globalresearch--2019-11-29--The West Has Two Liberalism Problems, and Burning the Quran Is Just One of Them

The disgusting burning of a Quran in Norway last week was a rabidly Islamophobic act of hatred that highlighted one of the West’s two liberalism problems, with the first being that the aforementioned stunt is supposedly protected by the principle of “free speech” while the other is that many Western governments are reluctant to encourage the assimilation and integration of civilizationally dissimilar (and largely illegal) immigrants, which partially contributed to radicalizing some already extremist-inclined domestic political forces.  The burning of the Quran in Norway last week was a rabidly Islamophobic act of hatred that can never be justified, excused, or whitewash under any circumstances, full stop. Anyone trying to explain away the disgraceful actions of Arne Tumyr, the chairman of the already extremist-inclined “Stop Islamization of Norway” (SIAN) movement who committed this disgusting inter-civilizational provocation, or criticize the heroic intervention of the man identified as Ilyas who put a stop to this Islamophobic stunt is on the morally wrong side of the debate, to put it mildly Having gotten that “disclaimer” out of the way, there’s no avoiding the fact that this incident incited a furious discussion all across the world about the so-called “freedom of speech”, especially after the Norwegian envoys to Pakistan and Iran were summoned by those host states in protest over what that country’s police recently allowed to transpire before Ilyas’ brave intervention.  SIAN’s supporters insist that Tumyr has the right to freely express his socio-political views against Islam, while its detractors demand that nothing of the sort ever be allowed to occur again anywhere in the world without the culprit(s) being brought to justice afterwards. The most immediate issue obviously boils down to whether limits should be imposed upon the West’s cherished “freedom of speech”, and if so, then what exactly should they be, who makes this decision, what degree of foreign (or at the very least, non-citizen) involvement should contribute to this determination, what the consequences should be for violating it, and if the proposed measures should be implemented proactively or reactively. These are very deep questions that cut right to the heart of the stereotypical socio-political basis of Western society, and it’s unlikely that any “one-size-fits-all” approach will ever be reached, let alone practiced in all those countries or done so without double standards.  These are vitally important discussions that every society should have, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that already extremist-inclined domestic political forces are growing in popularity partially because of their governments’ hyper-liberal reluctance to encourage the assimilation and integration of civilizationally dissimilar (and largely illegal) immigrants. This has undoubtedly contributed to radicalizing some of those same political forces which ironically embrace the hyper-liberal principle of unrestricted “freedom of speech” up to and including the burning of religious texts in public. It’s therefore hypocritical that these same right-wing groups are against the hyper-liberal policy of open borders yet embrace its unrestricted “free speech” counterpart that’s simply the opposite side of the same coin. Quite clearly, this is an opportunistic approach which shows that such groups will do whatever is needed in order to promote their agenda.  That agenda, as is seen, isn’t just about protecting their country’s cultures that they feel are increasingly coming under threat as a result of their own government’s large-scale “open borders” policies that some fear amount to so-called “replacement migration”, but to ensure their people’s “right” to burn Islamic texts in public. If the issue was solely about the so-called “freedom of speech” and the supposed “right” to burn any book in public, then they presumably wouldn’t have a problem with a “native Norwegian” (as in one who has an overwhelming majority of ethnic Norwegian heritage) atheist burning Bibles and smashing crucifixes in the streets, though any objective observer could imagine SIAN and other groups’ reactions if such a stunt were to occur. They’d likely behave the same way that Ilyas did by intervening to stop the desecration of their sacred religious symbols.  Accepting this likelihood, it’s accurate to arrive at the conclusion that SIAN and other similar movements that hide behind the hyper-liberal policy of unrestricted “freedom of speech” while chiding the opposite side of the same hyper-liberal coin’s embrace of unrestricted (largely illegal) immigration are actually Islamophobic at their core. Supporters might argue that SIAN’s chairman did the disgusting act that he did in order to draw attention to those same hyper-liberal immigration policies that he implied ‘provoked’ him, but that doesn’t excuse disrespecting the over one billion believers in Islam, denigrating his own nation’s international reputation, and risking the danger that individuals less responsible than Ilyas might be provoked in their own right to continue the chain reaction of violence that Tumyr initiated by burning Bibles in response or worse.  Those who are sincerely concerned about the impact that state-supported large-scale (and largely illegal) immigration from civilizationally dissimilar countries is having on their the host nation’s culture should protest against the hyper-liberal policies that are driving it, not hide behind some of the same by invoking that ideology’s unrestricted so-called “freedom of speech” in an attempt to “justify” burning religious texts, especially when they wouldn’t stand idly by if someone (even their “fellow native compatriots”) decided to burn the Bible in public and go on a crucifix-smashing spree in the streets. The West therefore has two liberalism problems, the first being governments that are reluctant to assimilate and integrate civilizationally dissimilar immigrants and the other being those who think it’s “freedom of speech” to burn the Quran in response.  Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc.  This article was originally published on OneWorld.  Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.


instapundit--2019-01-05--OH GOOD LORD AGAIN Muslim Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib Uses Thomas Jeffersons Quran As A Pro

OH, GOOD LORD AGAIN!   Muslim Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib Uses Thomas Jefferson’s Quran As A Pro…

PJ Media encourages you to read our updated PRIVACY POLICY and COOKIE POLICY.


instapundit--2019-12-26--PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALL:  China will rewrite the Bible and the Quran to ‘reflect socialist values’

PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALL:  China will rewrite the Bible and the Quran to ‘reflect socialist values’…

PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALL: China will rewrite the Bible and the Quran to ‘reflect socialist values’ amid crackdown on Muslim Uighur minority.


pamelagellerreport--2019-01-02--Norway Muslim migrants sending their kids to Quran schools in SOMALIA to prevent them from being W

Norway: Muslim migrants sending their kids to Quran schools in SOMALIA to prevent them from being “Westernized”

If it is safe enough to send their kids to school there, why don’t the parents move back? For years now I have pointed out that what is happening in Europe is not a “refugee crisis,” but a hijrah, a Muslim migration to spread Islam, and this is more proof of that fact. These people are supposed to be “refugees,” and yet the place they are getting refuge from is the place where they are sending their kids to Quran school. This not only shows that they aren’t refugees at all; it also shows that they have no intention of assimilating or adopting Norwegian values. So they should be sent back to Somalia. Every parent who has a child in these schools should be sent back. Will the Norwegians do this? Of course not.  “‘Let the West Burn’: Norway Reveals Radicalization in ‘Quran Schools’ Abroad,” Sputnik, December 27, 2018 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):  The Norwegian police have raised concerns about the ongoing radicalization process in so-called ‘Quran schools’ in Somalia, where kids from immigrant families residing in the Nordic country are sent, often against their will, by parents to avoid being “westernized.” Police in Oslo have held talks with returning youngsters because of radicalization concerns over their stay at Quran schools abroad. Previously, youths with Somali backgrounds reported the widespread use of violence and abuse, including lashings and other methods of torture, they experienced during their educational trips to their “home country.” Somali-Norwegian “Omar” told national broadcaster NRK about a school in Mogadishu, Somalia, where he, in addition to extensive violence, was subjected to brainwashing in an Islamist direction. Among other things, he told of an evening prayer they had to repeat every night. “Let the West burn. Let it go to hell. Let God take the money from the West and give it to us,” “Omar” recalled. After numerous reports on the harsh conditions that Norwegian youth are exposed to inside the Quran schools in Somalia, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security asked the Norwegian police to present an overview of the situation. The Police Directorate summarized their findings in a report, which among other things, addressed the risk of radicalization. “When you have schools where students are deprived of mobile phones and passports, as well as contact with the outside world, I think it’s much easier to involve these young people in the radicalization process,” Janne Birgitta Stømner of the new prevention unit at the Oslo police told NRK. “We have held some clarification talks with young people who have returned to check whether they have been radicalized,” she added. One of the reasons why especially boys are being sent to Quran schools is parents’ concern that they have been involved in crime in Norway. Such corrective methods, however, have little to no deterring effect, the police reported. “For those who have been sent away because they have committed a crime, there has been no positive effect, at least judging by the few examples we have seen. Our experience is that they continue on the criminal path when they return home, they strive after the environment they knew from before,” Janne Birgitta Stømner said. Researcher and sociologist Inger Marie Holm of the University of Tromsø, who wrote a doctoral thesis on Somalis in Norway, argued that many Somali parents share the opinion that there is too little discipline in Norwegian schools, which they claim to undermine kids’ respect for both teachers and relatives. “It may seem that parents sending their kids abroad are desperate. It also seems that they are not fully informed about the schools’ ways and proceedings,” Inger Marie Holm told NRK. So far, however, only three youths have undergone preemptive interviews, and the police decided not to carry on with their cases….  The Truth Must be Told Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here.    Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.


pamelagellerreport--2019-10-07--Paris Jihadi Who Stabbed 4 Cops to Death Dressed in Islamic Garb, Encouraged Quran Meditation

