Tag: Islamic extremism

Malaysia’s reputation as moderate Muslim nation hangs by a thread

February 9, 2018 Malaysia Children, Churches, Converts, Donald Trump, Hudud, Islamic extremism, Joshua Hilmy, Kidnapping, Malaysia, Minorities, Najib Razak, PAS, Raymond Koh, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Sharia, UMNO, USA, Wahhabism

Malaysia is seen by most Western countries as one of the moderate Muslim nations, an ally to be cultivated and befriended in the battle against militant Islam. The country’s Prime Minister, Najib Razak, was among one of the leaders to visit US President Donald Trump in his first year of . . . Read More

Europe shows ‘almost sinister’ indifference to persecuted Christianity – bishop

February 8, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Asylum seekers, Austria, Converts, Eastern Europe, Europe, Germany, Hungary, Islamic extremism

A new, aggressive form of atheism has led to a devaluing of religious freedom, a Catholic bishop in Austria has claimed. The Bishop of Linz, Manfred Scheuer, said that this new atheism associates religion with oppression and a lack of liberty, which has led to a selective interpretation of human . . . Read More

Father Tom releases book about 18 months’ captivity in Yemen

February 7, 2018 Yemen Aden, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Ansar al-Sharia, Catholics, Hodeidah, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Kidnapping, Sana'a, Taiz, Tom Uzhunnalil, Yemen

The Indian priest who spent 18 months in captivity in Yemen has released an autobiography. Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, who was freed in September 2017, has titled the book ‘By the Grace of God’. The priest, who is 58, presented his book during a meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of . . . Read More

Egypt Minister: Churches have right to protection ‘Islam guarantees’

February 1, 2018 Egypt Churches, Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Islamic extremism, Pope Tawadros II, Sinai

Entrance to a Coptic Church in Egypt. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Egypt’s Minister of Religious Affairs, Mokhtar Gomaa, has said that churches, as well as mosques, have the legal right to be protected. He said this in response to a controversy involving Sheikh Abdullah Roshdy, who in a TV show said Muslims should not “congratulate non-Muslims on their religious occasions that . . . Read More

Malaysia church attacks highlight growth of Islamic extremism

January 31, 2018 Malaysia Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Kota Bharu, Kuching, Malaysia, Myanmar, Petaling Jaya, Philippines, Sabah, Thailand

Located within easy reach of three active centres of Islamic extremism – Mindanao in the Philippines, Arakan in Myanmar and the southern provinces of Thailand – Malaysia has become a breeding ground for IS recruitment, weapon smuggling and communication, according to the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. . . . Read More

Uganda: Refusal to convert to Islam ends in family tragedy

January 30, 2018 Uganda Islamic extremism, Uganda

A Christian woman has been brutally attacked with a machete by her Muslim husband for refusing to convert to his religion, sources told World Watch Monitor. The attack led to the death of the woman’s one-week-old twins. Regina Navatovu, 35, lived with her husband, Asuman Sekidde, in Bumogolo village in . . . Read More

Iran protests saw people ‘turn their backs on political Islam’

January 25, 2018 Iran Ayatollah Khamenei, Ayatollah Khomeini, Donald Trump, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Iran, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Mashhad, Shia, Syria, USA, Yemen

Ayatollah Khomeini spoke about human rights and religious freedom when he returned to Iran 40 years ago. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Iranians are challenging the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic because corruption and inequality undermine its ideals, a human rights activist has claimed. In an interview with World Watch Monitor, Mansour Borji, Iranian-born advocacy director of UK-based human rights charity Article 18, said the street protests that spread across the country . . . Read More

New IS branch discovered in Nigeria, as UK archbishop calls for end to violence

January 25, 2018 Nigeria Benue, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Justin Welby, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Plateau, Terrorism

A village head inside his destroyed home in one of the villages in Southern Kaduna that were attacked by Fulani herdsmen, in May 2017. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has called for an end to the ongoing violence in Nigeria. His statement comes as a new terrorist network has been discovered in the country – IS in West Africa (ISWA) – which recruits foreigners to act as Fulani herdsmen and attack local communities. . . . Read More

Pakistan student kills school principal in blasphemy row

January 24, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamabad, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Quran, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

Banner protesting against changes to the blasphemy laws, Peshawar 2017 (World Watch Monitor)

A Pakistani student has shot and killed his school principal after they argued over the student missing classes to attend protests over “blasphemous” law changes, reports The Guardian. Police said the unnamed student had attended a sit-in staged by a new ultra-religious party, Tehreek-e-Labaik, to oppose a small change in . . . Read More

Nigerian student arrested after converting from Islam to Christianity

January 16, 2018 Nigeria Converts, ECWA, Islamic extremism, Jama'atu Nasril Islam, Jos, Nasarawa, Nigeria, Plateau

A Nigerian university student who converted from Islam to Christianity has been arrested by state security forces, as has the man who introduced her to Christianity. Nabila Umar Sanda, 19, is a student at Bingham University in Karu, in the central state of Nasarawa, which is owned by one of . . . Read More

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