Global Plus: Knowing your neighbor’s faith is path toward peace and understanding

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IARJ’s Co-Managing Director Larbi Megari—who was also named the IARJ’s representative for North Africa and Middle East in 2018—reports in the Global Plus series about building friendships across religious lines. He especially explores issues of building social trust and civility between Muslims and non-Muslims. And, at the end of his column, Larbi adds a list of links to additional resources that will be valuable for journalists reporting on these issues.

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Journalists from Asia gather for global IARJ conference in Jakarta, Indonesia

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IARJ contributing editor Larbi Megari reports on the opening of the 2017 global conference of the International Association of Religion Journalists (IARJ). Gathering in Jakarta, Indonesia, the IARJ is working toward one of its founding missions: holding annual gatherings on all of the world’s major continents. In Jakarta, participants are discussing the enormous challenges journalists are facing today—and the IARJ is planning for its future outreach.

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Global Plus: Religion and Death

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Across the world, billions of worshippers this weekend will be going to mosques, temples, churches and other places of worship hearing messages declaring that the choices they make in this life can affect their eternal destiny. How each of them, and secular individuals, face the great existential question of the meaning of life in the face of mortality can make a major difference in areas from mental health to preventing terrorism and promoting more generous, compassionate societies less likely to experience civil strife, new research shows.

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IARJ in Africa: Connecting journalists and scholars

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IARJ Co-managing Director Larbi Megari reports on the Africa-wide conference for journalists and scholars recently held in Ghana, including some of the emerging challenges: How to connect more effectively with scholars studying religious trends; how to deal with forces that seem to work against accurate coverage of religious diversity; and the challenge of finding more effective professional networks with colleagues.

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