He was devout. And yet the elite media tried to pass this religious slaughter off as a “disgruntled worker” aiding and abetting the jihad force.  By: AFP, 6 October 2019 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):  A staffer at Paris police headquarters who stabbed four colleagues to death in a frenzied attack adhered to “a radical vision of Islam”, an anti-terror prosecutor said Saturday, amid a gathering political storm over security safeguards.  The 45-year-old computer expert had been in contact with members of Salafism, an ultra-conservative branch of Sunni Islam, and defended “atrocities committed in the name of that religion”, Jean-Francois Ricard told reporters.  Three police officers and an administrative worker — three men and one woman — died in the lunchtime attack on Thursday at the police headquarters, a stone’s throw from the Notre-Dame cathedral in the historic heart of Paris.  The assailant, named as Mickael Harpon, was shot dead by a policeman, who was a trainee at the police headquarters.  The attack sent shock waves through an embattled French police force already complaining of low morale and has raised serious concerns over security procedures.  Harpon, born on the French overseas territory of Martinique in the Caribbean, converted to Islam about 10 years ago, the prosecutor said.  He had no police record but was investigated for domestic violence in 2009.  Sources said he had worked in a section of the police service dedicated to collecting information on jihadist radicalisation.  Harpon held a high-level “defence secrets” security clearance, which authorised him to handle sensitive information of national defence importance and would have subjected him to regular, stringent security checks.  On the morning of his “extremely violent” attack, Harpon bought two knives — a 33-centimetre long kitchen knife and an oyster knife — which he kept hidden, Ricard said.  He showed “absolutely no signs of nervousness” as he circled back to police headquarters, according to CCTV footage examined by police, the prosecutor said.  The attack, from his return to the office, the killings and his death by police bullets, lasted seven minutes, Ricard said.  He first killed a 50-year old police major and a 38-year old guard who worked in the same office as Harpon and were having lunch at their desks.  He then went to another office on the same floor where he killed a 37-year old administrative worker.  Having failed to enter another office, which was locked, he went down into the courtyard where he stabbed a 39-year old policewoman who later died of her wounds.  He then injured two other people, before the trainee policeman killed him with two shots.  Shortly before the attack he had exchanged 33 text messages with his wife.  The messages exclusively concerned religion, and the attacker ended the conversation with “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) and told her to “follow our beloved prophet Mohammed and meditate on the Koran”, according to the prosecutor.  She was being held by police on Saturday. Harpon, who supported the Charlie Hebdo attacks in 2015, had changed his attire in recent months, shunning “all Western clothes in favour of traditional garments to visit the mosque”, Ricard added.  He also wished to no longer “have certain kinds of contact with women”.  French President Emmanuel Macron, who has described the attack as a “veritable tragedy”, will lead tributes to the victims on Tuesday, the Elysee announced on Saturday.  Sources at the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Friday the case had been passed to the anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office (PNAT).  After Saturday’s news conference by the anti-terror prosecutor, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner came under pressure from political opponents who demanded his resignation.  They also called for an inquiry into how Harpon could have failed to attract the attention of security services in the run up to the attack.  “It’s going to be hard to explain how he kept below the radar” of anti-terror units, said one police source.  Prime Minister Edouard Philippe meanwhile expressed his “full confidence” in Castaner. But in an interview with weekly JDD to be published Sunday, he also said that procedures for the detection of signs that anti-terror agents may themselves have been radicalised would be probed.  Paris’s top policeman Didier Lallement said there was no reason to question security arrangements in police headquarters.  French police have been a recurring target of jihadist groups, such as Islamic State, behind a wave of attacks since 2015 — from large synchronised assaults to isolated knife and gun attacks.  In June, a parliamentary report on radicalisation within the public services spoke of 30 suspected cases out of the 150,000 police officers and 130,000 gendarmes in France.


pamelagellerreport--2019-11-15--Chicago: Muslim students riot over alleged Quran burning (VIDEO)

The ittle news coverage of the riot is decidedly sharia compliant.  Andrew High School in Tinley Park- “These emo kids stepping on the Quran so we then up.”-Yousef B    Students protest after fight at Tinley Park high school linked to video of ‘culturally insensitive act’  By: WGN9 November 14, 2019 (thanks to Orange Martyr):  TINLEY PARK, Ill. — A group of students protested in Tinley Park after a fight inside a high school that stemmed from a video shared with students.  On Thursday, about 60 students gathered outside of Victor J. Andrew High School to protest what they said is unfair treatment by the school administration and to condemn intolerance at the school.  The principal confirmed there was a physical altercation at the school Wednesday. In a letter to families, Principal Bob Nolting said the situation is believed to be a result of a year-old social media post containing a video showing a “culturally insensitive act” by one of the students. Nolting said a video was AirDropped to many students, so its origins are unclear.  The racial tension at the school was simmering when a video posted on social media showed a white student in blackface. Things then boiled over when white students allegedly burned a Quran.  The school has not confirmed that a Quran was burned, but several students and parents said that’s what led to the fight, and subsequent suspensions of some students, but according to protesters discipline wasn’t equal.  One student, Alaa Emeria, said three students got suspended, but said the white students involved received no punishment.  After the alleged incidents, there were more postings on social media and threats that someone would bring a gun to school. Rumors of a weapon turned out to be unfounded.  On Thursday, the school’s principal said more police were on hand and about 400 hundred students stayed home amidst the threats.  “We are not immune to the hate and intolerance in our world,” the principal said in a voicemail to students and parents. “That said, I know we can address this and celebrate all of our kids, no matter their race, religion, gender, or orientation. As we continue to work through yesterday’s events, please know that we are committed to moving forward with open dialogue among our students staff and community.”  The principal said the students involved in the fight have been disciplined. He also urged parents to talk to their children about respecting others.  However, some parents said these issues have been going on for weeks. One parent, Tamika Howard, said it’ll take more than a re-assuring voicemail to reduce the charged atmosphere.  “The school is taking mild baby steps to a situation that needs more action now,” she said.  Howard said students are not acting out just because they want to be a problem.  “They’re responding and reacting to things that are occurring,” she said. “You can’t keep pushing kids against the wall and expect them not to come out fighting.”  Students said they want administrators to host an assembly talking about discrimination and they want the school to be held accountable and create meaningful change following the recent fight.


sputnik--2019-07-29--Right-Wing Group Hindu Sena Demands Ban on Quran in India Over Threat to National Security

Right-Wing Group Hindu Sena Demands Ban on Quran in India Over 'Threat' to National Security

Hindu Sena's president Vishnu Gupta wrote to the Indian Home Ministry on Monday, saying the Quran threatens India's national security.  The group's founder suggested the radical move after reading the holy book of Islam, which he purchased at a bookstore in New Delhi.  "I found therein (in book) many contradictions and shocking instances of violence on non-Muslims and ex-Muslims as well as bribing people to enjoy an imaginary Islamic Paradise," Gupta has stated in his letter to the Home Ministry.  In the letter, he says the book lures in the youth and promotes terrorism, as it claims that Muslims who die fighting the enemies of Allah (Non-Muslims) can enjoy beautiful women called “Houris” (most beautiful women) eternally.  "The government of India initiated legal proceedings against a dangerous Islamic preacher like Zakir Naik but the truth is Zakir Naik was and is inspired by teachings of this book Quran and his actions and speeches are congruent with the contents and message of The Quran," the letter added while emphasising that the chief "inspirational manual of Islamic terrorism The Quran itself".  Earlier this year, the group had urged the government to ban burqas and veils in the wake of the growing menace of terror and impending danger of further attacks following the recent bombings in Sri Lanka, in which 253 people were killed and hundreds of others injured.  The group gained national recognition in 2016 after it celebrated the birthday of US President Donald Trump and prayed to god for his victory in the presidential election.  Founded by Vishnu Gupta in 2011, the Hindu Sena group keeps drawing public attention with unusual acts, such as by paying tribute to Queen Victoria on her 118th death anniversary, saying that she "freed India from the autocratic rule of the Mughals".  Despite being a Hindu-majority country, India is home to more Muslims than any other nation on Earth aside from Pakistan and Indonesia.


sputnik--2019-11-19--A First? Quran Burning in Norway Ends in Brawl – Photo, Video

Muslim leaders in Agder, Norway, have announced plans to file a police report after the Quran burning that occurred during a demonstration on Saturday.  The Muslim community sees this action not only as illegal but also as a “hate crime”, Akmal Ali, the leader of the Muslim Union of Agder said, according to ABC Nyheter.  He referred to a demonstration by Stop Islamisation of Norway (SIAN) in Kristiansand this past Saturday, when two copies of the Quran were thrown into a garbage bin, and another set alight by the organisation's leader Lars Thorsen.  During the event, which was supervised by over a dozen of policemen, SIAN members slammed Islam as “fascist” and a religion of violence, labelling Prophet Muhammad as a “paedophile”, the news outlet Resett reported.  Coupled with the subsequent desecration of the Qur'an, this stirred considerable rage among SIAN opponents and Muslims, who gathered for a counter-demonstration. Some eventually managed to sneak past the police barriers and attacked Thorsen.  While the demonstration was allowed by the police, SIAN received no permit to burn the Quran, which is why the police promptly interfered to terminate the event.  “Such actions are controversial. There is strong engagement. And that is why we did not allow open fire,” Agder Police Chief Morten Sjustøl told ABC Nyheter.  During the skirmish, photographer Lena Anderassen was attacked and kicked in the back.  Resett suggested that this may have been the first public burning of the Quran in Norway and definitely the first one SIAN has ever attempted.  “We must focus on the politicians' betrayal against us and against the Muslims,” Lars Thorsen said, explaining his stance to Resett upon his release.  By his own admission, there are different opinions within SIAN on whether or not it is appropriate to burn the Quran. Still, reruns of this event cannot be ruled out, he said.  “It turns out to be a good way to visualise the negative power that is in Islam,” Thorsen explained.  The Quran burning was later condemned by Turkey.  Stop Islamisation of Norway (SIAN) dates back to the early 2000s. Its stated goal is counter the proliferation of Islam, which it views as a totalitarian political ideology that violates the Norwegian Constitution as well as democratic and human values.  Norway's Muslim community has grown exponentially over the past few decades and is now estimated to constitute 5.7 percent of the country's population of 5.2 million, accounting for well over 10 percent or higher in some municipalities.  Quran burnings are a staple of the right-wing Danish Party Stram Kurs ("Hard line"), whose leader Rasmus Paludan celebrates it as a token of free speech.


