Russia has expressed regret over a Siberian court trial considering a ban on a one Hindu holy book causing an 'uproar' in India.

State prosecutors in Tomsk seek to ban the Russian translation of the Bhagavad Gita, contending it is an extremist religious text that should be banned. They said the book spreads social discord, the IANS news agency reported.

Russian Ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin said:

I consider it categorically inadmissible when any holy scripture is taken to the courts. For all believers these texts are sacred.

He claimed that Russia was a secular and democratic country where all religions enjoyed equal respect.

The Siberian court is expected to deliver its verdict in the case on December 28.

Update: Not banned

31st December 2011. See article from en.wikinews.org

A judge in Tomsk, Russia drew a round of applause from the court room as she dismissed charges of extremism against the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, a Russian commented translation of the Bhagavad Gita published by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This decision put an end to the six-month-long trial of the book accused by the state prosecutors of fostering social discord and incitement to religious hatred.

The Indian Foreign Ministry, which had been urging Moscow to avert the possible ban they termed as absurd, welcomed the verdict calling it a sensible resolution of a sensitive issue which demonstrates yet again that the people of India and Russia have a deep understanding of each other's cultures and will always reject any attempt to belittle our common civilizational values and thanked the Russian government for their support.

The controversial court case on the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient text regarded sacred by millions of Hindus, had caused political and societal turmoil in India, with the Indian Parliament stalled over the proposed ban and Hindu activists burning Russian flags. The trial also evoked strong criticism from the international media.

TV censor Ofcom has rejected an appeal by the Islam Channel over its coverage of Israel.

The English-language satellite station had challenged a ruling last year that it breached Ofcom's broadcasting code in two programmes which discussed Israel's conduct in Gaza.

But Ofcom's broadcasting review committee, in a decision published this month, stated that the London-based channel had failed to maintain an adequate and appropriate level of impartiality.

The committee noted the channel's difficulties in finding guests to represent the Israeli government viewpoint. But it went on: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is, however, a matter of political controversy and the Islam Channel... was therefore obliged to ensure some discussion of the policies and actions of the Israeli government which represented its viewpoint.

The two programmes under scrutiny were an edition of Umma Talk, broadcast on October 14 2009, and an edition of Politics and Beyond. The subject was the Israeli blockade of the peace flotilla to Gaza.

The Ofcom review committee said that the Islam Channel was required to ensure that alternative viewpoints are adequately represented. Although the channel's breaches of the broadcasting code were not serious enough to merit a statutory sanction, it was considered appropriate for the Islam Channel to be invited to attend a meeting with Ofcom, to discuss how to improve its compliance with impartiality rules.

Update: Ofcom's response warrants closer examination

31st December 2011. From Alan

Israel illegally occupies adjoining territory, starting when I was an undergraduate and going on as I prepare to collect my pension.

Muslim Channel understandably wants to comment on this state of affairs, but must impartially show Israeli viewpoint. If the channel invites Israeli government spokesman to appear, the latter can effectively censor the progamme by refusing to turn up.

Barmy or what?

Thousands in the Maldives joined a protest last week, calling on the government to halt what they called anti-Islamic activities, including a plan to allow direct flights to Israel.

The Indian Ocean archipelago of 300,000 Muslims prohibits practicing any other faith.

The protesters want authorities to stop the sale of alcohol in the islands, shut down brothels operating in the guise of massage parlors and demolish monuments gifted by other countries marking a South Asian summit last month because they see them as idols.

More than 3,000 people attended a protest called by the opposition Adhaalat, or Justice, Party and several other groups that accuse President Mohammed Nasheed's government of compromising principles of Islam and called for strict Islamic law.

Tourism business under duress

30th December 2011. See article from haveeru.com.mv

The Maldives government seem to be responding to muslim pressure. The Tourism Ministry has ordered five of Gasim's resorts including Royal Island Resort and Spa, Paradise Island Resort and Spa, Sun Island Resort and Spa, Holiday Island Resort and Spa, and The Heaven Maldives to close down their spas claiming that they were brothels run under the disguise of spas.

However the businesses involved are not pleased about such accusations and have gone to court to challenge the order.

Update: Tourism Trade Unimpressed

31st December 2011. See article from bbc.co.uk

Tourism operators in the Maldives have expressed concern over a government order to shut down all spas and health centres in resorts.

The ban resulted from the government pandering to nutters of the opposition Islamist party who claimed that spas were being used for prostitution.

Tourism is a key foreign exchange earner for the Maldives. The islands are a popular destination for wealthy honeymooners and celebrities.

The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry said the ban would harm the economy. It has appealed for a resolution of the issue. Industry sources say that they expect the government eventually to revoke the decision on spas because of the huge revenue earned from the business.

The Islamic Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina has called on Muslims in that country to boycott the upcoming New Year celebrations.

By taking part, said the organization, they would violate Allah's boundaries, and do something their master hates and despises. And quoting from a book by Almir Dumica, entitled, Pearls of the Sunnah in the Mosaic of Time:

On that night, turn off the lights early and let everyone see you're boycotting everything happening on that night. Do not fear anyone's objections.

The Christmas Day bombings could be a worrying sign of things to come.

The warning signs are familiar. An armed group begins by imposing the strictures of Islamic sharia on a Muslim population, using first moral persuasion and then actual violence. Having secured its hold over a region where central government has little control, it broadens its aims and resolves to take on enemies of Islam wherever they may be found. What had been a local security problem explodes into an international threat.

So it was with the Taliban in the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan -- and so it may be with the radical Islamists of Nigeria. For the second Christmas Day in a row, a group known as Boko Haram has carried out bomb attacks on Christian churches, claiming dozens of lives in a country where religious strife poses a genuine threat to the survival of the state.

...Read the full article

Update: State of Emergency

1st January 2012. See article from telegraph.co.uk

President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in parts of northern Nigeria plagued by a violent muslim insurgency.

Jonathan added that he would shut any borders with other nations in the northern areas covered by the decree.

Freedom of speech no longer exists in Austria, as definitively proven by the Vienna high court. This week, a judge upheld the conviction against Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff on the following charge: denigration of religious beliefs of a legally recognized religion.

What did my friend Elisabeth say that the Vienna high court ruled verboten? Elisabeth was convicted in February 2011 of denigration of Islam because in the course of a seminar she was teaching on Islam she stated that Muhammad had a thing for little girls.

This statement is demonstrably true. According to an authoritative Islamic text (hadith), Muhammad married his wife Aisha when she was six years old. According to the same hadith, Muhammad engaged in sexual intercourse with his wife when she was nine. In fact, the court didn't contest this. In both Elisabeth's initial trial and her recent appeal, the factual basis of her statement didn't come under judicial attack.

The Daily Mail ran a silly story about the lack of Christmas cards with religious imagery for sale in British supermarkets. The figures published suggest that just 3% of cards stocked were religious.

The figure doesn't seem particularly surprising. If say 20% of Brits are keen on religion, but don't send religious cards to people not interested, then 20% of people would send religious cards to 20% of their friends. This means that just 4% (a fifth of a fifth) of total cards sent would be religious. And no doubt they would still send some Santa cards to kids etc, so perhaps 3% is a actually a good estimate of the demand for religious cards.

Anyway such logic is not apparent to Christians who think the are being hard done by the supermarket buying departments.

In particular Stephen Green of Christian Voice had some choice words of paranoia:

I can't believe this is being led by consumer demand.

I believe there is anti-Christian prejudice in the buying departments involved.

There's too much of this multicultural indoctrination and too much of an idea that if they put out Christian cards they will alienate or discriminate against or offend other faiths.

There's a kind of militant atheism and nasty secularism at work in this country which is completely opposed to Christianity.'

Muslim extremists threw acid on a church leader on Christmas Eve shortly after a seven-day revival at his church, leaving him with severe burns that have blinded one eye and threaten sight in the other.

Bishop Umar Mulinde, 37, a sheikh (Islamic teacher) before his conversion to Christianity, was attacked on Christmas Eve outside his Gospel Life Church International building in Namasuba.

From his hospital bed in Kampala, he told Compass that he was on his way back to the site for a party with the entire congregation and hundreds of new converts to Christianity when a man who claimed to be a Christian approached him.

I heard him say in a loud voice, 'Pastor, pastor,' and as I made a turn and looked at him, he poured the liquid onto my face as others poured more liquid on my back and then fled away shouting, 'Allahu akbar [God is greater],' Mulinde said, still visibly traumatized two days after the assault.

A neighbor and church members rushed him to a hospital in the Mengo area of Kampala, and he was then transferred to International Hospital Kampala.

Mulinde said: I was born into a Muslim family, and although I decided to become a Christian, I have been financially assisting many Muslims, as well as my relatives who are Muslims. I have been conducting a peaceful evangelism campaign.

Mulinde said Muslim extremists opposed to his conversion from Islam and his outspoken opposition of sharia (Islamic law) courts in Uganda, known in East Africa as Kadhi courts, attacked him. On Oct. 15, area Muslim leaders declared a fatwa against him demanding his death.

I have been receiving several threats for a long time, and this last one is the worst of all, Mulinde said.

An extraordinary brawl between clergymen broke out at the very site where Jesus is said to have been born.

The annual cleaning of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem descended into a battle between the rival Christian denominations that share it.

Brooms, fists and vicious insults flew in all directions between 100 priests and monks dressed in their traditional robes.

The Church of Nativity has been divided into Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian sections for several centuries. Each group is very possessive about the parts of the church and objects under its control.

