Islamic extremists hack 36 to death with machetes, including Christian pastor in DRC

From Christian Post (Congo)-

Suspected Islamist militants hacked to death over 30 people, including an Anglican pastor, in overnight attacks on villages in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On Tuesday, four villages were raided by the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamist group, in the west of Beni territory, Reuters reports. The rebel group has its origins in Uganda but is now based in DR Congo's Beni region.

Beni Governor Donat Kibwana told AFP that members of the terrorist group hacked all victims to death with machetes. In total, 36 individuals were killed, including an Anglican pastor. 
The main attack took place in Manzingi, a village northwest from Oicha, while the pastor was killed in the village of Eringeti. 

More here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/islamic-extremists-hack-36-to-death-with-machetes-including-christian-pastor-in-drc.html

Archbishop Justin Welby urges parties to make reassuring Jews and Muslims who are 'living in fear' an 'absolute priority' during the general election

From The Daily Mail-

The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday urged all parties in the General Election to make 'an absolute priority' of reassuring minority groups.

The Most Rev Justin Welby said politicians must 'avoid anything that increases the perception of fear'.

His intervention, which is backed by the Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend John Sentamu, followed accusations from Jewish groups of anti-Semitism among Jeremy Corbyn's supporters.

The Church of England's two most senior archbishops said that 'several groups, especially in Jewish and Muslim communities, feel threatened and are in much anxiety. 

More here-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7704149/Justin-Welby-urges-parties-reassure-Jews-Muslims-living-fear-priority.html

ABRAHAM EXPLORED: FAITH GROUPS REVISIT SHARED ROOTS IN INTERFAITH EXHIBIT IN BOSTON

From Boston-

Just over a year ago, the day after the deadly mass shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, more than a thousand locals gathered together on the Boston Common to mourn and pray.

As Rev Amy McCreath, dean of the historic St Paul Cathedral that overlooks America’s oldest park, watched people of various faiths unite once again to mourn another national tragedy, she was hit with an emotional realisation.

“I looked out over the crowds of people, and it was so clear that all of them really want a peaceful future,” she remembered. “We want to work together against violence, but we don’t even know each other. Unfortunately, the odds are good that something like that will happen again, and we need to be prepared to support one another and defend one another."

That’s part of the reason the Episcopal cathedral agreed to host a new interfaith art exhibit that explores the faith and life of Abraham, the shared spiritual forefather of the world’s three largest monotheistic religions - and launched an accompanying interfaith book study to spotlight Abraham’s wives, Sarah and Hagar.

More here-

https://www.sightmagazine.com.au/features/13907-abraham-explored-faith-groups-revisit-shared-roots-in-interfaith-exhibit-in-boston

Row over hijab sparks violence in Malawi

From Malawi-

Blantyre - An ongoing dispute over the hijab - a scarf worn by Muslim women and girls - took a violent turn in eastern Malawi leaving three people injured and property damaged, police confirmed on Tuesday.

"Windows at a mosque and the local priest's home were smashed and three people were hurt during the incident," regional police spokesman Joseph Sauka told dpa.

The clashes - between members of the Anglican church and their Muslim counterparts - erupted on Monday after young men, reportedly from the church, snatched hijabs off the heads of pupils on their way to school in M'manga, about 100 kilometres from the city of Blantyre, he said.

Parish priest Mphatso Bango told dpa that he was living in fear.

"I did not sleep at home as the people destroyed windows of my house," he said, adding that the tense situation was not normal and schools would remain shut.

More here-

https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/row-over-hijab-sparks-violence-in-malawi-36706031

Hide your Bible is the rule for tourists in Saudi

From Eternity News-

Neighbouring countries in the Middle East are taking very different approaches to religious freedom – with churches gaining legal status in Abu Dhabi, and open display of the Bible being banned in Saudi Arabia.

In Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates, eighteen places of non-Muslim worship had received official legal status. This includes St Andrew’s Anglican Church which, like several of the others, is built on land donated by by Sheikh Zayed, the nation’s Founding Father.

“Today marks the coming of age between the church and the United Arab Emirates,” Canon Andrew Thompson, senior Anglican Chaplain of St Andrew’s  told The National, the local broadsheet newspaper.

“The sheikhs [sic] has been generous in giving churches land for the last decade but we have never really had a mechanism to deal with government departments.

More here-

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/world/hide-your-bible-is-the-rule-for-tourists-in-saudi/

The only Anglican priest in Iraq comes to Guildford

From England-

Faez Jirjees, Vicar of St George's in Baghdad, visited Guildford on his first trip to the UK for seven years to speak about the plight of Christians in Iraq and his work bringing peace to the country.

