A British woman fighting jail in Dubai after being convicted for adultery insisted she had been wrongly accused by her ex-husband.

Marnie Pearce has been sentenced to six months in prison by an Arab court. She may lose the right to custody of her two sons after being found guilty at the end of November.

She launched an appeal on Christmas Day, backed by the Tory MP Andrew MacKay, who raised her case with the Foreign Office. Pearce cannot leave Dubai until her conviction is quashed and is desperate to leave with her sons Laith, seven, and four-year-old Ziad: I am so scared that if I go to jail I will never see them again.

In Dubai, non-Muslim adulterers cannot be punished by flogging but can face up to 18 months in prison.

The British expatriate met her Egyptian husband Ihab El-Labban in Oman in 1992. The couple married in the Seychelles, had two children and moved to Dubai, where they have lived for the last 15 years.

Pearce said the marriage had been in difficulty for some time but fell apart last year and the couple separated.  She claimed that subsequently she was falsely accused of adultery on the basis of evidence purportedly showing she had cheated on El-Labban.

Pearce then claimed that he burst into her home with several police officers in March: The police came in the front and back door with my husband who accused me of having an affair.

Pearce, who finally received her divorce decree absolute last month, said she was arrested, placed in handcuffs and interrogated by police. Nearly four months later, she claims she was told by police that they had gathered evidence - including used condoms, a man's underpants and a man's jacket. Pearce was ordered to give a DNA sample but she claims the man alleged to have been involved was never contacted and has been free to travel back and forth to Dubai ever since.

She said her husband took possession of the family home and she and her sons were forced to stay in a shelter before seeking refuge with a friend.

On November 27 Pearce was convicted of adultery and sentenced to six months in prison. She launched her appeal on December 25 and the case was adjourned until January 8.

Ethiopian religious leaders gathered in the country's capital of Addis Ababa to press lawmakers to constitutionally ban being gay.

Representing several denominations, including Ethiopian Christian Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant, nearly a dozen clerics said outlawing being gay was insufficient. Current Ethiopian law forbids gay sex and prescribes a six month jail sentence as punishment, but the constitution remains silent on the issue.

In making their case, the religious leaders called being gay the pinnacle of immorality and blamed it for an increase in sexual attacks on boys and young men.

This is something very strange in Ethiopia, the land of the Bible that condemns this very strongly, said Abune Paolos, the head of Ethiopia's Christian Orthodox Church: For people to act in this manner they have to be dumb, stupid like animals. We strongly condemn this behavior. They [gays and lesbians] have to be disciplined and their acts discriminated, they have to be given a lesson.

A Saudi judge recently refused to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man - a union apparently arranged by the girl's father to settle his debts.

The judge dismissed a petition brought by the girl's mother because she is not the legal guardian of the girl, the woman's lawyer Abdullah al-Jutaili said: Therefore, she cannot represent her daughter in these proceedings

Her parents are separated, he said. According to the lawyer, the girl's father arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man, who is a close friend of his.

The judge did ask for a pledge from the husband, who was in court, not to consummate the marriage until the girl reaches puberty, according to al-Jutaili. The judge ruled that when the girl reaches puberty, she will have the right to request a divorce by filing a petition with the court, the lawyer said.

Christoph Wilcke, a Saudi Arabia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said his organization has heard many other cases of child marriages.

Zuhair al-Harithi, a spokesman for the Human Rights Commission, a Saudi government-run human rights group, said his organization is fighting against child marriages.

President-Elect Barack Obama is drawing criticism from many supporters for his choice to deliver the invocation at next month’s inauguration. Obama selected the Rev. Rick Warren, a leading evangelical opponent of abortion and same-sex marriage. Warren supported California’s recent gay marriage ban and has compared abortion to the Nazi Holocaust. In a recent interview with the Web site beliefnet.com, Warren said he thinks gay marriage is comparable to incest, polygamy and child abuse.

Rick Warren: I’m opposed to having a brother and sister be together and call that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.

Interviewer: Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?

Rick Warren: Oh, I do. I just say, for 5,000 years, marriage has been defined by every single culture and every single religion. This is not a Christian issue. Buddhists, Muslims, Jews -- you know, historically, marriage is a man and a woman.

After Warren’s inauguration appearance was announced, Obama was forced to defend his choice, speaking in Chicago last week:

Barack Obama: It is no secret that I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans. It is something that I have been consistent on and something that I intend to continue to be consistent on during my presidency.

What I’ve also said is that it is important for America to come together, even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues. And I would note that a couple of years ago, I was invited to Rick Warren’s church to speak, despite his awareness that I held views that were entirely contrary to his when it came to gay and lesbian rights, when it came to issues like abortion. Nevertheless, I had an opportunity to speak. And that dialogue, I think, is part of what my campaign’s been all about.

Pakistani police rescued a man claiming to be a spiritual healer from a lynch mob in Orangi after they attempted to set him on fire.

Abdul Jabbar who claims to be a spiritual healer, was supposedly found setting pages from the Holy Quran on fire. His accomplice Naimatullah presumed to be his devotee was also present at the occasion.

Nearby residents saw smoke rising from Jabbar’s den and upon inspection, they claimed blasphemy. The residents informed more people and soon a large mob gathered around Jabbar’s den. The angry mob started torturing Jabbar and his accomplice and later attempted to burn them alive after someone from the crowd suggested that they should throw both the men in the blazing fire inside the den.

The police found out about the incident and arrived in time to save the two men from being thrown into the fire.

At least three thousand people gathered around the den to kill and burn them, SHO Fasih-uz-Zaman told Daily Times. We reached there on time otherwise they would have been brunt alive, said the police officer.

According to the police officer, Jabbar had set alight the Quranic verses for a spell. On the contrary Jabbar denied allegation saying that he had set fire to garbage which also ended up engulfing the papers with sacred verses on them.

The police found material that Jabbar had been supposedly using for black magic and reciting spells. An incident report was filed on behalf of a resident named Qaiser Ayub against Jabbar and his accomplice Naimatullah.

A favourite song and dance at children's parties is claimed to be a historic example of anti-Catholicism, according to an SNP MSP.

The Hokey-Cokey, he said, dates from the Reformation and mocks the Roman Catholic mass and the words and actions of priests.

It is thought the dance ridicules the gestures used during services and that the words are a parody of the Latin hoc est enim corpus meum, which means This is my body.

It is understood that some football fans' websites have been discussing reviving the song and adopting it in a sectarian manner.

Michael Mathieson MSP urged football clubs and authorities to take action if it is performed in the stands.

Mathieson agreed that to most people it was an innocent song and dance. However, he added: Its origins are more sinister and are essentially anti-Catholic. It is important that the police and clubs are aware of the sinister background and take appropriate action against individuals and groups who may use it at matches.

A spokesman for the Scottish Catholic Church said: This song, though apparently innocuous, does have quite disturbing origins.

Update: Shake it all about

26th December 2008. Thanks to Spiderschwein on the Melon Farmers Forum

You put your left arm in (to get the wafer), left arm out, in out in out shake it all about (making the sign of the cross with it), you do the "hoc est corpus" and you turn around (to present it to the communee(?))... that`s what it`s all about!

Love your neighbour... unless he's gay, And as for lady boys...

The Pope has declared that saving the world from homosexual behaviour is as important as saving the rainforests.

In a Christmas message, Benedict XVI stressed the importance of traditional marriage and condemned gay acts as against God's will.

He also attacked transsexuals, saying: It is not man who decides who is a man or woman but God.

The pope said: The Church must defend not only the earth, the water and the air as gifts of creation belonging to everyone, but it must also protect mankind against the destruction of itself. The tropical forests deserve our protection, but man as a creature deserves it no less. In a clear reference to homosexuality, he said the failure to respect the union between a man and a woman amounted to the auto destruction of mankind.

Humanity needed to listen to the language of creation to understand the intended roles of man and woman, he added. Anything that deviated from this was a destruction of God's works.