The row is believed to have begun after a clergyman of one order -- either Greek Orthodox or Armenian Apostolic -- accidentally pushed his broom into space controlled by the other group.

Conflict is easily sparked by any perceived encroachment of jurisdictional boundaries within the church, where control is split between the two denominations along with Roman Catholics. All three groups were cleaning the church for annual Orthodox Christmas celebrations, which will be held next week.

The fight ended only after Palestinian police, bending their heads to squeeze through the church's low door of humility, rushed in with batons to restore order.

Leaders of the Muslim community claimed they have not been listened to by Town Hall licensing chiefs in a row over a new off-licence in Finsbury Park.

The licensing committee granted permission for Finsbury Supermarket, in Seven Sisters Road, to sell alcohol despite a petition by 750 people opposing the bid.

The shop is next door to Muslim Welfare House bookshop and near Finsbury Park Central Mosque.

Thousands of Israelis have held a rally in the town of Beit Shemesh against ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremism.

The protest followed clashes after an eight-year-old girl said she had been harassed on her way to school. The ultra-Orthodox community in Beit Shemesh is seeking to segregate men and women.

President Shimon Peres has backed the protest, saying the entire nation must be recruited in order to save the majority from the hands of a small minority. He said the demonstration was a defence of the character of the state of Israel against a minority which breaks our national solidarity.

By early evening thousands of demonstrators had gathered in Beit Shemesh, waving banners saying Free Israel. People are angry at the growing influence of Israel's conservative ultra-Orthodox Jews and in particular their treatment of women.

It is a tiny minority of ultra-Orthodox who carry out such attacks. But many Israelis believe the country's character is at stake. They resent the fact that most ultra-Orthodox men don't work or serve in the army. Instead, the government gives them subsidies to carry out religious studies. One man here told me Jewish religious extremism posed a bigger threat to the country than Iran.

In Beit Shemesh, where the opposing communities live in close proximity, there have been regular protests by ultra-Orthodox men outside a religious girls school against what they say is the immodest dress of the children. Anger spilled over after a documentary was broadcast on national TV in which one of the girls, eight-year-Naama Margolese, said she was afraid to walk to school in the town because ultra-Orthodox men shouted at her.

On Christmas Day, police across China tear gassed and beat down Christians for worshipping at unofficial Christmas services, according to an American aid group in the region.

[On Christmas] morning at about 8.00 a.m. our church was holding a Christmas activity on Binjiang Road in Langzhong city, Li Ming, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA): There were around 20-30 police officers, and they used tear-gas canisters. My eyes were so swollen I couldn't see at all.

According to Li, police arrested three people and confiscated the group's musical instruments and sound system.

The alleged Christmas Day oppression was not limited to one city. ChinaAid, a Texas-based group that focuses on the abuse of Christians in China, reported that 30 members of Shouwang Church in Beijing were arrested while holding outdoor worship services.

Shouwang pastor Jin Tianming, told RFA that he does not know what the clampdown will mean for the future of his church, which has experienced persecution from the Chinese government in the past that caused it to permanently end outdoor services.

In addition, six worshippers in a house church were beaten and arrested in the coastal province of Zhejiang on Dec. 24, according to Pastor Luo Sennian: They threw out all the things that belong to our church. I went over there to talk to them, and immediately five or six of them set about beating me.

Twelve members of a renegade Amish group were charged with hate crimes in the bizarre beard-cutting attacks on other members of the sect in eastern Ohio.

The New York Daily News reports that Samuel Mullet and 11 members of his group also face charges of conspiracy, assault and tampering with evidence in the case that has drawn worldwide attention to the insular community. Mullet and six of his followers were jailed in late November and five additional suspects were arrested this week.

The rebel Amish leader told the AP after his arrest in November that the attacks were to send a message to other Amish about how they treat his followers.

Prosecutors say Mullet and his followers forcibly cut women's hair and men's beards and hair using battery-powered clippers or scissors in five attacks between September and November. The Amish believe the Bible instructs them to grow their hair after marriage.

They also allegedly injured people who tried to protect or rescue the victims from the offensive attacks and then conspired to conceal evidence.

There are 2 religious parties vying for power in Egypt. The Nour Party won 19% of the vote in the first round of Egypt's polls late last month, while the the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) secured 37%.

The Salafist Nour Party is modelled on Saudi's Wahibi tradition and is promising to enforce a ban on serving alcohol to foreigner nationals and Egyptian citizens alike. Party spokesman Nader Bakar told tourism-sector workers at a public rally that the party would only allow tourists to drink liquor they brought with them from abroad, and only in their hotel rooms.

He added that the party did not plan to set any restrictions on tourism related to Egyptian antiquities, such as the Great ?Pyramids of Giza and ancient Egyptian temples. However the party would ban beach tourism, which, he said, induces vice. Bakar went on to say that the Nour Party would establish a chain of hotels that would function in compliance with Islamic Law.

Mohamed Morsi, president of FJP, said that his party did not plan on banning alcohol in hotels and at tourist resorts or, for that matter, prevent Egyptians from drinking liquor in their homes.

An evangelical pastor and his sister have been arrested by police in Bolivia after they purportedly killed a sibling during a bathtub exorcism, officials said.

The suspects confessed that their 18-year-old sister was possessed by the demon and they wanted to purify her and christen her in a bathtub, but it went too far, said a police spokesman. He said the young woman drowned.

Defaced

Cnaan Advertising, the company that places advertisements on buses in Jerusalem, has refused to carry ads for activists campaigning in support of women's equality.

The company demanded a NIS 50,000 (£8,500) guarantee from Yerushalmim (Jerusalemites), the movement that is running the campaign, to insure against any possible vandalism of the buses by the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) extremist community.

Yerushalmim posted women's images on billboards all over the city about six weeks ago as part of its campaign against women's exclusion from the public square in Jerusalem. Two weeks ago, the movement decided to launch an ad campaign on buses, under the slogan Introducing Jerusalem women. The ads all show fully-dressed women. But Cnaan, which owns the franchise for bus advertising in Jerusalem, nevertheless refused.

The company has refused to place ads featuring women on buses for several years, claiming they are not worth its while because Haredim vandalize the buses.

Six men facing amputation of their right hands and left feet for highway robbery must have their sentences commuted by the King, Amnesty International have said.

The sentence of cross amputation is currently before the Supreme Court for approval and could take place in the coming days if also ratified by the King.

Cross amputation is a strikingly cruel form of punishment that amounts to torture and should have no place in a criminal justice system, said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa interim Director. We are urging the King to use his authority to urgently commute these sentences and spare these men this horrific punishment.

The six men, all from Bedouin tribes, were arrested in October 2010 in Riyadh, accused of highway robbery and taken to Malaz prison. All were allegedly beaten and forced to confess to the charges against them.

All six were tried before the General Court in Riyadh with no legal assistance or representation and were sentenced in March 2011 to cross amputation. A court of appeal was said to have upheld the verdict in October.

Punishment by amputation is enforced in Saudi Arabia for offences mainly limited to cases of theft, for which the sentence is amputation of the right hand, and highway robbery, which is punished by cross amputation (right hand and left foot).

And above all else, love your neighbour... Unless he is gay of course!

Tesco is rethinking its decision to support gay pride festivals.

Earlier this year Tesco dropped its support for Cancer Research's Race for Life and announced shortly after that it would become a headline sponsor of Britain's largest gay festival, Pride London.

The move prompted a storm of nutter 'outrage' from homophobic religious groups.

But now the supermarket giant has indicated that it will no longer sponsor gay pride events, and will instead look for other ways to support its gay staff support group, Out at Tesco.

In an email to those who have complained, Tesco insisted that its support for London Pride implies no moral, philosophical or political stance. It added that most of its charitable and community support is focused on delivering practical benefits, rather than on funding awareness-raising events. We will therefore discuss with Out at Tesco how we can support them in future years in ways that will not include sponsoring events.

Last week The Christian Institute revealed that one of Tesco's executives had branded Christians who oppose the redefinition of marriage as evil.

Nick Lansley, head of Research and Development at Tesco.com, said in a personal capacity:

I'm also campaigning against evil Christians (that's not all Christians, just bad ones) who think that gay people should not lead happy lives and get married to their same-sex partners.

In response Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, said:

Mr Lansley is entitled to his opinions, and Christians are entitled to choose not to shop at Tesco.

The Christian Institute provided supporters with the email address of Tesco's CEO and a link to their Facebook page, instructing readers: If you won't be shopping at Tesco this Christmas, tell them so.

Update: Denied

7th January 2012. See article from internationalsupermarketnews.com

Tesco has courted a lot of controversy over its initial decision to sponsor London's Gay Pride festival, and they caused even more when a conservative Christian group reported that the supermarket giant had withdrawn its support. Now, International Supermarket News can reveal that the retailer has distanced itself from allegations that it has given in to conservative Christian groups and will no longer support London Pride.

Contrary to recent rumours, a spokesman for the retailer said that it was fully committed to sponsoring this year's festival, but did add that it would consider alternative projects in future years.

Offsite: Christian Voice rejoice at a poor christmas for Tesco

19th January 2012. See article from christianvoice.org.uk

Christian Voice write on their website:

Tesco has recorded a disastrous Christmas after announcing in early November a £30,000 donation to next year's divisive, depraved London Gay Pride. Sales in the UK were down 2.3 per cent on last year at Tesco's busiest time of the year. Tesco shares slumped almost 14%.

