Pope Francis, King Abdullah II Of Jordan On Syria: Dialogue Is The ‘Only Option’...
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis and Jordan’s King Abdullah II reaffirmed that dialogue is the “only option” to end the conflict in Syria, just as the United States and its European allies consider launching a military strike against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The two leaders met for the first time on Thursday (Aug. 29) at the Vatican. The pontiff and the king, accompanied by his wife Queen Rania, talked in private for 20 minutes. According to an official Vatican statement, during the meeting “special attention” was given to Syria’s “tragic situation.” Talks of a possible Western military intervention in the Syrian crisis intensified after reports of a chemical weapons attack against civilians in Damascus last week....
Jordan’s king decries anti-Christian violence, calls upon Christians to defend Islam...
A week after meeting with Pope Francis, King Abdullah II of Jordan spoke at a conference on the plight of Christians in the Middle East and decried violence against them. “We support every effort to preserve the historical Arab Christian identity, and safeguard the right to worship freely, based on a rule in both the Christian and Islamic faiths that underlines love of God and love of neighbor,” said the king, according to The Jordan Times. “We are proud that Jordan constitutes a unique model of coexistence and fraternity between Muslims and Christians,” he continued. “We also believe that the protection of the rights of Christians is a duty rather than a favor. Arab Christians have played a key...
First Presbyterian Church in Farmington leads classes on Islam and Christianity...
FARMINGTON — With turmoil in the Middle East appearing in the news on an almost daily basis, the Rev. Glenn Perica of Farmington’s First Presbyterian Church believes now is the time to educate people about Islam and how it compares to Christianity. “Ever since 9/11, we who did not understand very much about the Muslim faith certainly have been exposed to it,” Perica said. A 10-week course entitled “Christianity and Islam: So Much In Common, So Far Apart” introduces people to the faith. The course begins Sept. 4 at Farmington’s First Presbyterian Church. The course aims to help Christians understand the similarities and differences between the two world religions. Walter Declerck of Dar al Islam, an Abiquiú-based Islamic...
Islam Rising Among UK Youth
“The large number of young people identifying as Muslims – much larger than previous generations – suggests that Islam will soon be a much more significant force in this country than it is at the moment,” Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, said on his group’s website on Tuesday, September 10. “This confirms the rapid downward trend among Christians and bodes extremely ill for the future of that religion in Britain,” he added. Released earlier this month, the poll of more than 20,000 people was commissioned by Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative party deputy chairman. Titled, “Small island: Public opinion and the politics of Immigration,” the poll was mainly about attitudes to...
Somalia: Fatwa Against Al Shabab, ‘It Has No Place In Islam’...
September 12, 2013 Some 160 Somali religious scholars have issued a fatwa (judgment or learned interpretation in the Islamic faith) against the al Shabab, saying the group “has no place in Islam”. It is the first time Somali religious leaders have come up with a fatwa against the group, which controls vast rural areas. The announcement comes as residents of Bula Burte, in central Somalia, denounced that the al Shabab Islamists executed a young man and performed a double amputation in front of a crowd of dozens of people. The fatwa establishes that al Shabab “is not an Islamic movement” but an extremist group with “an erroneous ideology” that comes together “to kill Somalis without any legitimate reason...
Glamour model to cover up and convert to Islam after falling for Tunisian lifeguard...
She used to spend her days posing in her underwear but now glamour model Carley Watts, 24, is to cover up after falling in love with Tunisian lifeguard, Mohammed Salah, 25. The model, from Dearham in Norfolk, met Salah during a holiday in Tunisia in April and says she is so serious about the lifeguard she is set to Islam to become his wife. From October, Carley and her daughter Alannah, two, will live close to his family in the city of Monastir, where she will spend six months learning about the faith – and planning their wedding. Carley told the Sun on Sunday that her friends think she is mad and that this is just a phase: ‘They can’t...
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