Middleeast

Arizona Sen. John McCain has called on the Obama Administration to lead a military strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose security forces are accused of killing thousands of people protesting his rule.

McCain argued on Monday during a speech at the Senate that President Barack Obama's diplomatic approach to the Assad regime is "starting to look more like hope than strategy" and pointed to a U.S.-led military engagement in Libya as a case for intervening in Syria.

"The president must state unequivocally that under no circumstances will Assad be allowed to finish what he has started, that there is no future in which Assad and his lieutenants will remain in control of Syria, and that the United States is prepared to use the full weight of our airpower to make it so," the Republican senator said. more >>

The American Center for Law and Justice's sources in Iran confirmed Saturday that Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is in fact alive, and rumors that he was to be executed over the weekend were false.

Photos surfaced on the Internet Saturday, allegedly showing a blindfolded Nadarkhani facing execution by hanging. These photos are outdated and false, the ACLJ reported Saturday.

Although Nadarkhani is still alive, the ACLJ does still believe that Iranian courts have issued an execution order. In the past, Iran has not informed the public of an execution, oftentimes dropping the prisoner's executed body on the family's doorstep. more >>

The past few weeks have shown a great, unified increase in support for Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who has been imprisoned in Iran since Oct. 2009 for his Christian faith. Pressure from the global community has been credited with preventing Iran from carrying out his death sentence, but is it up to the United States to do more?

According to Lindsay Vessey, advocacy director for religious persecution watchdog Open Doors USA, all international persecution cases should receive as much attention as Nadarkhani's has. The United States has shown great resolve in helping Nadarkhani's plight, and Vessey believes that the U.S. should be the world's guiding light in defending religious liberties.

This is one of the reasons why Open Doors USA has created the Presidential Pledge for Religious Freedom, written several months ago in preparation for the upcoming 2012 presidential elections. more >>

A local Muslim student at a private school in northern Iraq fatally shot his gym teacher, a Christian from the United States, before shooting himself on Thursday. Local authorities said sectarianism was not the motive, but the victim's father disagrees.

Biyar Sarwar, an 18-year-old student at the Classical School of the Medes in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, shot his gym teacher Jeremiah Small, a 33-year-old American citizen and reportedly a believing Christian, before turning the gun on himself during a morning sports lecture Thursday, The Daily World reported.

While Small died on the spot, Sarwar died later at a hospital in Sulaimaniyah, about 160 miles northeast of the national capital city of Baghdad. more >>

Months ago, we watched in amazement as Islamic believers killed Christians after "Pastor" Jones in Florida had his own burning of the Qur'an. More recently, explosive-filled trucks, suicide bombers, gun-firing civilians and Afghani soldiers have led murderous charges based on reports that soldiers burned Qur'ans. We are incredulous. Why this intense rage?

It is within our interest to understand both what fuels and insults Islamic faith – for the well-being of Christians who live in the hinterlands of encroaching Islamic governments and regimes, and for those in countries where Muslims populations are growing and their public presence is becoming more insistent.

The Qur'an is at the very heart of Islamic faith and life. While the Islamic world is not monolithic – it harbours deep and often violent internal disputes and wars – Muslims are united when any disparaging word or act is directed to their holy book or Prophet Muhammad. more >>

Correction Appended

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Thursday condemning Iran for imprisoning Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, while calling for his immediate release.

The resolution passed with a 417-1 vote. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) was the only representative to vote against the resolution, although she later confirmed that she had accidentally voted "no." Capps' press secretary, Ashley Schapitl, informed The Christian Post of the mistake and provided a YouTube video which documents Capps' address to the House of Representatives, during which she acknowledges her mistake and requests that her approval of H. Res. 556 be recorded. The voting record, however, cannot be changed. more >>