The news follows a Christian Voice campaign of prayer for confusion in the Tesco boardroom, backed up by emails to directors complaining at the Gay Pride decision and leafleting at Tesco stores. Just before Christmas a panic-stricken Tesco announced that the 2012 Gay Pride donation would be its last. Hours later, in the face of a homosexual backlash, it had to clarify that gays and lesbians were really important and promise that it would support its homosexual contact group Out at Tesco in other ways in 2013, which only made matters worse.

Analysts are blaming Tesco's Big Price Drop idea for the store's failure, which has led to them issuing a profit's warning. Natalie Berg, of consultant Planet Retail, said: Tesco has taken its eye off the ball. It has focused too much just on the price of food. We now all expect high-quality food and everyone is claiming to be the cheapest -- consumers are much more wary.

Stephen Green, National Director of Christian Voice, said:

Our prayer -- which we said 'will humble proud Tesco -- centred on a desire that the Tesco board would rescind the decision, which has not happened yet. Indeed their announcement on 23rd December made matters worse.

We also prayed for confusion in the Tesco boardroom. As the 'Big Price Drop was launched in September, it seems that Almighty God, who operates outside space and time, was well ahead of us, anticipating our prayers, and seeing by our actions that our prayers were serious.

Tim Minchin has blasted ITV bosses after he claimed a specially-written track was pulled from the Jonathan Ross Show for fear of upsetting Christians.

Tim - who is behind West End hit Matilda - has written a furious blog pointing the finger at the network's director of programmes Peter Fincham, suggesting he was nervous about a backlash.

Tim said compliance staff and lawyers had given the go-ahead to his lyrics long before the recording of the programme..

But he said the humorous song - which drew parallels between Woody Allen and Jesus - was pulled when Fincham watched the show.

In his blog Minchin said:

Peter Fincham demanded that I be cut from the show.

He did this because he's scared of the ranty, shit-stirring, right-wing press, and of the small minority of Brits who believe they have a right to go through life protected from anything that challenges them in any way.  I have to admit I'm really fucking disappointed.

An ITV source lamely claimed that the decision was less about religious sensitivity and more that tonally, it wasn't right for the show.

Update: Clergy Relaxed

24th December 2011. See article from theaustralian.com.au

Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen said he was more frightened about people not talking about Jesus than what they said about him. He said:

Tim Minchin doesn't worry me nearly as much as the people who try to suppress Jesus Christ. I'm more frightened about people who don't talk about him at all and try to censor him out. People talk about the festival season, doing anything they can to avoid the obvious.

Lutheran Church of Australia Reverend Mike Semmler said a comedian making jokes about Jesus meant he was considered a serious subject worthy of a laugh. He said:

Part of the Christmas message is that Jesus becomes human and if people are trying to relate him to other human beings, while it may not be terribly uplifting for the church, he was after all really human.

Debate Night
Ummah Channel, 3 September 2011, 22:00

The Ummah Channel is a satellite television service which aims to promote knowledge of Islam through educating viewers to fulfil their spiritual and religious development.

This edition of Debate Night was the first of three programmes broadcast on three consecutive days starting on 3 September 2011, that debated when the Islamic holiday of Eid1 should be celebrated in the UK.

17 complainants alerted Ofcom to the 3 September programme because they considered the programme:

• incited hatred against non-Barelvi 2 Muslims;
• stated non-Barelvi Muslims celebrated Eid on the wrong day; and
• Encouraged Barelvi Muslims to storm mosques that celebrated Eid on the wrong day

Barelvi muslims are generally from South Asia, Non Barelvi seems to refer to Saudi muslims.

Ofcom had two concerns.

Firstly that a Muslim scholar (who was one of four panellists in the studio) made the following statements:

When [the Saudis] celebrate Eid on a day of Ramadan, they are publically insulting that month – even if they fast for their whole lives, they cannot atone for this sin.

If you see wrongdoing going on, then stop it physically. If you have no power, then stop it verbally. If that too is not possible, then consider it as wrongdoing in your heart…We are not even talking about [the Saudis?] filthy erroneous beliefs with regards to Allah and his Prophet but just moon-sighting, which is damaging and destroying the worship done by simple Muslims. If you cannot do so with your hands or tongue then at least condemn them.

Ofcom considered this raised issues under Rule 3.1:

Material likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or to lead to disorder must not be included in television or radio services.

Ofcom concluded that this did not constitute incitement:

In considering Rule 3.1, we are required to address the likelihood of the commission of a crime against a follower of the non-Barelvi tradition of Islam or of disorder being created. In particular, we considered whether this statement in the programme included a direct or indirect call to action with a reasonable likelihood it would have encouraged or incited, for example, Barelvi Muslims to take violent or criminal action against non-Barelvi Muslims or lead to disorder.

We recognised that phrases such as If you see wrongdoing going on, then stop it physically and If you cannot do so with your hands or tongue then at least condemn them could be construed, to some limited degree, as having the potential to encourage some form of physical action (possibly including assault or violence) against, or lead to disorder involving, members of the non-Barelvi Muslim tradition of Islam.

However, it was Ofcom's overall view that this one statement on its own would not be likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or to lead to disorder. Therefore, Ofcom did not consider that the broadcaster breached Rule 3.1.

Secondly Ofcom considered statements made by callers to the programme:

If you are in Saudi Arabia, you have to follow them because otherwise you will be oppressed by the tyrants but we here do not follow them...[Saudis] have no fear for the laws of Allah and Sharia and they are transgressing. And Allah has no love for those who transgress. They are not following the Sharia and it appears in some ways that they are not even Muslims.

Before these, Mecca was ruled by others – the Saudis captured the country; their [Saudi] beliefs are filthy. People need to be told that they [Saudis] are expropriating in the name of the holy places but they grossly insult those holy places…These cruel people [Saudis] have destroyed our holy places. You need to tell people that their beliefs are filthy and we hate them not because of some personal reasons but because they insult our ancestors, our beliefs, and use inappropriate words about Prophet Muhammad. That is why we have differences with them and people should stop blindly following them.

Ofcom consider these remarks under Rule 4.2:

The religious beliefs of those belonging to a particular religion or religious denomination must not be subject to abusive treatment.

it was Ofcom's view that the use of such terms and references when taken together amounted to abusive treatment of the religious views and beliefs of non-Barelvi Muslims in Saudi Arabia, and those who follow that tradition of Islam within the UK. And hence a breach of Rule 4.2.

Ofcom added:

Although the breach of Rule 4.2 in the present case was not as serious as the breaches recorded in Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin 167, we are concerned that a similar breach of the Code occurred despite enhanced compliance procedures that Ummah Channel put in place. Therefore, if any similar breaches should happen in future, we are putting Ummah Channel on notice that we would consider taking further regulatory action.

Tens of thousands of children have suffered sexual abuse in Dutch Catholic institutions since 1945, a report says.

The report by an independent commission said Catholic officials had failed to tackle the widespread abuse at schools, seminaries and orphanages. But the report also found that one in five children who attended an institution suffered abuse - regardless of whether it was Catholic.

This episode fills us with shame and sorrow, said a bishops' statement.

The commission studied 1,800 complaints of abuse at Catholic institutions, identifying 800 alleged perpetrators, just over 100 of whom are still alive. It also conducted a broader survey of more than 34,000 people, to gain a more comprehensive picture of the scale and nature of abuse suffered by Dutch minors.

The report estimates that 10,000-20,000 minors were abused in the care of Catholic institutions between 1945 and 1981, when the number of Church-run homes dropped. In the years between 1981 and 2011, several more thousands suffered at the hands of priests and others working for the Church.

Most of the cases involved mild to moderate abuse, such as touching, but the report estimated there were several thousand instances of rape

The Hare Krishna temple in Western Copenhagen was recently assaulted by a group of young Muslims, throwing stones and breaking windows.

To diminish the risk of confrontations with the Muslim-dominated neighbourhood, the devotees of the temple are from now on requested to not wear their characteristic clothes outside the temple, in order to not provoke similar attacks in the future.

On the 6th December 2011 the temple in Copenhagen was attacked by a group of gundas with obviously Muslim background. First stones were thrown against the front of the residential temple building, then the window. The temple president, called police instantly. A single police officer arrived, took notice of the damage and left again. Half an hour later a bigger group of the same attackers arrived, again throwing stones, entering the garden, braking this time windows in the Tulasi room, all the bottom windows facing the street. Finally they tried to break into the house, seeking direct physical conflict.

A little while ago the muslim countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) dropped demands for 'defamation of religion' to be internationally enacted in law.

Instead they would look towards the existing western approach to to criminalize incitement to hatred and violence on religious grounds. This change of direction was related to ongoing diplomatic work by US Secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

However there have now been further moves that have become a little worrying to observers.

The OIC's intent, as stated explicitly in its April 2011 4th Annual Report on Islamophobia, is to criminalize incitement to hatred and violence on religious grounds. However the report also alluded to a 'useful' definition of 'incitement to hatred and violence' that rather ends the consensus with the western view.

Using the 'test of consequences' to define incitement to violence simply means that if violence actually results from say a cartoon of Mohammed, then the publisher is automatically criminally liable. [Because it did incite violence]

In fact the OIC report only says that idea is useful and should be explored as a solution to the perceived gap in enforcement of the 'soft laws' adopted by the west. The report states:

Approaches like applying the test of consequences were useful and would have to be explored/refined further in an objective fashion towards evolving a consensus with regard to effectively addressing the matter.

Resolution 16/18 (ie to criminalize incitement to hatred and violence on religious grounds) was hailed as a victory by Clinton, because it calls on countries to combat intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization based on religion without criminalizing free speech -- except in cases of incitement to imminent violence.

