostly divisive and one that weakened the principles of the Constitution because of BJP`s and its government`s "communal and narrow-minded thinking", She said that we should respect all religions.

BSP supremo Mayawati on Wednesday extended greetings on New Year and said that peace and harmony should be maintained in the country. "Some parties who are playing politics for their personal gains should not forget that India is a secular country and we should respect all religions.

BSP supremo Mayawati on Wednesday extended greetings on New Year and said that peace and harmony should be maintained in the country. "Some parties who are playing politics for their personal gains should not forget that India is a secular country and we should respect all religions. Peace and harmony should be maintained in the country," Mayawati said. Mayawati further stated that 2019 was mostly divisive and one that weakened the principles of the Constitution because of BJP`s and its government`s "communal and narrow-minded thinking", She said that we should respect all religions.

Respect all religions: Mayawati extends New Year greeting

This is a tough time for men and women, at least those whose message is one of peace, tolerance, mutual respect, equality and inter-faith dialogue.

Underlying the rise of populism, nationalism, protectionism, fear of the other, anti-migrant and anti-foreigner sentiment, and hate speech is an erosion of the norms of debate. Articulation of hate speech has become permissible, if not fashionable. Often blunt and crude language employed by leaders, politicians and some people of the cloth help shape an environment in which civility has been lost.

Intolerant, racist and supremacist have risen in significance even in democratic societies that project themselves as open, tolerant guarantors of equal rights irrespective of nationality, ethnicity, religion, colour or sexuality. Suppressing those voices through laws and bans drives hate speech and racism underground, it doesn’t erase or eradicate it. Countering it with a message of tolerance and mutual respect won’t erase it either but can help shape an environment in which those principles become dominant again.

Let’s face it, prejudice is a fact of life. Its inbred in whatever culture each of us adheres to and whatever education at home and in schools that we have enjoyed, irrespective of how conservative or liberal our family and societal backgrounds are. We all were raised on implicit or more explicit notions that our culture is best or by implication other cultures are not as good.

In other words, prejudice is not the issue, its how we deal with it, how we manage it. The problem arises when we lose our sense of relativity when we adopt an absolutist approach, the high way or no way. It arises when pluralism is thrown out the window and we abandon the notion that our world is populated by a multitude of equally valid faiths, worldviews and belief systems.

To quote Mahatma Gandhi, a deeply religious Hindu, who said in 1942: “I believe with my soul that the God of the Qur’an is also the God of Gita and that we are all, no matter by what name designated, children of the same God. My whole soul rebels against the idea that Hinduism and Islam represent two antagonistic cultures… To ascent to such a doctrine is for me a denial of God.”

In the battles in the late 1940s and 1950s over a proposed national ban in India on the slaughter of cows, Gandhi declared himself a worshipper of cows whom he regarded with the same veneration as he viewed his mother. Yet, Gandhi, went on to say that “The Hindu religion prohibits cow slaughter for the Hindus, not for the world. The religious prohibition comes from within. Any imposition from without means compulsion. Such compulsion is repugnant to religion.”

On a visit in 1942 to a German camp populated by Indian prisoners of war captured from the British during fighting in North Africa, Subhas Chandra Bose, a deeply religious leader of the Indian independence movement, reportedly warned inmates that “If you use religion to unite yourself today, you leave the door open for someone to divide you later using the same sentiments.”

Recent history validates Bose’s warning, not only in India and Pakistan, but across the globe expressed in Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Shiism, just to name a few, as well as in conflicts, wars and brutal repression in places like Syria, Yemen and the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang.

Many of you represent faiths with multiple sects, legal schools and interpretations – proof that your belief system in the narrow context of that system is open to multiple interpretations. Some of those interpretations may be intolerant, anti-pluralistic, supremacist. They too are a fact of life, like it or not. Countering them depends on the social environment one creates a sphere within which men and women of the cloth have an important role to play as well. It is also a function of the social and economic policies implemented by governments.

Indeed, the key is not suppression, what is suppressed doesn’t go away, at best it goes into hibernation, only to re-emerge at some point in the future. The key is containment, communities and societies that make discriminatory, racist, supremacist expressions socially taboo. That key is not enforced by force of law but by social custom and an environment in which those expressions are continuously challenged in public debate, social settings and individual encounters. I am not talking about political correctness that stifles debate.