Several cars and other vehicles were torched, while homemade explosives and stones were thrown at police in recent clashes with youths in the Swedish city of Malmo.

There were no injuries and some 20 people were briefly detained.

The troubles were linked to the recent closure of a basement used as a mosque in the Rosengard district. Most of the population in the district are immigrants.

The protests became violent after police on Monday evicted youths who for three weeks had occupied the basement, which also was being used as an Islamic centre.

Another spat has broken out at Harrow Arts Centre over censorship in public exhibitions.

Harrow Council has been criticised for allowing a picture depicting a Muslim woman dressed in a Hijab pointing a gun to be hung in an exhibition open to the general public.

Marion Davey, an artist who takes classes at the centre complained to managers when she saw the picture had been included in the exhibition, which is made up of artwork by Nower Hill High School pupils.

She said: I couldn't believe it was there, I was speechless that someone would hang this up. I find this very disturbing and shocking, and totally inappropriate to be on the wall.

The council came under fire in October when it ordered five paintings depicting nudes to be removed from the walls of the centre, fearing they could offend children and members of faith groups.

Davey accused the council of hypocrisy for allowing the painting of the Muslim woman but censoring the nudes.

Ghulam Rabbani, general secretary of Harrow Central Mosque, called for the council to take the picture down: I am shocked and dismayed. It should not have been allowed. I can't understand why people allowed this to hang in the arts centre. It shows a Muslim woman as a terrorist, and they should have thought about Muslim women who have to go out on the street, go into their jobs, and how this picture will make people look at them. The council hasn't done any favours to Muslim women, I think it should be taken down because it could create race hate.

Councillor Chris Mote, in charge of culture, defended the decision to hang this painting: This picture is about the theme of journeys, and is a comment on the cultural pressures that impact on young women. The figure with a weapon and Arabic script is a direct reference to the work of famous Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, whose own work often explores the cultural impact of the Islamic revolution on women. This is a thoughtful comment piece by a talented Harrow teenager and there is clearly no intention to upset anyone viewing the exhibition.

The exhibition of artwork by the school pupils is showing until January 4.

Liberal MP Saleh Al-Mulla has discounted the possibility of an authority similar to Saudi Arabia’s Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice being established in Kuwait, asserting a legislative majority will firmly stand in the way in case such a proposal is presented.

Commenting on reports published recently in local newspapers about several MPs allegedly intervening in the affairs of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and demanding for it to be converted into a ‘moral’ police authority, Al-Mulla stressed:if these reports are true, I will challenge such attempts. He argued the establishment of this authority in the country will restrict individual freedom and defy the Constitution.

An Afghan-born man has been charged with murdering his teenage sister in Germany because she lived a Western lifestyle.

A court heard that Ahmad Obeidi took out a knife and stabbed his 16 year old sister Morsal 23 times. Ahmad fled, and Morsal died an hour later.

Morsal had been a lively teenager who did community service and liked to wear skirts and makeup -- normal for a girl her age in Hamburg.

Yet her brother did not agree with her lifestyle. Ahmad, who has a history of criminal violence, repeatedly beat her according to the prosecution.

The so-called honor killing has enraged women's rights activists. One group staged a demonstration in front of the Hamburg courthouse. It wanted to direct attention to cases like Morsal's and that of Hatun Surucu, a Berlin woman of Turkish background who was killed by her brother in 2005 for her unwillingness to accept the traditional customs her family wanted to impose on her.

Update: Life Sentence

7th June 2009. See article from stophonourkillings.com

A German-Afghan man was sentenced to life in prison for the honour killing of his sister, creating mayhem in the court room as family members screamed, assaulted journalists and attempted suicide.

The 24-year-old Ahmad-Sobair O. was convicted of murdering his 16-year-old sister Morsal O. on May 15, 2008 because she had turned away from her family. The girl died after suffering 23 stab wounds in a Sankt Georg district parking lot in Hamburg. Both siblings, who immigrated to Germany 13 years ago, have German citizenship.

He killed out of pure intolerance, Hamburg Judge Wolfgang Backen said while reading the verdict, adding that the murder was treacherous and a premeditated bloodbath after all other attempts to discipline his sister had failed.

His verdict sparked dramatic scenes in the court room as Ahmad Sobair O.’s family and friends wailed and hit the security glass behind which he was sitting. The accused himself began screaming: You son of a whore! What is this, honour? I know no honour! He also yelled that had the trial taken place in Kabul, Afghanistan, he would have already been released long ago.

The murderer's mother then tried to throw herself out of a courtroom window, but was restrained by family members. Relatives of the accused also assaulted and threatened a journalist in the room.

Two years ago, Ted Haggard was one of the most powerful Christians in America. Now he sells insurance.

In a new documentary to be aired on HBO, Haggard describes his continuing struggle with his sexuality after a scandal that revealed he had regularly paid a male prostitute for sex and used methamphetamines.

The ensuing criticisms from his fellow Christian conservatives eventually resulted in his removal from president of the National Association of Evangelicals, an organization with 30 million members.

Haggard said he is committed to his marriage for the sake of his five children in the documentary, titled The Trials of Ted Haggard.

Haggard careens from self-pity to self-loathing to self-aggrandizement in the documentary. He also criticizes how New Life Church, of which he was the pastor, handled his firing.

The church has said go to hell, Haggard says in the documentary: The church chose not to forgive me.

Haggard said it was therapists, and not clergy, that allowed him to better understand himself and his inner struggle.

The controversial new Health and Human Services rule protecting the conscience rights of healthcare workers has some kick to it, namely the loss of government funding and associated legal costs if a provider doesn’t honor a workers’ right to practice their moral or religious beliefs on the job.

Providers are required under the new regulations to certify in writing that they're complying with federal laws protecting the conscience rights of healthcare workers to refuse to participate in or make referrals to services they find immoral. The rules are so vague that tangential staff such as receptionists and janitors, as well as institutional heads of hospitals, HMOs and insurance companies, are covered.

This last-ditch effort to undermine women's health and privacy is a transparent payoff to the right-wing pressure groups, said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. We look forward to working with the incoming Obama administration to reverse this divisive rule and change the tone of the debate over reproductive rights by protecting women's access to contraception, which actually helps prevent unintended pregnancies.

The 11th hour ruling by the Bush administration (the regulation takes effect on the eve of President-Elect Obama’s inauguration) was a surprise and a disappointment to many, but the development was long supported by a core group of Catholics, evangelicals -- and a subgroup of physicians.

A defamation of religion resolution stating that Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism passed in the U.N. General Assembly – but with fewer votes than in previous years.

Over the past year opponents ranging to media watchdogs and free speech advocates to Christian and humanist groups have stepped up lobbying against the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)-driven campaign.

Thursday’s vote passed by a margin of 86-53, with 42 countries abstaining. The result showed a significant erosion of support since a similar resolution passed in the General Assembly last December by a vote of 108-51, with 25 abstentions.

For the first time, the number of countries supporting the resolution fell behind the number of those voting against or abstaining.

Defenders of free speech take some consolation in the increased votes for our cause, Hillel Neuer, executive director of the human rights watchdog UN Watch, said: But the adoption of yet another totalitarian text is a stark reminder that human rights at the U.N. is under assault.

He also noted that Islamic states were using a major U.N. conference on racism, scheduled for next spring, to advance their campaign. Proponents are arguing that the defamation of Islam and Islamophobia are contemporary forms of racism, and should thus fall under purview of the racism conference, commonly known as Durban II.

The most dire threat is coming from Geneva where a Durban II committee headed by Algeria has this week been seeking to amend international human rights treaty law to ban ‘defamation of religion,’ especially Islam, Neuer said.

The shift in voting from last year to this came primarily from 16 developing countries which voted in favor in 2007 but chose to abstain on Thursday. Two of them, Benin and Burkina Faso, are OIC members. (The others are Central African Republic, Congo, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Grenada, Haiti, Mauritius, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Zambia.)