But if the criterion for determining incitement to imminent violence is a new test of consequences, then this is nothing but an invitation to stage Muslim Days of Rage following the slightest perceived offense by a Western blogger, instructor, or radio show guest, all of whom will be held legally liable for causing the destruction, possibly even if what they've said is merely a statement of fact. The implications of such prior restraint on free speech would be chilling.

This Melon Farming guidance is to aid those broadcasters that carry spiritual Participation TV advertising content.

The overarching principles of the BCAP Code are that advertisements should not mislead or cause serious or widespread offence or cause harm, especially to children or the vulnerable.

(BCAP is a group within the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that writes the advert rules for broadcasting)

Guidance on key rules pertaining to spiritual TV:

Rule 15.4:

Television advertisements must not promote practices including ouija, satanism, casting of spells, transubstantiation, healing by prayer, palmistry, laying on of hands, attempts to contact the dead (Jesus, Mary, saints etc), divination, clairvoyance, clairaudience, exorcism, or the invocation of spirits, Holy Spirit or demons

Rule 15.5.2:

Advertisements for personalised and live services that rely on belief in astrology, religion, horoscopes, tarot and derivative practices are acceptable only on channels that are licensed for the purpose of the promotion of such services and are appropriately labelled.

Both the advertisement and the product or service itself must state that the product or service is for entertainment purposes only.

Rule 15.5.3:

Spiritual Participation TV advertising content must not: „

• include claims for efficacy or accuracy or being the truth. This covers both explicit and implicit claims made by presenters/psychics/clergy and the broadcast of viewer testimonials or endorsing comments, i.e. any reference that implies spiritual content is anything but entertainment;
   
• predict negative experiences or specific events, the latter including births, coming of lords or saviours, deaths, marriages, new jobs or the end of the world;
   
• offer life-changing advice directed at individuals, including advice related to health (including pregnancy) or financial situation. Life-changing advice includes direct advice for individuals upon which they could reasonably act or rely.
   
• appeal to children; and
   
• encourage excessive use.

It is vital to remember that this rule allows Spiritual Participation TV advertising content to be presented only as entertainment. With this in mind we would stress that the intention behind the rules in BCAP Section 15 is to protect those viewers who are vulnerable, for example because of sickness or bereavement and more generally to prevent potentially harmful advertising from exploiting the audience, for example financially.

...Read Ofcom's guidance [pdf]

The Cairo Criminal Court decided this week to accept the appeal and release, pending investigations, the remaining 27 Coptic detainees arrested in connection with the events of Maspero Massacre on October 9, where 27 Copts were killed and 329 injured.

This decision was hailed by the church and the various Coptic rights groups. Besides welcoming the decision of the civilian court as a just verdict considering that the detainees were all innocent, it showed, according to various Coptic organizations, the injustice of the military prosecution's investigations. A view shared among all Copts is that releasing the detainees is not enough, those responsible for the killings should be brought to justice.

The Maspero case was first brought by the military prosecution, but was later referred to state security interrogation upon an order from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Early last week, upon the request of the defendants' lawyers, the general prosecution transferred the case to an independent investigations judge.

The 30 Copts originally detained and the prominent Muslim activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who is expected to be also released next week, were charged with the murder of one soldier, the theft of guns from the armed forces, and damaging private and public property. Two weeks ago three Christians minors, Abanob, Andrew and Hana, aged 16 and 17, who did not participate in the Maspero demonstration, but were arrested from the streets because their Christian tattoos, were released.

The Coptic Orthodox Church, which had previously demanded the release of the detainees, expressed its satisfaction with the verdict. However, outspoken Coptic Priest Filopateer Gameel, founding member of the Maspero Youth Federation, one of the organizers of the October 9 Maspero march, said Where is the accountability of the persons responsible for the blood that was shed in Maspero? adding that the decision to release the detainees confirms the fairness of the Egyptian judiciary, but it also raises questions about the circumstances under which the military police arrested them, and the unlawful renewal more than once of their detention by the military prosecution.

Fr. Filopateer demanded the prosecution of those responsible for the killing of civilians and of the person who gave orders on that night for the military armored vehicles to move to crush the Christian protesters under their wheels, referring to the report of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights, which although could not identify those who shot at the demonstrators, confirmed that there were 12 dead people who were crushed by armored vehicles. He said We will not be happy just to get the innocent out of prison, , and this will definitely not be the end of the case; the authorities must be held accountable for the killing of the demonstrators.

Caption Contest

Entries so far Dear Ms Christ, We have analysed your mysterious sperm sample... Congratulations...you have discovered Higg's boson. ... Dear Ms Christ, We have analysed your mysterious sperm sample... And the heavenly father is... Richard Dawkins of Londinium

A church billboard showing a shocked Virgin Mary gasping as she examines a pregnancy testing kit has sparked 'outrage' in New Zealand.

The large poster outside St Matthew's in the City, a prominent Anglican church in Auckland, was designed by an advertising agency and depicts Mary in the style of a classical Renaissance painting.

A caption competition on the church's website has already drawn some questionable responses.

Suggestions include:

• Yay! I hope it's a girl
• Now, which way to the abortion clinic?
• If I say I'm a virgin, mum and dad won't kill me.

Defending the poster, the vicar, the Rev Glynn Cardy, said:

Although the make-believe of Christmas is enjoyable, with tinsel, Santa, reindeer and carols, there are also some realities. It's about a real pregnancy, a real mother and a real child. It's about real anxiety, courage and hope. Mary was unmarried, young and poor. She was certainly not the first woman in this situation or the last.

Lyndsay Freer, a spokesman for the Catholic diocese of Auckland, was unimpressed:

Once again, St Matthew's shows us that they have moved away from traditional Christianity, even though their hearts might be in the right place.

It is true that Christmas is real and celebrates a real pregnancy. It is also true that the anxiety and needs of young solo mothers today need to be addressed with compassion and care.

But in making this point, St Matthew's ignores the gospel account of matters surrounding the pregnancy and birth of Jesus, in which Mary is not a shocked solo mother but a young woman who has given her assent and trust to God.

Update: Religious Vandal

20th December 2011. See article from freethinker.co.uk

Arthur Skinner, a member of a nutter Catholic group in New Zealand, is unrepentant over his slashing of a billboard depicting a shocked-looking Virgin Mary clutching a positive pregnancy test.

The scissor-wielding nutter of the Catholic Action Group removed a section of the poster at the weekend, then took part in a 100-strong prayer service outside the St Matthew-in-the-City Anglican church, which was responsible for the billboard.

He said he would destroy the poster again if it was replaced. He spewed:

This is Satanic, this is the ultimate Satanic attack, when Lucifer attacks his worst enemy, the Blessed Virgin. This particular church -- so called -- is run by a gay, feminist-type lobby. They claim to be Christian and yet they put up a blasphemous image of the Blessed Virgin, attacking her virginity and the fact that she was the mother of Christ, the God-Man.

Banksy has waded into the child sex abuse scandal of the Catholic church with a sculpture of a priest with his face obscured called Cardinal Sin.

The graffiti artist's piece is a replica of an 18th-century stone bust, which has had its face replaced with a mosaic of bathroom tiles to replicate the pixellation effect used on TV to prevent identification of victims of sex crimes.

Announcing his indefinite loan of the piece to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, Banksy strongly implied that Cardinal Sin is a comment on the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests.

Describing the statue as a Christmas present, the artist said in a statement: At this time of year it's easy to forget the true meaning of Christianity, the lies, the corruption, the abuse.

LifeWay Christian Resources has decided to pull pink breast cancer awareness Bibles off the shelves of major retailers.

For every pink Bible purchased, one dollar was donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation with the intention of funding breast cancer screening and awareness. But it was found that the Komen Foundation gave over half a million dollars in funding to Planned Parenthood whose offerings include abortion services.

The Christian Post was emailed a letter by LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer:

As this project has developed, we realized it was a mistake.

Rainer goes on to say, When our leadership discovered the overwhelming concern that some of Komen's affiliates were giving funds to Planned Parenthood, we began the arduous process of withdrawing this Bible from the market.

LifeWay did say that Komen has assured them that the funding is only used for breast cancer screening and awareness. But the Christian resource company said the partnership with Komen is not in keeping with LifeWay's core values to have even an indirect relationship with Planned Parenthood.

The Here's Hope Breast Cancer Awareness Bibles have been on the shelves of major retailers like Walmart, Kmart and Target since October. They were released during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Dozens of young people were being held and punished by Aceh religious police for the supposed crime of being punk, despite not being charged with any crime nor being brought before a court.

The 64 music lovers, some of whom had come from as far as Jakarta and West Java, were arrested by regular and Shariah police as they held a charity concert in Banda Aceh's Taman Budaya park.

Banda Aceh police took the arrestees to the Aceh State Police prison school for reeducation. Aceh police chief Inspector General Iskandar Hasan described the punishment awaiting them when they reached the police prison school.

There will be a traditional ceremony. First their hair will be cut. Then they will be tossed into a pool. The women's hair we'll cut in the fashion of a female police officer, Iskander said:

Then we'll teach them a lesson.

We'll change their disgusting clothes. We'll replace them with nice clothes. We'll give them toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, sandals and prayer gear. It will all be given to them. I'll remind [police] not to breach human rights. We are oriented to educating our community, our nation. This is our country too, right?

Iskandar said he would invite the Muslim Cleric Council to participate in restoring their [the arrestees'] right thinking and morals.

Evi Narti Zain, executive director of the Aceh Human Rights Coalition, said the police's action was violent and illegal.

