Tag: Free Speech

Today: Critics call The Fellowship of Friends a cult. Members say it’s a school of spiritual development. The Feds says the group’s members support themselves cultivating marijuana on properties surrounding the religious compound.

Also, a look at the real saint behind Santa Claus.

Jailed cult leader Tony Alamo again appeals a lawsuit alleging he ordered the beatings of two young boys in his ministry. Plus: the reason a pastor and his wife cannot change their last name to ChristIsKing.

In a show of partiality to Muslims who go unprosecuted for like offenses against Christianity, a juvenile court in Egypt sentenced a Coptic Christian teenager to three years in prison for allegedly insulting Islam.

The court claimed that he posted cartoons on his Facebook account in December that mocked the Islamic religion and its prophet, Muhammad.

A court in Amsterdam has acquitted MP Geert Wilders of charges of inciting hatred and insulting Muslims as a group.

The charges had been brought by individuals who felt they had been discriminated against by the anti-Islam nationalist MP.

Central and Eastern Europe’s first online Christian news agency, BosNewsLife, was ordered Wednesday, February 9, to register with Hungarian authorities under a new controversial law that critics say is part of a crackdown on independent media.

Under the new law electronic media such as BosNewsLife could face fines of over $100,000 and broadcasters nearly $1 million if their news coverage is deemed unbalanced, immoral or violating human dignity.

The United Nations General Assembly may soon vote — not for the first time — in favor of a resolution opposing the “defamation of religions.” The idea, which may sound appealing at first blush, is particularly championed by Islamic countries, which would like to go even further and have the condemnation enshrined in international law.

But a new report by Freedom House, a Washington-based human rights organization, demonstrates how such policies have too often been used by countries to suppress freedom of speech and freedom of religion, leading to serious human rights abuses.

See also: Free Speech and Radical Islam

A Dutch court approved on Friday a request from anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders to have new judges for his trial on charges of inciting hatred against Muslims, forcing the court to start the case over again.

It is alleged that one of the judges tried to influence one of Wilders’ witnesses.

The Westboro Baptist Church is a hate group masquerading as a Christian church.

Theologically, the hate group’s extremist views and despicable behavior mark it as a cult of Christianity.

Led by Fred Phelps, members of this ‘church’ — who have deluded themselves into thinking that they are followers of Jesus Christ — target homosexuals and others with messages of hate.

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether or not this group’s particular brand of religious insanity should be allowed as ‘free speech.’