Man who slapped imam at Malaysia's National Mosque ordered to undergo psychiatric tests

KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A personal driver from Srinagar, Kashmir was ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation for allegedly slapping an imam at Malaysia's National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur during Friday prayers on Sept 18.

Muslim cleric to take Sunday pulpit at First Community Church

Next weekend, a Muslim clergyman from New York will deliver sermons to a religious congregation in Franklin County.

Not in a mosque, but in a Christian church on a Sunday morning.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf will take the pulpit at the two campuses of First Community Church.

Imam Abdullah Haron remembered in an intimate ceremony

Today is the anniversary of Haron’s death in police detention in Cape Town in 1969.
The Cape Town Muslim community commemorates the death of Imam Abdullah Haron in an intimate ceremony on Sunday. Picture: Natalie Malgas/EWN.
While the Muslim community celebrates his life today, his death is still shroud in controversy.

Persecuted Ex-Muslim: Their Beliefs Revealed a Religion of Hate I Did Not Like, Whereas Christianity...

"This so-called ISIS or el Shabab or Boko Haram, they're not like extremists. They're not fanatical. They're just 'good Muslims,' good Muslims who follow the teachings of Islam. The prophet Mohammed, he did that. They're doing what he did," –Mona Walter

(Gothenburg, Sweden)—[CBN News] Mona Walter is on a mission. Her mission is for more Muslims to know what is in the Koran. She says if more Muslims knew what was in the Koran, more would leave Islam.

Syria: Fight or Flight? Will This Pastor Leave for Safer Territory or Stay with New Believers?

 Three years after a pastor moved his family from a war-torn town in Syria to the more serene city of Sweida, a deadly bombing there last week brought the violence home. Along with other Christian leaders in Syria, the pastor must decide whether to stay or flee.

Like members of his congregation, the pastor must constantly evaluate the risks of staying – with the added weight of having to choose between fleeing to protect his family and remaining to disciple the converts who make up most of his church. The car bombing on Friday (Sept. 11) killed a prominent Druze cleric and 25 others on the outskirts of Sweida, and retaliatory violence has reportedly killed another 21 people. In the initial attack, a second car bomb exploded near a hospital in a neighborhood where at least 50 injured people had been taken. No one has taken responsibility for the bombings.

Pastor Helps Disarm Gunman in Church

Rev. Earl Carswell is pastor of Oasis Tabernacle Church in Selma, Alabama. Last Sunday morning, James Junior Minter joined the congregation for worship, sitting on the front row. According to police, Minter then pulled a handgun and opened fire.

Rev. Carswell and others acted swiftly, disarming him. Minter got away, but was captured quickly. The pastor was shot in the leg. Police are hailing him and others who defended their congregation as "heroes." They are, indeed.

Religious Prostitution

When I was in America in 2009, I heard of him for the first time and put a video on YouTube, criticizing and exposing him, while being among his followers. This was before he was arrested and before his sex CD appeared.

It is not only Nithyananda, another spiritual person, who calls himself Ikshadhari and who is , I believe, still in jail, was running a high-end brothel, supplying girls. Kripalu Maharaj from Vrindavan, my town, who spent Billions on building a ‘love temple’ was accused many times of having sex with and raping female devotees. He had been arrested in India and abroad. But he is out because of his power and money and still enjoys today.

Hundreds Killed In Stampede Outside Mecca

MINA, Saudi Arabia, Sept 24 (Reuters) - At least 717 pilgrims were killed on Thursday in a crush outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, the Saudi authorities said, the worst disaster to strike the annual haj pilgrimage in 25 years.

At least 863 others were injured at Mina, a few kilometers east of Mecca, when two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads on their way to performing the "stoning of the devil" ritual at Jamarat, Saudi civil defense said.

Confessions of a Former Mormon Doomsday Prepper

Did you know the world is ending? According to one very prominent Mormon writer and a number of her followers, last week was the beginning of the end, which will come after the fall of the stock market and massive physical destruction by the end of September. Stores selling food storage and other "emergency" items like fuel, water purification kits, and space blankets are doing very brisk business.

It's easy to shake your head over stories like this and think only crazy people or those who are mentally ill in some way would get excited about such predictions, let alone about enacting an end of the world scenario. But I spent several years of my children's early years as a Mormon "Prepper" and while it may well have been a manifestation of the years-long depression I had suffered, I thought it would be useful to explain why I now think I did what I did.

Obama and the pope defend 'religious liberty' – but where and for whom?

Francis’s White House speech appeared to focus on domestic religious freedoms while the president sought to extend the issue globally, in what some religious advocates believe to be another sign that Obama is ‘anti-Catholic’

Pope Francis made an impassioned defence of religious freedom at the White House on Wednesday in remarks that were swiftly interpreted as a warning shot over demands for exemptions from the law on the grounds of faith.

The issue of “religious liberty” has become a flashpoint between the Obama administration and faith campaigners, focused on rejections of same-sex marriage and contraception provision.

Bible must be at center of Anglican meeting, global group says

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) Restoring the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion should be the goal of a meeting called this week by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on how Anglicans should move forward, said the head of the Global Anglican Future Conference.

