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ISIS jihadists publicly executed 13 teenage boys for watching a soccer match. The young fans were reportedly watching an Asian Cup match between Iraq and Jordan on TV last week when they were caught by the militants in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which ISIS, or the Islamic State, controls. The group of teens was executed in public by a firing squad that used machine guns, according to Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, an activist group that exposes ISIS atrocities. Before the kids were killed, their “crime” was announced over a loudspeaker, reports said. “The bodies remained lying in the...

A leading Islamic organisation has called on the United Nations to make "contempt of religions" illegal and urged the West to protect Muslim communities following the attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo. The Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars, headed by influential preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi, appealed to Muslims to continue peaceful protests against images of the Prophet Mohammed but "not to resort to any violence".

FOX News reported that ISIS announced the hostages were dead. A tweet from a Twitter account linked to ISIS said the hostages had been killed “because of Japan’s choices.” The tweet, on the same one that previously posted the countdown clock, warned that a new video was “being sent to production.”

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud died on January 23 at the age of 90. Abdullah had been the de facto ruler of the nation since 1995 after King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke; he was made king when Fahd died in August 2005. Some Shiite Muslims have long believed, based on Islamic prophecies, that Abdullah’s death would set off a chain of events that would destabilize Saudi Arabia and culminate in the rise of Imam Mahdi—the messianic figure of Islamic eschatology. Though Mahdi is not explicitly mentioned in the Koran, references to him appear in the hadith,...

The longtime king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, passed away on Friday. But the death of the 90-year-old monarch didnÂ’t seem to come as much of a shock to the Saudi establishment. When royal officials acknowledged AbdullahÂ’s death, it was also revealed that Crown Prince Salman would succeed his brother. For the time being, the succession process seemed to have preserved stability in the Saudi Kingdom. Within hours, traders who speculated that the new king may take a critical look at Saudi policies, which have allowed crude prices to collapse in recent months, created a rally in the...

The longtime king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, passed away on Friday. But the death of the 90-year-old monarch didn’t seem to come as much of a shock to the Saudi establishment. When royal officials acknowledged Abdullah’s death, it was also revealed that Crown Prince Salman would succeed his brother. For the time being, the succession process seemed to have preserved stability in the Saudi Kingdom. Within hours, traders who speculated that the new king may take a critical look at Saudi policies, which have allowed crude prices to collapse in recent months, created a rally in the oil...

Syrian government airstrikes Tuesday killed at least 39 people, mostly civilians, in two main battlegrounds in the north of the country, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based anti-regime monitoring group, said at least 27 people were killed in airstrikes that targeted a livestock market in the village of Khansaa, south of the city of Qamishli. Speaking to AFP, Observatory director Rami Abdel-Rahman said nine of those killed in the village of Khansaa near the town of Tal Hamis had been identified by his group as civilians. “More of the dead may be civilians too, but...

NEW DELHI: The latest census data on the population of religious groups, set to be released shortly, shows a 24% rise in the Muslim population between 2001 and 2011, with the community's share of total population rising from 13.4% to 14.2% over the 10-year period. While the growth rate of the Muslim population has slowed from around 29% between 1991 and 2001, it is still higher than the national average of 18% for the decade. The data accessed by TOI showed that the most rapid rise in the share of Muslims in the total population was witnessed in Assam. Muslims...

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), sometimes called ISIS or IS, is a Sunni extremist group that follows al-Qaida’s anti-West ideology and sees a holy war against the West as a religious duty. With regard to nonbelievers, the Quran commands, “And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out.” The Quran contains many other verses that call for Muslim violence against nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule.Contrast the words of the Quran with the statements of limp-wristed Western leaders such as this by President Barack Obama: “We...

A British doctor performed female genital mutilation on a young mother after she gave birth in hospital, a court has heard. Dhanuson Dharmasena, 32, is accused of carrying out the illegal procedure at the Whittington Hospital in north London. The junior registrar, of Ilford, Essex, denies the charge in what is the first prosecution of its kind in the UK. A second man, Hasan Mohamed, 41, denies encouraging and abetting the offence. Female genital mutilation, often abbreviated to FGM and also known as female circumcision, involves procedures that include the partial or total removal of the external female genital organs...

