religion

By Ali Murat Yel The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Turkey on 3-day official visit from November 28 to 30. However, the publication of Turkey’s official invitation letter in Milli Gazete, a Turkish daily, has caused an enormous stir in the country. As a result, Pope Francis’s visit has stirred controversy among […]

Iraq

Yazidi Women Victimized by Daesh/ ISIL tell of Rape, Slavery, & their Resistance

contributors

By Khales Joumah | Mosul | via Niqash.org | — Three months ago, the extremist group known as the Islamic State kidnapped hundreds of women from the Yazidi sect. Since then there have been many stories about what has happened to the women, including physical and sexual abuse, slavery and forced marriage. NIQASH spoke to […]

Buddhism

Militant Buddhist Monks stir attacks on innocent Muslims in Myanmar

contributors

AJ+ “Buddhist monks were a symbol of hope and defiance during the dark years of Myanmar’s military dictatorship. But as the country opens up to the world, some have taken a radically sectarian turn. Since 2012, violence has uprooted more than 150,000 members of the country’s Muslim minority. And in July 2014, Buddhist mobs attacked […]

Christianity

The Real Jesus was Bill O’Reilly’s Worst Nightmare – Reza Aslan

contributors

Cenk Uygur (The Young Turks) “The Jesus of history was the exact opposite of everything Fox News host Bill O’Reilly thinks, according to religious scholar Reza Aslan. The professor made the remarks while speaking at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in February. Video of the event was uploaded on Tuesday. During the discussion about […]

Featured

Daesh/ ISIL calls for Terror attacks on Saudi Arabia

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | — Daesh, the brutal terrorist group the US calls ISIL or ISIS, is calling for attacks in Saudi Arabia. A voice recording has surfaced, attributed to Ibrahim al-Samarra’i, the leader of the brutal terrorist group Daesh (which the US calls ISIL or ISIS). Al-Samarra’i was wounded in a US airstrike on […]

Iraq

Iraq War 3.0? What could possibly Go Wrong?

contributors

By Peter Van Buren (Tomdispatch.com) Karl von Clausewitz, the famed Prussian military thinker, is best known for his aphorism “War is the continuation of state policy by other means.” But what happens to a war in the absence of coherent state policy? Actually, we now know. Washington’s Iraq War 3.0, Operation Inherent Resolve, is what […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

Can Iraqi Christianity survive Exile at hands of ISIL?

contributors

Euronews: “The yard of Mar Eliya Church in the city of Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan has been converted into a camp for Christians, more than 200 families who escaped the extremist Islamic State movement (ISIL). Christians in ever-greater number have been fleeing the northern city of Mosul, the second-largest in Iraq. Some say the country’s […]

Islam

Is the Qur’an Really Violent? Not if you Read the whole Book!

contributors

By Alexander Gaute (Your Middle East) “Analyses tend to misuse the references to the Qur’an, often only citing single verses” Following the advent of the murderous Islamic State (IS), the need to scrutinize the relationship between Islam and violence has proved necessary. Several attempts have been made towards this aim, some even arguing for the […]

Islam

Amid Jerusalem Clashes, Israeli Housing Minister Claims al-Aqsa Site, Declaring War on 1.5 bn Muslims

contributors

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Dozens of Palestinians suffered tear-gas inhalation and several others were injured by stun grenades, shrapnel and rubber-coated steel bullets during clashes in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound area on Wednesday, an official said. Palestinian Red Crescent official Amin Abu Ghazaleh told Ma’an that Red Crescent ambulances moved nine injured to the Al-Maqased Hospital […]