Islam

According to a recent study, North American Muslims do not wish to use the government court system to impose Shariah law – a finding that contradicts many pre-conceived notions about the modern Muslim's interpretation of Islam's religious law.

The study was conducted by Dr. Judy Macfarlane, law professor at the University of Windsor and fellow for nonpartisan think tank, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, based in Washington, D.C.

Macfarlane interviewed a total of 212 North American Muslims, 41 of which were imams, or Islamic worship leaders. Another 70 were community leaders, and the remaining 101 were divorced Muslim men and women. Seventy-five percent of the data was collected from American Muslims, while the remaining 25 percent came from Canadian Muslims. more >>

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, has been facing increased pressure from those at home and abroad to put an end to the deadly violence and volatile animosity between the nation's Muslims in the north and Christians in the south. But critics claim the president may be ill-equipped to bring peace on his own. 

Nine months after being elected Nigeria's president in April 2011, Jonathan's popularity has plummeted. Already having to tackle brutal acts of violence in the north, where Muslim extremists are targeting the Christian community, the embattled leader has also faced massive protests over his decision to cancel oil subsidies, a problem of a different nature for those distressed by the religious violence.

Jonathan has faced criticism for not taking efficient steps to protect Christians regurlarly targeted in attacks by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. In fact, the president incited something of a scandal recently when he publicly admitted that he is convinced there are Boko Haram sympathizers in his own government. more >>

WASHINGTON – An expert on Islam said Thursday that the United States and other Western nations are indirectly aiding the spread of radical Islamic groups abroad.

Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of U.K.-based Barnabas Fund, said at a lecture hosted by Family Research Council that the "Arab Spring" is a good example of how the United States and other nations are enabling the spread of Islamism, especially in Libya and Egypt.

In Libya, he said, the support given by NATO and the U.S. to the rebel group, known as the NTC, is a matter of concern. more >>

Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, called Wednesday for national unity and an end to persecution in Egypt on the first anniversary of the revolution that brought more democracy to the nation but also increased violence against Christians.

Wednesday marked one year since Egyptians rose up Jan. 25, 2011, in revolution. Over 800 deaths later, Egypt has a new, democratically-elected, an mostly Islamic government and is starting to make its way towards putting the country's economy back on track.

The bishop offered prayers for the victims who died during pro-democracy protests in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt, evoking also Coptic Christians who died in separate incidents after the toppling of Egypt's president of nearly 30 years, Hosni Mubarak. Next to some follow-up protests against military rule, the country saw a different kind of fresh violence in the aftermath of the revolution - violence against the Coptic community, one of Egypt's oldest religious groups. more >>

Members of the German parliament have joined the global community in pressuring the Iranian government to free evangelical Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who remains in prison with a pending death verdict for alleged apostasy.

A commission in the German Bundestag (the national parliament) recently gathered signatures from Parliament members in a petition for Nadarkhani's release, local media have reported. Parliament members reportedly asked the Iranian government to overturn Nadarkhani's death sentence and to exonerate the embattled pastor – who has now become almost an international poster child for Christian martyrs – according to Iranian Christian news agency Mohabat News.

At the same time, signatories noted in the petition the existence of "restrictions that limit them in influencing the Iranian regime regarding political and Human Rights issues," the agency reported. more >>

As the terrorist attacks decimating Nigeria continue, its citizens are blaming the government for failing to protect them and asking why President Goodluck Jonathan is not doing more to save the Christians under attack by Islamist extremists.

These latest calls mark a stark reverse of public opinion for President Goodluck Jonathan, who was hailed as the "Nigerian Barack Obama" as he took office in May 2010, for his promise to bring change and prosperity to the most populous African country.

Jonathan, a Christian and whose middle name Ebelechukwu means "God's Mercy," has admitted that members of his own government that he helped form might have sympathies toward Boko Haram, the Islamist terror group that has been attacking churches and government offices, a CNN report revealed. Citizens have become so angry with these revelations that they have even taken to the streets carrying mock coffins and placards calling him "President Badluck." more >>