The attack, which targeted the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, resulted in the tragic loss of at least 137 lives.

"Following the brutal terrorist attack in Moscow which left many people dead and injured, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the relatives of the victims and support to everyone who suffered in this terrible tragedy" Pezzi said in a statement.

"Today, our hearts are filled with horror and pain, but we will not allow them to make us forget that our lives and the lives of all people are in the hands of God" the archbishop said.

The Islamic State group's Afghanistan branch claimed responsibility for the atrocity, sparking widespread condemnation and shock.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the detention of 11 individuals suspected of involvement in the attack. He also suggested a connection to Ukraine.

However Ukrainian officials vehemently denied any involvement, dismissing the accusation as baseless and absurd.

Patriarch Kirill "shocked"

Pezzi noted that Holy Week begins in the Catholic Church on Sunday and "reminds us that death is not the last word—that Christ conquers death".

"But before this, He shares with us the entire depth of our suffering, ‘a man of sorrows and acquainted with pain,' Jesus does not free us from suffering but goes through it with us. God's response to human suffering is a loving presence" Archbishop Pezzi said.

Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said he was "deeply shocked by the terrorist attack" at the concert hall.

"The crime committed is striking in its cynicism and cruelty. I express my sincere condolences to you and my heart grieves with you" Kirill stated.

Kirill said the Orthodox Church will provide "all necessary pastoral assistance to the victims and families of the victims".

In the wake of the terror attack in Moscow, Archbishop Pezzi asked his people to pray "for the salvation of all whose lives that are still in danger, for peace for the dead, for help and healing for the injured, and for courage and patience for all who are called to help them".

"Please don't despair and be that loving presence of Christ where you are, be a witness of hope in these dark times. I also ask you to exercise due care and discretion for your personal and public safety" Pezzi said.

Source

Crux

The Guardian

Rashid has revoked a former president's 2013 decree recognising Sako's position as the Chaldean church's leader.

After Saturday's shock announcement, Sako said he will move to a monastery in Kurdistan, an autonomous Iraqi region of Iraq.

He says he will continue to lead the Chaldean Church from there.

In a statement last Saturday, Sako called the president's action "unprecedented" and "unfair".

He said Rashid has called into question his ability as church leader to control Iraq's Church assets.

"It is unfortunate that we in Iraq live in the midst of a wide network of self-interest, narrow factionalism and hypocrisy that has produced an unprecedented political, national and moral chaos, which is rooted by now more and more," Sako said in his statement.

"Therefore, I have decided to withdraw from the patriarchal headquarters in Baghdad.

"I call on Christians to remain in their faith which is their consolation, strength, light and life, and on their national identity until the storm passes with the help of God.

"May God help the helpless Christians and Iraqis."

Sako and the Chaldean Catholic Church

Former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani pronounced Sako as patriarch and head of the Church in 2013.

The 75-year old Sako is also a member of the College of Cardinals and patriarch of Baghdad.

The Chaldean is an Eastern rite church in full communion with the Holy See.

It numbers hundreds of thousands of members worldwide and about 300,000 in Iraq, representing about 80 percent of Iraq's Christians.

"Martyrdom is the charisma/charm of the Chaldean Church because since its founding it has been through persecution by Persians, Muslim Arabs, Mongols, Ottomans and today by extremists like al-Qaeda and ISIS," Sako said in 2021.

Rashid and Sako

Rashid says revoking the 2013 decree corrected a constitutional error.

As president, Rashid says has no right to appoint or recognise religious leaders.

The revocation does not change Sako's status as patriarch, however. Rashid explains that's because Pope Francis duly elected and confirmed his position as patriarch.

Sako, however, says the president is targeting him.

He thinks Rashid's decision was part of Christian minority leader Rayan al-Kildani's effort to usurp his authority and gain control of Church offices and assets.

Sako wrote to Rashid on 10 July, saying he is appealing the decree's revocation to Iraq's judiciary.

"I believe the legal advice that was given to Your Excellency is incorrect and it wanted to undermine your stature and the Christian component," he said.

Chaldean bishops across the globe have written to Rashid urging him to reverse his decision.

Sako and Kildani

There has been an ongoing conflict between Sako and Kildani, a Christian Iraqi lawmaker and paramilitary "Babylon Brigades" leader.