Rev Faez Jirjees is, by any measure, a brave man.

As the vicar of St George's, Baghdad, he is Iraq's only Anglican priest and a member of a dwindling Christian minority that faces discrimination, persecution and violence.

"Any speech that I give that they didn't like, that could turn to violence or threats," he told SurreyLive on a recent visit to Guildford , his first trip to the UK in seven years, where he is spreading the word about the plight of Iraqi Christians and the need for secular government if there is to be peace in the country after 16 years of war. 

"They" turns out to be a wide array of groups who might take exception to a Christian priest calling for a secular state in Iraq.

More here-

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/only-anglican-priest-iraq-comes-17020033

Only Anglican priest in Iraq says a secular government would improve life for Christians

From Premier-

Iraq's first ordained Anglican vicar tells Premier he never doubts that God is good because evil is done "through what our hands do".

There are nearly 20,000 ordained ministers in the Church of England; in Iraq there is just one.
That one Anglican vicar is Rev Faez Jirjees, who, aged 53, is the parish priest at St George's Church in Baghdad where Canon Andrew White used to work.

Christians make up about one per cent of the population in Iraq but many of them fled when Islamic State (IS) were at their most brutal.

Despite being bombed several times, St George's Church in the capital has, for a long time, bucked the trend by being a hub for interfaith relations, providing healthcare to Christians, as well as Shia and Sunni Muslims through its clinic, dentist's, pharmacy and laboratories.

More here-

https://www.premier.org.uk/News/World/Only-Anglican-priest-in-Iraq-says-a-secular-government-would-improve-life-for-Christians

Abu Dhabi's churches and Hindu temple receive official legal status

From UAE-

Senior Anglicans in the UAE on Sunday said they welcomed “a new beginning” for the Christian community in the country after more than a dozen non-Muslim places of worship received official legal status.

Abu Dhabi’s oldest church, together with the UAE’s first Hindu temple, were among 18 places of worship registered by authorities for the first time.

Many of the churches have existed in the Emirates for decades, with some having been given the land they are built on by Sheikh Zayed, the nation’s Founding Father.

Now, however, after an award ceremony, the sites will have official legal protection under a Department of Community Development initiative.

“Today marks the coming of age between the church and the United Arab Emirates,” said Rev Canon Andrew Thompson, senior Anglican Chaplain of St Andrew’s Church – one of the churches to receive a licence.

More here-

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/heritage/abu-dhabi-s-churches-and-hindu-temple-receive-official-legal-status-1.913528

Human chain to protect Friday prayers at Pōneke mosque

From New Zealand-

Muslims worshipping at the Kilbirnie Masjid in Wellington this Friday will be shielded by a human chain surrounding the mosque complex during their Jumu’ah (Friday) prayers.

It was during prayers last Friday that worshippers were attacked at the Masjid Al Noor and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch.

The Anglican Assistant Bishop of Wellington, Eleanor Sanderson says, “supporting a life of prayer is central to all three Abrahamic faiths.  This is a tangible way that our people can come together to protect what should always be protected”.

Co-organiser of the human chain event, Daniel Kleinsman, says it’s not a new idea.
“It’s been organised overseas when Muslim and Jewish communities have been attacked.  It’s a powerful symbol of support and love, but it’s also practical.  It seeks to create a physical barrier of protection for those persecuted at this time.”

More here-

https://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/human-chain-protect-friday-prayers-poneke-mosque

Muslim leader says Christchurch terror attack has brought community together

From New Zealand-

Anglican dean of Christchurch Lawrence Kimberley told Stuff why the event was held.

"I thought it was very important that there was a clear statement from the Christian churches that says we're standing in solidarity and love with our Muslim brothers and sisters."

Kimberley said he would like to be part of a delegation with other Christian leaders to meet with Muslim leaders to formally give their condolences. 

"[We'll] see if there's any ways we can assist practically and, in the long term, to build relationships of trust between us and a deepening of understanding between the two faiths."

More here-

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/111472151/muslim-leader-says-christchurch-terror-attack-has-brought-community-together

Episcopal cathedral hosts Muslim prayer gathering

From San Diego-

Hundreds are expected to join hands in prayer this week at a San Diego church in response to last Friday’s shooting massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Residents of all faith are invited to gather at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown San Diego to share a meal and stories of interfaith friendships.

Salaam, a local non-profit, is hosting the event along with the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego.

