A french bishop has acknowledged the issue of spiritual abuse in religious communities. Also: the Scientology cult has removed an illegal sign from a temporary building, but makes no promises.
Self-proclaimed psychic Sylvia Brown, who notoriously claimed Amanda Berry was dead, has died.
Plus: Saudi Arabia’s religious police demonstrate the effects of religious insanity.
Many Mormons who discover information about their church’s teachings online end up leaving the Mormon Church.
A trip to Dubai, where Islamic Law rules, can be like a visit to the Dark Ages.
And.. is it possible to be an Evangelical Christian and yet appear on the cover of Playboy?
Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments has threatened to arrest church leaders if they carry out evangelistic activities and do not comply with an order for churches to provide their names and contact information.
The warning arrived a few days after Sudan President Omar al-Bashir told cheering crowds that the country’s constitution will be more deeply entrenched in sharia (Islamic law).
The German government’s attempts to unite different religious groups seem to be turning sour. Introducing lessons on Islam in schools was meant to help integrate the country’s three million Muslims.
But the policy is having some undesired effects.
A federal judge blocked Oklahoma officials Monday from implementing a voter-approved referendum that singles out Islamic religious law, or Shariah, as a threat to the state.
Chief Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange, of U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, set a Nov. 22 hearing to consider whether the Save Our State Amendment violates the U.S. Constitution. Until then, she issued a temporary restraining order preventing the state Election Board from certifying State Question 755, which passed by 70% on Nov. 2.
In this predominantly Christian nation, Christians are worried about a Muslim community that is growing in numbers and influence, and they have been vocally backed by U.S.-based Christian groups.
Muslims are wary of the rising power of fundamentalist Christian organizations backed by American Christians.
A demonstration of Muslim hardliners calling for sharia law to be imposed in Britain was cancelled in London over the weekend amid planned counter-protests by democratic Muslims.
Anjem Choudary, leader of the radical Islamic group Al Muhajiroun, said that organisers of the Islam4UK demo had cancelled the march from the Houses of Parliament to Trafalgar Square on 31 October 2009 because of security concerns.
The Islamic Society of Britain, which was planning to join other organisations in staging a “dignified, non-violent” counter-demonstration, hailed the cancellation as a “great success”.
A leading Egyptian scholar has demanded that people caught importing a female virginity-faking device into the country should face the death penalty.
Abdul Mouti Bayoumi said supplying the item was akin to spreading vice in society, a crime punishable by death in Islamic Sharia law.
The end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan this weekend could see Islamic authorities in Malaysia carry out the country’s first caning sentence on a woman, a punishment that is fast gaining support among the country’s Muslim population.
Negative news reports regarding Islam’s growing influence has bruised Malaysia’s image as a moderate Muslim state with some commentators highlighting what they see as undesirable Islamic influences in their own countries, Reuters reports.
In our opinion, Islamic law has no place in modern, civilized society, and should not be tolerated in any form.
The Indonesian Council of Churches (PGI) has called for the rejection of two bills inspired by sharia (Islamic law).
The Halal Product Guarantee Bill and the Zakat Obligatory Alms Management Bill, both under consideration in the Indonesian parliament, cater to the needs of one religious group at the expense of others, violating Indonesia’s policy of pancasila or religious tolerance, said the Rev. Dr. A.A. Yewangoe, director of the PGI.