In his letter, Sako accused Kildani of extorting Christians in the Nineveh Plains.

In 2019, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned Kildani because he was engaged in "serious human rights abuses" in his capacity as head of a paramilitary group.

Sako has also reportedly accused Kildani of seizing Christian seats in the Iraqi Parliament without real representation for Christians.

Kildani has taken Sako to court for slander. The proceedings are ongoing.

Source

• Catholic News Agency

The victims, who included seven civilians and eight pro-regime fighters, were reportedly attacked on Thursday by ISIS fighters who slit their throats. Another 40 people are currently missing.

The Syrian desert truffles are in high demand and fetch high prices, making them a target for impoverished Syrians looking to earn money.

However, the vast Syrian Desert, or Badia, where the truffles are found is also a known hideout for jihadists and is littered with landmines.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that ISIS has been targeting truffle hunters since February.

Most of the victims have been civilians, with at least 150 people killed so far.

The militants have also been planting landmines in the areas where the truffles grow, making foraging even more dangerous.

Despite repeated warnings about the risks, foragers continue to risk their lives to collect the delicacies.

Truffles provide income

The Syrian Desert is renowned for producing some of the best quality truffles in the world, which can sell for up to $25 per kilo.

In a country where the average monthly wage is only around $18, the truffles provide many Syrians a much-needed source of income.

However, the profits have come at a high cost, with many people losing their lives in the process.

This is not the first time that ISIS has targeted truffle hunters.

Earlier this month, the militants killed three people and kidnapped at least 26 others in northern Syria.

The attack happened near positions held by pro-Iran forces. In February, ISIS fighters on motorcycles opened fire on truffle hunters, killing at least 68 people.

Following the military onslaught backed by a US-led coalition, ISIS lost their last scraps of territory in Syria in March 2019.

Since then, the remnants of the group have mostly retreated to hideouts in the desert, from where they have continued to launch attacks on civilians, government troops and pro-Iranian fighters.

The war in Syria has claimed the lives of around half a million people and displaced millions since it began in 2011.

Sources

UCA News

Alarabiya News

He said he was only learning about his religion, and he was put in jail because he is a Muslim and his religion is not liked.

The Auckland man, who has name suppression, has denied three charges of possessing objectionable publications, possessing a knife without lawful authority and failing to comply with a search. Read more

Church bells tolled and prayers were chanted at 8:45 a.m., the time when bombs were detonated almost simultaneously at two Roman Catholic churches and a Protestant church during Easter services on April 21, 2019. Bombs were also set off at three top hotels targeting locals and foreigners who were eating breakfast.

More than 260 people, including 171 from the two Catholic churches, were killed in the attacks, which were blamed on two local Islamic extremist groups that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Read More

Islamic State that ruled Mosul from 2014 to 2016, damaged or destroyed every church in the city including the 19th century built "Our Lady of the Hour" Church, popularly called Al Saa'a Church.

Currently, the church is being rebuilt through a partnership between UNESCO, the United Arab Emirates, and the Dominican order.

Established in the 19th century, the Our Lady of the Hour Church was the base for the Catholic parish in northern Iraq and Kurdistan. Read more

The closures follow a series of church and hotel bombings at Easter which killed over 250 people.

The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said church officials had seen a leaked security document describing Catholic churches and other denominations as a major target for attackers.

Besides closing the churches, he asked the faithful to stay home for their own safety.

"We don't want repetitions," Ranjith said.

Instead, Ranjith celebrated Sunday's Mass from a small, private chapel at his home.

Several priests and political leaders, including President Maithripala Sirisena, prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa attended the Archbishop's Mass which was broadcast via television to Catholics at home.

In his homily Randith said: "This is a time our hearts are tested by the great destruction that took place last Sunday. This is a time questions such as does God truly love us, does he have compassion towards us, can arise in human hearts."

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Dozens of suspects have been arrested.

Source

• The Tablet
• Vatican News
• Image: NBC News

The legislation aims particularly to help groups targeted for genocide by Islamic State militants.

It enables financial and technical assistance for the humanitarian, stabilisation and recovery needs of former and current religious minority residents of Iraq and Syria.