Welby’s meeting of Anglican leaders is planned for mid-January 2016 in Canterbury, England. It is being viewed as an attempt to heal the 80 million-member communion, which remains deeply wounded by disputes over homosexuality and women’s ordination in the global church.

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SCOTUS: Kentucky clerk must issue same-sex marriage licenses

Story highlights
    The Supreme Court says a Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses on religious grounds must start doing so
    The order marks the first time the issue of same-sex marriage has come back to the Supreme Court since the June landmark ruling

Church says Donald Trump is not an 'active member'

Story highlights

    Trump: "I am Presbyterian Protestant. I go to Marble Collegiate Church"
    "I've just had great experiences at church, whether it is Sunday School or whatever it may be."

Washington (CNN)Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told reporters Thursday that he attends a church in Manhattan, but the church released a statement saying the real estate developer is not an "active member."

Hollywood Celebrities Who Have Spoken Out About Their Religion

Actress Mayim Bialik recently talked about being religious in Hollywood.

"I think in general it's never going to be trendy to be observant or religious in Hollywood circles," the actress, who is Jewish, told Fox News in an interview published on Aug. 21. 

There are many celebrities in Hollywood who have spoken about their faith. Some are very public about their belief system, while others are much more private.

A few have expressed opinions similar to Bialik, and have only revealed a glimpse into their personal beliefs.

India’s Hindu Population Drops for the First Time while Muslims are on the Rise

Census shows changing faith landscape in India; Hindus fall below 80% of the population for the first time since independence. For the first time since it gained independence, the percentage of the Indian population that is Hindu dropped below 80%, reports the Wall Street Journal. The 2011 census revealed that 79.79% of India’s population of 1.2 billion reports itself a Hindu, which is a drop

The Devil Went Down to… Detroit? Satanic Temple Statue Unveiled

After receiving bomb threats, The Satanic Temple was finally able to unveil their statue of Baphomet in Detroit. In literature, Baphomet is often depicted as a man with the head of a goat and sometimes with the breasts of a woman. He is usually shown pointing one hand up and one hand down. He means a lot of different things, however for the Satanic Temple,

Angelina Jolie now believes in God while Brad Pitt’s religion is still undecided

Angelina Jolie has faith, her religious beliefs recently reinvigorated by her latest film Unbroken but Brad Pitt wavers in his beliefs about God. When it comes to religion, the famous couple has their similarities and their differences. Brad Pitt “oscillates between Agnosticism and Atheism,” while Angelina Jolie found her belief in God while working with Louis Zamperini for Unbroken, a hit film in 2013. Brad Pitt’s Struggle with God According to an interview he did with The Hollywood Reporter,

Which Religions are the Least Discriminating Against Homosexuals?

A study focused on religion and homosexuality in 79 countries identifies the religions which have the least negative attitude toward gays. A new survey uncovers mainstream religions that are more tolerant with members of the LGBT community. Based on research published in the Journal of Homosexuality, Buddhism is considered to be

Here are 10 Facts About the State of Religion in America Right Now

Religion in America is changing each year. Here are the most important facts to know right now. The Pew Research Center has compiled a list of 10 Facts About Religion in America. With the upcoming Pope Francis visit and the Religious Newswriters Association conference in Philadelphia happening, they thought it would be a good time to reflect on the changing religious landscape in America. Here are their findings.

Picture of Jesus in Kansas School Stimulates Issues of Censorship, Religious Teachings

Display of religious picture in a middle school prompts a greater discussion about religious teachings in schools. The separation of church and state is something that has been universally understood in the United States, so much so that no one has bothered to check if this is even true.

Devotees of Jain religion ask Indian judges for right to fast to death

 Followers of ancient non-violent religion ask Indian supreme court to legalise tradition of santhara after lower court bans ritual as 'assisted suicide'

Members of the Indian Jain community participate in a rally after a march protesting the Rajasthan State High Court ruling against Santhara, a Jain practice of fasting unto death, in Jaipur

Jozef Wesolowski Dead At 67; Former Vatican Ambassador Was Accused Of Sexually Abusing Children

Wesolowski faced charges of paying boys for sexual acts, downloading and buying pedophile material, and offending Christian morality.

VATICAN CITY — A Catholic former archbishop accused of child sex offenses was found dead on Friday, the Vatican said, a month after he was hospitalized on the eve of his trial.

Pope Francis Gives Blessing To Author Of Gay Children's Book

The book has been censored in Italy.
Pope Francis sent a blessing to the author of a children's book that has been censored in Italy due to its same-sex themes.

Francesca Pardi, author of Piccolo Uovo or Little Egg, received a letter dated July 9 from the Vatican's secretariat of state. A blessing from Pope Francis was enclosed in the letter,

DO ANGELS ACTUALLY DRINK FANTA AND EAT BISCUITS/GROUNDNUTS?

It’s so disheartening to witness the alarming rate at which self-conceived and propagated errors are subtly creeping into Christendom in the name of spirituality. One of these borders on the issue of angels. Angels do exist, no doubt, and are mandated to help the children of God. But please, let’s stop asking to see angels and know their names. Many secret cults were formed after an “angel” appeared to the founder.