Whilst the conflict in the Middle East continues it is difficult to make any statement whilst at the same time not being seen to be supporting one side over another. So, to start this statement we should like to say that we feel no enmity to any of the religions caught up in this war,…
We would like to bring to your attention the treatment of Dr Noor Ali Tabandeh, spiritual leader of one of the largest Sufi orders in the world, the Gonabadi Sufis. The Iranian Regime is trying to eradicate Sufism in Iran, because it poses a threat to the Extremist interpretation of Islam they wish to spread…
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an advisory council to Congress and the US President, has added Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria and Vietnam to its list of countries where religious freedom is of particular concern. The Commissions new Annual Report says that “religious freedom abroad has been under serious and sustained assault” during the past year, and…
The majority of people promoting “jihad” online are using political rather than religious arguments, according to a study by two UAE-based think-tanks. The report, by the Abu Dhabi-based Future Centre and the al-Mesbar Centre in Dubai, was released as a video called “How a Terrorist Thinks”. The study analysed 45,000 Arabic-language Twitter posts by individuals…
After Kenyan authorities reported that Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked a bus near the northeastern village of El Wak, attempting to separate Muslims from the Christian passenger, a number of Muslims reportedly stood up against the radical gunmen and told them “to kill them together or leave them alone,”. The Bishop of Garissa in Kenya has said…
The World Council of Churches (WCC) expresses grave concern over escalation of the conflict in Syria in an official statement issued on 12 October. The Council condemns all foreign military operations, citing raised hope for a political process in line with the proposals made by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, and approved by the…
In June, a suicide bomber killed 27 people when he blew himself up inside a packed Shi’ite Muslim mosque in Kuwait city during Friday prayers. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place in the district of Sawaber in the eastern part of the Kuwaiti capital and also wounded 227 people. Kuwaiti member of parliament,…
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, has issued a statement explaining the position (and inaction) of the ICC in relation to the alleged crimes committed by ISIS. Bensouda states: “Since the summer of 2014, my Office has been receiving and reviewing disturbing allegations of widespread atrocities committed in Syria and Iraq by…
A new analysis by Brian J. Grim of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation finds that violent incidents between religious groups are more prevalent in areas where governments restrict religious proselytization. According to Grim’s article in The Weekly Number, hostilities over proselytization are five times more likely in countries with laws restricting such activity. Grim says that conversely, restrictive…
Attacks last summer in Denmark triggered calls from Israel’s Prime Minister for Jews to move to Israel, provoking protest from French and Danish leaders. The French PM asked the Jews living in France to ignore the calls while President Hollande says French Jews “have a place in France.” “My message to French Jews is the…