Leaving aside those whose beliefs are absolute and intolerant of any other view, a majority of people gravitate towards the middle. It’s what some call moral shock or what former trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb dubbed black swans coupled with economic, social and societal uncertainty and political manipulation that drives people towards more literal, absolutist, intolerant beliefs.

It is those circumstances in which normally tolerant communities and societies become more amenable to those beliefs. It’s what allows men like Slobodan Milosevic or Bashar al-Assad to turn societies where inter-communal relations and inter-marriage were the norms into wastelands in which one community tries to exterminate the other.

Think of Bosnia Herzegovina in the 1990s that seemingly transformed overnight from a beacon of harmony into a hell or the tensions in multiple countries ranging from Bahrain to Nigeria or the tenth parallel that journalist Elizabeth Rush aptly described as the fault line cutting across Africa and Asia between more strident forms of Islam and Christianity.

The last two decades have witnessed a renewed hardening of fault lines, not just ones between strands of Islam and Christianity, but across the board. This latest round started in 2001 with the moral shock of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington and subsequent attacks across Europe as well as in Asia and Africa that continue until today. 9/11 was the death knell of multi-culturalism and the cradle of the latest wave of Islamophobia and rising anti-Semitism.

The economic financial crisis of 2008/2009 with its decimating effect on the lower and middle classes, the flourishing of jihadism, the impact of heinous attacks close to home and the fear, a human being’s most irrational emotion, that generated the breeding ground for populism, nationalism, protectionism and the return to primordial, absolutist beliefs propagated by multiple sources, including men and women of the cloth.

To be sure, the groundwork for this pre-date 9/11, fuelled by some strands of Christianity, massive Saudi funding across the globe of ultra-conservative strains of Islam, and the use of religious intolerance by leaders and governments because it served a political purpose.

Pakistan illustrates what this can produce. The tolerant and live-let-live types live in a bubble, primarily in Pakistan’s three foremost cities, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The gravity of society has shifted toward intolerance, anti-pluralism and supremacism. Ultra-conservatism has been woven into the texture of segments of society and the culture of some institutions of the state. It is a world in which absolute truth rules supreme, discrimination based on an absolute truth is anchored into law, competence is determined not exclusively on the basis of merit but on what faith one adheres to, democratic freedoms are curtailed. Mob lynching becomes acceptable, violence against minorities the norm, and anti-blasphemy the tool.

It’s a trend that is not unique to Pakistan and not unique to the Muslim world. It is a trend that is nurtured by the rise of populism, nationalism, authoritarianism and autocracy visible across Western societies, the Muslim world and Israel, in other words, irrespective of cultural-religious roots.

In most, if not all of these countries, significant segments of the population have no real stake in society. Intolerance, anti-pluralism, racism and supremacism fuel the perception of disenfranchisement and marginalization that often produces a sense of not having anything to lose. It is some combination of religious ultra-conservatism, exclusivist ethnic and nationalist sentiment, and lack of a stake that creates breeding grounds for militancy and extremism.

While Singapore regulates hate speech or expressions it believes would undermine harmony, it has been successful in ensuring that all segments of the population have a stake in society – perhaps the most important factor in combatting discrimination, racism and supremacism as well as militancy and extremism.

Singapore demonstrates messages of tolerance and inter-ethnic and inter-faith harmony can and will be heard in a political and social environment that fosters mutual respect and dialogue.

There is, however, one caveat. Peace and harmony in society require peace and harmony at home. The divisions and animosity between different religions and ethnicities at large are reflected in divisions and animosity within faith groups.

Tolerance, mutual respect and dialogue start in one’s own community and its message is as credible as one practices it without exception. That probably requires a redefinition of the concept of absolute truth. That’s a tough order, but no one claims that ensuring that a peaceful and harmonious existence and future would be easy. It also is a litmus test of one’s sincerity. 
 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

This is a tough time for men and women, at least those whose message is one of peace, tolerance, mutual respect, equality and inter-faith dialogue. Underlying the rise of populism, nationalism, protectionism, fear of the other, anti-migrant and anti-foreigner sentiment, and hate speech is an erosion of the norms of debate.