Three countries which voted in favor in 2007 – Belize, Cape Verde and Liberia – moved to opposing the resolution this year. And one country, OIC member Nigeria, abstained last year but voted in favor this year.

Workers who have devout religious beliefs could be forced out of their jobs following an ruling by an employment appeal tribunal. The warning comes after a Christian registrar who claimed she was treated like a "pariah" for refusing to carry out civil partnership ceremonies for homosexual couples lost her case on appeal.

A tribunal ruled that Islington Council had not discriminated against Lillian Ladele because of her faith, although it added that the town hall had not treated her sensitively.

Christian groups fear the decision will send a message to other employers that they can get rid of staff whose religious convictions prevent them from carrying out certain tasks.

Ladele, who worked in the register office of Islington town hall in north London for 16 years, believes homosexuality is contrary to God's law and so refused to officiate at civil partnership ceremonies for same-sex couples after they were made legal three years ago.

Earlier this year a tribunal found that the council had unlawfully discriminated against her on the grounds of her religious belief, after she told how she was picked on and bullied for her beliefs and was threatened with the sack.

But on Friday an Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the council's appeal, ruling that the earlier hearing had erred in law and that there was no basis for concluding that any discrimination had been established.

It stated: The council were not taking disciplinary action against Ms Ladele for holding her religious beliefs; they did so because she was refusing to carry out civil partnership ceremonies and this involved discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

The council were entitled to take the view that they were not willing to connive in that practice by relieving Ms Ladele of the duties, notwithstanding that her refusal was the result of her strong and genuinely-held Christian beliefs.

Ladele now intends to appeal against the new judgement.

A Catholic newspaper in Malaysia is facing a ban for using the word "Allah" to describe the Christian god.

Unless the government changes its mind, the Herald Catholic Weekly has only two weeks left to run before its licence expires at the end of the year. The deputy home minister Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said: Until December 31 we are not going to announce anything. There is plenty of time till then. Let them wait.

The Catholic Herald's 'Allah' is seen as a threat to national security, said Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald: We are now a scapegoat, a means for the Malay Muslims to rally together.

In the Malay language the only word for "God" is "Allah" and the newspaper claims it is impossible to avoid.

The UK's House of Lords will show Geert Willders' controversial Islam film Fitna. So says Wilders following the European Parliament's refusal to show the short film.

The European Parliament rejected a request by the UK MEP Gerard Batten of the anti-European Independent Party to allow Fitna to be shown in Strasbourg to MEPs and journalists. Wilders called the ban "censorship" and compared the European Parliament to Saudi Arabia.

Wilders has recently shown Fitna at meetings in Jerusalem and New York. He said the film will also be on view in the House of Lords in January.

Christian democratic MEP Maria Martens was pleased by the decision not to show Fitna in the EP. The film has nothing to do with freedom of expression. This freedom does not give the right to offend.

Conservative MEP Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on the other hand called the banning of Fitna unbelievably stupid because the film does fall within the boundaries of the law and Wilders has now got more publicity and attention than if he had been able to show his film.

Several Iranian news sites such as Amir Kabir [fa], a student site, reported Omid Reza MirSyafi, Iranian blogger and journalist, was sentenced to 36 months prison.

He was accused of insulting Iranian religious leaders and doing propaganda against Islamic Republic.

New legislation may be needed to curb the activities of informal sharia courts that are operating in Britain, said the organisers of the One Law For All campaign, which was launched at the House of Lords this week.

Campaign organiser, Maryam Namazie, commented that sharia law was undesirable in any form as it sets up conflicts between both human rights and civil law in Britain. Even in civil matters, Sharia law is discriminatory, unfair and unjust, particularly against women and children, she said.

Of particular concern was whether women were being coerced into using these courts and tribunals against their best interests.

Indonesian police named the female leader of a controversial cult as a suspect for religious blasphemy, an offence punishable by up to five years in prison.

Lia Aminuddin, the leader of the Kingdom of Eden, was brought to the Jakarta city police headquarters for distributing anti-religious leaflets urging the disbanding of all religions, including Islam.

Police also took 23 other people, including 11 children, to the Jakarta police headquarters for questioning, the Suara Pembaruan daily reported.

Police said thousands of leaflets had been distributed across Indonesia, the world's most-populous Muslim nation. One of the leaflets contained a letter allegedly signed by the Biblical Archangel Gabriel, that said, I am a God whom you should obey. I have declared an edict to disband Islam as well as other religions.

Lia could be charged with religious blasphemy, punishable with up to five years in prison. In 2006, she was jailed two years after a conviction on similar charges.

The freedom of expression rapporteurs of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) have released a joint declaration on defamation of religions, and anti-terrorism and anti-extremism legislation.

After meting on 9 December in Athens, the four media freedom 'watchdogs' adopted their annual international mechanism for promoting freedom of expression.

This year's document coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and covers the dangers to freedom of speech inherent in national legislation regulating the fight against defamation of religions and blasphemy laws, as well as against extremism or other terrorism-related speech offences.

The signatories agreed that the concept of defamation of religions does not accord with international standards accepted by pluralistic and free societies. They said that international organizations should abstain from adopting statements supporting criminalization of defamation of religions.

They also stressed that restrictions on freedom of expression should never be used to protect institutions, abstract notions, concepts or beliefs, including religious ones, and that such restrictions should be limited in scope to advocacy of hatred.

The four freedom of expression rapporteurs also advised that the definition of terrorism should be restricted to violent crimes which inflict terror on the public, and that vague notions such as providing communications support'or promoting extremism or terrorism should not be criminalized unless they constitute incitement. They said that the role of the media should be respected in anti-extremism and anti-terrorism legislation.

A press conference showing of Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam/anti-immigration film Fitna has been cancelled by order of European party leaders.

UKIP MEP Gerard Batten had invited Wilders to the parliament to show the film and give a talk. Now he will just give a talk.

The Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth has questioned the potential effectiveness of Government proposals to tighten the law on prostitution.

Under planned changes, people who pay for sex where the person who is paid is controlled for gain would be committing a criminal offence.

Bishop Kenneth Stevenson said in the House of Lords: Like many measures in the field of prostitution, this is a worthy intention but one that gives rise to problems of enforcement.

I do not accept the argument that it is wrong in principle to penalise in law payment for sex, but I wonder whether the law can discriminate between tolerable and intolerable transactions as finely as this proposal suggests.

Can it be proved either that the person paid is being controlled or that the client has knowingly or culpably taken advantage of a victim of trafficking?

It is reported that a similar law in Finland has been singularly ineffective, and many are pressing for the adoption of the Swedish law that applies to all payments regardless of the circumstances.

The murderous rioting sparked by Muslim attacks on Christians and their property on Nov. 28-29 left six pastors dead, at least 500 other people killed and 40 churches destroyed, according to church leaders.

More than 25,000 persons have been displaced in the two days of violence, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

What began as outrage over suspected vote fraud in local elections quickly hit the religious fault line that quakes from time to time in this city located between the Islamic north and Christian south, as angry Muslims took aim at Christian sites rather than at political targets. Police and troops reportedly killed about 400 rampaging Muslims in an effort to quell the unrest, and Islamists shot, slashed or stabbed to death most of more than 100 Christians.

A group of 500 Indonesian Muslims wreaked havoc and spread panic in Masohi, in the Moluccan Islands, during clashes with police and local Christians. As a result, 45 homes, a church and a village hall were set alight. The spark that set off the violence is an in incident in which a teacher allegedly insulted Islam in front of some Muslim students.

Once the story spread, the local Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) mobilised, rallying some 500 people in front of the Central Maluku Education Agency. For more than an hour they protested, accusing the teacher of blasphemy and calling for his dismissal. Afterwards, the protesters marched to police headquarters near the school. When they were told that the police chief was out of town, most of the demonstrators left but a group remained to confront the police. The violence spread and resulted in the burning of Christian homes and a church.

