Prominent British atheist and best-selling author Richard Dawkins recently responded to those who were offended by a tweet he sent out where he used the term "Islamic Barbarians."

Earlier this week, the Oxford professor had tweeted a comment about the recent news over the apparent destruction of a historic library in Timbuktu, the capital of Mali.

"Like Alexandria, like Bamiyan, Timbuktu's priceless manuscript heritage destroyed by Islamic barbarians," wrote Dawkins. more >>

At least three people are believed to have been killed after a suicide bomber blew himself up on Friday at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, with Islamic terrorist group al-Qaida believed to be the prime suspects.

The bomber, who has not yet been identified, apparently entered the embassy and got through the first X-ray machine leading to the visa section, before he detonated himself, NBC News reported. Among those killed was one of the guards at the gate, and another unidentified person is believed to have also been killed. Turkish TV showed an injured woman being carried on a stretcher to an ambulance.

The U.S. Embassy's Twitter account confirmed the bombing, and assured that "appropriate measures were taken," promising that more information would be revealed when it becomes available. more >>

Muslim activists are seeking to share the proper meaning of the word "jihad" through a public education campaign in Washington, D.C., where they are posting advertisements depicting the personal struggles held by mainstream Muslims, accompanied by the term "#myJihad".

According to the campaign's website, myjihad.org, the meaning of the word "Jihad" as believed by the majority of Muslims is "a central tenet of the Islamic creed which means 'struggling in the way of God.'"

"The way of God, being goodness, justice, passion, compassion […] not forcible conversion as wrongly claimed by some," the website explains. more >>

Editor's Note: This is the fourth and final part of a series examining different aspects of Bible translation, inspired by the recent controversy surrounding Wycliffe Bible Translators and its translation for a Muslim context. While The Christian Post series will not be focusing exclusively on the Wycliffe controversy, the topics in the series are related to the situation and are helpful to understanding the complicated nature of Bible translation.

An expert on Middle Eastern New Testament studies says he believes that many people raised and living in the Western world tend to have trouble fully interpreting the Bible without first understanding the culture where the stories from Scripture actually took place.

"The whole Middle East, whether they be Middle Eastern Jews or Middle Eastern Christians or Middle Eastern Muslims, they share a common culture," Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey, author of the book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, told The Christian Post. "They don't have cultural problems understanding the stories that Jesus told. We are the people that have the problem. What we have learned is not wrong, it's just that there is a layer of perception [missing]." more >>

An 18-year-old man in the U.K. who raped a 13-year-old girl was spared a prison sentence by Nottingham Crown Court after he claimed that his Muslim upbringing did not teach him to respect women.

"Although chronologically 18, it is quite clear from the reports that you are very naive and immature when it comes to sexual matters," Judge Michael Stokes said when handing Adil Rashid a suspended sentence.

Rashid claimed in his defense that he met his 13-year-old victim through Facebook and the two exchanged messages for two months, before they met up in Nottingham. The teen admitted to having sex with the girl, but said that he was not aware that the activity was illegal and constituted rape, because he was raised with a Muslim education and was not aware of the law. more >>

The wife of Pastor Saeed Abedini, the American sentenced to 8 years of prison in Iran, expressed her shock at the punishment her husband was given.

"It was a complete shock. The way it was handled by the court was shocking," Naghmeh Abedini said, according to KTVB.

"My first emotion went to my kids. I have a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old, and she will be a teenager the next time she sees her dad and that was pretty devastating and what do I tell them? My daughters heard me say eight years and she said 'what's eight years?' They've been praying every night, and every day they ask is Daddy coming home today? And I didn't want to take that hope away from them and with all the help and support he will come home soon." more >>