This is a tough time for men and women, at least those whose message is one of peace, tolerance, mutual respect, equality and inter-faith dialogue. Underlying the rise of populism, nationalism, protectionism, fear of the other, anti-migrant and anti-foreigner sentiment, and hate speech is an erosion of the norms of debate. Articulation of hate speech has become permissible, if not fashionable. Often blunt and crude language employed by leaders, politicians and some people of the cloth help shape an environment in which civility has been lost. Intolerant, racist and supremacist have risen in significance even in democratic societies that project themselves as open, tolerant guarantors of equal rights irrespective of nationality, ethnicity, religion, colour or sexuality. Suppressing those voices through laws and bans drives hate speech and racism underground, it doesn’t erase or eradicate it. Countering it with a message of tolerance and mutual respect won’t erase it either but can help shape an environment in which those principles become dominant again. Let’s face it, prejudice is a fact of life. Its inbred in whatever culture each of us adheres to and whatever education at home and in schools that we have enjoyed, irrespective of how conservative or liberal our family and societal backgrounds are. We all were raised on implicit or more explicit notions that our culture is best or by implication other cultures are not as good. In other words, prejudice is not the issue, its how we deal with it, how we manage it. The problem arises when we lose our sense of relativity when we adopt an absolutist approach, the high way or no way. It arises when pluralism is thrown out the window and we abandon the notion that our world is populated by a multitude of equally valid faiths, worldviews and belief systems. To quote Mahatma Gandhi, a deeply religious Hindu, who said in 1942: “I believe with my soul that the God of the Qur’an is also the God of Gita and that we are all, no matter by what name designated, children of the same God. My whole soul rebels against the idea that Hinduism and Islam represent two antagonistic cultures… To ascent to such a doctrine is for me a denial of God.” In the battles in the late 1940s and 1950s over a proposed national ban in India on the slaughter of cows, Gandhi declared himself a worshipper of cows whom he regarded with the same veneration as he viewed his mother. Yet, Gandhi, went on to say that “The Hindu religion prohibits cow slaughter for the Hindus, not for the world. The religious prohibition comes from within. Any imposition from without means compulsion. Such compulsion is repugnant to religion.” On a visit in 1942 to a German camp populated by Indian prisoners of war captured from the British during fighting in North Africa, Subhas Chandra Bose, a deeply religious leader of the Indian independence movement, reportedly warned inmates that “If you use religion to unite yourself today, you leave the door open for someone to divide you later using the same sentiments.” Recent history validates Bose’s warning, not only in India and Pakistan, but across the globe expressed in Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Shiism, just to name a few, as well as in conflicts, wars and brutal repression in places like Syria, Yemen and the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang. Many of you represent faiths with multiple sects, legal schools and interpretations – proof that your belief system in the narrow context of that system is open to multiple interpretations. Some of those interpretations may be intolerant, anti-pluralistic, supremacist. They too are a fact of life, like it or not. Countering them depends on the social environment one creates a sphere within which men and women of the cloth have an important role to play as well. It is also a function of the social and economic policies implemented by governments. Indeed, the key is not suppression, what is suppressed doesn’t go away, at best it goes into hibernation, only to re-emerge at some point in the future. The key is containment, communities and societies that make discriminatory, racist, supremacist expressions socially taboo. That key is not enforced by force of law but by social custom and an environment in which those expressions are continuously challenged in public debate, social settings and individual encounters. I am not talking about political correctness that stifles debate. Leaving aside those whose beliefs are absolute and intolerant of any other view, a majority of people gravitate towards the middle. It’s what some call moral shock or what former trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb dubbed black swans coupled with economic, social and societal uncertainty and political manipulation that drives people towards more literal, absolutist, intolerant beliefs. It is those circumstances in which normally tolerant communities and societies become more amenable to those beliefs. It’s what allows men like Slobodan Milosevic or Bashar al-Assad to turn societies where inter-communal relations and inter-marriage were the norms into wastelands in which one community tries to exterminate the other. Think of Bosnia Herzegovina in the 1990s that seemingly transformed overnight from a beacon of harmony into a hell or the tensions in multiple countries ranging from Bahrain to Nigeria or the tenth parallel that journalist Elizabeth Rush aptly described as the fault line cutting across Africa and Asia between more strident forms of Islam and Christianity. The last two decades have witnessed a renewed hardening of fault lines, not just ones between strands of Islam and Christianity, but across the board. This latest round started in 2001 with the moral shock of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington and subsequent attacks across Europe as well as in Asia and Africa that continue until today. 9/11 was the death knell of multi-culturalism and the cradle of the latest wave of Islamophobia and rising anti-Semitism. The economic financial crisis of 2008/2009 with its decimating effect on the lower and middle classes, the flourishing of jihadism, the impact of heinous attacks close to home and the fear, a human being’s most irrational emotion, that generated the breeding ground for populism, nationalism, protectionism and the return to primordial, absolutist beliefs propagated by multiple sources, including men and women of the cloth. To be sure, the groundwork for this pre-date 9/11, fuelled by some strands of Christianity, massive Saudi funding across the globe of ultra-conservative strains of Islam, and the use of religious intolerance by leaders and governments because it served a political purpose. Pakistan illustrates what this can produce. The tolerant and live-let-live types live in a bubble, primarily in Pakistan’s three foremost cities, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The gravity of society has shifted toward intolerance, anti-pluralism and supremacism. Ultra-conservatism has been woven into the texture of segments of society and the culture of some institutions of the state. It is a world in which absolute truth rules supreme, discrimination based on an absolute truth is anchored into law, competence is determined not exclusively on the basis of merit but on what faith one adheres to, democratic freedoms are curtailed. Mob lynching becomes acceptable, violence against minorities the norm, and anti-blasphemy the tool. It’s a trend that is not unique to Pakistan and not unique to the Muslim world. It is a trend that is nurtured by the rise of populism, nationalism, authoritarianism and autocracy visible across Western societies, the Muslim world and Israel, in other words, irrespective of cultural-religious roots. In most, if not all of these countries, significant segments of the population have no real stake in society. Intolerance, anti-pluralism, racism and supremacism fuel the perception of disenfranchisement and marginalization that often produces a sense of not having anything to lose. It is some combination of religious ultra-conservatism, exclusivist ethnic and nationalist sentiment, and lack of a stake that creates breeding grounds for militancy and extremism. While Singapore regulates hate speech or expressions it believes would undermine harmony, it has been successful in ensuring that all segments of the population have a stake in society – perhaps the most important factor in combatting discrimination, racism and supremacism as well as militancy and extremism. Singapore demonstrates messages of tolerance and inter-ethnic and inter-faith harmony can and will be heard in a political and social environment that fosters mutual respect and dialogue. There is, however, one caveat. Peace and harmony in society require peace and harmony at home. The divisions and animosity between different religions and ethnicities at large are reflected in divisions and animosity within faith groups. Tolerance, mutual respect and dialogue start in one’s own community and its message is as credible as one practices it without exception. That probably requires a redefinition of the concept of absolute truth. That’s a tough order, but no one claims that ensuring that a peaceful and harmonious existence and future would be easy. It also is a litmus test of one’s sincerity. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Achieving religious harmony in a world of fear and populism