In addition, the act enables the US State Department - in collaboration with other federal agencies and other entities, including faith-based groups - to conduct criminal investigations.

It also enables them to apprehend individuals identified as alleged IS members and to identify warning signs of genocide and threats of persecution.

"In recent years, IS has committed horrifying atrocities against religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq, including Christians, Yazidis, Shia and other groups," Trump says.

Trump says the legislation directs US assistance to persecuted communities.

In addition, it will enable government agencies to help groups that are investigating and prosecuting what he calls Islamic State's "despicable acts."

Officials of the Knights of Columbus took part in a signing ceremony at the White House.

"The legislation signed today again reminds us of America's earlier efforts to aid victims of genocide - Christian communities targeted by Ottomans a century ago and Jewish survivors of Shoah," Supreme Knight Carl Anderson says.

With the bill now law, he says "America speaks with bold moral clarity and political unanimity."

The Chairman of the US bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, Archbishop Timothy Broglio says the new law is a "critical" measure and "a signal of hope for the critically vulnerable of this region."

Source

• NZ Herald
• Crux Now
• Image: Crux Now

A pro-ISIS propaganda channel has made a poster depicting a car attack.

The poster - reading "Christmas blood" - shows a masked jihadi driving a BMW at high speed towards St Peter's Basilica.

An assault rifle and a rucksack can be seen on the seat next to the driver.

ISIS has made frequent threats against Pope Francis and the Vatican.

Big events, including Christmas, are times the terror group has made threats in the past.

In August, they released a movie published by the Al-Hayat Media Centre.

It shows several jihadists destroying church statues saying: "Remember this, unbelievers, we will be in Rome."

In December last year, 12 people were killed when an ISIS terrorist killed a lorry driver.

He then drove the truck into the Christmas market in Berlin.

The latest threat emerged on Tuesday.

The Daily Mail newspaper says "Such posters do not typically warn of a direct threat, but act as a call to action for lone wolf attackers who may be waiting to strike".

Militants who have been driven out of their strongholds in Iraq and Syria may be implicated in the Christmas threat.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has said the military will continue to fight ISIS "as long as they want to fight".

Source

• The Daily Mail
• The Daily Star
• Mirror
• Express
• Image: Daily Mirror

Father Patrick Desbois was awarded the Lantos Foundation's Human Rights Prize last week for being a "vital voice standing up for the values of decency, dignity, freedom, and justice."

The prize is named after a Holocaust survivor who later became a California congressman.

United States-based Desbois, who teaches at Georgetown University's Programme for Jewish Civilization, is the founder of Yahad-In Unum. This is a Paris-based organisation dedicated to identifying and commemorating Nazi mass-execution sites in Eastern Europe during World War II.

Desbois's research focuses on Jews who were killed in mass shootings by Nazi units in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Moldova and Romania between 1941 and 1944. He found more that one-and-a-half million Jews were murdered like this.

The award also recognises his work in collecting evidence of the Islamic State's genocide of Yezidis, a Kurdish religious minority in Iraq.

Debois has published two books about his work.

The first, "Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews," was published in 2008.

His second book, a memoir on his life as an anti-genocide activist and Holocaust scholar, is due for publication in 2018.

Source

• Crux
• Times of Israel
• Image: Zakhor Online

An Iraqi Catholic priest says Australia has led the way in welcoming thousands of Christians who have been forced to leave their homes because of violence from radical militant groups such as the Islamic State. Read more

He said the attacks are part of the "war on infidels" IS is fighting.

He also claimed his group was responsible for the suicide bombings that struck two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday. Forty-seven people died and many more were injured.

Speaking in an interview published in the IS al-Nabaa newsletter last week, the spokesperson urged all Muslims to work as jihadists.

They should focus on "legitimate targets" like churches and security posts, as well as "places where crusader nationals of western countries gather".

If Muslims don't join jihadist groups, they should carry out "lone wolf attacks," he said.

He also said Muslims who don't attack Christians are antagonistic to the Islamic religion, are apostate and had better "hurry up and repent".

Coptic Christians in Egypt have been targeted by IS jihadists for several decades.

The Palm Sunday attacks prompted Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to declare a state of emergency for the next three months.