sputnik--2019-11-21--Norwegian Police Ordered to Stop Quran Burnings out of 'Concern' Over Retaliation Attacks

A recent instance of Quran burning by Stop Islamisation of Norway (SIAN) in the city of Kristiansand, which some called Norway's first, has set off a passionate debate on the acceptance of such actions and the perceived collision between the freedom of speech and freedom of religion.  As the police ultimately intervened to stop SIAN's demonstration amid a brawl between activists and their opponents, they were acting on a new explicit order from Police Director Benedicte Bjørnland, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported.  Bjørnland said that instances of setting fire to all religious symbols must be handled equally and correctly.  “The message is 'if you still do it, we will stop it'”, Bjørnland said, admitting that the assessment of whether to intervene in the freedom of expression and assembly is a difficult issue. “Everyone should speak up as long as they do not violate laws, in this case the Criminal Code. We are not an opinion police, but we have guidance, and when we see violations of the given guidelines, we intervene”.  An important reason for the new interpretation is a threat assessment from the Police Security Service (PST) that public Quran burnings could lead to serious revenge attacks against Norway.  “It is true that in recent months PST has been concerned about the consequences a Quran burning can have. We see it as a trigger event for violent actions, and have provided a description of the situation to the police”, PST senior adviser Martin Bernsen said, as quoted by NRK.  However, the police order is not solely aimed at anti-Islamic provocations, but deals with all kinds of religious symbols being desecrated.  Following the demonstration in Kristiansand, one SIAN member was arrested for failing to comply with police orders.  Kristiansand Mayor Harald Furre, who was present during SIAN's demonstration, condemned the actions.  “I wish the police had intervened earlier and prevented the ignition”, Furre said.  Police chief in the Agder District Morten Sjustøl called such actions controversial, stressing that they stir up strong engagement.  SIAN leader Lars Thorsen called the action “a good way to visualise the negative power that Islam is” and made it clear that reprises of the action are not to be excluded.  Stop Islamisation of Norway dates back to the early 2000s and claims to counter the proliferation of Islam, which it views as a totalitarian political ideology that violates the Norwegian Constitution as well as democratic and human values.  Thorsen is no stranger to political controversy, having recently received a 30 day suspended jail sentence and a fine for distributing pamphlets in the Norwegian capital that called Muslims “notorious sexual predators” who “rape in epidemic proportions”.


sputnik--2019-11-24--Pakistan Summons Norwegian Ambassador Over Quran Desecration Incident - Foreign Ministry

Earlier this week, the "Stop Islamisation of Norway" movement held a rally in Kristiansand, during which its leader Lars Thorsen tried to burn a copy of the holy book despite warnings from the police. A scuffle broke out after an unknown man tried to stop Thorsen from burning Quran and both of them were detained.  Norwegian Ambassador to Pakistan Kjell-Gunnar Eriksen, on his part, condemned the incident adding that in "Norway everyone has the right to free speech and to practice their religion without being harassed."  Islamabad also urged the Norwegian authorities to bring those responsible to justice and to prevent the recurrence of any such incident in the future.


sputnik--2019-11-26--Tehran Says Summoned Norwegian Envoy to Protest Quran Desecration Incident

Tehran also called on Norway to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.  The Norwegian diplomat, in turn, noted that while defending freedom of expression, Oslo categorically condemned the attempt to desecrate the Muslim holy book and spread hate speech.  Last week, the anti-Islamist movement held a rally in Kristiansand, during which its leader Lars Thorsen tried to burn a copy of the holy book despite warnings from the police. A scuffle broke out after an unknown man tried to stop Thorsen from burning a copy of the Quran, and both of them were detained.


thedailycaller--2019-01-08--Amazon Pulls Products Referencing Quran And Mohammed After Complaints From CAIR

Amazon removed more than a dozen products depicting references to Mohammed and Quranic verses after the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) complained they were offensive to Muslims.  The products included doormats and bathmats that sported calligraphy from the Quran, some of which mention Mohammed. CAIR complained that the products were offensive because they “would be stepped-on or otherwise disrespected by customers.” Amazon confirmed that the products would be removed. (RELATED: Tlaib Denies Reports That She Was Sworn In On Thomas Jefferson’s Quran)  “All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action including potential removal of their account. The products in question are being removed from our store,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNN.  Amazon’s sales guidelines forbid products that “promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance.”  CAIR applauded Amazon’s decision to remove the products on January 4.  “We thank Amazon for its swift action on this issue and hope it sends a message to manufacturers of such inappropriate and offensive items that they will not profit from Islamophobia or any other form of bigotry,” Masih Fouladi, executive director of CAIR’s Washington state chapter, said in a statement.  CAIR representatives said that they have, however, received additional complaints that products deemed offensive to Islam remain on Amazon including toilet seat covers featuring Quranic verses.  “My gut feeling is that at least for the bath mats, shower curtains, and stuff like that, it’s these companies just slapping these designs on everything without even thinking about it,” said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper. “But there are others crossing the line into intentional Islamophobia. Some of the companies have things like toilet seats. I mean come on, why else would you do that?”  Amazon’s response to CAIR’s complaint, however, raises the question of whether the company will remove any product considered offensive by any religion, like t-shirts depicting Jesus as gay or atheist texts that overtly denounce all religions as false and harmful.  Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.


theindependent--2019-02-06--Politician who said aposthe Quran is poisonapos announces he has become a Muslim after trying to

Politician who said 'the Quran is poison' announces he has become a Muslim after trying to write anti-Islam book

A Dutch MP who was formerly a member of anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders‘ far-right party has announced he has converted to Islam.  Joram van Klaveren had denounced Islam as “a lie” and said “the Quran is poison” during his time as a politician for the Freedom Party (PVV).  However, the 40-year-old has now said he had become a Muslim while writing what was intended to be an anti-Islam book.  “During that writing I came across more and more things that made my view on Islam falter,” he told Dutch TV show NieuwLicht.  Mr Wilders compared his former right-hand man’s conversion to “a vegetarian going to work in a slaughterhouse”, RTL TV reported.  Mr Van Klaveren was an MP for the PVV between 2010 and 2014, but left after Mr Wilders asked supporters if they wanted fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands during a rally in 2014.  When the crowd shouted back “fewer”, Mr Wilders smiled and answered: “Then we’ll fix it.” He has since been convicted of inciting hatred and discrimination.  In an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC, Mr Van Klaveren said his comments about Islam were “simply incorrect”.  He added: “But that was PVV policy: everything that did not work had to be linked to Islam in one way or another.”  Mr Van Klaveren’s book, which he initially intended to be anti-Islam, will now be called Apostate: From Christianity to Islam in the Time of Secular Terror.


theindependent--2019-03-16--After the New Zealand terror attack the positive teachings of the Quran are a force for good in my

After the New Zealand terror attack, the positive teachings of the Quran are a force for good in my life

In the aftermath of New Zealand’s deadliest ever terrorist atrocity, in which 49 people were killed and dozens more seriously injured, numerous unanswered questions have been brought to the surface. For example, has inflammatory, hateful rhetoric by certain politicians exacerbated anti-Islamic sentiment? Can we say that mosque attacks like these were inevitable given the growing far-right violence? What can we do to prevent our society fracturing further?  As a young practising Muslim living in the west, the main question I am faced with, however, is how to react when terrorists murder individuals of my faith. Does the Quran teach me to take up arms and declare war or does it present a different solution entirely?  Islam, as a faith, aims to spread peace and goodwill, even to those who are verbally or physically abusive. The Quran commands Muslims that, “The servants of the Gracious God are those who walk upon the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them harshly, they say ‘Peace’. (25:64)’’  It is one thing to react to verbal insults with calmness, but to act in such a way following physical attacks is quite another. Following the Christchurch shootings, Independent Queensland senator Fraser Anning sparked outrage by describing Islam as “a violent ideology of a sixth century despot”. In reality, however, early Islamic history demonstrates the forbearance of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, and his followers.  For 13 years they were verbally abused, physically tortured and economically boycotted while in Mecca, simply for professing their faith. Finally, they were able to migrate to Medina, but it was only after the Meccans attacked the Muslims there that the Prophet finally took up arms. According to the Quran, permission to fight a defensive war was granted not in order to seek revenge, or to vent anger, but in order to protect the very concept of freedom of conscience. If they had not fought, then “there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques… (22:39)”.  Islam’s teachings regarding physical retaliation, therefore, are remarkably stringent. The Quran and the example of the Prophet Muhammad establish that Muslims are not allowed to fight religious wars unless the threat is to all faiths, not just Islam. The Prophet’s temperament also demonstrates that a Muslim should never become overwhelmed by anger or by despair. In a famous instance, Muhammad once told his companions, “The strong man is not the one who wrestles others, but the one who controls himself at times of anger”. In an era in which both Muslim fanaticism and far-right extremism have reached fever pitch, this message is as important now as it ever has been.  The New Zealand mosque attack was a tragic, headline event, however the seeds of violence have been sown for many years. Both overt and casual Islamophobia is widespread in mainstream media, and as a result young Muslims like me are often viewed upon with suspicion and distrust. Consequently, when a Muslim commits a terrorist atrocity, Imams and religious leaders are pressured to publicly and loudly distance themselves from acts they had nothing to do with. Yet when white nationalists commit the very same heinous crimes, there is no such expectation for Christians or white people to condemn them.  It is a hypocritical state of affairs, yet in the spirit of the Prophet Muhammad, it is essential for Muslims to continue to provide a counter-narrative, to show to the world through their words and actions that fanatical individuals are the problem, not religion as a whole.  In the wake of New Zealand’s shooting, acts of bravery and sacrifice by Muslims have already come to light. Survivors have recalled how one young mosque worker risked his life, and saved many more, by wrestling the gun from the shooter. In the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, one worshipper, Daoud Nabi, threw himself in front of another, being shot and killed in the process. It is acts like these that are truly Islamic, and if highlighted more, would surely help to build bridges and foster empathy and harmony between us all.  We live in an uncertain world and as a young Muslim, I am all too aware of the existing fractures in our societies. Following this attack in New Zealand, I fear that the cycle of misery may not be over and that extremism may continue to rear its ugly head. I know only one thing for sure, that my own faith and Quranic teachings can be a force for good during this age of terror, a help rather than a hindrance in our path towards peace.  We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.  At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.


thegatewaypundit--2019-03-24--Chick-Fil-A Banned From Texas Airport Over the Owners Christian Religious Beliefs Senator Ted Cru

Chick-Fil-A Banned From Texas Airport Over the Owner’s Christian Religious Beliefs — Senator Ted Cruz Slams the Ban

The ban came in response to a report from the far-left media outlet Think Progress, which claimed that the company’s foundation gave $1.8 million in 2017 to non-profits with discriminatory records towards the LGBTQ community.  The San Antonio City Council voted 6-4 to remove Chick-fil-A from a seven year airport concession agreement.  “With this decision, the City Council reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion,” District 1 City Councilman Roberto Treviño, who filed the motion, told Fox San Antonio. “San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”  Texas Senator Ted Cruz responded to the decision on Twitter, saying that the decision is “ridiculous.”  Senator Cruz added that “the details of this story are even worse.”  “San Antonio City Council voted to ban @ChickfilA from the airport bc the company gave to…the Fellowship of Christian Athletes & the Salvation Army?!? That’s ridiculous. And not Texas. #LeftistIntolerance,” the Texas senator tweeted.  Chick-fil-A was reportedly not given the chance to defend themselves before the decision was made.  “This is the first we’ve heard of this. It’s disappointing,” Chick-fil-A said in a statement. “We would have liked to have had a dialogue with the city council before this decision was made. We agree with Councilmember Treviño that everyone is and should feel welcome at Chick-fil-A. We plan to reach out to the city council to gain a better understanding of this decision.”


thehill--2019-05-29--Satanic Temple cites religious beliefs as immunity from Supreme Court abortion ruling on fetal remai

Satanic Temple cites religious beliefs as immunity from Supreme Court abortion ruling on fetal remains

The Satanic Temple said it would challenge a Supreme Court ruling from Tuesday that upheld part of an Indiana law requiring the burial or cremation of fetal remains.  The group is citing religious freedom in declaring immunity from the law, according to the Arkansas Times.  “One of The Satanic Temple’s fundamental tenets is the inviolability of one’s body,” the international organization said in a statement.  The Satanic Temple (TST) said “non-viable fetal tissue is part of the woman who carries it,” according to its statement to the news outlet.  “State impositions of ceremonial requirements dictating its disposal, barring any plausible medical or sanitary concerns, is a violation of TST’s Free Exercise allowing Satanists to contextualize the termination of a pregnancy on their own terms, with deference to their own religious beliefs,” the group added.  The organization, which does not worship or believe in the Satan from the Bible, is known for its vocal advocacy for separation between church and state.  “To be clear, members of The Satanic Temple will not be made to pay for these punitive, superfluous, and insulting burials. We claim exemption on religious liberty grounds, and we will almost certainly prevail in the courts if we are forced to fight," the group's spokesperson Lucien Greaves told the Arkansas Times.  A member of the Satanic Temple also challenged, on the grounds of religious freedom, a Missouri law that says women must wait three days when seeking an abortion, according to The Associated Press.


theindependent--2019-11-06--Teacher suspended for 'segregating students based on religion and mocking them for their belief

Teacher suspended for 'segregating students based on religion and mocking them for their beliefs'

A teacher in North Carolina has been suspended for allegedly segregating her students based upon their religious beliefs, as well as their views on gay marriage and abortion.  According to local media reports, Julia Lopp, a Spanish language teacher at South Johnston High School, first divvied up the students based on their religion. Then, she asked them about abortion. Finally, she asked them for their views on LGBT rights, according to the Johnston County Report.  She’s been accused of ridiculing the religious students, and threatened them should they report her for her actions.  She told the students she would “not recommend them for a job or even entrance to college,” according to WTVD.  “I don't mind prayer in school and things like that because you pray to your own religion,” said Natasha Chancey, mother of a middle schooler in Johnston County, according to that news channel.  The parent continued: “But for instance to be asking about God because there are so many different religions and everyone has their own beliefs, that might be saying one is better than the other.  She has been suspended without pay, just months after being hired to the post in August.  “This is an unfortunate incident and one I wish had not happened,” said superintendent Jim Causby in a statement.  The statement continued: “It is never appropriate for a teacher to segregate students based on religious, political or personal beliefs. In fact, it is not appropriate for a teacher to even ask a student what their beliefs are.”


wnd--2019-11-10--Freedom From Religion Foundation blasts proposed National Bible Week resolution

(CHANNEL 3000) The Freedom From Religion Foundation criticized the Wisconsin Assembly for planning to hold a vote on a resolution "recognizing Thanksgiving week as National Bible Week in Wisconsin."  The resolution, which the Wisconsin Assembly is set to vote on Tuesday, would recognize Thanksgiving week as National Bible Week in Wisconsin.  According to a news release from the FFRF, the resolution would endorse Christianity over other religions and declare non-Christians as "second-class citizens."


westernjournal--2019-10-05--Freedom From Religion Foundation Files Complaint After Judge Gives Convicted Police Officer a Bible

A Texas judge who offered a hug and a Bible to a former police officer convicted of murder is now under attack from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.  The atheist group has filed a complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct against District Court Judge Tammy Kemp.  Kemp, who is black, presided over the trial of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, who is white.  Guyger was convicted this week of killing Botham Jean, an unarmed black man, after mistaking his own apartment for her own.  On Wednesday, jurors sentenced Guyger to 10 years in prison, KTXA reported.  Kemp spoke briefly with Jean’s family, then left the courtroom, only to return with a Bible in her hands.  She presented it to Guyger, referencing John 3:16. The judge, still in her black robes, then hugged Guyger, according to The New York Times.  “You can have mine,” Kemp said in giving the convicted murderer her Bible. “I’ve got three or four more at home. This is the one I use every day.”  The Freedom From Religion Foundation said Kemp crossed a line.  “We write to raise your awareness of Judge Kemp’s actions at the close of the trial — during which she gifted a Christian bible, instructing the convicted criminal on how to read the bible and which passages to pay attention to, and witnessing to that convicted murderer,” the complaint against Kemp says.  “These proselytizing actions overstepped judicial authority, were inappropriate and were unconstitutional.”  “If anyone complained, I would do everything I could to support the appropriateness of it,” he told KTXA.  RELATED: Dem Congressman Claims Appealing to God in Traditional Oath is 'Preposterous'  “I can’t tell you I’ve done the same exact thing, but I have spoken to defendants, have I given them a hug, perhaps. Not given a Bible, that’s not me, but I don’t think there’s anything inappropriate about what she did, and I would support that, if anyone tried to file a complaint, I would do my best to intercede and protect her.”  Debate over the judge’s actions raged on Twitter.  The emotional scene at the end of the sentencing phase of the trial mirrored what happened earlier, when Brandt Jean, the victim’s younger brother, spoke to Guyger in court.  “If you truly are sorry, I know I can speak for myself — I forgive you. And I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you,” he said.  “I love you just like anyone else and I’m not going to say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did. I personally want the best for you,” Brandt Jean said. “I wasn’t going to ever say this in front of my family or anyone, but I don’t even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you because I know that’s exactly what Botham would want.”  “Give your life to Christ,” he added. “I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want you to do.”  “I love you as a person, and I don’t wish anything bad on you.”  Brandt Jean then asked permission to embrace Guyger, which Kemp granted.  Reaction to the judge’s actions varied among experts.  “Impartiality is what matters,” Amanda Frost, a professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, told The Times. “If the judge shows it throughout the trial and then shows some compassion to the defendant afterward, I don’t have a problem with that.”  Giving Guyger the Bible, however, was “questionable,” she said.  Another commentator said the outpouring of emotion was too much for the judge to ignore.  “Some judges seem to be able to turn off their emotions and not see the humanity, but I was never able to do that,” Jan Breland, a retired Austin judge, told The Times. “These people that come through our courts are human beings, regardless of the things they’ve done. They all have mamas, and they were all little boys and little girls at one time.”  “That brother, that young man, it was almost like seeing Jesus talk,” she said. “The compassion and the grace that he showed were amazing, and it obviously got to the judge.”  Deborah Rhode, director of the Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford Law School, said Kemp’s actions, coming after the trial, were not inappropriate.  “All the judge did is express some bonds of common humanity, and I don’t think we should be punishing judges for that,” she told The Times. “If anything, our legal system has suffered from an absence of adequate compassion.”  We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.


veteranstoday--2019-03-14--More US Catholics consider leaving religion over sex abuse Poll

