Tag: Islamic extremism

Malaysian Federal Court refuses four people their right to affirm Christian identity

February 27, 2018 Malaysia Apostasy, Converts, Divorce, Hudud, Islamic extremism, Kuching, Malaysia, Marriage, Religious freedom, Sarawak, Sharia

The Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, Malaysia. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Malaysia’s highest court dismissed an appeal today (27 February) against four appellants who wanted to be formally recognised as Christians. The five judges of the Malaysian Federal Court ruled that in matters of conversion away from Islam, it was necessary for them to consult the Islamic Sharia courts. The president . . . Read More

Saudi Arabia is modernising, but will this mean greater freedom for religious minorities?

February 23, 2018 Saudi Arabia Apostasy, Bibles, Churches, House churches, Houthis, Iran, Islamic extremism, King Salman, Minorities, Mohammad bin Salman, Muttawah, Religious freedom, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, Syria, Wahhabism, Yemen

The political landscape in the strict Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is changing, and quickly. A charismatic crown prince seems determined to modernise his country and even speaks of a shift towards a more “moderate” Islam. But will the changes taking place in Saudi also ease the situation for members . . . Read More

Fears of ‘another Chibok’ after Boko Haram school attack

February 22, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Borno, Chibok girls, Dapchi, Islamic extremism, Kidnapping, Leah Sharibu, Nigeria, Yobe

Some of the 21 girls who were released in October 2016. (Photo: Open Doors International)

Fears are growing that the girls still missing after Boko Haram attacked a boarding school in Nigeria’s north-eastern state of Yobe on Monday night (19 February) have been taken by the militant group. The attack comes almost four years after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, . . . Read More

Kenya: engaged couple killed, together with fellow primary school teacher, by suspected Al-Shabaab attackers

February 21, 2018 Kenya Al-Shabaab, Boni, Catholics, East Africa, Education, Garissa, Islamic extremism, Kenya, Lamu, Mandera, Nairobi, Somalia, Wajir

After the coldblooded murder of three Christian teachers – including a couple soon to be married – in north-eastern Kenya by suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen, fear is growing that the Islamist militant group is targeting education, and its proponents, in the predominantly Muslim region. Seth Oluoch Odada and Kevin Shari were . . . Read More

Imam calls for radical reforms to end extremism and safeguard Eastern Christians

February 21, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, Ansar al-Sharia, Ansar Dine, Boko Haram, France, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Paris, Yazidis

Sexual slavery practised by Islamic State (IS) jihadists is condoned in literature that is available at Islamic institutions and should be burnt, a leading imam in France has said. Hocine Drouiche, vice president of the Conference of Imams of France and an imam in Nimes, said that the ideology behind the . . . Read More

Iraq archbishop invites Muslim nations to rebuild Christian villages destroyed by IS

February 20, 2018 Iraq Bashar Warda, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State

The Archbishop of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan has called for Muslim nations to help rebuild the Christian and Yazidi villages destroyed by Islamic State (IS). Archbishop Bashar Warda said: “It is not enough to say ‘ISIS does not represent Islam’. We need more.” Helping to rebuild what IS destroyed would . . . Read More

Russia: ‘Extremist’ identified after five women killed in Dagestan church attack

February 19, 2018 Russia Caucasus, Central Asia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Islamic extremism, Patriarch Kirill, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Sufi, Women

Authorities in one of the least stable parts of Russia have identified the suspected gunman who killed five women at a church yesterday (18 February) before being shot dead by security forces. The mayoral office in Kizlyar, in the restive and ethnically diverse region of Dagestan, named the assailant as . . . Read More

Asia Bibi central to trade deals, EU tells Pakistan

February 16, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Balochistan, Blasphemy, Education, Europe, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Punjab, Rawalpindi, Sweepers

The EU’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Jan Figeľ, told Pakistani officials during a recent visit that the renewal of their export privileges to Europe depends on the release of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman on death row for blasphemy since 2010. “The EU countries have started . . . Read More

Indonesia church attacker acted alone, police say

February 15, 2018 Indonesia Ahok, Bogor, Churches, GKI Yasmin, Human rights, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Java, Joko Widodo, Nahdlatul Ulama, Protestants, Religious freedom, Sulawesi, Yogyakarta

Altar of the Stasi Kinali Catholic Church, West-Sumatra, Indonesia, which was attacked in May 2014. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The man accused of injuring four people in an attack on an Indonesian church on Sunday morning (11 February) acted alone and obtained the weapon – a one-metre-long sword – in exchange for his mobile phone, police say. The suspect, a 23-year-old student identified as Suliyono from Bayuwangi in East . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian says daughter, 12, abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry

February 13, 2018 Pakistan Children, Islamabad, Islamic extremism, Marriage, Pakistan

A 12-year-old Pakistani Christian girl, who disappeared in November, was abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry her abductor, according to her father. Elisha, daughter of Iqbal Masih, appeared in the High Court in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, on Thursday 8 February, where she introduced herself by a new Muslim . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye