France is setting up a rehabilitation unit for young Muslims returning from conflict zones such as Syria and Iraq, the Euro News website reports today (April 30, 2015).
Young French Muslims who have become radicalized will be given individualized help and psychological support so they can fully rejoin society. The idea is to prevent them from posing a threat to France.
Prime Minister Manuel Walls proposed the measure at an international anti-terror meeting in Paris which was attended by more than 40 countries.
France voted in April last year a prevention plan to fight the jihadist networks. Since then, 1,900 people have been notified to the authorities.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Egypt Orders 69 Terrorists to 25 Yrs. in Prison; Muslim Radicals Convicted of Burning a Church
Sixty-nine Muslim Brotherhood supporters were each sentenced to 25 years in prison in Egypt yesterday for attacking and burning a church in a village near Cairo in 2013, the Reuters website reports today (April 30, 2015).
The church in the village of Kafr Hakim just outside of Cairo was burnt in August 2013 in a wave of violence that rocked the country after the army toppled elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi following mass protests against his rule.
Egyptian authorities have jailed thousands of suspected members of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, and the courts have sentenced hundreds to death.
Since taking office in 2014, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has identified Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and a threat to national security.
The church in the village of Kafr Hakim just outside of Cairo was burnt in August 2013 in a wave of violence that rocked the country after the army toppled elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi following mass protests against his rule.
Egyptian authorities have jailed thousands of suspected members of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, and the courts have sentenced hundreds to death.
Since taking office in 2014, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has identified Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and a threat to national security.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Nigeria's Military Rescues 200 Girls, 93 Women; Freed in Nigeria's Sambisa Forest, Drive Ongoing
Two hundred girls and 93 women -- believed to have been kidnapped by Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram -- have been rescued in the nation's Sambisa Forest, the Christian Headlines website reports today (April 29, 2015).
The Nigerian Armed Forces made the announcement on its Twitter page, but could not confirm if the girls were among the schoolgirls that were kidnapped from a school in Chibok by Boko Haram militants in April 2014.
The Nigerian military also claimed to have destroyed three terrorist camps.
Military spokesman Chris Olukolade said that the armed forces' mission was ongoing.
The Nigerian Armed Forces made the announcement on its Twitter page, but could not confirm if the girls were among the schoolgirls that were kidnapped from a school in Chibok by Boko Haram militants in April 2014.
The Nigerian military also claimed to have destroyed three terrorist camps.
Military spokesman Chris Olukolade said that the armed forces' mission was ongoing.
Report:No.of Churchless Americans Now Soaring; Have Grown by Nearly One-Third in Past 20 years
A new report has found that the number of churchless Americans has increased by nearly one-third in just 20 years despite frequent "Christian" self-description of the United States, the Ecumenical News website reports today (April 29, 2015).
In the early 1990s, about two out of 10 U.S. adults were churchless; in the early 2000s, it was three in 10, and today, the churchless make up nearly half the adult population, the Barna group finds in its report distributed April 28.
"In spite of America's 'Christian' self-description, there is a growing sense among North American Christ-followers that the culture is changing faster than we can keep up with, or respond to," the report says.
The report -- called "Churchless" -- confirms that the world has indeed been altered in significant ways during the last few decades.
In the early 1990s, about two out of 10 U.S. adults were churchless; in the early 2000s, it was three in 10, and today, the churchless make up nearly half the adult population, the Barna group finds in its report distributed April 28.
"In spite of America's 'Christian' self-description, there is a growing sense among North American Christ-followers that the culture is changing faster than we can keep up with, or respond to," the report says.
The report -- called "Churchless" -- confirms that the world has indeed been altered in significant ways during the last few decades.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
French Muslim Student Sent Home for Long Skirt; School Says Skirt Conveys Rel. Faith, Violates Law
The case of a 15-year-old Muslim girl who was banned from a school in the northeastern French town of Charleville-Mezieres twice for wearing a long black skirt seen as too openly religious for secular France has sparked an outcry, the AFP (Agence France-Presse) website reports today (April 28, 2015).
The girl was stopped from going to class earlier this month by the head teacher who felt the long skirt -- popular among some Muslim women who cover their whole body -- "conspicuously" showed religious affiliation, which is banned in schools by France's strict secular laws.
"The girl was not excluded, she was asked to come back with a neutral outfit and it seems her father did not want the student to come back to school," local education official Patrice Dutot told AFP today.
According to the 2004 law that governs secularity in schools, veils, the Jewish kippa, and large Christian crosses are all banned in educational establishments, but "discreet religious signs" are allowed.
The girl was stopped from going to class earlier this month by the head teacher who felt the long skirt -- popular among some Muslim women who cover their whole body -- "conspicuously" showed religious affiliation, which is banned in schools by France's strict secular laws.
"The girl was not excluded, she was asked to come back with a neutral outfit and it seems her father did not want the student to come back to school," local education official Patrice Dutot told AFP today.
According to the 2004 law that governs secularity in schools, veils, the Jewish kippa, and large Christian crosses are all banned in educational establishments, but "discreet religious signs" are allowed.
Lesbians Are Fired from Daycare for "Life of Sin;" Fired from Fla.Methodist Ctr.for Being Lesbians
Kelly Bardier and Jaci Pfeiffer were fired last month after their employers became aware of their lesbian relationship. The couple both worked at Aloma Methodist Early Childhood Learning Center in Winter Park, Florida as daycare workers, Kelly for 8 months and Jaci for almost 2 years, the Religion News website reports today (April 28, 2015).
On March 18, School Director Barbara Twatchman confronted the couple after hearing rumors of their relationship. When the women confessed that they were dating, Twatchman gave them an ultimatum.
"We were called into the director's office and told that if we chose to continue living a life of sin, we would be terminated, but if we decided not to be gay anymore, we could keep our jobs," Bardier said.
The two didn't work together in an official capacity. They drove to work together and every now and then assisted in some of the projects in each other's classroom, but that was the extent of their work relationship.
On March 18, School Director Barbara Twatchman confronted the couple after hearing rumors of their relationship. When the women confessed that they were dating, Twatchman gave them an ultimatum.
"We were called into the director's office and told that if we chose to continue living a life of sin, we would be terminated, but if we decided not to be gay anymore, we could keep our jobs," Bardier said.
The two didn't work together in an official capacity. They drove to work together and every now and then assisted in some of the projects in each other's classroom, but that was the extent of their work relationship.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Baghdad Car Bombings Kill at Least 9, Wound 30; IS Focus in Its Caliphate Cuts Baghdad Bombings
Car bomb explosions on two commercial streets in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad killed at least nine people and wounded more than 30 others today (April 27, 2015), the Newsmax website reports.
One of the bombs struck Mansur in West Baghdad, while the other hit Amil in the capital's south.
Bombings and shootings in Baghdad were once a daily occurrence, but have declined since the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group launched a major offensive last June, seizing control of large areas north and west of the capital, and calling this land an Islamic caliphate.
That has tied down the IS radical group to its seized land, thus reducing its terrorist activities in Baghdad.
One of the bombs struck Mansur in West Baghdad, while the other hit Amil in the capital's south.
Bombings and shootings in Baghdad were once a daily occurrence, but have declined since the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group launched a major offensive last June, seizing control of large areas north and west of the capital, and calling this land an Islamic caliphate.
That has tied down the IS radical group to its seized land, thus reducing its terrorist activities in Baghdad.
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