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said that Myanmar should learn how to keep communal harmony unharmed from Bangladesh.

While addressing a meeting with Buddhist religious leaders and distinguished persons of the community on the occasion of the Buddha Purnima, she said a person belonging to any religion should get all the rights on the soil they are born.

Hasina said, "That person's rights must be preserved, and that person needs to get all sorts of facilities from the government," as quoted by Dhaka Tribune.

She also talked about how Bangladesh has sheltered Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds and is ensuring their security. She also said Bangladesh did not engage in any conflict with Myanmar over the issue and is continuing its efforts to resolve the problem through dialogue.

She concluded by saying that no religion supports inter-religious violence and anarchy. The creation of a non-violent environment was the main teaching of Lord Buddha.

Hasina said, 'That person's rights must be preserved, and that person needs to get all sorts of facilities from the government'

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said that Myanmar should learn how to keep communal harmony unharmed from Bangladesh. While addressing a meeting with Buddhist religious leaders and distinguished persons of the community on the occasion of the Buddha Purnima, she said a person belonging to any religion should get all the rights on the soil they are born. Hasina said, "That person's rights must be preserved, and that person needs to get all sorts of facilities from the government," as quoted by Dhaka Tribune. She also talked about how Bangladesh has sheltered Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds and is ensuring their security. She also said Bangladesh did not engage in any conflict with Myanmar over the issue and is continuing its efforts to resolve the problem through dialogue. She concluded by saying that no religion supports inter-religious violence and anarchy. The creation of a non-violent environment was the main teaching of Lord Buddha.

PM Hasina: Myanmar needs to learn communal harmony from Bangladesh

harmony

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