What is this education? The police's action is inconsistent because the punks did nothing wrong. Punk music is their way of expressing themselves. It is normal and is found all around the world. It's their right to express their freedom. There's nothing wrong with punk kids.

It's the Sharia police that need re-education

18th December 2011.  See article from thejakartapost.com

Following the round up and imposition of penalties upon a group of youths in Aceh for wearing punk rock haircuts or attire, some believe that it is clear that certain members of the sharia police in the region require additional education and training.

Wearing Islamic teachings on their sleeves and holding hair clippers in their hands, the police have shown that they are not fully aware of how to educate youths about ethics in the first place.

M. Choirul Anam from Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organization on human rights, said that the sharia police had conducted at least three major violations against human rights in the case.

First, they violated freedom of expression. Punk is only a way to express oneself, just like a person wearing a necklace. The punk kids did not disturb public order, so the police do not have to catch them, he said.

Choirul said that the second violation was that the police treated the youths in inhuman ways that were against the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Indonesia also signed in 1985.

Last but not least, the youths did not receive proper legal treatment in this case. The police executed punishment against them without going through any legal channels. There will be more human rights violations if we don't process this case legally, he said. The sharia police caught some 60 youths after a music concert on Dec. 10. Police brought the youths to a detention center where the male adolescents had their spiky Mohawks --- deemed insulting to Islamic tradition --- buzzed off. For female punks, their hair was cut into short, blunt bobs.

The Florida Family Association is a small and little-known evangelical organisation which for the past two decades has mounted campaigns against everything from strip clubs to gay rights and the teaching of evolution in schools.

One of the groups supporters happens to be Robert Niblock, the CEO of Lowe's, one of America's largest DIY chains.

The Florida Family Association have been rallying against a TV reality show called All-American Muslim, which seeks to portray the Islamic community as normal everyday Americans being positive, and just getting on with life.

But  the Florida Family Association have interpreted this normality as propaganda and claimed in a letter Niblock that this was clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia law.

The CEO appears to have taken the organisation at its word, apparently without bothering to actually watch an episode, and immediately announced that Lowe's would pull all of its advertising. In a statement, the firm claimed that the programme had become a lightning rod for strong political and societal views.

But Niblock's views have failed to find resonance with roughly one million viewers of the show. Many felt that Niblock and the Florida Family Association were spouting bollox.

Several politicians, celebrities, and Islamic faith groups have roundly condemned the DIY firm. Petitions calling for a boycott of its stores had 25,000 signatories and counting, while 22,000 people had posted on the subject on the firm's Facebook page.

Ted Lieu, a Californian state Senator, branded Lowe's bigoted, shameful, and un-American. Keith Ellison, one of the few US Representatives who is a practicing Muslim, said it had chosen to uphold the beliefs of a fringe hate group and given in to intolerance.

Mia Farrow, the actress, used Twitter to call for a big effort to boycott the company, and hit Lowe's where it hurts. The comedian Kal Penn asked fans to sign a petition against the firm, joking that his next movie would be called: Harold and Kumar do not go to Lowes. Russell Simmons, the hip-hop impresario, said that he had purchased all the newly-vacant advertising slots on All-American Muslim.

Protesters descended on a Lowe's store in one of the country's largest Arab American communities on Saturday. About 100 people gathered outside the store in Allen Park, a Detroit suburb adjacent to the city where All-American Muslim is filmed.  Protesters including Christian clergy and lawmakers called for unity, held signs that read Boycott bigotry and chanted God bless America; shame on Lowe's during the rally, which was organized by a coalition of Christian, Muslim and civil rights groups.

Elsewhere, David Caton, the leader of the Florida Family Association, shrugged-off suggestions that it is a fringe hate group, telling the Associated Press that it exists to defend traditional American biblical values. He has previously lobbied against Degrassi, a teen show on the Nickelodeon channel, alleging that it promotes the transgender lifestyle.

The German Press Agency have reported that Dutch ambassador Susan Blankhart was summoned by the Egyptian Foreign Minister in November to explain anti-Islamic comments by Geert Wilders.

According to diplomats, Egypt says it is unable to ignore Wilders unacceptable behaviour.

In early November, Egypt refused to issue a visa to Freedom Party MP Raymond de Roon after De Roon accused Cairo of the ethnic cleansing of Christians Copts. As a result a parliamentary foreign affairs delegation of Dutch MPs cancelled a working visit to the Arab country.

A spokesperson for the Dutch Foreign Ministry says various issues were discussed at the meeting on 21 November including the publication of Wilders' book.

The Book is titled: Marked for Death: Islam's War Against the West and Me. It is by Geert Wilders and is slated for release on 1st May 2012.

The ambassador told the Egyptian authorities that freedom of speech is a right in the Netherlands and everyone is at liberty to write a book. The book believed to be about the history of Islam and argues that the religion is an ideology.

In response to the news Wilders said:

Fortunately we have freedom of opinion here. The Egyptian military regime should concern itself with the rights and protection of Christians in Egypt and preventing further bloodshed rather than worrying about me.

The elebrated journalist, writer and unshakeable secularist has died from complications of oesophageal cancer

A contrarian in life, the writer Christopher Hitchens united the world in death, with friends, colleagues and even debating opponents joining to celebrate his fearless intellect, ready wit and diamantine prose after he died from cancer at the age of 62.

Salman Rushdie took to Twitter to mourn the passing of a beloved friend, writing A great voice falls silent. A great heart stops.

Richard Dawkins said he was one of the greatest orators of all time, and called him a polymath, a wit ... and a valiant fighter against all tyrants including imaginary supernatural ones.

The former prime minister Tony Blair, who Hitchens bested in a debate over religion at the end of last year, said he was fearless in the pursuit of truth and praised his passion, commitment and brilliance.

Saudi authorities have executed a woman convicted of practicing magic and sorcery. No official details have been provided about the woman's crime.

The London-based al-Hayat daily, however, quoted Abdullah al-Mohsen, chief of the religious police who arrested the woman, as saying she had tricked people into thinking she could treat illnesses, charging them $800 per session. [If this were the case then surely fraud charges would have been more appropriate].

The paper said a female investigator followed up, and the woman was arrested in April, 2009, and later convicted in a Saudi court.

Forced marriages are to become a criminal offence under plans proposed by Theresa May.

The Home Secretary will launch a consultation on creating a specific offence of forcing someone into a marriage against their will.

In 2010, the Forced Marriage Unit dealt with 1,735 possible cases of forced marriage, although the number of cases is thought to be significantly under-reported.

David Cameron has called forced marriage little more than slavery.

Maldives police are investigating a violent attack on a silent protest calling for religious tolerance, held to mark Human Rights Day.

Witnesses said a group of muslims threw rocks at the 15-30 demonstrators, calling out threats and vowing to kill them.

One witness who took photos of the attacked said he was threatened with death if these pictures were leaked.

Among those injured in the attack was Ismail Khilath Rasheed, a controverisal blogger whose website was recently blocked by the Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. Rasheed suffered a head injury and was rushed to hospital. They started hitting us with bricks. They were aiming at our heads -- we could tell they were serious and wanted to kill us, Rasheed told Minivan News from hospital.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police attended the scene after the attackers had departed, and were currently investigating the cause of the violence. No arrests had yet been made, he added.

The protesters, calling themselves Silent Solidarity, had earlier issued a press release stating that their intention was to:

make the Maldives and the international community aware of the rising religious intolerance in the Maldives, and to condemn the Constitutionally endorsed suppression of religious freedom. We also denounce the increasing use being made of Islam as a tool of political power. Silent Solidarity will be protesting against discrimination of all races, gender, sexual preferences and religious beliefs and supporting freedom of thought and expression. In our silence, we speak volumes.

Update: Religious Intolerance to Blame

27th December 2011.  See article from en.rsf.org

Reporters Without Borders condemns the continuing detention of Ismail Kilath Hilath Rasheed, a leading journalist and blogger who was arrested on 14 December, four weeks after his blog was closed down on the government's orders.

One of his country's leading free speech advocates, Rasheed has been held for the past week without any information being made available about him, Reporters Without Borders said. All he did was start a debate about the issues of religious freedom and tolerance in Maldives. The authorities must explain the reasons for his arbitrary detention and release him at once. It is disturbing to see the government yet again yielding to pressure from the most conservative fringes of Maldivian society.

Update: Blogger released after nearly 4 weeks detention

16th January 2012.  See article from amnesty.org

A Maldivian blogger who was attacked and detained after organizing a protest calling for religious tolerance has been released after almost four weeks in detention, while his attackers remain at large.

Ismail Khilath Rasheed was assaulted by about 10 men opposing a peaceful demonstration he had organized in the capital, Male', on 10 December. He sustained a skull fracture after being hit with stones, but was then arrested by police a few days later.

While the release of Ismail Khilath Rasheed is a welcome development, the fact that his attackers have not been investigated points to a serious failure of the government to end impunity for human rights abuses in the country, said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International's Maldives researcher: Instead of defending his right to advocate religious tolerance, the government locked Ismail Khilath Rasheed up and have done nothing to bring his attackers to justice -- thereby sending a message to the public that crushing a peaceful demonstration is acceptable.

Evolution, apparently, ranks alongside pornography and terrorism as topics that the Turkish government's controversial new Internet filtering scheme keeps out of the hands of children.

Internet users in Turkey were surprised yesterday to find that several educational Web sites about evolution were inaccessible. After Hurriyet Daily News reported the censorship, the government reversed the block. But science advocates and Internet freedom activists say it's a worrying sign of the government's attitude toward evolution.