More US Catholics consider leaving religion over sex abuse: Poll

[ Editor’s Note: I find it amazing that lay Catholics have sat on their asses and just endured being quasi-servants to an international pedophile ring. But that I don’t mean of course that all of the priesthood were pedophiles, but that they were either pedophiles or “aider and abettors”, and I use that terminology for a specific reason.  We have had US statues on the books regarding what qualifies as criminal abuse against children. The clearest case to use as an example is the stepfather shacking up with down trodden mother and daughter.  If the mother knows her child is being abused, but does not want to report is as she will lose her meal ticket, she is charged with a Class A felony along with the new hubby or boyfriend.  This statue can grab anyone that could be proven to have know what was going on and did not reporting, and thus were guilty of aiding and abetting of the abuse continuing. This was considered as horrendous and act as the primary abuser.  Enter stage left, the Catholic priesthood, who I can assure you always knew what was going on, including all of those at the top. Yet in the US, where we have this statute, it was never broadly use, nor was the RICO statute of running an ongoing criminal enterprise.  In fact, all those involved in pushing that problem into civil settlement versus the criminal charges they deserved, a case could be made that they were aiding and abetting themselves.  The proof of that is in the historical record that the Vatican continued it attempts to hide the extant of this crime against humanity, which it was do to its size and longevity. Catholic priests have been abusing children since the beginning.  So my advice to all lay Catholics is to do what you should have done ages ago, put the Vatican into receivership for its horrendous history of sexual abuse and take over your church from top to bottom, clean house and run it yourselves. You can hire and fire priests as needs and run the organization from the top down as many other have done, where at least in scale have not abused children as much.  Here in the US the main problem with the Protestants has been the “youth directors” who just can’t resist the cute teen girls. When caught, neither the parents or the church want the matter public so how it was usually handle, was a copy of what the Catholic Church did, they just move the offender to another church far away.  I know this as a had a close friend, divorced from a Protestant minister who watch all this going on, like the phone calls where the decision was made that “if you take our bad apple, we will take yours”. Of course they would threaten the offenders that they were only getting one free pass.  So again to all you lay Catholics out there, take over your church and run it, where you hired and fire priest as you need or want, or use lay priests, and turn the Vatican into a historical-tourist attraction and have control over all of its assets and archives.  There is no telling what you will find in there, built on the bones of millions of Catholics who surrendered their church to what today can be viewed as an ongoing criminal enterprise, not something I am inventing today, but a felony statute created to deal with large organize criminal activity. Let me know what you think in the comments… Jim W. Dean ]  Jim's Editor’s Notes are solely crowdfunded via PayPal   Jim's work includes research, field trips, Heritage TV Legacy archiving & more. Thanks for helping. Click to donate >>  An increasing percentage of Catholics in the United States are re-examining their commitment to the religion as more allegations of sexual abuse by priests are being revealed, according to a new poll.  Some 37 percent of US Catholics say news of the sex abuse of young people by priests has led them to question whether they would remain in the church, a Gallup poll released Wednesday finds.  Gallup said the figure was 22 percent in 2002, when the church was dealing with a similar crisis in the US.  The last time Gallup polled about this was 2002 after The Boston Globenewspaper reported on widespread abuse by Catholic priests in the Boston area and church leaders’ efforts to prevent the abuse from becoming public knowledge.  Gallup’s latest findings show that the current scandal is affecting US Catholics more than the one in 2002 did.  A significant number of both practicing and nonpracticing Catholics say they are considering leaving the church but those less committed to their religion are more likely to be questioning it, the survey found.  Whereas 46 percent of Catholics who seldom or never attend church say they have questioned whether they would remain in the faith, 37 percent of those who attend church on a monthly basis and 22 percent who attend weekly say the same.  Amid the latest scandal, about one in four US Catholics say they have very little or no confidence in US bishops and other Catholic leaders. Only 40 percent of US Catholics say they have a “great deal” of confidence in Pope Francis.  Since the first high-profile abuse allegations against Catholic priests emerged in 2002 in Boston, many similar cases have rocked the Church, and 2018 brought another wave of such charges.  The credibility of the Catholic Church hierarchy sank last year after new reports of old sexual abuse and cover-up were uncovered in the US, Chile and elsewhere and implicated Pope Francis himself.  Mathew Schmalz, an expert on the Church and religious studies professor at the College of The Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, says the Church may never regain its lost credibility.  In January, a former Catholic priest who had admitted to sexually abusing boys in Pennsylvania was sentenced to up to 14 years in prison – the second clergyman to be jailed in the wake of the state’s sex misconduct report.  Former US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was expelled by Pope Francis from the Roman Catholic priesthood in February after he was found guilty of sexual crimes against teenage boys and adult males, according to the Vatican.  McCarrick, 88, who resigned from the Vatican’s College of Cardinals in July, became the first Roman Catholic bishop in nearly 100 years to lose the title of cardinal for sex abuse.


usnews--2019-12-27--Montenegro's Parliament Approves Religion Law Despite Protests

PODGORICA (Reuters) - Montenegro's parliament approved on Friday a law on religious communities despite street protests and a last-minute attempt in the chamber by deputies of the pro-Serb opposition to prevent the vote going ahead.  Under the law, religious communities in the tiny Adriatic state would need to prove property ownership from before 1918, when predominantly Orthodox Christian Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the predecessor of the now-defunct Yugoslavia.  The pro-Serb Democratic Front (DF) and other critics of the legislation say it is an attempt to promote the small Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which is not recognized by other major churches, at the expense of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the dominant church in the country of 620,000 people.  They also accuse Montenegro's pro-Western president, Milo Djukanovic, and his ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of corruption, ties to organized crime and seeking to push the country further from Serbia, its much bigger neighbor.  The DF deputies brawled with their opponents just before the vote, which took place in the early hours of Friday after a lengthy late-night debate.  Police initially detained all 18 DF deputies but later released 15. Among the three who remained in detention pending charges was DF leader Andrija Mandic, the pro-government Pobjeda daily said.  "We have said we are ready to die for our church and we are demonstrating that," Mandic told reporters after the fracas.  Hundreds of opposition supporters backed by clergy had taken to the streets of the capital Podgorica on Thursday to rally against the law. Roads in the north of the country were also blocked for hours.  The Serbian Orthodox Church has around 12 million followers, mainly in Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro. It owns 66 monasteries in Montenegro, most of them dating back to the Middle Ages, as well as dozens of churches and other real estate.  "His holiness ... prays ... for peace and unity between Montenegrin state bodies and church dignitaries, for the benefit of all in Montenegro, regardless of religion and nationality," it said in a statement.  The Church suspects the Montenegrin state of planning to seize its assets, something the government denies. Djukanovic has accused the Church of promoting pro-Serbian policies with the aim of undermining Montenegrin statehood.  Montenegro peacefully split from its former federal partner in 2006. It is now a member of NATO and, like Serbia, a candidate for European Union membership.


truepundit--2019-05-09--Texans Rage Against Freedom From Religion Foundations Demand To Remove Courthouse Crosses

Texans Rage Against Freedom From Religion Foundation’s Demand To Remove Courthouse Crosses

San Jacinto County lawmakers rejected the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s demand to remove crosses from a county courthouse amid furor from hundreds of Christian locals.  The county legislators voted unanimously Wednesday to keep four white crosses on the county courthouse in Coldspring, Texas, despite the FRFF’s April 26 demand that they be immediately removed. The FFRF’s challenge stoked the ire of hundreds of locals who turned out in droves at the Wednesday Commissioners Court meeting to decry the organization for what they saw as an attempt to violate their freedom of expression.  A group of about 600 locals attended the meeting and gave approximately two and a half hours of public comment pleading with legislators to keep the crosses.View image on Twitter  “Their religion is humanism. What they’re saying is Christ followers cannot express their freedom, their voice of worship, their voice of God. Yet, they want to express themselves,” said Pastor Phil Herrington of First Baptist Church, according to Fox News.  “I am a Christian woman, a child of God. I’m here today as a servant of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, asking that the crosses on our courthouse in Coldspring be left on this building,” a local woman pleaded.  The FRFF argued in its complaint that the crosses constituted a government promotion of Christianity and therefore violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.  Chris Line, an attorney for FRFF, denounced the county’s decision to keep the crosses and claimed that the organization would challenge it.  “It is extremely disappointing that the County has decided to continue violating the constitutional rights of its citizens,” Line said Wedensday. “FFRF will be following up with our local complainant and evaluating our next steps.”Follow Joshua on TwitterSend tips to [email protected].Click here for reuse options!  Copyright 2019 Daily Caller News Foundation  Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected]


thinkprogress--2019-02-14--Kansas bill claims LGBTQ community is a religion to justify every kind of discrimination against it