For his part the teacher who sparked the incident is currently in police custody.

Update: Rebuilding

22nd December 2008. See article from compassdirect.org

Government officials in Central Maluku, Indonesia, have now promised to reconstruct before Christmas two church buildings and a number of houses set ablaze last week during sectarian rioting in Letwaru village, Masohi district.

Police have named Asmara Wasahua, Muhammad Patty – and Holle, the schoolteacher – as suspects in the riot. According to local media reports, police have accused Wasahua, a local candidate of the Islamic Justice and Welfare Party, of distributing hate flyers and mobilizing the protestors.

The Bangladesh political party Jamaat-e-Islami said it would initiate enactment of blasphemy law to prevent anti-religious publicity or criticism of religion in books, newspapers or electronic media and punish those responsible, if the BNP-led four-party alliance is voted to power.

Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami announced the party's election manifesto at its Moghbazar office in the capital: All will enjoy religious rights, but criticism or making bad remarks about others' religions is not acceptable. There is blasphemy law in the United Kingdom… and nothing is wrong about it, the Jamaat chief said.

The party willing to establish a rule in the country based on the ideals of Islam said it would initiate measures to spread the ideals of Islam through all mediums, including radio, television and newspapers.

Forkania madrasa and mosque-based mass education will be given priority. Mass education will also be introduced in all religious institutions, the Jamaat manifesto reads.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference delegate for media issues, Bishop Peter Ingham, said other countries were miles ahead of Australia when it came to keeping the internet as safe as possible for children.

Comparable western countries, such as the UK, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland already have ISP filtering in operation, Bishop Ingham claimed.

In many of these countries, the ISPs themselves have initiated the filtering in order to live up to the community's expectations that illegal material or material that is harmful to children should not be available on the Internet.

It is disappointing to read reports that Australia's largest Internet provider, Telstra has said it will not participate in trials of the federal government's national internet filter.

Bishop Ingham said the ACBC held the position that whatever could reasonably be done to filter out illegal sites at ISP level, should be done: Arguments that civil liberties will be infringed by internet filtering are absolutely spurious, as the government's proposal simply aims to ensure that the material accessible on the internet is in line with the restrictions already in place in regard to DVDs or publications.

Pornography of any kind is harmful to human dignity and often degrading to women. Research shows that internet pornography is also becoming more and more harmful to marriages and relationships. In particular, every parent knows that much of the pornographic material that can be found on the internet ought not to be accessible to children.

We call on the community to get behind the federal government on this important issue and support its attempts to keep pace with the rest of the world when it comes to cleaning up the Net in a fair and reasonable way.

Islamic governments are expected to join with the Vatican in protesting against a French-backed declaration in the UN General Assembly that calls for the decriminalisation of homosexuality worldwide.

Rama Yade, France’s secretary of state for human rights, will visit Manhattan this week to throw her weight behind a statement supported by dozens of nations that blasts the outlawing of certain types of sexual behaviour.

The 13-point declaration urges states to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, in particular executions, arrests or detention.

While the controversial document is not binding in international law, it has provoked hostile responses from leaders of religiously conservative nations that regard homosexuality as sinful.

Margaret Awino-Kafeero, a diplomat from Uganda’s mission to the UN, which currently chairs Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meetings at the world body, said many Muslim governments rejected the declaration.

OIC delegates have discussed the gay-friendly statement and agreed that governments choosing to prosecute homosexual behaviour should object to the declaration independently.

The OIC decided it will be each individual country’s decision, Awino-Kafeero said.

The declaration indirectly criticises more than 80 countries in which homosexuality is punishable by law.

The Vatican’s permanent observer to the UN has already revealed Holy See opposition to the statement, which is still being drafted and carries the support of 56 countries.

Archbishop Celestino Migliore said the Vatican opposed the resolution because it would add new categories of those protected from discrimination and could lead to reverse discrimination against traditional heterosexual marriage.

France’s declaration is backed by EU members and has won support from non-western countries, such as Ecuador and Uruguay as well as two OIC members, Gabon and Guinea-Bissau.

Update: Discriminatory Turkey

25th December 2008. Based on article from hurriyet.com.tr

In an atmosphere where Turkey is being criticized for the slow pace of its EU reforms, the country refuses to sign a declaration calling all states to take steps to stop the criminalization of homosexuality, contradicting its commitments to the EU in promoting human rights

Turkey breaks company with EU in gay vote Turkey refused to sign a European Union-led declaration presented last week at the United Nations calling all states to take steps to stop the criminalization of homosexuality. The move contradicted Turkey’s commitments to the EU to promote human rights for all without any discrimination.

Thursday was a good day for democracy in Wales. Patrick Jones came to the Welsh Assembly to read from his controversial book of poems, 'Darkness Is Where The Stars Are', whilst 250 Christians sang and prayed outside.

As one of the sponsors of this reading I felt that I had a moral duty to arrange it. Patrick Jones may have sought debate with Christian Voice and others over poems that they consider to be blasphemous and obscene but that does not justify them seeking to shout him down or forcing the cancellation of the launch of his book in Waterstones.

This was never about the poems. I did not set out to upset anybody of any religion. However, I could not stand by and allow a small minority to trample over basic rights to freedom of speech and expression. The National Assembly for Wales is the home of Welsh democracy, it has responsibilities for culture and literature, so it is the ideal place to stage a reading.

...Read full article

Muslim preacher Anjem Choudary has branded Christmas evil in a sermon posted on the internet.

Choudary is Principal Lecturer at the London School of Shari'ah and a follower of the Islamist militant leader Omar Bakri Mohammed.

The lawyer urged all Muslims to reject traditional Christmas celebrations, claiming that they are forbidden by Allah. He shocked Christians and even those of his own faith by branding yuletide festivities as the pathway to hellfire.

Choudary, who is chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers, ruled out all celebrations, including having a Christmas tree, decorating the house or eating turkey.

In the sermon posted on an Islamic website, he said: In the world today many Muslims, especially those residing in western countries, are exposed to the evil celebration Christmas. Many take part in the festival celebrations by having Christmas turkey dinners. Decorating the house, purchasing Christmas trees or having Christmas turkey meals are completely prohibited by Allah.

Many still practise this corrupt celebration as a remembrance of the birth of Jesus. How can a Muslim possibly approve or participate in such a practice that bases itself on the notion Allah has an offspring? The very concept of Christmas contradicts and conflicts with the foundation of Islam. Every Muslim has a responsibility to protect his family from the misguidance of Christmas, because its observance will lead to hellfire. Protect your Paradise from being taken away – protect yourself and your family from Christmas..

Playboy magazine issued an apology after it put a nude model supposedly resembling the Virgin Mary on the cover of the Mexican edition of the publication at the time of a festival dedicated to the mother of Jesus.

The magazine, which hit newsstands on Dec 1 as ceremonies began leading to the pilgrimage to the Mexico City shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, showed a model wearing nothing but a white cloth over her head and breasts.

The model, Maria Florencia Onori, is pictured standing in front of a stained glass window with the cover line, We Love You, Maria in Spanish.

In a statement, Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises Inc said the Mexican edition of the magazine is published by a licensee, and the company did not approve or endorse the cover: While Playboy Mexico never meant for the cover or images to offend anyone, we recognise that it has created offence, and we as well as Playboy Mexico offer our sincerest apologies.

Playboy Mexico printed 100,000 copies of the issue.

He wrote the book, he says to condemn the recent violence between Hindus and Christians in Kandhamal, but Lenin Kumar was arrested by the Orissa police on charges of writing and publishing inflammatory material that could cause communal unrest.

A day later, his bail plea was rejected and he was remanded to judicial custody. Lenin’s wife, Rumita Kundu, has also alleged that the police tortured her husband.

Now, civil right activists, writers and journalists are up in arms against the state Government and are planning a protest march to Raj Bhawan.