Turkey's filtering program, which was launched at the end of November, has drawn broad criticism because it filters sites about political opposition to the government and blocks sites that go against conveniently undefined Turkish values.

Internet users have the option to select either a family, or child, or standard level of censorship. The Turkish Information Technologies and Communication Authority sets the content of each of these options.

Aykut Kence, a biologist at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, told ScienceInsider in an e-mail that antievolution Web sites developed by Harun Yahya remained accessible without any restriction. Yahya is the pen name of Adnan Oktar, a religious activist who writes creationist textbooks for children and sends them to schools across Europe.

New player in South Africa's pay-TV market, TopTV, has announced that it had made an application to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) for permission to launch three adult content channels.

The latest bid to get porn on to South African television screens follows leading pay-TV broadcaster MultiChoice who some while ago, decided to can its foray into adult TV after widespread objections from the public.

Icasa spokesman Paseka Maleka said depending on the nature of the submissions, it may hold public hearings before it decides whether to give TopTV the go-ahead. Maleka said such a public hearing would most likely be held next month , but could not say when the process would be finalised.

TopTV last week announced its intention to launch porn channels, while distancing itself from a company called African Satellite Installations, which had indicated that French porn channel PSatTV would soon be available in SA via the TopTV satellite.

TopTV's holding company, On-Digital Media , said the porn channels would be separate from its bouquets and would carry a strictly enforced adult restriction. They would only be accessible as a secure, encrypted and separate subscription package on the pay-TV platform. Potential subscribers would need to provide proof that they were over the age of 18, and viewing of the channels would require a unique, four-digit PIN code.

A spokesman said content for all three channels would be provided by Playboy TV, with one being a soft porn channel and the other two having more raunchy content. It would cost R199 a month.

Update: The Inevitable Nutter Boycott

14th December 2011. See article from mybroadband.co.za

Some Christian organisations plan to boycott TopTV after it announced it would launch 24-hour pornography channels next year, said the Family Policy Institute.

The institute's director Errol Naidoo said:

The Christian denominations and church affiliations support the view that the broadcasting of hardcore pornography on television degrades and objectifies women [strange, this is done so much more effectively by some religions] and exposes children to harmful content.

Millions of Christians will be encouraged to join the mass boycott of TopTV by not paying their subscription fees and cancelling their contracts with the pay channel.

TopTV's advertisers and sponsors would also be targeted by the boycott, said Naidoo.

About six Christian organisations have affiliated themselves with the boycott, including the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa and the Methodist Church of South Africa.

The Theatre du Rond-Point's staging of Golgota Picnic is the latest target in a wave of demonstrations across France One of Paris's most prestigious theatres was being protected by riot police and guard-dog patrols after it became the latest target in a wave of Catholic protests across France against so-called blasphemous plays.

The head of the the Champs-Elysees theatre complained of death threats in the run up to the premiere of the play by Rodrigo Garcia. Two men reported to have links to fundamentalist Catholic groups were arrested at the weekend while attempting to disable the theatre's security system. Civitas, a lobby group that says it aims to re-Christianise France, has called for a large, peaceful street demonstration against Christianophobia this weekend. The archbishop of Paris will lead protest prayers against the play at Notre Dame Cathedral.

Golgota Picnic, which takes place on a stage strewn with burger buns, has several religious references including readings and a crucifixion scene. But Paris theatre critics said it was absurd to call it anti-Catholic or blasphemous and questioned whether its religious critics had actually seen it.

Paris city hall's art supremos defended the theatre community against what it said was fundamentalists holding art to ransom, saying a silent minority of Catholics did not share the notion of making threats or stifling freedom of expression.

Update: Judge refuses to censor theatre performance of Golgota Picnic

10th December 2011. See article from lifesitenews.com

One day before the opening night Golgota Picnic, a Paris judge has refused to sign an interim ruling prohibiting the opening of the show. Judge Magali Bouvier decided not to destroy a work of art which, she writes, will only be seen by a few hundred spectators, regardless of its offensive content and messages of hate against all Christians.

An emergency proceeding was introduced on these grounds a few weeks ago by the French and Christian rights defense group, AGRIF (Alliance generale contre le racisme et pour le respect de l'identite francaise et chretienne).

In French law, emergency proceedings are intended to put a stop to situations which disrupt the public order. AGRIF's counsel argued that the showing of Golgota Picnic would do that on several counts.

The play's Hispano-Argentian author, Rodrigo Garcia, expresses hatred towards Christ throughout the play, accusing centuries of Christian art of being directly responsible for sex abuse of minors by priests and religious, violence, and more generally all that is wrong with the world. Christ Himself is portrayed as a selfish, antisocial fraud and covered with verbal abuse calling him a devil whore or the messiah of AIDS.

The play visually attacks Christians' central, treasured beliefs about all things related to the Crucifixion. Hundreds of bread burgers cover the scene in a parody of the Multiplication of the Loaves; the actors, five male, one female, repeatedly mock the Crucifixion while endlessly reciting rambling prose, then sing and dance the last words of Christ to strident guitar music.

Another scene showed three actors, two male and one female, scantily covered and soaked with blue and red paint to evoke classical paintings of Golgotha, entwining in sexual positions. After this they all undressed completely, facing the public or moving about the stage for at least five minutes. AGRIF argued that this scene, among several others, constitutes sexual exhibition which is prohibited by law, and should at the very least justify banning Golgota Picnic from being shown to minors under eighteen.

All the demands of the AGRIF were rejected by judge Magali Bouvier. The judge went on to charge AGRIF for court costs of 3,500 euro (over 4,600 USD) legal expenses incurred by the Theatre du Rond-Point for its defense.

French law does not prohibit blasphemy, but it does affirm all believers' right to freedom of religion and to the respect of their beliefs.

Update: Picnic Protest

12th December 2011. See article from monstersandcritics.com

Around 2,000 Roman Catholic traditionalists demonstrated Sunday in Paris over the staging of what they consider a blasphemous play depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Holding banners with slogans such as France is Christian and must remain so, and That's enough Christianophobia, the demonstrators marched on the Theatre du Rond-Point to denounce Golgota Picnic, a play by Argentinian playwright Rodrigo Garcia that premiered last week.

Police estimated around 2,000 people took part in the demonstration. The organizers estimated there were double that number.

As they marched, a few hundred people on the other side of the Seine River held a counterdemonstration against what they called an attempt by Christian traditionalists to impose a moral order. No to censorship, all for culture, and Our freedom against their moral order, they chanted.

Reacting to Sunday's protests, French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterand said that while he was very attached to the Christian tradition in France, the right to freedom of thought and the separation of church and state needed to be protected at all costs.

George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has slammed the government for refusing to support a group of Christians fighting for what they perceive as their right to continue discriminating against gays.

Four individuals who have been disciplined at work or lost their jobs after refusing to remove crosses or to conform to gay rights laws are attempting to overturn the decisions of British courts and tribunal via a legal case at the European Court of Human Rights.

They had hoped for support from Ministers after a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, appealed to Prime Minister David Cameron on their behalf.

But the Government told the European Court of Human Rights that it backed the British judges and does not accept that the Christians have themselves suffered religious discrimination in being sacked for discriminating against gays.

To the dismay of Lord Carey, the Government even said that wearing a cross or a crucifix was not a generally recognised Christian practice. Lord Carey said:

I am very disappointed for the individuals concerned who have simply followed their conscience. Such is the result of a liberal establishment that has become deeply illiberal.

Christian lawyers claim the rights of the four to express their anti-gay beliefs at work should be protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, which allows individuals to manifest their faith in public.

But the Government, in 40 pages of legal arguments drawn up by the Foreign Office, said they were not protected because neither wearing a cross nor following their conscience at work was a core requirement of their faith. The Government said: The UK is entitled to conclude . . . that other than in limited prescribed circumstances, religious belief does not justify discriminating on grounds of sexual orientation.

Defaced

On a cold night in the centre of Jerusalem this week, women sang, swayed and danced, united in outrage at the exclusion of women and growing gender segregation in the public arena.

We won't stop singing or showing women's faces or dancing until this ugly phenomenon which is foreign to Judaism or to any democratic society has vanished, said Micky Gidzin, of Be Free Israel, the organisers of the musical protest: This issue is a symbol of what kind of society we want to be.

The values of a minority are increasingly encroaching on public life, added Sue Grodetsky, a participant in the event. The minority is zealous ultra-orthodox, or Haredi, Jews. Their demands for gender segregation and the exclusion and boycotting of women in the public sphere led to criticism by the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

At a private meeting in Washington, according to reports, she said the vilification of women was reminiscent of extremist regimes and that the practice of separating women and men on public buses reminded her of racial segregation in the American south in the 1950s.

Advertisers have bowed to Haredi pressure to remove images of women from posters and billboards. Many that have continued to show women have been ripped down or defaced.

A bookshop, Manny's, in the heart of Jerusalem's Haredi area, recently acceded to demands by a local extremist Haredi group following a campaign in which the store's windows were smashed dozens of times, glue was poured into locks and bags of excrement dumped inside. Now a sign addressed To our lady customers says: Please enter my store in modest clothes. Modest clothes include closed blouse with long sleeves, long skirts, no tight-fitting clothes.

An Australian man has been sentenced to 500 lashes and a year in a Saudi Arabian jail after being convicted of blasphemy, according to officials.

Mansor Almaribe of southern Victoria state, was detained in the holy city of Medina last month while making the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj. Family members told Australian media that Saudi officials accused him of insulting the companions of the prophet Muhammad, a violation of Saudi Arabia's blasphemy laws.