A group of seven Republican lawmakers in Kansas have introduced what is perhaps the most convoluted, if not cockamamie, attempt to roll back LGBTQ equality that has ever been dreamed up. The proposal is absurd and extremely unlikely to become law — Kansas’ governor, Laura Kelly, is a Democrat whose first official act was to reinstate protections for LGBTQ workers which her predecessor had eliminated. Nevertheless, the bill lends some insight into the minds of anti-LGBTQ lawmakers as they ponder how much leeway a Supreme Court with a conservative majority, and a rightward trending judiciary, might give them.  The idea behind HB 2320, the “Marriage and Constitution Restoration Act,” seems to be an attempt to provide a bulwark against the advancement of LGBTQ equality. As drafted, it would prohibit, overturn, and/or invalidate marriage equality and any benefits the law currently provides to same-sex couples, or any non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. It would eliminate the appropriation of funds to cover transition-related surgeries, and block any policy that might provide that a trans person be addressed by their proper pronouns.  From prohibiting the updating of the sex marker on a birth certificate, to halting any effort to ban conversion therapy, to ensuring that Kansas libraries are not permitted to promote “drag queen storytime,” this bill attempts to head off any policy that might respect, condone, ratify, or affirm LGBTQ identities.  But what makes HB 2320 truly unique is how it frames the rationale for such a massive reversal: It asserts that LGBTQ identities constitute a religion, and if the state of Kansas were to support any law that recognizes that religion, it would be in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.  It is, as they say, a stretch.  Nevertheless, HB2320 pursues its goal with a singular ambition, constructing a complicated skein of “whereas” statements in which to nest the peculiar idea that the LGBTQ community is a monolithic faith organization holding to a set of canonical principles. For example, one of these statements offers:  In other words, being gay is a matter of faith. And while It may not be an institutionalized religion, it is — these lawmakers assert — the equivalent of secular humanism, which was recognized as a religion by the Supreme Court in a unanimous 1961 decision overturning a Maryland state requirement that candidates for public office profess a belief in God. The government can’t pass laws that require a person “to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion,” the Court explained, nor can it privilege religions that include a belief in God over nonbelievers or over religions that do not include such a belief.  The Kansas lawmakers, interpret this ruling to mean that the government cannot endorse secular humanism, which the bill describes as consisting of “a series of unproven faith-based assumptions and naked assertions that suggest that morality and truth are man-made conventions and that at the heart of liberty is man’s ability to define man’s own meaning of the universe.” Secular humanism, they write, “refers to a religion that does not fulfill any compelling state interest, but instead, tends to erode community standards of decency.”  Homosexuality, sexual orientation, and transgenderism are “inseparably linked to the religion,” the bill asserts. So too are “polygamy, zoophilia, and objectophilia.”  From there, the bill attempts to flesh out how LGBTQ identities constitute a religion in exacting detail. For example, the measure asserts that the LGBTQ community is organized and has “a daily code by which members may guide their daily lives.” The bill provides no citation for this “code,” but it is asserted as fact in order to define the LGBTQ community as “a denominational sect.”  The LGBTQ community, the lawmakers contend, also has its own religious symbols. “Instead of having a cross, the ten commandments icon, or star and crescent, the LGBTQ secular humanist community has the gay pride rainbow colored flag to symbolize its faith-based worldview,” the bill explains.  Likewise, the LGBTQ community has its own belief structure:  The community also has creeds — like “love is love” — which these lawmakers assert are a shibboleth, of sorts, that speak to the LGBTQ community’s hidden desire to oppress those outside their “denomination.”  Those who object to the government’s endorsement of LGBTQ ideology (a.k.a. “the greatest sham since the inception of American jurisprudence”) have, to these lawmakers’ minds, become victims to an ideology that is about “dominance,” not “tolerance.”  These lawmakers go on to contend that these LGBTQ/secular humanists are “infiltrating public schools and public libraries,” to further “indoctrinate and proselytize minors to their religious worldviews.”  Though all seven of the lawmakers who sponsored HB 2320 are white, they contend at length that LGBTQ equality is particularly offensive to people of color. Much of the bill is inexplicably dedicated to drawing a distinction between race and LGBTQ identities despite the fact that it’s entirely superfluous to the bill’s stated purpose. In this way, it echoes a long history of equality opponents trying to “drive a wedge” between LGBTQ people against people of color.  “There are no ex-blacks but there are thousands of ex-gays,” the bill asserts without providing evidence of either this claim or the efficacy of efficacy of conversion therapy.  Continuing in this vein, the lawmakers contend: “Skin-tone is genetic and sexual orientation is faith-based.” In fact, there is a considerable amount of research demonstrating that there are biological components of sexual orientation.  These lawmakers claim that opponents of LGBTQ equality are simply “defending the integrity of the civil rights movement lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from an emotional ploy,” and that any claims that homosexuality is an innate, unchanging trait “has engaged in an act of fraud and racial animus.”  To really drive home the point, the bill asserts that any comparison between LGBTQ civil rights and race-based civil rights is offensive on its face:  The bill avoids any mention of the well-documented oppression of LGBTQ people, including an unenforceable law criminalizing sodomy in Kansas. The entire point of that section is merely to claim that what amounts to naked anti-LGBTQ intolerance is actually part of a long tradition of fighting for the dignity of the oppressed.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, the bill is particularly concerned with the issue of marriage. It attempts to standardize the term “parody marriage” to describe any relationship that isn’t between “one person who was born male and one person who was born female.” These “parody marriages” include “marriages between more than two people, persons of the same sex, a person and an animal, or a person and an object.”  Leaving no doubt as to whether these lawmakers intended to equate bestiality with homosexuality, the bill explains, “All forms of parody marriages equally erode community standards of decency.” As marriage between a man and a woman does not contribute to the same erosion, the state has a compelling interest in providing for this sort of matrimony exclusively. Furthermore, as some taxpayers believe that such “parody marriages” are immoral, taxpayer money that supports benefits for those marriages violates the consciences of these taxpayers simply by mandating that they pay taxes.  According to the bill, the state will only license marriages between a man and a woman because they’re the only marriages that “do not put religion over non-religion, unlike policies that respect the various forms of parody marriage.”  As bogus as their bill might be, these Kansas lawmakers are hardly alone in testing the boundaries of the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling. Tennessee lawmakers have also reintroduced a bill that would explicitly declare Obergefell v. Hodges “unauthoritative, void, and of no effect.”  U.S. courts have never upheld the idea that a state can nullify a a federal law or ignore a ruling of the federal courts. In the first such consideration in 1809, the Supreme Court declared that Pennsylvania could not nullify a federal court’s decision lest “the Constitution itself becomes a solemn mockery, and the nation is deprived of the means of enforcing its laws by the instrumentality of its own tribunals.”  That standard has persisted. When Arkansas tried to nullify the Supreme Court’s ruling desegregating schools in the 1950s, the Supreme Court similarly ruled against the practice. The Court specified that this even includes indirect attempts to avoid their implementation “through evasive schemes.”  Nevertheless, the larger concern isn’t whether the Supreme Court would suddenly change its mind on nullification. Rather, these challenges to marriage equality could provide an opportunity for the Supreme Court to revisit the question of same-sex marriage now that Justice Anthony Kennedy no longer sits on the bench. The court wouldn’t have to condone nullification to use that opportunity to weaken the marriage equality ruling Kennedy wrote or otherwise grant states some sort of exemption — religious or otherwise — to bypass it.  Fortunately, neither of these aforementioned bills seems likely to advance. The Tennessee measure failed to do so in its previous iteration, and Governor Kelly would, in all likelihood, halt the effort of these Kansas lawmakers in the event such a measure made it to her desk. Nevertheless, these efforts suggest that there might be some momentum among conservatives to push the envelope on such legislative approaches in the hopes that a more conservative Supreme Court might be amenable to rolling back LGBTQ advancement.  UPDATE: On the exact same day Kansas lawmakers introduced their bill, a group of Republican lawmakers in North Carolina introduced a nearly identical bill. HB 65 cut out a lot of the rhetoric that was in the Kansas bill, but along similar lines, it contends that marriage equality is a form of “secular humanism” that the government cannot endorse. It also includes similar language, such as the reference to “parody marriages,” which it says are “immoral, nonsecular, subversive to human flourishing, and go against community standards of decency.”  The North Carolina bill is less expansive, focusing only on marriage equality. Like the Tennessee bill, it dictates that the state will consider Obergefell v. Hodges “null and void and unenforceable” and it calls upon the Supreme Court to overturn it “respect the rights of each State and its People to decide matters over which the United States Constitution has not given jurisdiction specifically to the federal government.”  Additionally, the bill would make any marriage between individuals of the same gender, including those contracted in other states, invalid in the state of North Carolina.  Several of the North Carolina bill’s sponsors previously introduced a similar nullification bill in 2017. That proposal, however, did not attempt to equate the LGBTQ coommunity as a religious denomination. Rather, it cited the Bible as justification for its claims, asserting that the Supreme Court, in their marriage equality decision exceeded “the authority of the Court relative to the decree of Almighty God that ‘a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24, ESV).”  Additionally, in 2018, both Wyoming and South Carolina also introduced bills using the “secular humanism” and “parody marriage” language. The language appears to have been originally devised by the radical activist Chris Sevier, who has filed many frivolous lawsuits challenging marriage equality. He is particularly infamous for arguing in various suits that states should legally recognize his marriage to his laptop.


yna--2019-12-21--U.S. redesignates N. Korea as violator of religious freedom

"These designations underscore the United States' commitment to protect those who seek to exercise their freedom of religion or belief," Pompeo said. "We believe that everyone, everywhere, at all times, should have the right to live according to the dictates of their conscience. We will continue to challenge state and non-state entities that seek to infringe upon those fundamental rights and to ensure they are held to account for their actions."