Source

• ABC News
• Crux
• Image: Citizens

Speaking to a group of students visiting the Vatican on Saturday, Francis told them how ashamed he is of the bomb's name.

Mothers give life, not death, and suggesting a bomb could also be a mother is wrong, he said to the students.

Francis was referring to the US Air Force GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb the US dropped on Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan last month.

The Air Force call this bomb "the mother of all bombs", or MOAB for short.

It is the biggest non-nuclear device to be used in warfare.

It weighs about 10,000 kilogrammes, is around nine metres long, carries 11 tonnes of explosives and has a bomb radius which is about 1.5 kilometres wide.

The Air Force says that dropped from a Hercules 130 cargo plane, the bomb can create a blast crater more than 300 meters wide.

The Afghani Ministry of Defence said the bomb killed 36 militants.

The American president, Donald Trump, said the bombing raid was "successful".

Bombing Islamic State fighters was one of Trump's election pledges.

• BBC
• The Telegraph
• The Daily Mail
• The Daily Mail
• Image:News18.com

"We have blocked the website as it propagated and tried to influence Indian youth into joining IS.

"It had some traffic from India because of which we blocked it," said a senior ATS officer.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is special police force in several states of India including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar.

The Nauru website is one of three sites recently blocked by ATS.

One is a website associated with Robert Cerantonio, an Australian Islamist preacher.

He has been described by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) as one of two English-speaking "spiritual authorities" inspiring foreign fighters in Syria.

Cerantonio comes from an Irish-Catholic family.

He converted to Islam when he was 17.

The third link that has been blocked by the ATS is the 12th issue of Inspire Magazine, a mouthpiece of Al-Qaeda.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudharyhaudhary said IS was using various internet-based platforms to propagate its ideology.

"Intelligence and security agencies monitor the cyber space closely to identify potential recruits and keep them under surveillance and take further action, if necessary."

Source

• indianexpress.com
• hindustantimes.com
• Image:i.ytimg.com

"[Pope Francis grieved] to learn of the casualties caused by the bombing in Istanbul … and he expresses his prayerful solidarity with all touched by this tragedy," read a telegram to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State.

"His Holiness asks you to convey his spiritual closeness to them, as well as to the personnel assisting the injured."

"Commending the souls of those who have died to the mercy of the Almighty, Pope Francis invokes divine strength and peace upon those who mourn, and upon the entire nation," read the telegram.

Efken Ala, Turkey's interior minister, said the attack that killed four people in the Turkish capital's main shopping street was carried out by the so-called Islamic State.

The attack in Istiklal Street, Istanbul's most popular shopping district, is the fourth bombing in Turkey this year and the second one by Islamist militants.

In January a suicide bomber blew himself up in Istanbul's historic heart, killing 12 German tourists, according to a report by Reuters.

Israel has confirmed that three of its citizens died in the blast. Two of them held dual citizenship with the United States. An Iranian was also killed, Turkish officials have said.

Sources

The Guardian
Catholic World News
Aleteia
Catholic Herald
Reuters
Image: AP/Catholic Herald

But this way of thinking leads down the same route IS has taken.

Let me explain.

Ever since the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, there hasn't been a single central authority that all Muslims have unanimously agreed on.

The first generation of Muslims didn't just disagree, they battled over the succession to leadership of the community.

The result of this division was the formation of the main Sunni and Shi'a theological traditions we see to this day. But the blood spilt over the issue also resulted in a general sense of concern about the consequences of political and theological differences.

A consensus quickly emerged over the need to respect differences of opinion. And it was considered important to "disassociate" oneself from anyone who had differing views on these key issues.

But as long as the person in question affirmed the basic tenets of Islam, such as the unity of God and the prophecy of Muhammad, he or she was still considered a Muslim.

Similar detractors

The one dissenting theological view on this matter was held by a group known as the Kharijites. It adopted the view that dissenting or corrupt Muslim leaders, by their actions, had become "apostates" from Islam altogether.

Sub-factions of this group increasingly extended their definition of apostasy to include any Muslim who didn't agree with them. They declared these Muslims infidels who could be killed or enslaved.

The brutality of these extreme Kharijites never attracted more than a minority of Muslims, and other Kharijites adopted a more peaceful position more in line with the emerging consensus.