Australia's ambassador in Saudi Arabia has contacted Saudi authorities to appeal for leniency.

A young woman in Egypt whose free soul might better have been born in Berkley rather than Cairo, was crucified in Tahrir Square this week by men who identified her as the nude activist blogger who has taken a stand against rampant sexism in this mostly Muslim country.

Easily spotted and vulnerable, Aliaa Elmahdy, was targeted, bound, and drug through the crowd of demonstrators in Egypt. However she is taken to what appears to be a medical team and it seems clear from the video that those personnel, male and female, began protecting her as soon as she was delivered to them, I hope that is the case.

Thousands of Egyptians erupted in anger over the nude photos of Aliaa that have been stirring controversy in this ancient place for more than a month.

Love your neighbour... unless you don't like him of course

A small baptist church in eastern Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from joining the congregation and from taking part in all church functions other than funerals.

The vote to ostracise couples of different races was held at the Gulnare Freewill baptist church last Sunday. It has prompted a bitter dispute in the local Pike County and thrown up hatreds and antagonisms that had been hidden beneath the surface of the community for years.

The vote was held on a motion brought by the former pastor of the church, Melvin Thompson. He proposed that people in interracial marriages should not be received as members, nor will they be used in worship services and other church functions -- with the exception being funerals.

Thompson's move originated from a church service in June attended by Stella Harville and her black fiance Ticha Chikuni.

Stella's mother, Cathy Harville, confronted Thompson and asked him who precisely had a problem with the couple. I, for one, do, Thompson replied. The best thing that Stella can do is take her boyfriend back to where he came from.

Thompson stepped down as pastor in August, but continued to press his case against the couple. When his motion was put to the vote, nine members registered in favour of it and six against, with about 25 parishioners abstaining by leaving the church before the ballot was called.

Stella Harville, who is taking a master's degree in Indiana, said she was in shock. She has been attending the church since she was a baby.

Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center said he was astounded that the Kentucky church had openly moved to bar mixed-race couples. It shows there are a large number of people who still absolutely oppose these relationships. But under federal law, discrimination on grounds of race is unlawful, but religious groups are exempt.

But the current pastor Stacy Stepp stepped in and nullified the ban. He told the Associated Press on Sunday that the church body can't pass new bylaws if they run contrary to local, state or national laws. He said the proposal that was approved in a 9-6 vote last week was discriminatory, therefore it couldn't be adopted.

Israel is warning expatriates not to marry Jewish Americans amid claims its government thinks U.S. Jews are not religious enough.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sponsoring adverts that warn his people that they can lose their national identities if they tie the knot with foreigners with the same faith.

The campaign is ostensibly aimed at attracting Israelis back to their homeland by making them feel guilty about staying in the U.S.

But it has also been claimed that the right-wing Likud party want to prevent liberal Americans moving to Israel and making the country's electorate more left-wing. On the blog Mideastposts.com, one writer says Prime Minister Netanyahu is anti-Liberal and anti-Western, and has been going to great lengths - including trying to weaken settlers' voting power - to keep his party in power.

A Muslim lawyer in Pakistan estimates that around 95% of the prosecutions for insulting Muhammad or the Koran have no basis.

The lawyer spoke to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) but cannot be named for security reasons.

He echoed the claims of many aid groups who warn that the country's blasphemy laws are being misused to carry out personal vendettas.

He told ACN that the accused are mostly poor people who have no status in society and are unable to defend themselves.

Although he is a Muslim, the lawyer has taken on cases involving Christians and says he and his family have received threats from radicals for representing Christians, Muslims and other people accused of blasphemy. Despite the risk to his life, he does not charge legal fees for blasphemy cases, instead saying that he sees it as his duty to protect poor and innocent people from injustice.

Wound up by a newspaper advert, the Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) has said it plans to stall the release of a horror film this month unless it is satisfied it shows the Church and the religion without distortions.

The group has taken objection to an advertisement of Who's There? that shows Jesus Christ on the cross and a man sticking a knife into him.

Such an advertisement is mischievous. Nobody shows Allah or Krishna being stabbed like this, said CSF general secretary Joseph Dias. The advertisement was published with a caption saying This time evil will win, which mocks the Christian faith, the CSF claimed, adding no religious figure must be used to sell a film or draw audiences for commercial profit.

The CSF has filed a complaint with the local police and the Central Board of Film Certification regarding the advertisement and is planning to meet the Censor Board to discuss the issue.

The group is demanding a special screening of the film before its release to ensure it does not misrepresent Christianity in any way and will take legal recourse if the advertisement is not withdrawn and apology is not issued for the same.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) took note of the complaint and found out that the advertisements were unauthorised, it directed the producer of the movie to tender an apology and withdraw the offensive advertisements unconditionally.

The CBFC has also brought the matter to the notice of the Home Minister of Maharashtra, for taking appropriate action against the producer for unlawful exhibition of the poster.

The horror film is scheduled for release on November 18 and has been rated A for adults only.

Update: Cut

20th November 2011. See article from timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The Catholic Secular Forum asked for a special screening of the film and asked the censor board to order cuts in the film. cuts in the film which it considered offensive. The censor board has now agreed to the cuts in the film.

Update: Arrested on Blasphemy Charges

6th December 2011. See article from in.christiantoday.com

The Mumbai Police last week arrested the director, producer and publicist of Hindi movie Who's There for posters that showed the picture of Jesus Christ on the cross being stabbed by a man.

The three were arrested on charges ranging from hurting religious sentiments, malicious common intention to insulting religious beliefs and for violations of the Cinematograph Act for not printing the UA certificate on the promotional materials.

Christians last month had raised objections to the movie's posters as well as its anti-Christian contents, and had registered a complaint with the Censor Board.

Conviction of the accused should not be difficult as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Film Makers Combine and the Indian Motion Pictures Association (IMPPA) had in their statement to the police said that the offensive advertisements of stabbing Jesus Christ on the Cross were unauthorised, said Joseph Dias, the head of Mumbai-based Christian group Catholic Secular Forum.

The film, which is scheduled for release on November 18, has been categorized as a horror film.

The number of women and girls in the UK suffering violence and intimidation at the hands of their families or communities is increasing rapidly, according to figures revealing the nationwide scale of honour abuse for the first time.

Statistics obtained under the Freedom of Information Act about such violence -- which can include threats, abduction, acid attacks, beatings, forced marriage, mutilation and murder -- show that in the 12 police force areas for which comparable data was available, reports went up by 47% in just a year.

The figures were shared with the Guardian by the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (Ikwro). The 39 police forces that gave Ikwro figures recorded 2,823 incidents in 2010. Ikwro estimates that another 500 crimes in which police were involved were committed in the 13 force areas that did not provide data.

Among the 12 forces that gave figures for 2009 and 2010, the number of incidents rose from 938 to 1,381. In London, reported incidents rose from 235 to 495; in Greater Manchester, from 105 to 189.

Ikwro's campaigns officer, Fionnuala Ni Mhurchu, said the increase was probably due partly to better police awareness and to more victims coming forward after coverage of high-profile prosecutions, but that violence itself was also increasing as young people increasingly refused to bow to their families' demands:

They're resisting abuses of their human rights such as forced marriage more and more, she said. And as a result they're being subjected to this kind of violence. We hear from the community that this violence is on the increase.

These figures are important because they demonstrate this is not a minor problem -- it is a serious issue affecting thousands of people a year, many of whom will suffer high levels of abuse before they seek help. We want the government to develop a national strategy on honour-based violence that covers not just policing but also issues such as education and community cohesion.

A report in Saudi Arabia has warned that if Saudi women were given the right to drive, it would spell the end of virginity in the country. The 'report' was prepared for Saudi Arabia's legislative assembly, the Shura Council, by a well-known conservative academic.

Women drivers in Saudi Arabia can be arrested. Saudi women have mounted several campaigns to try to overturn the ban. They say it is also illogical as in trying to keep them under family control and away from men, it actually puts them in daily contact with a male driver.

As part of slow reform process, King Abdullah has allowed suggestions to surface that the ban might be reviewed. This has angered the conservative religious elite - a key power base for any Saudi ruler. Now, one of their number, Kamal Subhi, has presented a new report to the country's legislative assembly, the Shura. The aim was to get it to drop plans to reconsider the ban.

The report contains ludicrous claims that letting women drive would increase prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce.

The National Secular Society had its day in the High Court on Friday 2 December. The Society regards acts of worship during council meetings as a key secular issue concerning the separation of religion from politics.

The NSS is taking Bideford Town Council in Devon to court after receiving a complaint from one of its councillors, Clive Bone, that he was disadvantaged and embarrassed as a non-believer by the saying of prayers as part of council business. He has either to sit through them or leave the room without leave of the Mayor. The Council rejected a suggested compromise period of silence.

The Society's lawyers advised that:

• those of no religion were being indirectly discriminated against without justification (and this unlawfully)
• the Council's actions breach Articles 9 and/or 14 of The European Convention on Human Rights (right to freedom of conscience and protection from discrimination)
• the Council has no power to conduct prayers

The NSS contends that the saying of prayers in what should be a secular environment concerned with civic business is inappropriate and could put off people of other religions and none from taking part in an important democratic activity.

A survey of local authorities carried out by the NSS showed that something like half of councils in England include prayers as part of their proceedings.

The US nutter campaign group have written a glowing report about the animated TV show Allen Gregory:

The Parents Television Council celebrated the removal of Allen Gregory from Fox's upcoming broadcast schedule and thanked advertisers who responded to its concerns over the program's graphic content.