bbc--2019-01-28--Student cracks theologians baffling religious code

Student cracks theologian's baffling religious code

A divinity student from the University of St Andrews has cracked a religious code that has baffled academics for generations.  Jonny Woods has worked out how to read shorthand notes left by leading Baptist theologian Andrew Fuller.  Hundreds of pages of his sermon notes are held in archives, but until now they have been a mystery to academics.  The third-year undergraduate was able to decipher the shorthand after an academic traced a longhand equivalent.  Andrew Fuller, who was born in Cambridgeshire in 1754, became a Baptist minister, and is best known for founding the Baptist Missionary Society.  Such was his international standing, he was offered honorary doctorates by both Yale and the College of New Jersey - now Princeton - although he turned them down.  While he wrote a number of influential works before his death in 1815, his early sermons and other documents have survived only as shorthand notes.  They remained inaccessible until Dr Steve Holmes, head of the School of Divinity at St Andrews University found one headed in longhand "Confessions of Faith, Oct. 7 1783".  He recognised this as the date of Fuller's induction into the pastorate of a church in Kettering and knew that he would have been required to give a confession of faith as part of that service.  Dr Holmes then wondered if a copy of the confession printed in a biography might help him crack the code.  After discovering that the two texts were the same, he recruited Jonny Woods through the university's undergraduate research assistant scheme to help.  After just a few weeks the student from Coleraine, County Londonderry, was able to translate the shorthand, using the longhand version in the same way that the Rosetta Stone was used as a crib to unlock the secret of Egyptian hieroglyphics.  Dr Holmes said: "When Jonny told me he could read these documents it was an astonishing moment.  "Andrew Fuller stands as the figurehead, the 'patron saint' almost, of the church tradition of which I am a part.  "To be reading words of his that no-one had read since he preached them in 1782 - it's one of those moments you live for as an academic."  Two sermons have already been translated, and Jonny is working on more of Fuller's early work.  He said: "It is such an honour to be the first person to read Andrew Fuller's sermons and to allow people to get an insight into this incredible man and the amazing stories he has to share.  "I'm excited to continue working on the vast collection of work that he has left to us, in the hope that we can understand more about his thinking and how this developed throughout his ministry."


bbc--2019-05-28--Pakistan vet charged with blasphemy over medicine wrapped in religious text

Pakistan vet charged with blasphemy over medicine 'wrapped in religious text'

A Hindu veterinary doctor in south-east Pakistan has been charged under the country's strict blasphemy laws after allegedly selling medicine wrapped in paper bearing Islamic religious text.  An angry crowd set fire to his clinic near Mirpur Khas, Sindh province, and other Hindu-owned shops were looted.  The vet said his use of the paper, apparently torn from an Islamic studies school textbook, was a mistake.  If he is convicted he could be sentenced to life in prison.  Pakistan's blasphemy laws carry harsh penalties for anyone who insults Islam. Critics say they target a disproportionate number of people from religious minorities.  According to reports, the vet had used pages from the school textbook to wrap up medicines for a customer with sick livestock. But the customer saw Islamic religious content on the pages and went to a local cleric who informed police.  Maulana Hafeez-ur-Rehman, a local leader of the religious political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islami, told BBC Urdu that the doctor had done it deliberately.  According to police, the vet has insisted that his use of the paper was a mistake.  He has since been charged with insulting religious beliefs and defiling the Koran and faces life in prison.  Four shops, including the vet's clinic and a medical store, were ransacked and then set alight, local journalists reported.  Mirpur Khas police officer Javed Iqbal told the BBC that those involved in the attacks would be arrested. He said they had "neither love for Islam nor for their neighbours".  Islam is Pakistan's national religion and public support for the strict blasphemy laws is strong.  Correspondents say hardline politicians have often backed severe punishments, partly as a way of shoring up their support base.  Hundreds of Pakistani citizens have been charged with blasphemy over the past few decades and some cases have triggered an international outcry.  Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a row with her neighbours.  She spent years on death row until her conviction was overturned in 2018 by the Supreme Court. She has since left the country.


bbc--2019-06-17--Quebec Bill 21 Is it OK for public servants to wear religious symbols

Quebec Bill 21: Is it OK for public servants to wear religious symbols?

For a decade, Quebec has been debating the issues of state secularism and reasonable accommodation in the Canadian province. Now it has just passed a new law that bars civil servants in positions of "authority" from wearing religious symbols at work.  Bill 21 prevents judges, police officers, teachers and public servants holding some other positions from wearing symbols such as the kippah, turban, or hijab while at work.  Like similar legislation introduced by previous Quebec governments in recent years to bolster state secularism, it has led to a fierce debate.  Advocates call it a reasonable step, one with broad support in the province.  Critics say it is discriminatory, will make it more difficult for religious minorities to integrate into Quebec society, and that it unfairly targets Muslim women.  The provincial government says it is a "logical continuation of the Quiet Revolution", a period in the 1960s when Quebec society rapidly embraced state secularism.  The Quebec provincial legislature passed the bill late on Sunday in a 73-35 vote.  Six people who have been vocal about Bill 21 and its impact spoke to the BBC.  Furheen Ahmed has been a teacher in Quebec for over a decade, and says she feels both frustrated and angry about new law.  Her job will be protected because of a grandfather clause included in Bill 21, but the fact that "a teacher who teaches 10 feet away from me has more opportunity than I do simply because of what I'm wearing" is unfair, she says.  "How can somebody sit there and say that is not the textbook definition of discrimination?" she asks.  Proponents of the bill have been careful to note that it doesn't target any specific religion, but many critics have argued that Muslim women are most likely to be affected.  Ms Ahmed says: "I wish this was about all religious symbols in some way but I don't think it is".  "I don't think if hijabi Muslim women weren't out there doing their thing, being successful in this society - but perhaps looking a bit different, dressing a bit differently - I don't think this ban would have even come into the conversation."  She says she felt "proud" when both her school's school board and the Montreal city council came out in opposition to Bill 21.  Zahra Boukersi teaches French at a private elementary school in the Montreal region where she would be allowed to wear a hijab at work. But despite her faith, she has always rejected wearing any kind of Muslim head-covering.  She doesn't see the need to wear an outward sign of faith.  "Religion is intimate - it's personal," she says. "It's between God and me. That's how I see things."  And she has never felt comfortable with what she believes a hijab symbolises.  "There are women who wear it truly by choice. But even when they do, I see it as an act of submission," she says.  Ms Boukersi has spoken frequently in the media in Quebec about her support for secularism - a conviction born from her youth in Algeria.  A civil war from 1991 to 1999 pitted Islamists against the government in the North African nation, and the Muslim veil - which already had a complicated history in the country - became mandatory.  "In the '80s, I was a student. I was in a mini-skirt. No one cared, it was normal, it was normal to wear tight-fitting pants or a tight-fitting shirt," she says.  "Ten years later, it was a catastrophe - a radical change."  So Ms Boukersi sees Bill 21 as a fair place to "draw a line" against any potential similar religious influence in Canada.  As a child, Amrit Kaur would watch her parents patiently helping other children with their school work, which sparked her interest in becoming a teacher.  But now, the Quebec vice-president at the World Sikh Organisation is wondering whether there's a place for her in Quebec as a school teacher as she finishes her education degree.  For her, wearing a turban is "just such an integral part of my ethos and my being that I can't [disassociate] from it".  She adds: "My faith is not something I can leave at the door. That's virtually impossible."  She rejects the idea the legislation would help integrate immigrants into society.  "The people prevented from doing their jobs are the people most integrated [into Quebec society]. They're not immigrants who just moved to the country - they're people who've studied, who know the language, who give back."  She says for the first time in her life she feels like she is "looked at like someone who's causing trouble - and that feels really strange".  Freedom of expression and of religion is a basic human right, she insists. "And that's being looked down on."  Nadia el-Mabrouk, a professor of computer science, has become a prominent advocate for secularism in Quebec.  She supports Bill 21 - in particular the provision that would ban teachers in Quebec public schools from wearing any religious symbols - and would like to see the law extended to daycare workers in the province.  "I'm not opposed to the veil," she tells the BBC. "I'm talking about at school, at work, when in contact with children - at that point we say they need to be neutral."  She has compared asking teachers to remove religious symbols to when cartoon illustrators were asked to replace the constant cigarette dangling from comic strip cowboy Lucky Luke's mouth with a piece of straw.  "Lucky Luke wasn't actively pushing cigarettes - it's a drawing - but it was seen as influencing children," she explains.  She says a woman wearing a headscarf in a classroom is "passive proselytism".  "I'm not saying it's indoctrination," she says. "I'm not saying the Montrealers who are not Muslim are being indoctrinated. I'm saying it's a conditioning mainly for young Muslim students. It transmits the idea that a Muslim woman is veiled."  She rejects the idea that the lengthy debate in the province over secularism is due to an undercurrent of Islamophobia or xenophobia - a frequent refrain in criticism of the issue.  She contends many Canadians - where the idea of multiculturalism is, in her word, "sacred" - misunderstand Quebec's desire for secularism.  "It's a debate between two very different visions," she says.  Taran Singh, Quebec Sikh community representative and member of the Coalition Inclusion Quebec, has a question.  "What is the underlying evidence beneath this need?"  He sees Bill 21 as a "divisive solution" in need of a problem and says advocates have presented no direct evidence that public servants wearing religious symbols undermine the separation of Church and state.  "Here there is a presumption that is being made - that wearing a symbol is somehow proselytising," he says.  Previously proposed legislative secularism solutions by former provincial governments in recent years has caused "social cohesion" to suffer in Quebec, he says.  "Bill 21 clearly sends me the message that I am not an equal participant citizen in this society."  David Rand, a staunch secularist and atheist, calls Bill 21 "a perfectly reasonable restriction" similar to those already in place for public servants when it comes to showing partisan political preference while at work.  And he has little sympathy for those who argue they have been given a difficult decision between their faith and their career.  There is a certain kind of reserve that is necessary when working for the state, a certain kind of discretion, he says.  "I would not wear a T-shirt that says 'God does not exist' if I went to work in the public service and I expect the same savoir vivre of a woman who wears a hijab or a man who wears a kippah, that they would remove it if they go to work in the public service."


