Tag: Islamic extremism

Archbishop of Canterbury and UK Foreign Office Minister alerted to need of Syrian Christians

July 10, 2013 Aleppo, Armenians, Bashar al-Assad, Damascus, Homs, Islamic extremism, Justin Welby, London, Middle East, Minorities, North Africa, Refugees, Religious freedom, Shia, Sunni, Syria, Syriacs, UK

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the UK Foreign Office Minister responsible for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), have both acknowledged the findings of a report which says that Christians in Syria are increasingly targeted and vulnerable to persecution, amidst the on-going conflict there. Syria: Church on . . . Read More

The Brotherhood is down, but is it out?

July 4, 2013 Egypt Islamic extremism, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood

It’s been a heady week for opponents of Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood has withstood decades of opposition, however.Zeinab Mohamed / Flickr / Creative Commons These are dark days for the Muslim Brotherhood. But it has seen dark days before. For now, it has been shoved aside . . . Read More

Algeria’s Protestants want their churches back

June 27, 2013 Algeria Algeria, Algiers, Arab Spring, Bejaia, Bibles, Churches, Islamic extremism, Kabylie, Mostaganem, Protestant Church of Algeria, Protestants

The Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) has reaffirmed its desire to regain control of several former churches used today for other purposes. Christians are the distinct minority in Algeria, representing less than 1% of Algeria’s 38 million inhabitants, and often face restrictions when seeking to build new churches. The presence . . . Read More

Death penalty fear for Libyans

June 26, 2013 Libya Islamic extremism, Libya

“Why should people have to worry in the new Libya that they could face the death penalty over what someone else sees as disrespectful of religion?” – Human Rights Watch. Ali Tekbali and Fathi Sager, two Libyan National Party officials, may face death over posters made for the 2012 elections, if . . . Read More

Syrian Christians caught in crossfire

June 25, 2013 Syria Bashar al-Assad, Free Syrian Army, Islamic extremism

Syria has been torn apart by a conflict lasting more than two years.flickr.com/freedomhouse Syrian Christians are the victims of disproportionate violence and abuse as sectarian violence continues to engulf Syria, says a new report. Christian women are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse, while Christian men are facing pressure from both . . . Read More

Turkey ‘defined by inflexible religiosity’

June 17, 2013 Turkey Islamic extremism, Middle East, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey

Calling Turkey a home to the “last secularists in the Middle East”, Turkish opposition party MP Şafak Pavey has condemned Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government for failing to reconcile Islam, secularism and democracy because of a government “defined by inflexible religiosity”. (The Guardian)

Egyptian blasphemy case ‘bodes ill’

June 12, 2013 Egypt Blasphemy, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Luxor, Prophet Muhammad

Christian teacher Dimyana Obeid Abd Al-Nour has been fined 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($14,000) for defaming Islam and insulting Prophet Mohammed, which is prohibited in Article 44 of the Egyptian constitution. The 24-year-old will now face compensation claims at a civil court following the conclusion of the criminal trial in Luxor . . . Read More

The rise of Islamic extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus

June 6, 2013 Afghanistan, Arab Spring, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Caucasus, Central Asia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Georgia, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Islamic extremism, Kazakhstan, Muslim Brotherhood, Russia, Soviet Union, Uzbekistan

Islamic extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus will further increase in the next few years, predicts a new report by Anna Münster, a Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House. US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014, and expected regime changes in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan threaten to . . . Read More

‘Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians’

June 5, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Algeria, Arab Spring, Armenia, Asia Bibi, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Central Asia, China, Communism, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Middle East, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Russia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

This is a book designed to show that “Christians are the single most widely persecuted religious group in the world today” (p4). With that aim, three authors well known in the field of religious advocacy give the reader the ultimate global briefing on the causes, patterns and trends in the persecution . . . Read More

Bounty for Boko Haram

June 4, 2013 Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram, Islamic extremism, North Africa, USA, West Africa

The US is offering rewards for the first time for information on Islamist militants in North and West Africa, reports the BBC. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau tops the US Department of State’s list with a bounty of up to $7m. Also wanted are leaders from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic . . . Read More

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