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 >>

Renewed fears of large-scale violence in Egypt for today's second anniversary of the uprising that helped oust long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak were realized when Egyptian security forces fired tear gas and protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails during a day-long demonstration Thursday. Christian leaders inside and outside the country are calling for prayers.

Prominent politicians, writers and society figures have been urging Egyptians to go back to the streets to demonstrate rejection of the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists, according to Open Doors USA sources inside Egypt.

A Christian leader, who regularly blogs from Egypt and remains anonymous for security reasons, says he sees "a split nation overflowing with too much frustration and anger, with hardly any positive or promising political or social development. The economy is a disaster, with our local currency's value diving deep down into the unknown." more >>

Tensions between Muslims and Christians in Malaysia have quickly escalated in the recent days following the advocacy of a "Bible-burning festival," an idea fueled by a parliament member's recent comments.

The controversy stems from recent comments made by independent parliament member Ibrahim Ali, founder and leader of Perkasa, a non-governmental Malay Supremacy organization which advocates the rights of the Muslim Malay majority in the country.

In a recent media program, Ali reportedly advocated that all Muslims burn Bibles which give reference to God as "Allah," as extremist Muslims in the country believe that term belong solely to Islam, according to The Malaysian Insider. more >>