Tag: Islamic extremism

Protests as Indonesia cracks down on ‘groups that threaten state ideology’

July 17, 2017 Indonesia Aceh, Ahok, Blasphemy, Human rights, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Joko Widodo

An woman in Indonesia's Banda Aceh gets caning in public from an executor known as 'algojo' for spending time with a man who is not her husband, which is against Sharia law on March 20, 2017. Aceh Province is the only place in the Muslim-majority country which implements the strict version of Sharia Law. In a move to stop the rise of radical Islamist groups, the Indonesian government has adopted a law that will make disbanding such groups easier. (Photo: Getty Images)

In a move that has been severely criticised by civil society organisations, Indonesia on 10 July introduced a new law that allows the government to disband certain groups that threaten the state’s secular ideology. The law comes at a time when Indonesia is facing the increasing influence of hardline Islamist . . . Read More

‘Longest seven minutes of my life’: Uzbek beaten up for leading secret church

July 12, 2017 Uzbekistan Communism, Converts, House churches, Islamic extremism, Soviet Union, Uzbekistan

Azamat became a Christian in the early days of Uzbekistan’s independence, soon after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, when, he says, the country “was a much freer place than it is now”. He embraced his new faith, setting up a network of house churches, and finding teachers for . . . Read More

Philippines: Islamist separatists endorse fatwa denouncing extremist violence

July 6, 2017 Philippines Bangsamoro, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Manila, Marawi, Maute, Mindanao, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Quran

The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group has backed a fatwa against violent extremism issued by a senior Islamic religious leader in the troubled southern region of Mindanao. Sheikh Abehuraira Abdulrahman Udasan, mufti of the influential Bangsamoro House of Opinion in Mindanao, issued the Islamic legal ruling “against the entry and . . . Read More

Al-Azhar says Islam ‘totally incompatible’ with violence, as IS shifts focus to Upper Egypt

June 29, 2017 Egypt Al-Azhar, Alexandria, Anba Macarius, Copts, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Minya, Mohamed Morsi, Sinai, Upper Egypt

Scholars at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, the pre-eminent seat of Sunni Islamic learning, have submitted a bill to the Egyptian government, which “aims to reaffirm the total incompatibility between the violence justified by religious arguments and Islamic law”. As World Watch Monitor reported on 21 June, Al-Azhar has distanced itself from . . . Read More

Kidnapped Philippines priest ‘alive’ but Marawi situation ‘dire’

June 27, 2017 Philippines Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Cotabato, Islamic extremism, Marawi, Maute, Pigcawayan, Rodrigo Duterte, Teresito Suganob

The Catholic priest abducted by the Maute terrorist group last month – in the early stages of its ongoing assault on the city of Marawi in the southern Philippines – is believed to be still alive, after his release was reportedly offered in exchange for the parents of the Maute . . . Read More

‘Moderate Muslims talking to jihadists, not interfaith dialogue, is how to tackle terrorism’

June 26, 2017 Egypt Islamic extremism, Terrorism

In an interview exploring how best to tackle terrorism, Egypt’s most senior Anglican said he doubts the effectiveness of interfaith dialogue, reports the Church Times. Dr Mouneer Anis, President-Bishop of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, said “dialogue is wonderful, but usually people who accept to sit and . . . Read More

Sudanese woman who escaped 100 lashes for adultery and death for apostasy, three years on

June 23, 2017 Sudan Apostasy, Europe, Exile, Islamic extremism, Mariam Ibrahim, Sharia, Sudanese Church of Christ

(Full transcript of video at bottom.) Three years ago today, a young Sudanese mother was freed from prison after narrowly escaping being hanged, first having been lashed 100 times for adultery. The delay on carrying out Mariam Ibrahim’s double sentence was due only to the fact that she was heavily . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian accused of blasphemy for saying he believes Jesus was final prophet

June 22, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Gojra, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Quran

A Pakistani bike shop owner has been accused of blasphemy after telling one of his customers that Christians believe Jesus to have been the final prophet. Ashfaq Masih, 28, was arrested following accusations that he had “disrespected” Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. The incident took place in Lahore last Thursday (15 June) . . . Read More

Persecution ‘key driver of displacement’ says UNHCR, voicing concerns about returns

June 20, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Boko Haram, Converts, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Europe, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Middle Belt, Migrants, Nigeria, Refugees, South Sudan, Syria, Uganda, UN

More people are currently displaced through conflict and persecution than at any time since the Second World War. According to the Global Trends report, published by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 65.6 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2016. The report noted that the number of refugee returns . . . Read More

Iraqi senior cleric shown calling for Christians to ‘convert, pay tax or be killed’

June 14, 2017 Iraq Baghdad, Converts, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Jizya

A video showing a call for jihad from a senior Iraqi Shi’ite cleric has caused anger among Iraqi Christians. The undated footage shows Sheikh Alaa Al-Mousawi, head of the Shia Endowment, a government body that looks after Iraq’s Shia holy sites, describing Christians as “infidels”, saying “either they should convert . . . Read More

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