Tag: Islamic extremism

Malaysia ‘Allah’ verdict next month

September 11, 2013 Malaysia 'Allah', Bibles, Islamic extremism, Malaysia

The verdict on the Malaysian government’s appeal against the High Court’s ruling in December 2009, which upheld the right of other faiths to use ‘Allah’ (eg. for ‘God’ in a Malay language Bible) will be given next month. The 2009 ruling triggered fire-bombings and vandalism targeted at churches and Christian-run . . . Read More

Afghan MP wants converts executed

September 9, 2013 Afghanistan Afghanistan, Apostasy, Converts, Islamic extremism, Quran, Sharia

An Afghan MP has said that any Afghan who converts to Christianity should be executed, reports Mohabat News. MP Nazir Ahmad Hanafi said many Afghans have left the country to convert, with a particularly high number fleeing to India. “Afghan citizens continue to convert to Christianity in India,” he said. . . . Read More

Islamist takeover in Dalga

September 7, 2013 Egypt Egypt, Islamic extremism

It’s been several weeks since the 14 August eruption of violence against Egypt’s churches, and now in-depth news accounts of the attacks and their aftermath are beginning to emerge from the mainstream media. The latest example is an absorbing report by Hamza Hendawi for the Associated Press, showing how Islamists in . . . Read More

Christian village ‘overrun’ in Syria

September 6, 2013 Syria Al-Qaeda, Islamic extremism, Maaloula, Syria

Clashes between Syrian government troops and rebel forces threatened to overrun a Christian village north of Damascus this week, reports the Associated Press. Opposition fighters are reported to have been led by an al-Qaeda-linked rebel faction, which attacked Maaloula on September 4, before pulling out the next day. AP reports . . . Read More

Maldives elections unlikely to improve religious freedom

September 6, 2013 Maldives Abdulla Yameen, Elections, Islamic extremism, Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, Quran, Religious freedom

Known for its golden sands and crystal waters, the Maldives is perhaps not the first country that springs to mind when one considers locations lacking in religious freedom. However, for more than 10 years the island chain in the Indian Ocean, south-west of Sri Lanka, has been in the top . . . Read More

Report: Nigeria violence is sectarian

August 20, 2013 Nigeria Boko Haram, Islamic extremism, Nigeria, Religious freedom

Boko Haram is the foremost perpetrator of religiously motivated violence in Nigeria, claims a new report issued by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The report, issued Aug. 19 as an update to a July 2012 report, documents dozens of Boko Haram attacks on churches and individual Christians since . . . Read More

Religious animosity grows in Egypt

August 13, 2013 Egypt Egypt, Islamic extremism, Mohamed Morsi

Mainstream media have picked up on the religious dimension of sectarian clashes in Egypt. The Associated Press on Aug. 8 took a broad look at the issue, which included this chilling quote from an Assiut shopkeeper: “[Islamists] run their index finger across their throats to suggest they will slaughter us, . . . Read More

Tawadros cancels appearances

August 9, 2013 Egypt Bishop Angaelos, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Mohamed Morsi, Pope Tawadros II

The leader of the Coptic Church in Egypt, Pope Tawadros II, has cancelled a number of weekly meetings due to fears of Islamist attacks, the BBC reports. It says the cancelled meetings are thought to have been Bible lectures in St. Mark’s Cathedral. Bishop Angaelos, leader of the UK’s Coptics, . . . Read More

Algerians stage picnics in protest against ‘forced’ fasting

August 6, 2013 Algeria Algeria, Bejaia, Islamic extremism, Kabylie, Ramadan

A march of protest followed the the picnic in Aokas, near Béjaïa. The sign translates: ‘Stop Salafists and Wahabites’, two Islamist groups.World Watch Monitor Around 200 people ate together at a public lunch in the city of Tizi Ouzou on Saturday (Aug 3) to protest against the “persecution of . . . Read More

Christian jailed for text messages in Gojra, Pakistan

July 26, 2013 Pakistan Blasphemy, Gojra, Islamic extremism, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Lashkar-e-Taiba

Tensions are high in the Punjabi city of Gojra after a court sentenced a Christian man, Sajjad Masih, to life imprisonment for blasphemy, only weeks before the fourth anniversary of an outbreak of extreme violence against Christians in the same city. In August 2009, seven Christians from the same family . . . Read More

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