Islam

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako I denounced a recent series of car bombings and shootings in Iraq that left scores dead and many more injured.

The "morale of Christians in the area is down" Sako said, adding that "it seems a step aimed at the division of Iraq."

In recent months, violent attacks have increased across Iraqi cities with the worst occurring on May 20 in Baghdad. Nine explosions were detonated in mainly Shiite areas, leaving at least eight dead in one attack. more >>

A highly-debated North Carolina bill forbidding the application of "foreign law" in domestic and child abuse cases passed the state's House vote Thursday.

Although the text of the bill makes no mention of it pertaining to Shariah law, many argue that its close representation to other states' bills proves that its goal is to prevent the interpretation of Shariah law in state courtrooms.

House Bill 695, which passed the North Carolina House Thursday by 69 to 42 vote, seeks "to protect its citizens from the application of foreign law that would result in the violation of a fundamental constitutional right of a natural person." more >>

Counselor Amir Ramzy of Cairo's Court of Appeal advised that issues surround Coptic and Muslim relations should be solved with thought and dialogue not by political motivations.

"Coptic issues should be resolved using national and intellectual methods. These issues should not be solved with political initiatives like that adopted by the Building and Development Party, the political arm of Gamma Islameya," Ramzy said in a statement.

"This party and the ruling regime in Egypt realize their current deadlock, and they attempt to polarize the different factions by using the Coptic card in the political process," Ramzy added, more >>

A top Saudi Arabia official has suggested that using Twitter, which reportedly is growing in popularity in the western Asian country, is leading people to "lose their afterlife."

BBC News reported that Sheikh Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, head of Saudi Arabia's religious police, warned that anyone using Twitter and other social media sites "has lost this world and his afterlife."

Saudi Arabia, a Muslim-dominated country, has been designated by persecution watchdog Open Doors USA as one of the most oppressive countries in the world where personal and religious freedoms are limited. BBC noted that platforms like Twitter have provided citizens with a mode of expression that was previously unavailable, and the conservative kingdom has seen a very fast increase of social media users in recent years. more >>

Samir Sabri, a lawyer, filed a complaint to the Supreme State Security Prosecution against Ahmed Mamhoud Abdullah, also known as Abu Islam, because he threatened Christians in Egypt.

Abu Islam said that Muslims would be able to eliminate the country's Christians in just two days in one of the episodes on his Al-Ummah Islamic channel.

Sabri said in the complaint that there is a video clip, which activists have been sharing on social media sites, where Abu Islam claims that Copts are to blame for all the sectarian violence, but are playing the victim's role. He goes on to demand they stop "evangelizing Muslims." more >>

A federal judge in Michigan ruled Tuesday against a suit brought by a group of Christian evangelists who were attacked last year at the largest Arab gathering in the United States.

Judge Patrick J. Duggan decided that the group Bible Believers did not have a case against the Wayne County Sheriff's Office regarding the actions taken at an outbreak of violence at the Arab International Festival in Dearborn.

"Plaintiffs have cited no authority, and the Court has not located any, for the proposition that free speech rights categorically trump the authority of municipal entities to preserve order and protect public safety," wrote Duggan. more >>