Islam

Persecution watchdog Open Doors USA has released its annual "World Watch List," which rates countries based on the level of religious persecution it inflicts on Christian believers. CEO Carl Moeller tells The Christian Post that, despite the situation for persecuted Christians, the Gospel has been gaining ground.

The list is compiled from a survey completed by field workers, prosecuted believers, and indigenous contacts that asks specific questions pertaining to religious freedom.

This year's report saw some expected results, but also major surprises, including a large jump in Islam majority countries, as well as the spread of Christianity in unexpected places.  more >>

In Green Bay, Wis., the local school district is making an effort to accommodate Muslim students' prayer schedules without interfering with classes or the Constitution. But what school officials consider a testament to religious freedom, others consider a form of special treatment that Christians do not enjoy.

An influx of nearly 200 refugees – many of them Muslim – from war-torn Somalia into the Green Bay area is what has led to the accommodations, which include allowing Muslim students to use empty classrooms or alcoves during recess to pray. Under federal law, public schools cannot deny the right to prayer to any student. Some Muslims pray five times a day at specific, designated times.

"The issue of students praying in school has come up a number of times this year, in part because we have an increasing number of students who practice the Islam faith, many of whom are Somali students," said Barbara Dorff, student services director, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "It is our responsibility to find a private place for these students to pray and to allow them to pray." more >>

The New York City Police Department is currently investigating four fire attacks from Sunday night, the majority of which were targeted at Muslim places of worship.

The attacks happened successively on Sunday night in the Queens borough of New York City.

The first attack happened at 8 p.m., when a Molotov cocktail hit a Muslim-run bodega. The Molotov cocktails were comprised of a glass Starbucks bottle stuffed with rags and doused in flammable liquid, presumably gasoline or lighter fluid, according to police. more >>

The militant Islamist group, Boko Haram, has issued a chilling warning to all Christians in northern Nigeria, giving them three days to leave or face further extensive attacks.

The violence in Nigeria by Boko Haram has led to a stiff ultimatum by the group, which has warned that it is ready to confront soldiers sent to engage them under a state of emergency declared by Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan.

“We will confront them squarely to protect our brothers,” said Abul Qaqa, spokesperson of Boko Haram, according to CNN. more >>

Saudi Arabia is allowing its female citizens to vote and run for office in municipal elections starting in 2015, a Saudi government official said Wednesday.

Fahad al-Anzi, Shura Council member, was quoted in the state-run al-Watan newspaper as saying the decision came from Saudi King Abdullah, reported The Associated Press.

As a strict and conservative Islamic society, Saudi Arabia typically doesn't allow women many options they can exercise without first gaining approval from their male guardians. Gregory Gause, a professor of political science at the University of Vermont, said such male guardians are typically a woman's father if she is unmarried or her husband if she is. They approve or deny a variety of actions women in other countries take for granted, he said, including obtaining passports, traveling overseas or earning an education. more >>

Nigeria gripped news headlines over Christmas weekend when Islamic extremists bombed Christian churches in five different cities. Though such tragedies give the appearance of rampant religious violence, many experts now caution that religion is just one among several factors fueling strife in the West African nation.

As reported yesterday by The Christian Post, 39 people were killed when terrorists bombed churches in the cities of Madalla, Jos, Kano, Damaturu and Gadaka, on Christmas Day. The violence has intensified since then, with the city of Potiskum suffering arson at 30 different Christian shops and civilians fleeing the various attack sites.

John Campbell, the Council on Foreign Relations' Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, said that although religion remains a divisive issue in Nigeria, it isn't the only concern causing the country problems. more >>