bonginoreport--2019-12-25--China Wants to Insert Communist Propaganda into the Bible and Other Religious Texts

The Chinese Communist Party instructed the Bible and other religious texts to be rewritten in an expressly pro-communist perspective that conforms with the party’s goals.  In November, a group of 16 different experts and religious representatives were called on to attend a meeting of the Chinese Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Those religious leaders were then instructed to review their religious texts and reinterpret them to conform with the values of the country’s communist party doctrine, according to the Daily Mail.  Wang Yang, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, reportedly told the gathered religious leaders they must interpret their religious views in their texts to meet the instructions of Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping and fulfill “the requirements of the era.”  Those selected religious officials reportedly agreed with instructions of the Chinese ruling Communist Party and agreed to undertake the effort to review and amend or re-translate their various religious texts.  The religious leaders reportedly said their efforts would help prevent “extreme thoughts” and “heretical ideas” from undermining China.  News of the new religious requirements follows reports of other Chinese efforts to crackdown on various faith groups in recent years; including the detainment of nearly 2 million minority Uyghur’s, held in concentration camps in the Xinjiang region. China has denied the existence of the camps and reportedly described facilities as “boarding schools” to provide job training and discourage radicalization.  China has also arrested various religious leaders like Pastor Wang Yi, and have instated bans preventing other religious leaders from attending religious conferences abroad.  In a recent move, Chinese officials in the eastern province of Jiangxi ordered a Catholic church to remove a painting of the Virgin Mary and her baby, Jesus Christ, and replaced it with an image of Chairman Xi. They were also told to hang Chinese flags and pro-communist party slogans throughout the church.  In addition, the church was instructed to remove its name from public display and instead to hang a banner that reads: “Follow the party, thank the party, obey the party.”  Authorities also reportedly threatened older members of that Catholic church and warned that they could lose their pensions if they continued worshipping at the church.  Chinese authorities have reportedly told Catholic churches that have not joined the government-backed Patriotic Catholic Association that they would be labeled as a cult. Such a designation would reportedly subject them to further persecution.


clashdaily--2019-10-03--PREACHY PETE: Buttigieg Says Dems Should Try To Win Over RELIGIOUS Voters But Opposes Death Penalty

PREACHY PETE: Buttigieg Says Dems Should Try To Win Over RELIGIOUS Voters But Opposes Death Penalty For TERRORISTS

Seriously? Has Pete been eating those ‘special’ brownies?  If he thinks he’s dialed into what it will take ta bite out of the support Trump has enjoyed from ‘religious’ voters, he’s only off by about 180 degrees.  While other members of his party are taking a special effort to denigrate Christians while embracing the irreligious and unaffiliated, Buttigieg is going for another approach.  Ripping a page right out of 1984, he is trying to redefine Christianity out of existence. Traditional Christianity, anyway. He is giving us the Orwellian “2+2= 5” imperative and expects us to accept his claims unchallenged.  God — as Preachy Petey defines him — just can’t get enough abortion. He loves it. Shines his divine blessing upon monsters like that creepy abortionist from Pete’s hometown that had a ‘trophy’ collection of unborn babies in jars stored at his private home.  THAT kind of a death penalty — in Pete’s world — is a GOOD thing. But a death penalty visited upon anyone who has committed actual crimes? Well, that’s a bridge too far.  Here’s Pete ascending the stairs of his pulpit and moralizing to his Christian voters.  Buttigieg, a practicing Episcopalian, says Democrats have a chance to win over religious voters who have formed the core of the Republican base in recent decades, if only his party would make the case to those voters that President Trump’s policies run counter to their own Christian faith. “What I see right now is a lot of religious voters who are looking for options, because what’s happening in Washington and especially in this White House is an affront to any number of religious traditions, including somewhat conservative ones,” Buttigieg said in an exclusive interview with The Hill during a campaign swing through Nevada. “There’s just so many people in America who are sitting in the pews thinking, wait a minute, am I supposed to be on board with family separation, with policies that benefit the wealthiest only, with the behavior of a president like this one, and wondering who’s going to speak to them and let them know that they have a choice and that they are welcome in the coalition we’re trying to build,” he said.   Source: TheHill  He’s being awfully selective on what morals he thinks we are supposed to value. Suddenly, when it’s a Democrat doing it, all those ‘Church and State’ agitators fall strangely silent.  Because when the Church is hijacked in service of the Left’s political agenda, suddenly all is forgiven. How convenient.  As a consequence of his selective reading of scripture, he can’t even figure out some basic ideas that have been broadly understood for centuries.  “I do believe that the moral consequence of killing somebody who is defenseless for any reason goes against certainly what I’ve been taught about the way we’re supposed to treat human life,” he said. Asked whether his opposition extended to someone like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, he said yes. “If you mean it, you mean it,” Buttigieg said. “There are people who may deserve to die. I just don’t know anybody who deserves to kill them.”   Source: TheHill  He is missing the point completely. This isn’t a question of ‘deserving to kill someone’. This is a question of following through on a just penalty.  The principle that was indicated by stoning in the Old Testament — meaning it was a COMMUNAL Execution, one where society generally participated in the death of the guilty.  This has been expressed in other contexts by way of firing squad, where nobody knows who fires the fatal bullet, or in the modern context where a nation is organized in such a way that some respected citizens are chosen to administer justice.  If that justice includes imprisonment, that would require jailers. If it includes the death sentence, it would require an executioner.  We could just as easily turn the question back on him — which of us really has the right to strip a ‘defenseless’ man of his autonomy and freedom by locking him involuntarily in a cell?  There are people all over the world who improperly imprisoned. By what authority to we send people to jail? It is by that very same authority we execute ANY criminal sentence — up to and including death.  Since he pretends to like scripture so much, here’s the relevant one, as an expansion of what Jesus said about giving what was due to Caesar was given by Paul in his letter to the Romans.  Here is a portion of the larger text.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.   Source: Romans 5  We’ve all seen the dishonest games the left have played with the power they’re entrusted with, they’re obviously unworthy of that trust.  But what about 2020? Could a moral person pull a lever for Trump with their integrity intact? Would Jesus himself vote for Trump? We’re glad you asked. There’s a brand new book that covers precisely that question:  “Would Jesus Vote For Trump?” by Doug Giles and Brandon Vallorani.  Would Jesus ever choose someone, with a less than stellar past, to be a leader? Would Jesus be cool with how Trump blasts CNN, The Left, and his feckless ‘compadres’ on The Right? What about Health Care? Would the Great Physician give Trump’s opposition to ObamaCare the ‘two thumbs up?’ Find out in this BEST-SELLER!  Get it HERE today.


cnsnews--2019-05-03--New Study 80 Percent of Persecuted Religious Believers Are Christians

New Study: 80 Percent of Persecuted Religious Believers Are Christians

(CNSNews.com) – Eighty percent of religious believers who are being persecuted around the world are Christians, and in some regions the scale and nature of the persecution approaches the international definition of genocide, according to a new report commissioned by Britain’s foreign office.  “The main impact of such genocidal acts against Christians is exodus,” says the report’s author, the Anglican Bishop of Truro in southwest England, Philip Mountstephen.  “Christianity now faces the possibility of being wiped out in parts of the Middle East where its roots go back furthest.”  The report released Thursday says the proportion of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa – a predominantly Muslim region – has dropped from around 20 percent of the total population a century ago to some four percent today. In Iraq, the number of Christians has plummeted from 1.5 million early this century to less than 120,000 today.  It examines the treatment of Christians across parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and turns a spotlight on many governments, among them Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Iraq, Nigeria, and Algeria.  The report found that “high levels of persecution” were taking place in 50 countries, affecting some 245 million Christians. That’s more than ten percent of the world’s estimated 2.3 billion Christians.  Among the many problems identified:  State policies including clampdowns on public worship, a political climate in which extremism thrives, a trend towards religious conservatism in some Muslim-majority countries, the teaching of religious hatred in school textbooks, legal and social discrimination, hate speech targeting believers, arrests and intimidation, the destruction of churches and Christian symbols, and the abduction and killing of clergy.  “In some regions, the level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the U.N.,” Mountstephen wrote.  British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who commissioned the independent study focused on Christian persecution early this year, told reporters in Ethiopia on Thursday, “I think we’ve all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians.”  Hunt, a committed Christian, argued that some in the West have perhaps been held back from tackling the issue by “political correctness” and “an awkwardness” because of Europe’s colonial past.  “Personally, I think it is partly because of political correctness that we have avoided confronting this issue,” the Press Association quoted him as saying. “I think there is a misplaced worry that it is somehow colonialist to talk about a religion that was associated with colonial powers rather than the countries that we marched into to as colonizers.”  But, Hunt added, “what we have forgotten in that atmosphere of political correctness is actually the Christians that are being persecuted are some of the poorest people on the planet.”  Mountstephen made a similar point when the review was launched last January, saying that the Christian faith today is concentrated in poorer parts of the world, and is “not primarily an expression of white Western privilege.”  The report released Thursday is an interim one; the full report is due for publication over the summer, and is expected to include recommendations for government policies to respond to the situation.  Earlier this week in Washington, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a statutory independent body, issued its annual report, which also found that the worst violators of religious freedom are located in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.  Unlike the British report, which focused solely on Christian persecution, the USCIRF examines and makes policy recommendations to the government on violations against adherents of all faiths.  The USCIRF report determined that 16 countries meet the statutory criteria for designation as “countries of particular concern” for especially egregious violations.  They are Burma, Central African Republic, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.