Salaam unites San Diego’s interfaith leaders to reject Islamophobia and stand against all forms of hate and violence.

“I think it would be a great opportunity for both members of Muslim and Christian communities to come together in solidarity,” said Steve Slocum, founder of Salaam. “I’m expecting the event to have some powerful moments across faith boundaries.”

Salaam is a non-religious, non-partisan organization and has held a number of events in the last year designed to bring people of Muslim and non-Muslim faith together.

More here-

https://www.thecoastnews.com/episcopal-cathedral-hosts-muslim-prayer-gathering/

Muslims touched by kindness of Episcopalians

From Newsday-

The Muslims needed a place to pray until the dental office that they had bought in Deer Park was renovated. 

No one, it seemed, wanted to rent to them, leaders of the group said. Then, after a year of searching for a temporary home, they found an Episcopal church not far from the dental office that was willing to let them use the basement once a week. The room was big and open, ideal for them to lay down their prayer rugs. 

What came to pass in 2013 was much more than a lease agreement between a tenant and a landlord. Over the past half-dozen years, a deep friendship has blossomed between the Islamic Center of Deer Park and St. Patrick’s Episocpal Church. 

“How they arrived at our rectory door, I don’t know, but I like to think it was the hand of God that brought us together,” the Rev. William Mahoney, who spearheaded the agreement, said in a 2017 video produced by the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. 

More here-

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/muslims-episcopalians-deer-park-friendship-1.27453654

Pakistan Acquits Christian Woman Facing Death Penalty For Blasphemy

From Huffington-

A Christian woman who was sentenced to death in Pakistan eight years ago on blasphemy charges has been acquitted by the country’s top court.

Asia Bibi’s release was ordered by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar in a landmark ruling which could ignite mass protests or violence by hardline Islamists.

Bibi had been held at an undisclosed location for security reasons and is expected to leave the country.

The charges against her date back to a hot day in 2009, when she went to get water for herself and her fellow farm workers.

Two Muslim women refused to drink from a container used by a Christian, and a few days later, a mob accused her of blasphemy. She was convicted and sentenced to death.

More here-

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/pakistan-acquits-christian-woman-facing-death-penalty-for-blasphemy_uk_5bd96ad4e4b019a7ab58748f?s2&ncid=newsltushpmgnews__TheMorningEmail__103118&fbclid=IwAR0CWOqwxyNJRQapPVE4CTSrmT7-yRWddP9gtgYb_bIiKsSf4HEiWMqET-I&guccounter=1

Row over Muslim scholar's invitation to preach at Anglican service

From The Guardian-

An invitation to a distinguished Muslim scholar to preach at a eucharist service in an Oxford church on Sunday has triggered complaints from traditionalists.

Monawar Hussain, who was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours last year for services to interfaith relations and the community, will deliver a sermon at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, following a request from Oxford University’s vice-chancellor, Louise Richardson.

The move has been denounced by Archbishop Cranmer, a conservative Anglican blog authored by Adrian Hilton. He said he failed to understand how an imam delivering a sermon at a eucharist service would respect “a sacred act of divine worship which is supposed to be conducted according to the rites and formularies of the Church of England”.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/20/row-over-muslim-scholars-invitation-to-preach-at-anglican-service

Anglican Church tasks FG on Leah Sharibu, Chibok girls’ release

From Nigeria-

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has urged the Federal government to ensure the immediate release of Leah Sharibu and the remaining Chibok schoolgirls, especially following the death of a humanitarian aid girl, Saifura Khorsa, who was kidnapped six months ago by the insurgents.

The Boko Haram insurgents issued a statement this week, threatened to harm Sharibu, the Chibok and Dapchi girls.

The Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of the church, the Most Reverend Nicholas D. Okoh, made the plea at the church’s Standing Committee meeting held at the St. Peter’s Cathedral Church in Minna, Niger State.

The Primate maintained that conscious and deliberate efforts should be made to end the ordeal of the captive girls, their parents and families by ensuring the freedom of the innocent girls.

More here-

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/anglican-church-tasks-fg-on-leah-sharibu-chibok-girls-release.html

Saudi Crown Prince commits to interfaith tolerance, says Anglican church

From Reuters-

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met the head of the Anglican church in London on Thursday and promised to promote interfaith dialogue as part of his domestic reforms, the British faith leader’s office said.