Lenin Kumar, editor of a quarterly Oriya magazine, Nishan, was arrested under sections 295 and 1539(A) of the Indian Penal Code for his book Dharma Nare Kandhamalare Raktara Banya (Bloodletting in Kandhamal in the name of religion).

Two others who helped him print and circulate the book have also been arrested and their bail pleas rejected as well. At least 700 copies of the book were seized from the printing press and the press sealed.

A new target in Iran's long-running grievance about its negative portrayal in popular western cinema is, The Wrestler, a film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Mickey Rourke, due for release in the US on December 17.

Newspapers and websites have alerted readers to the anti-Iranian film by highlighting a scene in which Rourke's character, Randy "the Ram" Robinson, violently breaks a pole bearing an Iranian flag across his knee, after his opponent tries to use it to put him in a stranglehold.

Perhaps to avoid offending Iran's clerical rulers, no mention has been made of the screen name of Rourke's antagonist, the Ayatollah, played by Ernest Miller.

But the Miller character's wrestling attire, a skimpy leotard in the pattern of an Iranian flag with the alef character - representing the first letter of the word Allah - emblazoned front and back on his loins, has been condemned by Borna News, a state-run website.

The pole-breaking scene occurs against the explicitly nationalistic backdrop of an animated crowd chanting, USA, USA. It is intended to represent the final triumph for Rourke's character, who comes out of retirement following a heart attack for one last confrontation with the Ayatollah, a rival from his wrestling heyday.

While there is virtually no chance of The Wrestler being given official screening permission in Iran, many Iranians have become familiar with it through promotional trailers shown on broadcaster, Voice of America's Persian-language satellite television channel.

An art work depicting a Burkha-clad woman sparked nutter outrage after it went on on display at a London gallery.

The image shows a woman in a full-length burkha – but instead of having a cut-out for the eyes, the cut-out exposes one of her nipples.

The artwork has already been condemned by the Union of Muslim Organisations of the UK and Ireland (UMO) as blasphemous, cheap porn.

A spokesman said: At a time when tensions are already heightened, gallery owners shouldn't be exhibiting artwork like this - it's offensive, inflammatory. and degrading to Muslim women.

Photographer Yeon Lee, defended her image, titled Seeing is Believing, claiming it highlights the ways women are categorised in male-dominated societies.

But the UMO said the image could spark similar angry scenes to those in Denmark in September 2005 when a newspaper printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed portraying him as a terrorist: People will protest. It's blasphemous – the artist just wants to make some money – and it's not helpful in this current climate.

Gallery owner James Freeman, who is exhibiting the image as part of a wider collection, called Five Years, from emerging international artists in North London, agreed the image had shock value. But he denied it was blasphemous: It's not ridiculing, or ironic, or degrading or perjorative. I don't think you could perceive any blasphemy in this.

Around 250 nutter activists have protested outside the Welsh assembly building about a poetry reading. Protesters sang hymns and some held placards

Patrick Jones was invited by two assembly members to read from his collection Darkness Is Where The Stars Are, which has already led to claims it is obscene and blasphemous.

Stephen Green, director of Christian Voice, said: This turnout shows the strength of feeling of people.  We're seeing the Christian faith attacked on all sides. Now it's under attack in a seat of government in the UK.

Protesters sang hymns and some held placards before the ticket-only event inside the Senedd building.

Nick Bourne, leader of the Welsh Conservatives was at the demonstration, and was asked if he was showing his support. He replied: Yes, essentially. Our group opposed this {reading] at the home of Welsh democracy, promoting something which is anti-Christian and we would say that if it was any recognised religion.

Jones was asked by Labour AM Lorraine Barrett and Liberal Democrat AM Peter Black, who said he wanted to make sure the poet was not gagged. I think this is a good day for democracy. We've head both sides - Patrick has had his poetry reading and it's also important for people to be able to make their views known.

One of the poems that has offended Christians, called Hymn, includes a reference to Mary Magdalene having sex with Jesus.

Ehsan Jami has offended Muslims with his film Interview with Mohammed, according to an official statement released by Premier Jan Peter Balkenende on behalf of the Dutch government.

The Dutch government has taken notice of Mr Jami's film, in which he expresses his personal opinions about Islam. The Netherlands has a tradition of freedom of religion and belief as well as a tradition of freedom of expression. We also have a tradition of respect, tolerance and responsibility. Offending other people is not in keeping with these traditions. Conversely, free and unrestricted debate and respectful treatment do reflect these traditions. In this light, the government regrets the fact that Mr Jami's film deeply offends the feelings of many Muslims.

Reports in the foreign media have given rise to concern in the Dutch government about the image of the Netherlands that has emerged in some other countries. Islam occupies a fully respected place in the Netherlands. The Dutch government highly values the good relations that exist, both in the Netherlands and abroad, between Muslims and people of other faiths and beliefs.

The government emphatically rejects the way that some have misused religion to spread hate and intolerance. Respect for the deeply held convictions of others is something that we share with people in many countries. The Netherlands will continue striving to ensure that freedom of religion and belief and freedom of expression are respected both in this country and worldwide.

Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has spoken about Jami's film with the Islamic countries' ambassadors to the Netherlands. He has told them that the film is not a product of the government, that the Netherlands has freedom of expression and that a film must be no reason for violence against Dutch people or companies. The cabinet is not planning to comment on the contents of the film.

Interview with Mohammed can be seen on the blip.tv website. In his film, Jami asks a masked actor dressed as the Prophet Mohammed what he thinks of modern Islam. The Prophet says the times have changed since he lived 1,400 years ago and that Muslims should adapt to these changes.

For example, the Prophet says his marriage with a 6 year old child was normal in the seventh century but would be inhuman nowadays. Asked what he thinks of people that leave Islam, 'Mohammed' says that apostasy is "fine" with him. He also rejects death threats to people like Wilders and Salman Rushdie.

The nutters campaign group Christian Voice is planning to hijack a controversial poetry reading in the National Assembly.

Patrick Jones, brother of Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire, is reading from his new book in an Assembly committee room at noon.

He was invited to do so by AMs Peter Black and Lorraine Barrett after a Cardiff bookstore, Waterstone’s, cancelled a scheduled reading last month.

Another Cardiff bookshop, Borders, has also invited Mr Jones to read.

But in a notice to members, which has also been posted on other Christian websites, Christian Voice leader Stephen Green said: Well, Borders are inviting Patrick Jones to read his blasphemous poetry at 8pm on Thursday at their Cardiff store.

That is on top of Jones doing a reading in the Assembly T Hywel building the same day at noon, at the invitation of Peter Black AM and militant atheist Lorraine Barrett, against the rules of the Assembly itself, which prohibit material likely to cause offence.

We are holding a Christian witness outside T Hywel from 11.30am and we shall hold another outside Borders [he gives the full address] at 7.30pm.

Religious hatred laws

Based on article from dailypost.co.uk

Tory Assembly leader and nutter Nick Bourne has objected to a controversial poetry reading in the Senedd which he claimed could be illegal under religious hatred laws.

Bourne, on behalf of Tory AMs, wrote to presiding officer Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas to complain that the poet was being given a platform for his poetry: Clearly, the group don’t agree with censorship of people’s views and free expression...BUT...we feel that it is inappropriate for anyone to be given a platform to attack Christianity or any other religion in our National Assembly.

Bourne pointed to section 29 of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 which makes threatening behaviour on religious grounds unlawful.

But Assembly Commission chief executive Claire Clancy said that something more than expression of ridicule, insult or abuse was required under the Act.

She said: I am well aware by now that the works of Patrick Jones contain elements which very many people regard as obscene and insulting. But as far as I am aware there is nothing in them which could be construed as “threatening” to Christians or other religious groups.

Church leaders have criticised the BBC for paying millions on Jonathan Ross while failing to invest in the 'equally popular' Songs of Praise.

