Islam

Egyptian Muslim leaders are caught in a storm of controversy after a human rights group confronted them about a fatwa (Islamic edict) that stated the building of a church is “a sin against God.”

Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, the highest official of religious law in Egypt, and the justice minister have issued an investigation of the jurists who issued the fatwa, according to Assyrian International News Agency.

The controversy began when the president of the Egyptian Union Human Rights Organization, Dr. Naguib Gabraeel, asked the Fatwa Council about a statement found in a textbook at Cairo University on inheritance and execution of wills. more >>

A group of conservative Anglicans that broke away from The Episcopal Church recently announced a new project to educate American members about Islam and the challenges it poses to the Church and its mission.

Called the Church and Islam Project, the new initiative includes educational seminars, reading materials, and information made available at a new Web site, www.ChurchandIslam.com.

“As Christians, we are called to reach out to the world around us to spread the love of Christ and that includes learning how to respond to other religions,” said the Rev. Canon Julian Dobbs, Canon Missioner of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). more >>

WASHINGTON – What started off as a typical press conference turned into a heated exchange Monday when two Egyptian American Muslims challenged statements made by the Coptic Christian speakers.

At the press event, the Coptic panel, which included representatives from Voice of the Copts, National American Coptic Assembly, and Young People, decried Eyptian President Hosni Mubarak over the grave human rights situation in the predominantly Muslim country and denounced his visit to the United States. Two Muslims who joined the audience, however, took offense to some of the comments.

Both sides criticized the Mubarak administration as corrupt and said they wanted greater respect for religious freedom in Egypt. But arguments began when one of the speakers linked sharia, or Islamic law, to the kidnapping of Coptic girls in Egypt. more >>

The father of a teenage girl who ran away from home because she feared her Muslim family would kill her for converting to Christianity denies ever threatening his daughter and says she's being "coached" by the pastor of a church in Orlando, Fla.

“Honestly, it's not my daughter who is speaking,” Mohamed Bary told central Ohio news station WBNS-TV.

“I feel that she has been coached to say these things,” he added after refuting the allegations made by his daughter, 17-year-old Fathima Rifqa Bary, regarding his response to her recently revealed conversion. more >>

A human rights group focused on Christian persecution is urging Kenyan officials not to enshrine Islamic law into Kenya’s constitution, noting the negative effects of such moves in nearby countries.

“Such a move will lead to further violence and discrimination against Christians in the Muslim dominated provinces of Kenya," commented Jonathan Racho, the Africa regional manager for International Christian Concern.

Though Islamic courts, known as Kadhi, have existed for a long time at district levels in Kenya, they have been limited to settling divorce, inheritance and marriage disputes among Muslims. more >>