Prince Mohammed is making an official visit to London to promote Saudi Arabia as a tolerant, modernizing economy and build a wider trade and investment relationship with Britain, a long-term defense ally.
On the second full day of his first foreign tour since becoming heir apparent to the Saudi throne last year, Prince Mohammed also had meetings with finance minister Philip Hammond, bankers and lawmakers, and was due to dine with Prime Minister Theresa May at her country residence later.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco, whose lucrative stock market listing Britain is vying with the United States to attract, signed a preliminary deal to pursue international gas opportunities with Royal Dutch Shell.

Prince Mohammed began the day with a symbolic visit to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion of millions of Christians globally, at Lambeth Palace in central London.

More here-

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-saudi-archbishop/saudi-crown-prince-commits-to-interfaith-tolerance-says-anglican-church-idUSKCN1GK1V1

Also here-

http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-archbishop-saudi-leader-wants-different-faiths-to-flourish-2018-3

Does Your Pastor Or Priest Have This Kind Of Courage?

From Conservative HQ-

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, and leader of the Anglican Church in England, said yesterday that Islamic rules are incompatible with Britain’s laws, which have developed over 500 years on the principles of a different culture.

He added that high levels of immigration from Muslim countries can “have an impact on the accepted pattern

Archbishop Welby’s comments, reported by Steve Doughty Social Affairs Correspondent for The Daily Mail, follow the release earlier this month of a highly critical Home Office report that said all couples marrying in mosques should also have to go through a legally-binding civil marriage ceremony to shield wives from injustices under sharia.

They also reverse the position taken by his predecessor Lord Williams, who, observed Doughty, backed incorporating sharia into the British legal system. Archbishop Welby set out his reasons why sharia should not win official status in a book, Reimagining Britain.

Archbishop Welby said in advance of publication that British law has “underlying values and assumptions” that come from a clearly Christian tradition. “Sharia law is not just about punishments,” he added. “It is something of immense sophistication, but it comes from a very different background of jurisprudence to the one from which British law has developed over the past 500 years.”
for choosing a partner, on assumed ages of maturity and sexual activity, and especially on issues of polygamy.”

More here-

http://www.conservativehq.com/node/27479

How Quebec City Muslims and Anglicans found friendship through faith and grief

From Canada-

Members of Quebec City's Muslim community will stand alongside those of the Huron-Wendat, Jewish, Catholic, Anglican and many other communities Sunday, as they honour the victims of last year's deadly attack on a mosque.

The interfaith ceremony, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Pavillion de Jeunesse at Expo Cité, will not be the first time different religious communities in the city will have come together since the shooting.

Bruce Myers, bishop of the Anglican diocese of Quebec and Boufeldja Benabdallah, co-founder of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, spoke with Ainslie MacLellan on CBC Radio's All in a Weekend, about how their communities have built a friendship.

More here-

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-city-muslims-anglicans-faith-grief-1.4507155

and here-

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/interfaith-prayer-meeting

How America Is Transforming Islam

From Atlantic-

Taz Ahmed is 38, single, Muslim, and Bengali. She describes herself as spiritual, but not particularly religious. When she was growing up, her immigrant parents hoped she would marry an I.T. worker they found for her in Oklahoma. “I’m like, ‘I don’t even know who this person is, what do you even know about him?’” Ahmed recently told me. “They’re like, ‘You’re asking too many questions. You don’t need to know this much information.’”

Like other U.S. Muslims of her generation, Ahmed has spent a lifetime toggling between various aspects of her identity. She got to prom night by promising her mother she’d go with a gay guy. She swapped marriage in her 20s for a master’s degree. She even followed a band as it toured the country—a coming-of-age story straight out of Hollywood, except that it was a Muslim punk group called the Kominas.

More here-

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/muslims-assimilation-weddings/549230/

Christian cry with joy as they celebrate first Christmas in Mosul since ISIS were driven out of shattered Iraqi city they terrorized for four years

From The Daily Mail-

Christians celebrated Christmas in Iraq's second city of Mosul for the first time in four years today - and hymns and cries of joy flooded the church. 

The seasonal event marked the end of jihadist rule in the city and the Mass opened with the Iraqi national anthem as women wailed with emotion. 

Despite the modest interior of the church and the armoured police outside, wheelchair-bound Hossam Abud, 48, who returned this month from exile in Iraqi Kurdistan, said: 'This is a sign that life is returning to Mosul.' 

In 2014 when the Islamic State group seized the city ordering people to convert, pay taxes, leave or die, Mr Abud and thousands of other Christians fled Mosul.     


Read more:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5210403/ISIS-defeat-means-Christians-celebrate-Christmas-Mosul.html#ixzz52N9MsqB3