Islam

Violent clashes between women and soldiers in Egypt has led to U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton’s condemnation of the military, a diplomatic move which Egypt sees as “interference.”

The clashes, which began last Dec. 16, quickly escalated into violent exchanges between civilian protesters and the military. The clashes were initiated when soldiers attempted to break up a group of sit-in protesters, who were urging a hasty push for a democratic government.

One particularly disturbing video surfaced on YouTube Sunday, showing Egyptian soldiers dragging and beating a half-naked female as she lay helpless on the ground. more >>

Iran’s Christians fear heightened persecution in their homeland this Christmas season as they prepare to mark the one-year anniversary of a government raid on church houses that resulted in the arrest dozens of believers.

The Dec. 26, 2010, raid involved Iranian authorities storming house churches and private homes in the early morning hours. The international community entered the New Year to find that 70 Christians had been arrested during the holiday season.

The Islamic Republic News Agency then quoted Tehran Gov. Morteza Tamadon as saying Christians had "inserted themselves into Iran like a parasite." more >>

Evangelist Franklin Graham raised concern over the rise of Islamism in the Middle East, saying it threatens America’s security but more than that it has put the lives of the Christian minority in the region at risk.

The fall of authoritarian regimes and ongoing protests against the ones that remain in power have created a power vacuum that the Muslim Brotherhood is exploiting to “establish Shariah law in every one of these countries and they will roll back the clock in the Middle East,” the son of Billy Graham told Newsmax Sunday.

Since a wave of protests began across the Middle East and North Africa in December 2010, the regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have fallen while President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen has agreed to step down and there’s a civil war underway in Syria. more >>

As expected, Islamist parties swept victoriously through the second round of Egypt's parliamentary elections with a combined 70 percent lead, with the Muslim Brotherhood dominating as it did previously in the second round of voting.

The two leading parties include the Muslim Brotherhood, which won the second round with 39 percent of the vote, and the fundamentalist Salafi Al Nour party, with 31 percent of the vote.

This shows that the two competing Islamic parties are evening out their scores. In the first round of elections, the Brotherhood held far more sway with 45 percent of the vote, while the Al Nour party trailed behind at 25 percent. more >>

A human rights group wants the international community to keep pressure on Iran during the Christmas season and into next year to secure the acquittal and release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and all others unjustly imprisoned or facing execution.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide says that in addition to the plight of Nadarkhani, who is facing death penalty for converting to Christianity, they have received reports of another pastor jailed and tortured.

Pastor Behnam Irani from the Church of Iran denomination is serving a five-year sentence in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj for charges of apostasy and “action against the order,” reports CSW. more >>

Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike are speaking out against Lowe’s Hardware Store’s decision to pull advertisement from the TLC television show “All American Muslim.” On Saturday, demonstrations in front of various Lowe’s locations across the country will seek to raise awareness against the perceived bigotry behind the chain’s decision.

“We stand against Lowe’s decision. We feel corporations have the right to make their own decisions regarding their advertising. But when you are basing that decision on a fringe group and their hatred and bigotry then that’s wrong. They (Lowe’s) buckled,” Abed Ayoub, legal director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told The Christian Post.

“We’ve seen Christian groups as well as Jewish and other interfaith groups come out and stand up against this bigotry. It’s been a very diverse show of support.” more >>