http://www.religionnewsblog.com Religion news about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:35:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 en hourly 1 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23492/muslim-marries-12-year-old-girl http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23492/muslim-marries-12-year-old-girl#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:13:38 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23492 The Christian mother of a 12-year-old girl in Punjab Province who was kidnapped, coerced into converting to Islam and forcibly married to a 37-year-old Muslim hopes to recover her daughter at a court hearing next week.

The reaction of Pakistani law enforcement authorities to Sajida Masih’s complaint so far – ridiculing her and asserting that there is nothing she can do because her daughter is now a Muslim – does not encourage her hopes of recovering her daughter Huma at next Thursday’s (June 11) hearing.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23492/muslim-marries-12-year-old-girl/feed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23462/muslim-bbc-head-religion http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23462/muslim-bbc-head-religion#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 11:23:12 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23462 The BBC has appointed its first Muslim head of religion.

Aaqil Ahmed will move to the corporation from Channel Four, where he upset Roman Catholic priests by commissioning documentaries that appeared to contain a pro-Islam bias.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23462/muslim-bbc-head-religion/feed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23451/muslim-lawyer-threatens-christian http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23451/muslim-lawyer-threatens-christian#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 06:54:07 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23451 A Pakistani Christian charged with abetting blasphemy against Islam was denied bail for his own safety last week after an Islamist lawyer allegedly threatened his life in a court hearing.

Insulting Islam is a dangerous activity in the conservative nation of 170 million, but with the spread of the Taliban, non-Muslims fear their very existence will make them a target to fundamentalists.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23451/muslim-lawyer-threatens-christian/feed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23447/abu-izzadeen-hate-criminal http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23447/abu-izzadeen-hate-criminal#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 11:39:18 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23447 One of Britain's most notorious preachers of hate is back on the streets after being freed early from jail.

Douglas Murray, director of the Centre for Social Cohesion, said the men were a danger to society.

'Abu Izzadeen and his organisation publicly call for attacks against those whom they see as enemies of Islam,' he said.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23447/abu-izzadeen-hate-criminal/feed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23443/islam-news-2 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23443/islam-news-2#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 11:13:21 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23443 • Being photographed, video taped is un-Islamic: TNSM chief   • Ex-Spy Sits Down With Islamists and the West   • Arab televangelists: popular with young Muslims. Critics say it's 'Islam Lite'   • Can Islam survive?   • Muslim singer claims Coldplay stole his melody   more...]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23443/islam-news-2/feed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23429/taliban-pakistan http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23429/taliban-pakistan#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:26:26 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23429 As Taliban control hits pockets of Pakistan and threatens the nation's stability, Christians worry their province could be the next to fall under Islamic law.

Christians in Taiser town, near Karachi, noticed on the walls of their church graffiti that read, "Long Live the Taliban" and calls for Christians to either convert to Islam or pay the jizye, a poll tax under sharia (Islamic law) paid by non-Muslims for protection if they decline to convert.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23429/taliban-pakistan/feed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23428/muslim-veils-banned http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23428/muslim-veils-banned#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:14:48 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23428 A Muslim-owned jewellery shop has decided to ban customers wearing veils after being targeted by robbers disguised as Islamic women.

The family said they accepted the policy may offend some Muslims, but expect other businesses to take a similar approach.

Criminals wearing Islamic veils have carried out at least one other robbery in the city.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23428/muslim-veils-banned/feed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23421/sharia-egypt http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23421/sharia-egypt#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:49:41 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23421 Christian convert Raheal Henen Mussa and her Coptic husband are hiding from police and her Muslim family for violating an article of Islamic law (sharia) that doesn’t exist in the Egyptian penal code.

Police arrested Mussa, 22, on April 13 for marrying Sarwat George Ryiad in a customary marriage (zawag al ‘urfi), an unregistered form of matrimony in Egypt made without witnesses. It has gained popularity among Egyptian youth but is not sanctioned by most Islamic scholars.

The two have not committed a crime according to Egyptian law since they didn’t seek official marriage status, but police and Mussa’s family are pursuing them because they violated Islamic law, advocacy groups say.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23421/sharia-egypt/feed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23418/christians-acquitted-pakistan http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23418/christians-acquitted-pakistan#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:47:12 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23418 After more than two years in a Pakistani jail, two elderly Christian men convicted of “blasphemy” against the Quran were acquitted on Thursday (April 16) when a high court in Lahore overturned their 10-year sentence.

The pair has claimed from the start that the blasphemy charges were fabricated due to a dispute over a plot of land that a Muslim neighbor wanted James Masih to sell.

Christians previously accused of blasphemy continued to experience prejudice and sometimes violence even after being cleared of the charges.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23418/christians-acquitted-pakistan/feed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23412/saudi-arabia-authorities-release-christian-blogger http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23412/saudi-arabia-authorities-release-christian-blogger#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:04:15 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23412 In a surprise move, a Saudi Christian arrested in January for describing his conversion from Islam and criticizing the kingdom’s judiciary on his blog site was released on March 28 with the stipulation that he not travel outside of Saudi Arabia or appear on media.

The country’s penalty for “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, is death, although in recent years there have been no known cases of kingdom citizens formally convicted and sentenced with capital punishment for the offense.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23412/saudi-arabia-authorities-release-christian-blogger/feed