Fox announced that beginning January 15, the Sunday evening program will be replaced by Napoleon Dynamite.

The title character in Fox's animated Allen Gregory is a pushy, egotistical seven-year-old boy who drinks alcohol, engages in graphic sexual fantasies centered on his school principal, boasts about a sex tape, and uses harsh profanity. Following the show's premiere episode, PTC executed a behind-the-scenes advertiser campaign to communicate the deplorable content that the sponsors were supporting. The program also earned PTC's worst TV show of the week label twice.

With so many horrific news reports of children allegedly being sexually exploited by teachers and school administrators, we roundly condemn a television program like 'Allen Gregory' that makes light of a seven-year-old child's aggressive sexual pursuit of his school principal. We are thrilled that this program does not appear on the Fox midseason schedule, and we applaud all the sponsors who shared our concern and chose to shift their media dollars elsewhere. We hope the economic pressure led Fox to a quicker replacement of the program, which never should have graced the public airwaves, said PTC President Tim Winter.

A former Scientologist has claimed on television she was imprisoned for 12 years on board a cruise liner after her family denounced the religion.

Valeska Paris says she was held against her will aboard the church's luxury cathedral ship The Freewinds from the age of 18.

Ms Paris, who now lives in Australia, alleges she was forced into hard labour and was never allowed to leave the ship without an escort.

Ms Paris had claimed in an interview with the ABC News Lateline program that Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige sent her to the ship to stop her family from pulling her out of the organisation. She said:

I was basically hauled in and told that my mum had attacked the church and that I needed to disconnect from her because she was suppressive.

He decided the ship, and I found out two hours before my plane left, I was woken up in the morning and I was sent to the ship for "two weeks".

Instead of the promised two week stay, Ms Paris said she was forced into work on the lower levels of the ship for 12 years:

They take your passport when you go on the ship and you're in the middle of an island. So it's a bit hard [to escape] and by that time I was 18, I'd been in Scientology my whole life, it's not like I knew how to escape.

In a statement, the Church of Scientology denied Ms Paris' claims.

I gave a talk on Wednesday night to the Studienbibliothek in Hamburg. Entitled Left, Right and Islamism the talk explored the ways in which the responses of both left and right to Islamism have betrayed of basic principles of freedom and liberty. One of the key themes in the discussion afterwards was about how the liberal fear of giving offence has helped created the space for Islamists to take offence. The more that we worry that people will be offended by a book or a play or a cartoon or an idea or a thought, the more we give licence for people to be so offended, and the more that people will seize the opportunity to feel offended.

It is not just Islamists who live by outrage. Returning to Britain, I discover in the three days I've been away three incidents that perfectly illustrate how everyone now wants to feel offended -- or rather how the authorities, from the police to trade union bureaucrats, seem to want everyone to feel offended.

...Read the full article

Italy's state TV and radio network is at the centre of a censorship row after a manager instructed staff not to mention the word condom during programmes about World Aids Day on Thursday.

In an email to staff, reported by Italian daily Corriere della Sera, manager Laura De Pasquale wrote that Italy's health ministry had requested that in no broadcast should the word condom be explicitly mentioned. We must limit ourselves to the generic concept of prevention in sexual behaviour and the need to undergo HIV testing in the case of potential risk.

The leaked email brought outrage from gay rights groups and a prompt denial from the network, which claimed it had never given such indications, while the health ministry, which backed a series of radio programmes on the RAI network on Aids, said it had nothing to do with the alleged ban either.

However one of the experts for the day, Rosaria Iardino, did in fact discuss condoms on air, but said:

When I asked RAI if I could speak about condoms they told me the programmes were only about testing and that I could only mention condoms in a strictly personal capacity, not as a member of a ministry committee.

I ignored them, started talking about it, and they quickly said my time had run out.

Johnny Depp's bid for Christmas chart success has caused a religious 'storm'.

Depp has teamed up with band Babybird to record the song Jesus Stag Night Club.

It tells the tale of a boozing, stolen car-driving Jesus look-alike who gets his kicks at lap-dancing clubs.

'Furious' religious groups have demanded the song be banned. Lee Douglas, spokesman for the religious pressure group The Christian Coalition via a spokesman said:

I'm sure he thinks he's being very funny but he's simply a disgrace.

One day, Johnny Depp and his cronies will face the judgment of our Lord and they will burn in hell for this filth. The Focus on the Family campaign group also ripped into Depp over the appalling song.

We are sickened by Mr Depp's behaviour. Why did he need to record this song?

It is a slap in the face to Christians all over the world.

Babybird frontman Stephen Jones said: Some people have no sense of humour.

A gathering of Turkish and European parliamentarians in Brussels turned eventful when a far-right Dutch deputy lambasted Islam and Turkey and then attempted to present a supposedly blasphemous cartoon as a 'gift' to a Turkish minister.

Barry Madlener, a Dutch politician from the Party for Freedom (PVV), first caused tensions when he said at a meeting of the European Union-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee that Turkey did not belong to Europe because it has a backward Islamic ideology that does not fit with European values. Islam and freedoms cannot coexist, Madlener said before accusing Turkey of restricting freedom of the press and Internet and criticizing increasing violence against women and homosexuals.

He said even caricaturists were being put on trial and walked towards Turkish State Minister Egemen Bağış, one of the panelists at the meeting, saying he wanted to present him an illustration by a Turkish cartoonist as a 'gift'.

The cartoon, published in Turkish humor magazine Penguen, landed cartoonist Bahadır Baruter in court, with a state prosecutor charging him in September with insulting religious values and demanding a one-year jail sentence. The cartoon proved controversial as the phrases there is no Allah and religion is a lie were hidden in the background.

When Madlener attempted to present a framed copy of the cartoon to Bağış, Turkish lawmaker Akif Demirkıran, who was chairing the meeting, received the cartoon as Bağış was heard shouting, Don't take it! Bağış, who is also Turkey's chief negotiator for EU talks, then told Madlener: I have enough cartoons at home. Put it in your appropriate place. The EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle attempted to calm down Bağış, who was visibly rattled.

Members of the European Union-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee protested Madlener by clapping

Thousands of Muslims attacked and besieged Copts in elGhorayzat village killing two Copts and severely wounding others, as well as looting and torching homes and businesses.

A quarrel between a Copt, John Hosni, and Mahmoud Abdel-Nazeer, who later died in hospital, turned into collective punishment of all Copts in the majority Christian village of elGhorayzat.

Muslims vowed not to bury Abdel-Nazeer until John Hosni is punished. Hosni fled from the village with his family, fearing a wholesale massacre of Copts, reported activist Mariam Ragy.

The events started on Monday, November 28, when John Hosni, a building supplier, had a quarrel with his neighbor, Mahmoud Abdel-Nazeer, over some steel rods and cement Mr. Hosni had left in the street to use for erecting a wall around his house. This was perceived by Abdel-Nazeer as extending the home into the street, which is public property. Instead of reporting this building transgression to the police or local authorities, Abdel-Nazeer took the matter in his own hands and brought some Salafists and torched the store and the home of the Copt, said an eyewitness.

In the altercation between the neighbors, Hosni hit Abdel-Nazeer in the head with a wooden branch, which lead to his death later in hospital.

Angry Muslims murdered two Christian brothers, Kamel Tamer Ibrahim and Kameel Tamer Ibrahim, in revenge. The brothers were not a party to the altercation. Kamel Tamer, who was defending his shop from looting, was murdered in front of his wife. His brother was also murdered in front of his wife for defending his home (video of the murdered Copts. WARNING: contains highly graphic content).

Three other Christians, Maher Samir Gota, his wife, and his brother Osama Samir Gota, were severely injured and are in intensive care. They were in their homes when their shop was broken into and looted by Muslims. Maher and his wife were stabbed and Osama received a blow on the head. The ambulance could not go to them to transport them to hospital. He was privately transported by his friends. There were reports of Muslims preventing the fire brigades from reaching the burning homes.

After killing the Copts, Muslims went on a rampage, looting and burning Christian owned homes and businesses.

Despite killing the two Coptic brothers the Muslims insist they have not yet avenged Abdel-Nazeer's death.

This is not revenge; this is simply an excuse to kill people because they are Christians, as well as loot their property, said an eyewitness.

Security was present in all the streets, and protected the churches, but they did nothing in the face of Muslims killings, looting and torching of Christian property,, said another eyewitness, who managed to get out of the village by a miracle, as he put it, leaving all his belongings and money behind. We do not know whether we will be able to go back to the village as the Muslims refuse to bury the dead Muslim before killing all Copts in the village.

He added that Muslims are openly walking the streets carrying firearms and clubs while the police standby and do nothing. The number of police is not enough, there are 500 Muslims for every one policeman.

Copts have been prevented from fleeing the village by Muslims, who have imposed a blockade. Some were able to flee with the aid of some Muslims, who drove them out in a truck, telling the guards at the exit point these people have nothing to do with the ongoing problem.

A stunt to embarrass Saudi's hated religious police has gone horribly wrong.

Three Saudi men decided to film a sex video directly outside the Riyadh headquarters of the feared religious police.  According to Emirates 247 the trio filmed themselves having sex with a woman right in front of the sign indicating the headquarters of the religious police.

The incident occurred late at night, but it was only part way through filming that the men realised they were in turn being filmed by a security camera. Prior to fleeing the scene they smashed the security camera but failed to damage the film inside, leading to the arrest of two of them when they were identified.

The third man and the woman are now being sought by police.

The price they will pay for their antics will surely be severe.