sharia

An armed Islamic movement calling itself the "Brigade of Muslims" released a statement on Saturday threatening Egypt's Coptic Christians and asking them to pay tribute.

The 15-year prison sentence given to a woman and her seven children by an Egyptian court for converting to Christianity is a sign of things to come, according to alarmed human rights advocates who say Egypt's Islamist government spells trouble for Christians.

Fueled with hefty loads of cash gained by numerous ransoms throughout the Sahara and virtually unlimited weaponry thanks to Gadhafi's untouched storehouses of machine guns, rockets and anti-aircraft systems, Mali’s Islamists have launched a southward push on a mission to turn the entire country into a stronghold of sharia law and a haven for extremists.

Harassment, violence and arrests of Christians have reportedly intensified since the secession of South Sudan, when Sudan president Omar al Bashir vowed to adopt a stricter version of sharia and recognize only Islamic culture and the Arabic language.

The final vote on Egypt's new Islamist constitution is this weekend, and supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi -- a long-time member of the Muslim Brotherhood -- continue to clash in the streets.

As American Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of the Son of God with family and friends, safe from the threat of physical persecution and ensconced in our national cocoon of religious liberty and security, let us not fail to “remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body [of Christ]” (Hebrews 13:3).

Islamists appear to have won a narrow victory in the first round of voting on Egypt's constitution, though Egyptian rights groups are charging that there were widespread violations.

As Michigan lawmakers are working on a bill that could ban sharia in their state, the Muslim activist group Council on American-Islamic Relations is urging Gov. Rick Snyder to veto any legislation that would block Islamic law should the bill reach his desk.

Two Muslim politicians who won October municipal elections in Belgium's capital, Brussels, have vowed to implement sharia, or Islamic law, in Belgium.

"We are left with the same questions: What does the future hold for us here? What is going to happen to us if Shariah law is applied in Egypt? Is there any way out for us?"

Given just two weeks to consider a draft constitution that will be put to a national referendum Dec. 15, Egyptians were taking to the streets in large numbers Tuesday to protest the latest development in their country's chaotic political transition.

The Islamist-dominated assembly drafting Egypt's new constitution began a fast-track vote on a final draft Thursday, pushing through the document despite opposition.

Islamic extremists from Somalia's rebel al Shabaab militants killed a Christian in Somalia's coastal city of Barawa on Nov. 16, accusing him of being a spy and leaving Islam.

Put this story in the denier's file: An Egyptian jihad leader has called for the "destruction of the Sphinx and Giza pyramids in Egypt" because he considers them idols and Mohammed ordered all idols destroyed.

Thousands of Egyptian protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, demanding that sharia (Islamic law) be implemented under the country's new constitution.

Two women in full Islamic head coverings assaulted and forcefully cut the hair of a Christian woman on the metro Sunday, the third such reported incident in two months, raising fears of a growing vigilante movement to punish Egyptian women for not wearing the veil in public.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-majority government continues to debate the phrasing used while drafting its new constitution, which will more than likely have sharia (Islamic law) as its foundation.

Al Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, is calling on Muslims to kidnap Westerners in exchange for the release of captured terrorists. He also urged jihadists to join the uprising to take over Syria, and called for the implementation of sharia in Egypt.

For every story that makes the news service, there are dozens that don’t. Besides attacks on Christian shops and churches, Christians are being kidnapped and held for ransom. They are often arrested and tried for "blasphemy," with the aim to humiliate, repress and intimidate them.

What could be sinister about investing your money according to your values, and why shouldn't Muslims do the same?