A woman who left her home with her toddler son to join ISIS has been detained in Turkey after fleeing the terrorist organization. She may now be sent back to Syria.

A man was kneeling in prayer before the statue of the revered Madonna, with the photograph of a loved one in hand, in the small chapel of St. Barnabas in Perugia (Italy), when he was attacked by five “immigrants.” The first thing they did was rip the photo from his hands. Next they unleashed their hatred against the image of the Virgin Mary. They broke the statue to pieces and then urinated on it. Don Scarda, pastor of St. Barnabas, said the event was led byfive “foreigners.” By the time police arrived at the chapel, the unidentified attackers had already fled. The...

The famed French weekly Charlie Hebdo has continued to draw a somewhat contradictory reaction across the Muslim world. Many Muslims have expressed disgust at the deadly assault on the magazine’s Paris office by Islamic extremists who killed 12 people. However, many also remain deeply offended by the magazine’s record of publishing cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad. Those passions were further inflamed this week when the magazine’s first issue following the attack carried a cover cartoon depicting Muhammad holding a “Je Suis Charlie” sign. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad—even a respectful one—is considered blasphemous....

Killing in response to insult, no matter how gross, must be unequivocally condemned. That is why what happened in Paris cannot be tolerated. But neither should we tolerate the kind of intolerance that provoked this violent reaction.

Obama's release of five more Yemeni terrorists from GITMO yesterday, one week after the terrorist attacks in Paris is beyond words. It wasn't outrageous enough that he didn't appear at the anti-terror march in Paris, he had to follow that up with what can only be described as a show of solidarity with Islamic terrorism since Yemen is where the two Kouachi brothers got their weapons training before their brutal attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine. To say the President of the United States is an Islamic extremist let alone Muslim is unfathomable. But how else can his 'no show' or...

A religion which blesses and encourages the slaughter of those who offend it or its "prophet" should be condemned, not praised, unless and until it stops doing both. On January 14th, I posted an article titled Obama plans to restrain media offensiveness to Islam. As a thought experiment, this less than obviously relevant cartoon appeared at the top: I considered the cartoon offensive and hope that everyone else did too. It might depict Mohamed, or it might not. Beyond vague descriptions, likely of questionable value, we have little information about Mohamed's physical appearance. The cartoon could depict any obese human male wearing a turban. The same is true of...

The joke’s on them. Don’t the Saudis know that massive border fences do nothing to enhance domestic security and are, in fact, counterproductive? Well, I guess they’ll find out soon enough. According to reports, the Saudi Kingdom is fed up with defending against ISIS raiding parties that routinely cross over the Iraqi border. In order to stave off these assaults, the Saudis are going to build a massive, 600-mile long border fence across the length of the country’s border with Iraq. But that’s not all. The fence will be double layered with a concertina wire barrier in no man’s...

The headlines all over on Sunday's front page gave hope that France, which has practiced just about every form of appeasement over its checkered history, glorious and inglorious, was coming fully awake to the danger that now threatened it -- and all the West. France, too, had come to realize how futile appeasement can prove, whether in Neville Chamberlain's time or our own. To quote one front-page headline: "After days of terror, France declares war/ Extremism, Jihad the enemy, premier says." Good morning, sir. It's heartening to have you with us, and maybe even all of France -- for now,...

Al Jazeera America’s inevitable collapse has begun with the elimination of all of its morning programming. Instead of producing its own programming, the basement-rated cable news network will simply re-broadcast Al Jazeera programs from its parent studio in Qatar. Also canceled is the late morning program, “Consider This With Antonio Mora.” Mediabistro reports that behind-the-scenes staffers will be reassigned and “the fate of on-air talent is unclear.” Variety, however, reports that primetime anchors Ali Velshi and Joie Chen will have less airtime and mid-to-late afternoon programming is also on the chopping block.

When our president says, “The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam” he does so under the false notion of appeasement. He believes that in his calls for “civility,” he’ll be fostering a more tolerant environment for everyone. We are the world and what have you. There are a few problems here. Firstly, let’s address the word slander. By definition, slander is to make false and damaging statements about (someone). Muhammad was a hateful, warmongering, wife-beating pedophile whose dying words were that of calling for the deaths of Christians and Jews. How can any damaging...