Widespread horror at the early divisions of the Muslim community and the terrors unleashed by Khariji extremism ensured that Islam generally embraced a pluralistic approach to differences of opinion.

This emerged hand in hand with a culture of scholarship, based on the idea that the endeavour to seek the "true" meaning of scripture is an ongoing and fallible human effort. Continue reading

Sources

• An article by historian of Islamic thought Harith Bin Ramli in The Conversation.
• Image: Spero News

Following the collapse of communism in 1989, he argued, conflicts would increasingly involve religion.

Islam, which Huntington claimed had been the opponent of Christianity since the seventh century, would increasingly feature in geopolitical conflict.

So, it wasn't particularly shocking when, after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, the then-US president, George W. Bush, used the term "crusade" to describe the American military response.

Framing the subsequent "war on terror" as a crusade acted as a red flag to journalists and political commentators, who could treat the events as simply the most recent stoush in a centuries-old conflict.

The actual Crusades (1096-1487) themselves evoke a romantic image of medieval knights, chivalry, romance and religious high-mindedness.

But representing them as wars between Christians and Muslims is a gross oversimplification and a misreading of history.

Early Islamic conquests
That there were wars between Muslims and Christians is certainly true. After the death of Abu Bakr (573-634), the Prophet Muhammad's father-in-law and first caliph, the second Caliph Umar (583-644) sent the Islamic armies in three divisions to conquer and spread the religion of Islam.

Whole regions that were Christian fell to Islam.

The Holy Land, which comprised modern-day Palestinian territories, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, for instance, was defeated. And Egypt was conquered without even a battle in 640.

The ancient and vast Persian Empire, officially Zoroastrian in religion, had been conquered by 642.

Weakened by war with the Christian Byzantine Empire, Persia was no match for the Muslim forces.

Muslim armies marched across north Africa and crossed the Straits of Gibraltar into modern Spain, eventually securing a large territory in the Iberian Peninsula, which was known as Al-Andalus (also known as Muslim Spain or Islamic Iberia). Continue reading

Sources

• The Conversation, from an article by Carole Cusack, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Sydney.
• Image: Mad World News

This is the first time the European Parliament has acknowledged an ongoing conflict as genocide.

Lars Adaktusson, the Swedish MEP who tabled the resolution, said the significance of the move is the obligations that follow.

"The collective obligation to intervene, to stop these atrocities and to stop the persecution in the ongoing discussion about the fight against the Islamic State," he said.

The resolution may pave the way for Britain and the US State Department to give similar recognition to ISIS's slaughter of Christians.

A motion to that effect has been tabled in the UK's House of Commons.

Continue reading

They are a mixed bag across more than 2600 kms of borders - Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia, an Azerbaijan enclave, Georgia, Bulgaria and Greece. And across the Black Sea he has Russia.

Now he has an unofficial neighbour: Daesh, also known as Islamic State. It has been active along Turkey's frontier inside Syria and regards territory it has seized as part of its self-styled caliphate.

It poses a dilemma for President Erdogan. He has 1.5 million refugees on his hands, mainly from Syria as a result of barbaric actions by Daesh. The EU has offered him what some see as a generous bribe to deter the refugees from heading west to Europe.

He has joined the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Daesh, but is his heart really in it even though he has blamed it for killing 100 people at a peace rally in Turkey in October? His air force by all accounts prefers to attack Kurdish targets.

His critics say he tolerates Daesh as being good for business and helping deal with what he sees as his real enemy, the Kurds. But for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Daesh, it is the Kurds who have done more than any other force on the ground in repelling its advances.

David Graeber, a professor at the London School of Economics, thinks he has the answer to eliminate Daesh. Writing in the Guardian, he says:

‘All it would really take would be to unleash the largely Kurdish forces of the YPG (Democratic Union party) in Syria and PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) guerrillas in Iraq and Turkey. But instead the YPG-controlled territory in Syria finds itself placed under a total embargo by Turkey and the PKK forces are under continual bombardment by the Turkish air force. Not only has Erdogan done almost everything he can to cripple the forces actually fighting (Daesh); there is considerable evidence that his government has been at least tacitly aiding (Daesh) itself'. Continue reading

• John Tulloh had a 40-year career in foreign news. This opinion piece was posted on John Menadue's blog.