News

Illinois man sentenced for trying to join Islamic State
November 19, 2016 By Faith Matters

Illinois man sentenced for trying to join Islamic State

A would-be Islamic State recruit who worked in a Chicago-area hardware store was sentenced on Friday to more than three years in prison for seeking to join the militant group, federal prosecutors said. In exchange for a more lenient sentence than he might otherwise have faced if tried and convicted, Mohammed Hamzah Khan, 21, pleaded […]

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We remember Paris today – the Bataclan, Le Petit Cambodge
November 13, 2016 By Faith Matters

We remember Paris today – the Bataclan, Le Petit Cambodge

by Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg Today marks the first anniversary of the multiple attacks by Isil in Paris in which 130 people were murdered, 89 of them at the Bataclan theatre. The beautiful building opened in 1865 and became famous as a home for music and entertainment. From the 1970s it became an important venue for […]

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Israel says ‘no’ to Middle East peace conference in Paris
November 8, 2016 By Faith Matters

Israel says ‘no’ to Middle East peace conference in Paris

Israel on Monday formally rejected France’s invitation to take part in a Middle East peace conference in Paris later this year, saying it was a distraction from the goal of direct negotiations with the Palestinians. At a meeting in Jerusalem with Israel’s acting national security adviser and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic adviser, French envoy […]

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Sting to sing as Paris Bataclan venue reopens after 2015 attacks
November 4, 2016 By Faith Matters

Sting to sing as Paris Bataclan venue reopens after 2015 attacks

The Paris concert venue where Islamist militants killed 90 people in November 2015 has enrolled rock star Sting for a concert to mark its reopening a year after the tragedy. Sting, who headed up hit pop music band The Police before a long solo career, announced the news, saying on his website that the show […]

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Vatican condemns Catholic radio that said quakes were God’s wrath for gay law
November 4, 2016 By Faith Matters

Vatican condemns Catholic radio that said quakes were God’s wrath for gay law

The Vatican on Friday condemned a right-wing Catholic radio station that said a series of earthquakes that hit Italy in the past three months was “God’s punishment” for the country approving same-sex civil unions. “These remarks are offensive for believers and scandalous for non-believers,” Deputy Secretary of State Archbishop Angelo Becciu was quoted as saying […]

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Turkey says gives U.S. new documents on Gulen extradition request
October 28, 2016 By Faith Matters

Turkey says gives U.S. new documents on Gulen extradition request

Turkey has handed over to the U.S. Justice Department further documents to back its request for the extradition of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of orchestrating a failed July 15 coup attempt, Turkey’s justice minister said on Thursday. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said that in a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch […]

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Casey Report Findings Will Take a Wide Look At Integration Issues
October 27, 2016 By Faith Matters

Casey Report Findings Will Take a Wide Look At Integration Issues

The Louise Casey review of the state of integration within communities in the United Kingdom may well be launched soon and in the coming months. The Government’s Integration Czar, she has taken a measured, yet honest view based on hard evidence of what is impacting on communities in the United Kingdom. Some of the focus […]

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Yazidi women win EU Parliament’s Sakharov Prize
October 27, 2016 By Faith Matters

Yazidi women win EU Parliament’s Sakharov Prize

The European Parliament awarded its Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought on Thursday to two Iraqi Yazidi women who were held as sex slaves by Islamic State militants and now campaign for human rights. Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar were among thousands of women and girls abducted, tortured and sexually abused by Islamic State […]

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Supporters of Tanveer Ahmed share photos of killer ‘from prison’
October 26, 2016 By Faith Matters

Supporters of Tanveer Ahmed share photos of killer ‘from prison’

A Faith Matters investigation has uncovered social media accounts sharing ‘new’ photos of Tanveer Ahmed allegedly taken inside Barlinnie Prison. Tanveer Ahmed is serving a life sentence for stabbing Ahmadi shopkeeper Asad Shah in Glasgow in March. He claimed that Shah had ‘disrespected’ Islam due to his claim of prophethood. The recent photos of Ahmed […]

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Twenty dead, more than 100 wounded, in Pakistan police academy attack
October 25, 2016 By Faith Matters

Twenty dead, more than 100 wounded, in Pakistan police academy attack

Gunmen stormed a Pakistani police training academy in the southwestern city of Quetta late on Monday night, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 100, officials said. Some 200 trainees are stationed at the facility, officials said, and some had been taken hostage. Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, home minister of Baluchistan province, of which […]

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