Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has pledged an initial $10,000 to help thousands of families affected by war and sectarian violence in Iraq. The funds will support the work of Caritas in Iraq to provide humanitarian aid to these families. Caritas is among the first organisations to supply food, water, bedding and essential living supplies, and Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Islam’
Why the West is afraid of Islam
Tuesday, August 5th, 2014
Fear of Islamic radicalism cows the West into silence on Christian persecution. In perhaps the only sign of action from the West to the increased intensity of Christian persecution, France has opened itself up to refugees from Iraq, who are being driven out under pain of death by ISIS. This is a welcome reversion to Read more
A modern Inquisition: from Spain to Syria
Tuesday, August 5th, 2014
My family name, “Maron,” is a vestige of and a testament to the human capacity to hate. My family tradition tells the story of my ancestors’ expulsion — along with hundreds of thousands of other Jews — from the Iberian Peninsula by royal Spanish decree in 1492 following an era of great success and coexistence Read more
Beyond Ukraine and Gaza: the battle for the soul of the west
Friday, August 1st, 2014
As the current conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine continue to dominate international headlines, it is worth stepping back and taking a longer view. The forces fighting Israel are essentially the same as those trying to remove Bashar al-Assad in Syria and those seeking to take over Afghanistan on the borders with Russia – radical Sunni Read more
Prophet Jonah’s burial site destroyed by militants
Tuesday, July 29th, 2014Islamic militants have blown up a shrine traditionally regarded as the burial place of the Old Testament prophet Jonah. ISIS militants ordered everyone out of the mosque of the Prophet Younis (Jonah) in Mosul in Iraq on July 24, before blowing it up. The mosque was built on an archaeological site dating back to the Read more
Diplomats work to help re-arrested Meriam Ibrahim
Friday, June 27th, 2014American and South Sudanese diplomats have been summoned to Khartoum after Christian Meriam Ibrahim and her family were detained. On June 24, an appeals court overturned Ms Ibrahim’s death sentence and she was freed from prison. But Ms Ibrahim and her family were apprehended at Khartoum Airport and detained, reportedly over issues with travel documents. Her husband had Read more
Doubts over death row release for Sudan Christian mother
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014
A Sudanese Christian mother sentenced to death for apostasy is to be released from prison, a Sudan foreign ministry official says. Meriam Ibrahim would be “freed within days in line with legal procedure that will be undertaken by the judiciary and the ministry of justice”, said Abdullah Alazreg. But Mrs Ibrahim’s lawyer, Mohanned Mustapha, told Read more
Pope says ‘never again’ at Jerusalem Holocaust memorial
Friday, May 30th, 2014
During the final day of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope Francis made an emotional visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. On May 26, the Pope kissed the hands of half a dozen Holocaust survivors and heard their stories of persecution by the Nazis. He left an inscription in the Yad Read more
Need for honesty around Qur’an
Tuesday, May 27th, 2014
In the aftermath of Islamic jihadis — the Boko Haram — enslaving Christian school girls in Nigeria, the Muslim intelligentsia, instead of doing some serious introspection, has chosen to exercise damage control. Columns by my co-religionists have appeared in newspapers ranging from the Toronto Star to The Independent in London and on CNN.com, where they Read more
Looking to Mecca from Ponsonby
Friday, March 21st, 2014
While New Zealand is becoming less religious overall, there’s greater diversity to the country’s religious make-up, according to the latest census. Most people who consider themselves religious identify as being Christian, however other religions are growing. The three that saw the biggest increase in followers between 2006 and 2013 are Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. Meanwhile, the Read more