Islam

Leaders of a support organization for persecuted Christians are relieved that the group has been exonerated by the United Kingdom’s Charity Commission after being accused of campaigning against Muslims in Britain.

Barnabas Aid has been exonerated by the U.K. commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales, from any wrongdoing in passing out one of the group’s Operation Nehemiah booklets, Slippery Slope.

Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of Barnabas Aid, told The Christian Post that while his writings address problems with Islamic extremism, the group's material such as the booklet, does not promote hatred toward Muslims. more >>

Revolutionaries have killed Moammar Gaddafi in Sirte Thursday. The details surrounding his death are still unclear, but the moments leading up to his death have been chronicled here.

• Early Thursday, the former Libyan leader and key Gaddafi loyalists tried to escape Sirte in a truck convoy. • A U.S. drone as well as French fighter jets opened fire on the convoy. • Gaddafi and a few accomplices escaped and hid in drainage pipes nearby. • Prime Minister of Libya, Mahmoud Jibril, said that Gaddafi was discovered hiding in “a big bag pipe of the sewage system.” • Wearing pants and a long-underwear shirt, Gaddafi was armed, but showed to resistance. • Gaddafi was escorted out of the drainage pipe when fighting broke out between revolutionaries and Gaddafi’s accomplices. • Gaddafi was shot in his right arm. • Jibril said, “They came under intense crossfire,” when Gaddafi was shot in the head.

“I cannot confirm whether he was shot by our people or his security brigade. It was crossfire,” said the prime minister, confirming the death. Gaddafi died within minutes. more >>

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Ongoing violence against Christians in Iraq has produced an accelerated exodus of believers recently and numbering in the hundreds of thousands over the last 10 years, said Open Doors USA officials.

Members of the Orange County, Calif.-based organization that provides help to persecuted believers in Jesus worldwide say that while the world’s attention has shifted to such countries as Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the mass movement of Christians in Iraq continues unabated.

Before the Gulf War in 1991, the number of Christians was about one million, stated Open Doors in a news release. “That number fell to an estimated 850,000 in 2003 at the start of the U.S.-led invasion that ended the Saddam Hussein regime. Since then the numbers have plummeted. more >>

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has been planning for years to find a way to unite the world's major religions in an effort to help foster peace, and believes a new international organization to be housed in Vienna, Austria will help make that dream a reality. As the institution was officially founded Thursday, some Christians are likely to start pointing to interpretations of biblical prophecy about the emergence of a one-world religion many believe precedes the return of Jesus Christ.

According to media reports, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, Austrian Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Michael Spindelegger and Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez Garcia-Herrera oversaw the signing of a contract between the three nations Thursday, in which they will cooperate in the building and organization of an interfaith center in Vienna. Other high level officials from the three nations were also reportedly in attendance at the treaty signing.

The building, to be called the "King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue," was conceived of by its namesake and mostly financed by the Saudi government. According to media reports the center will be composed of a governing body of 12 representatives, among that number will be representatives from Islam (one each Sunni and Shiite), Christians (one each Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox), a Buddhist, a Hindu and a Jewish representative. more >>

The attorney for Youcef Nadarkhani told CNN Monday that the persecuted Iranian pastor was still alive, though it remained uncertain whether the government would actually carry out his execution.

The decision, said Mohammad Dadkhah, who is representing Nadarkhani in his legal appeal, may ultimately rest with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Christian pastor’s fate was to be decided Monday, but Iran’s Supreme Court took the unusual step of asking Khamenei, Iran’s highest religious and political leader, for his input. more >>

Muslims Against Crusades, a radical Islamic organization, featured a controversial hate message on the front page of its website this week titled, “Is the Assassination of President Obama Legal?”

The group is a British-based extremist Islamic group that was founded by Muslim leader Abu Assadullah late last year. The hate message is quickly gaining international attention due to the nature of the question as it implies an actual threat.

Media reports are referring to the notice as “shocking,” “idiotic” and “frightening.” more >>