In a joint submission to Ofcom, the broadcasting watchdog, bishops from the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church call the corporation inconsistent for spending far more on the controversial chatshow host than the religious programme, even though they have similar viewing figures.

The Rt Rev Nick Baines, the Bishop of Croydon, and the Rt Rev John Arnold, the Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, made their comments to Ofcom as part of its review of public service broadcasting.

The bishops say: This is not an obscure or technical issue, but one which affects us all. The survival and flourishing of public service content is not just an economic or political question; it has implications for the kind of society we want to be.

They say that although broadcasters claim public service programmes are unprofitable, the BBC spends far less on programmes dealing with religious and ethical issues than on entertainment shows that attract the same size of audience.

The bishops say: There still remains both confusion and inconsistency about how religious output is viewed and its value to audiences, mostly around the definition of religion on TV.

It is clear that one programme gaining an audience of around four million weekly is regarded as a wild success meriting an £18 million star (Friday Night with Jonathan Ross) while another with a similar audience is regarded as part of an unprofitable genre (Songs of Praise). This seems to be a striking lack of consistency.

Women have few rights at all when doctors can legally misinform them or deny service entirely.

Under a new midnight regulation crammed through by the Bush Department of Health and Human Services and poised to become law any day now, any health-care worker may refuse to perform procedures, offer advice or dispense prescriptions, if doing so would offend their religious beliefs or moral convictions.

Congress has protected the right of physicians to opt out of providing abortions for decades. This new rule, which President-elect Obama can overturn (although it may take months), is far broader. It allows one's access to birth control, emergency contraception and even artificial insemination to turn on the moral preferences of a pharmacist, nurse or ambulance driver.

Further nutter nonsense appeared in a South Dakota law that went into effect last summer after an appeals court lifted a preliminary injunction. The law requires physicians providing abortions to read from a state-mandated script advising the patient that she is about to terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being with whom she has an existing relationship. The doctor must have her patient sign each page of a form indicating that she has been warned of the statistically significant risks of the procedure, including increased risk of suicide ideation and suicide.

These risks are almost completely unsupported by the scientific literature. A new comprehensive study released by Johns Hopkins found no significant differences in long-term mental health between women in the United States who choose to terminate a pregnancy and those who do not. The disparity between the empirical data and the mandatory script thus forces physicians into a Hobson's choice between providing patients with accurate medical information, and possible license suspension and misdemeanor charges.

Whether we like it or not, the right to birth control, emergency contraception and—under most circumstances—abortion is still constitutionally protected. But these are not services a woman can provide for herself, which leaves her with few rights at all when her doctors are empowered by law to misinform her, withhold advice or deny services altogether.

It is a hangover from the reign of Henry VIII, described by one barrister as a blot on the legal landscape. But at a time when the Church of England faces immense repair bills for its parish churches, it is regarded by some vicars as viable way to extort money.

A quirk of the statute books has left a legal liability for thousands of homeowners who may be required to pay for the repair of church buildings. The liability, known as chancel repair, has required one couple to pay more than £200,000 towards the upkeep of their parish church.

The country's 16,000-plus Church of England churches have now been urged to investigate whether they could benefit from the law. At least a quarter of dioceses have been looking into the issue, according to an insurance industry source.

Chancel repair liability enables approximately 5,200 pre-Reformation Church of England and Church of Wales parishes to demand money from owners of particular properties on former monastery land, to fund repairs to their church buildings. These homeowners are called lay rectors, and they are liable for keeping the chancel wind-proofed and water-tight.

Churches have begun pursuing claims since the House of Lords ruled that Andrew and Gail Wallbank had to pay £186,986, plus VAT, towards the upkeep of St John the Baptist church in Aston Cantlow, near Stratford-upon-Avon. They also had to stump up legal costs of around £220,000. They own a nearby farmhouse which brought with it the legal requirement.

Despite the ruling last year, the Wallbanks have yet to pay a penny to the parochial church council (PCC) because of more wrangling over the archaic liability.

Establishing is liable is difficult as there is no register. As one barrister told the Guardian: Chancel repair liability is a blot on the legal landscape. It is hard to discover, its enforcement can be capricious, and the extent of the liability may exceed the value of the land burdened. It is wholly unsatisfactory that this form of liability should still exist in 2008.

The Law Commission in 1985 recommended the liability be abolished, but the government rejected the proposal.

In the wake of the Wallbank case, the Legal Advisory Commission, which advises Church of England dioceses on matters of law, issued national guidance on chancel repair rights which suggested PCCs had an obligation to investigate whether parishioners could be billed for chancel repair works.

The document said: A PCC is a charity so its members are subject to the usual duty of charity trustees to exercise their powers in its best interests. They cannot therefore simply choose not to enforce chancel repair liability.

But it also noted that in many cases the bad publicity from enforcing the law could be counter-productive. It said enforcing chancel repair liability could hamper the PCC's ability to pursue its object of promoting in the parish the pastoral mission of the church, or by alienating potential financial support.

From October 2013, chancel repair liability will only bind buyers of registered land if it is referred to in the land register.

Iranian police have arrested 49 people during a crackdown on what the Islamic republic deems "satanic" clothes.

Mahmoud Rahmani, head of police in the northern city of Qaemshahr, where the arrests took place, denounced Iranians who wore western-style clothes and haircuts: Police confronted rascals and thugs who appeared in public wearing satanic fashions and unsuitable clothing.

He added that five local barber shops were closed and twenty more warned for promoting western hairstyles. These are believed to include spiky haircuts.

Periodic crackdowns on western styles have been a feature of Iran since the Islamic revolution brought the ayatollahs to power in 1979.

Western businessmen used to regularly face having their ties clipped by zealous revolutionary guards as neckties were viewed as decadent.

The Maldives Ministry of Islamic Affairs has announced  that it would block sidahitun.com, a website promoting Christianity aimed at Maldivians.

Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari said the ministry had consulted experts to find ways to block the site, which was both in Dhivehi and English.

Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed Ahmed, known for his inflammatory sermons, agreed that all anti-Islamic websites should be banned: Although this is an Islamic society, some Maldivians’ faith in Islam is not very strong. If they have access to these websites because their belief in Islam is weak, there might be a negative impact.

A similar view was upheld by scholar Sheikh Usman Abdullah who said that as the Maldives is recognised as a wholly Muslim society, all anti-Islamic activities, including websites promoting Christianity, should be banned.

Samuel Wallace, International Christian Concern’s regional manager for South Asia, said he was alarmed to hear officials in the Maldives were seeking to block Christian websites: As a member of the United Nations, the Maldives has an obligation to protect the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Right. This includes in Article 18 the ‘right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Britain has become an unfriendly place for religious people to live, according to the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor claims that the rise of secularism has led to a liberal society, hostile to Christian morals and values, in which religious belief is viewed as a private eccentricity and the voice of faith groups is marginalised.

The cardinal warns that Britain shows signs of degenerating into a country free of morals, because of its rejection of traditional values and its new emphasis on the rights of the individual.

There are now serious tensions between Christians and secularist society, he says, in which atheists are becoming more vocal and aggressive.

Writing in a book on multiculturalism, to be published on Monday, the Cardinal argues that immigrants have a duty to adjust to British life, but expresses concern that they are faced with a culture that is increasingly repressive and intolerant. He says that while the country has become more diverse and pluralistic, the Christian values which have shaped its identity should not be abandoned.

The book, called Faith in the Nation, is published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), with the backing of the Prime Minister. In it the cardinal says: Religious belief of any kind tends now to be treated more as a private eccentricity than as the central and formative element in British society that it is. Although the tone of public discussion is sceptical or dismissive rather than antireligious, atheism has become more vocal and aggressive.

Britain's most senior Catholic leader says that the unfriendly climate for people of all faiths" has united the country's three major faiths, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. However, he claims that Catholicism has borne the brunt of liberal hostility in its battles to fight for values it considers to be fundamental pillars of a rightly ordered society.

A regional press ad, for Sandown Free Presbyterian Church, was headlined THE WORD OF GOD AGAINST SODOMY. Further text stated:

Last year in the 'gay pride parade' a banner stating "Jesus is a Fag" was carried by one of the participants. The supporter of homosexuality was able to walk through the streets of Belfast displaying this offensive placard in spite of the presence of the PSNI, representatives from the Commission and the march organisers. The act of sodomy is a grave offence to every Bible believer who, in accepting the pure message of Gods precious Word, express the mind of God by declaring it to be an abomination. (Leviticus, ch18 v22, Thou Shalt not lie down with mankind, as with womankind; it is an abomination.) This unequivocal statement clearly articulates Gods judgement upon a sin that has been only made controversial by those who are attempting to either neutralise or remove the guilt of their wrongdoing. As a result, we are now witnessing a hostile spirit being exerted against the testimony of Gods precious Word and those who adhere to its teachings. It is imperative that everyone whose faith is centred upon the authority of the divinely inspired scriptures maintain a strong and public stand for the ethical and moral standards that will ultimately exalt the nation. (Proverbs, ch14 v34, Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.)

The issue of human rights is no longer a basis for this parade, as successive governments have legislated for the lowering of the age of consent, the authorisation of civil partnerships and the inheritance rights of a nominated partner. It is a cause for regret that a section of the community desire to be known for a perverted form of sexuality, which in certain incidences has provoked the unacceptable and totally unjustifiable response of violence. Such a response, however, must not intimidate the church into silence.

...

The ASA received seven complaints:

1. four complainants believed the ad's content was homophobic and, therefore, offensive and

2. six complainants believed the ad was likely to provoke hatred and violence against the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

ASA Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted the ad prominently stated Published by the Kirk Session of Sandown Free Presbyterian Church and recognised that readers would understand that the text was representative of the beliefs of a specific group and indicative of their opinion only. We considered, however, that some of the text used in relation to homosexuality, for example, ... declaring it to be an abomination ..., ... God's judgement upon a sin ..., ... remove the guilt of their wrongdoing ..., ... a cause for regret that a section of the community desire to be known for a perverted form of sexuality ..., went further than the majority of readers were likely to find acceptable.

We considered that particular care should be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of sexual orientation, and concluded that this ad had caused serious offence to some readers.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clause 5.1 (Decency) but did not breach 8.1 (Matters of opinion).

The ad should not appear again in its current form.

2. Not upheld

We understood that the complainants were concerned because the ad called for an outdoor meeting to be held in protest of the act of sodomy and to voice disapproval of the Belfast Gay Pride parade on the same day as the parade was arranged; they believed this action could be read as an attempt to spread hatred and incite violence against supporters and members of the Pride movement and LBGT community.

While we appreciated the complainants' concern, we considered that the ad did not in itself incorporate language likely to incite a violent emotional response. We considered that it would be clear to readers that it represented the views of a specific group, which were not universally held, and would be deemed extreme by some. We acknowledged, therefore, that the ad conveyed an opinion that was controversial for some readers but concluded that it was unlikely to provoke hatred or violence against the LGBT community.

On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 8.1 (Matters of opinion) and 11.1 (Violence and anti-social behaviour) but did not find it in breach.

Nutters Consider Judicial Review

Based on article from newsletter.co.uk

Two senior lawyers have advised the church that the ASA ruling had gone too far legally and a groundswell of public support has begun behind the Rev David McIlveen of Sandown Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast.

McIlveen said he had been inspired by the level of support he had since received: After Wednesday's Press conference I had missed 24 calls on my mobile and when I got home I had to spend some time going through about 50 messages of support on my answer machine.

A legal expert who specialises in both sexual orientation and freedom of speech said the ASA had got the balance wrong between the two issues, and that its ruling could be open to judicial review.

Dermot Feenan of the University of Ulster School of Law explained that rights to express religious views must be balanced with the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sexuality.

He said the advertising code used by the advertising authority prohibits adverts likely to cause serious offence, but that the authority did not show how the offence caused by this advert was serious enough to warrant censorship: There was no evidential basis for its finding that the ad went further than the majority of its readers were likely to find acceptable.

The national Freedom From Religion Foundation is filing a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Rancho Cucamonga, California, for taking actions which led to the censorship of its Imagine No Religion billboard.

The nation's largest national association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics) and a state/church watchdog, said City violated the Foundation's rights under the Establishment Clause and Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Foundation's pretty sign, which was evidently destroyed by General Outdoor Co. after its removal on Nov. 21, had a stained-glass window motif asking viewers to Imagine No Religion and advertising the Foundation's name and website, ffrf.org.

The Foundation had prepaid for the board and contracted for a two-month run beginning in mid-November. The Board had been up for less than a week when it was removed at the apparent instigation of Linda Daniels, Rancho Cucamonga Development Director.

The Defendants' actions conveyed a message that religion is favored, preferred, and promoted by the City of Rancho Cucamonga and its officials, despite subsequent attempts to cover up the Defendants' involvement in sending an objectively understood message disapproving FFRF's billboard, said the Foundation.

The Foundation is seeking reasonable compensatory and punitive damages and attorney's fees.

A radio advertisement that reminds listeners about the religious meaning of Christmas has been banned by Ireland’s broadcasting regulatory body.

The advert by Veritas, a religious publisher and retailer owned by the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference, says: Cakes and crackers, Santa and stockings, turkey and tinsel, mistletoe and mince pies and presents and puddings. Christmas: aren’t we forgetting something? This Christmas why not give a gift that means more?

It then suggests gift items such as candles, books and artwork that are available from the Veritas shop.

It was due to be aired on RTÉ, the state broadcaster, which plays the Angelus at midday and 6pm every day as a reminder of the call to Catholic prayer Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin, called the ban bizarre: Have we really forgotten what Christmas is all about?. I sincerely hope there is room in legislation on broadcasting currently before the Oireachtas [parliament] that will see an end to bizarre interpretation of rules around religious advertising.

State prosecutors in Israel are arguing the case of a woman who they say was attacked in June by an ultra-Orthodox 'modesty patrol.' The verdict is expected to help define the legal parameters of religious vigilantes.

When Michal opened her apartment door one Saturday night in June, she was expecting to find a client for her hair design business.

Instead the Israeli divorcee who left the Orthodox fold some three years earlier found several ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. They threw her on the floor, gagged her, kicked her all over her body and questioned about her relations with men, according to official accounts.

After they beat her for at least 10 minutes, they warned her this was just the beginning and told her that if she continued to live there, she would be killed.

State prosecutors filed charges in August against a 28-year-old man accused of being paid $2,000 by a vigilante organization or modesty squad active in the religious Jerusalem neighborhoods of Mea Shearim and Geula for helping perpetrate the attack.

Prosecutors say the goal of the group, dubbed the Haredi modesty patrol, is to inflict community norms and conventions regarding modest attire and comportment in ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, neighborhoods.

Among other things, the organization acts to fulfill its goals by using threats, violence and other offenses, the charge sheet said.

The judge, according to a local media report, said she believed that this particular defendant was not motivated by ideology and appeared to be a hired hand.

Michal said: If I was doing something that was not OK, God has enough ways to punish me. They don't have to take the law into their own hands. Who made himself God's policeman? Who has God given the right to come and beat someone in his name?

After keeping a relatively low profile for decades, modesty patrols have attracted growing international attention since 2006, when a U.S.-Israeli woman was beaten by several men for refusing to move to the back of a bus on a line that was not designated as segregated.

Rabbi Shmuel Pappenheim, a spokesperson for the Eda Haredit, a prominent ultra-Orthodox communal organization, described the formal and informal types of modesty patrols.

Informal patrols, he said, can involve residents who act on their own accord when they see something inappropriate. If someone in his neighborhood . . . ruins her children, dresses immodestly, or if she brings boyfriends home . . . he will do whatever he does to try to get rid of her. Formal Haredi organizations carry out the orders of rabbis to restrict improprieties, such as pornography.

The Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Modesto, California, has told parishioners in a homily and in a follow-up letter that if they voted for Barack Obama, they should consider going to confession because of the president-elect's position on abortion.

If you are one of the 54% of Catholics who voted for a pro-abortion candidate, you were clear on his position and you knew the gravity of the question, I urge you to go to confession before receiving communion. Don't risk losing your state of grace by receiving sacrilegiously, Illo wrote in a letter.

The letter was sent to more than 15,000 members of the St. Joseph's parish.

The Most Rev. Stephen Blaire, bishop of the Stockton Diocese, disagrees with Illo. He said Catholics should not feel compelled to disclose how they voted to their priest.

Blaire said Catholics who carefully weighed many issues and settled on a candidate, such as Obama, who favored abortion rights, were not in need of confession. He said confession would be necessary only if someone voted for a pro-abortion or pro-choice candidate - if that's the reason you voted for them.

A lawmaker is upset with his state's Department of Homeland Security for its lack of credit to a higher power for its work in protecting the state's citizens.

Kentucky State Rep. Tom Riner, a Southern Baptist minister who helped establish a requirement that the federally funded agency credit God with keeping the state safe.

Among the requirements of the 2006 anti-terror law is that a plaque be placed in the department's Emergency Operations Center. Part of the statement on the plaque reads: The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God.

This is recognition that government alone cannot guarantee the perfect safety of the people of Kentucky, Riner added: Government itself, apart from God, cannot close the security gap. The job is too big for government.

A Dubai company has made a version of an online role playing game tailored specially for Muslims.

The firm in question is Game Power 7 and it has made a few adjustments to Gala's role-player Rappelz to make it supposedly more appealing to customers in Islamic countries.

As well as changing the background music, the noises monsters make and taking out non-Muslim religious symbols, such as crosses, Game Power 7 has given some characters a little more to wear.

We're told that female players will be properly covered up so that they're no longer showing too many flesh-coloured pixels. Arms and legs get special attention, with chainmail and long stockings pasted on.

A Malaysian Christian is suing the government for allegedly violating her religious rights after airport officials seized Christian educational CDs that she brought from Indonesia, the woman's lawyer said.

Customs authorities in this Muslim-majority country confiscated eight CDs from Jill Ireland when she flew back to Kuala Lumpur in May after a trip to Jakarta, her lawyer, Annou Xavier, said.

The Home Ministry informed her in a letter that the CDs were seized mainly because their cover titles contained the word "Allah," which is prohibited in non-Muslim religious material, Xavier said.

Ireland wants the Kuala Lumpur High Court to issue a declaration allowing her to transport any religious material for her own personal use, Xavier said.

The court on Thursday scheduled Jan. 30 for a preliminary hearing.

Government lawyer Suzana Atan declined to comment on details of the case, but noted that authorities have barred the use of the word "Allah" except for Muslim publications.

A leading Catholic cleric has launched an attack on Disney, claiming it has corrupted children and encouraged greed.

Christopher Jamison, the Abbot of Worth in West Sussex, has accused the corporation of exploiting spirituality to sell its products and of turning Disneyland into a modern day pilgrimage site.

He argues that it pretends to provide stories with a moral message, but has actually helped to create a more materialistic culture.

In a guide to helping people find happiness, the abbot, who starred in the hit-BBC series The Monastery, warns that society is in danger of losing its soul because of growing consumerism and the decline of religion.

He suggests that many people have become obsessed with work, sex and eating in an attempt to ignore their underlying unhappiness, and criticises corporations and industries that have benefited from promoting false notions of fulfilment.

Jamison, who has been tipped as a contender to succeed Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor as the next Archbishop of Westminster, targets the behaviour of Disney in particular, which he says is a classic example of how consumerism is being sold as an alternative to finding happiness in traditional morality.

While he acknowledges that Disney stories carry messages showing good triumphing over evil, he argues this is part of a ploy to persuade people that they should buy Disney products in order to be a good and happy family.

He cites films such as Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians that feature moral battles, but get into children's imaginations and make them greedy for the merchandise that goes with them.

The message behind every movie and book, behind every theme park and T-shirt is that our children's world needs Disney. So they absolutely must go to see the next Disney movie, which we'll also want to give them on DVD as a birthday present. They will be happier if they live the full Disney experience; and thousands of families around the world buy into this deeper message as they flock to Disneyland.

Where once morality and meaning were available as part of our free cultural inheritance, now corporations sell them to us as products."

A Sikh man who wanted the right to wear a turban while being photographed for his French drivers' licence has lost his case in the European Court of Human Rights.

Shingara Mann Singh lost a series of appeals in France against the authorities who refused to issue a new licence with a photograph of him wearing a turban.

Under French regulations, motorists must appear bareheaded and facing forward in their licence photographs but the Sikh religion requires men to wear a turban at all times.

Singh took his case to the ECHR but the Strasbourg-based court dismissed the case. It ruled that identity photographs for use on driving licences which showed the subject bareheaded were needed by the authorities in charge of public safety.

In a statement, it recognised that the rule on photographs amounted to interference with the exercise of the right to freedom of religion, but judged that this was justified.

Freedom of religion did not always guarantee the right to behave in a manner governed by a religious belief and did not confer on people who did so the right to disregard rules that had proved to be justified, the court said.

Thousands of Muslim protestors on November 23rd attacked a Coptic church in a suburb of Cairo, Egypt, burning part of it, a nearby shop and two cars and leaving five people injured.

Objecting to a newly constructed extension to the Coptic church of St. Mary and Anba Abraam in Ain Shams, the huge crowd of angry protestors gathered outside the church at around 5pm following a consecration service for the addition earlier that day.

Chanting, We will demolish the church, Islam is the solution and No God but Allah, according to Helmy Guirguis, president of the UK Coptic Association, rioters pelted the church with stones and burned part of the structure; priests and worshipers were trapped inside, and five people were injured.

It was a terrifying moment, said lawyer Nabil Gobrayel, who was inside the church at the time. They were shouting ‘holy slogans’ like, ‘We will bring the church down,’, ‘The priest is dead’ and ‘The army of Muhammad is coming.’

Police slow to arrive were not prepared for the scale of the protest. Angry Muslims swarmed to the area from a two-kilometer radius, and although estimates varied, some suggested as many as 8,000 people gathered.

Rioters’ stones broke the structure’s windows, and a nearby shop and two cars belonging to Christians were set on fire.

Reinforcements for the overwhelmed security forces did not arrive until two hours later and were then engaged in clashes with the mob. Armored vehicles brought in riot police, who used tear gas to disperse the crowd while fire services aided their efforts with water cannons.

A United Copts of Great Britain statement suggested that police were slow to arrest perpetrators in the early stages of the demonstration but did eventually detain 41 people around midnight.

Of the 38 Muslims arrested, 30 were quickly released under the pretext of being minors, according to the United Copts statement. Three arrested Christians, however, remained in prison without charges.

According to Gobrayel, the church will be closed for two months while officials consider its future.

A Sikh man who wanted the right to wear a turban while being photographed for his French drivers' licence has lost his case in the European Court of Human Rights.

Shingara Mann Singh lost a series of appeals in France against the authorities who refused to issue a new licence with a photograph of him wearing a turban.

Under French regulations, motorists must appear bareheaded and facing forward in their licence photographs but the Sikh religion requires men to wear a turban at all times.

Singh took his case to the ECHR but the Strasbourg-based court dismissed the case. It ruled that identity photographs for use on driving licences which showed the subject bareheaded were needed by the authorities in charge of public safety.

In a statement, it recognised that the rule on photographs amounted to interference with the exercise of the right to freedom of religion, but judged that this was justified.

Freedom of religion did not always guarantee the right to behave in a manner governed by a religious belief and did not confer on people who did so the right to disregard rules that had proved to be justified, the court said.