Free Republic

Updated at 3:49 a.m. ET: CAIRO – An ultra-conservative Islamist cleric in Egypt faces charges of blasphemy after he allegedly tore up and burned copies of the New Testament at a protest in front of the American Embassy in Cairo. Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud Abdallah, also known as Sheikh Abu Islam, is part owner of a private ultra-conservative Islamic TV station known as Al Uma and was participating in demonstrations against a U.S.-made movie denigrating the Prophet Muhammad that swept the Muslim world in the last month. Egypt’s General Prosecutor accused Abu Islam and his son, the channel's executive director, of...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The head of the Arab League is calling for the international community to criminalize blasphemy, warning that insults to religion pose a serious threat to global peace and security. Nabil Elaraby's comments to a special session of the U.N. Security Council put him at odds with the United States and many of its western allies, which are resolutely opposed to restrictions on freedom of expression.

From the point of view of Muslims, one of Geert Wilders’ many crimes has been to slander Islam. But what does Islam mean by “slander”? The word does not carry the same connotations to a Muslim that it does to a European or an American. One of the most widely respected manuals of Islamic jurisprudence is Reliance of the Traveller, or ‘Umdat al-Salik, by Ahmad ibn Naqib Al-Misri. It represents the Shafiite school — one of the four major schools of Islamic law — and was written in the 14th century. Here’s what al-Misri has to say about slander (quoting...

The Egyptian Government has issued arrest warrants for seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and American pastor Terry Jones on charges of “harming national unity, insulting Islam, and spreading false information.” The charges stem from the belief that these persons are linked to the “Innocence of Muslims” video. Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is expected to demand their extradition when he meets with President Obama in New York and Washington this week. The US State Department and Department of Justice are reported to be reviewing the case. “It’s an interesting question,” mused Attorney General Eric Holder. “Normally, we’d think it’s a freedom of...

Should we have the right to disobey Islamic law? The future of western civilization hinges on our response to this question. Right now people are suggesting that “hate speech” should not be free speech because when people blaspheme Mohammed, Muslim extremists riot and kill. “When some people use this freedom of expression to provoke or humiliate some others’ values and beliefs, then this cannot be protected in such a way.” – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon The extended liberal argument is that if you make Islamists mad, you know they’re going to kill, so you bear some responsibility for those deaths,...

Arab League chief Nabil al-Araby said Wednesday that the league, along with the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the European Union and the African Union are close to formulating an international agreement penalizing blasphemy and insults to religious figures.

Alarming, not because you or I take this stooge seriously but because lots of dopey liberals do, and not just here in the U.S. At a moment when the left’s dimmer lights are taking a second look at blasphemy laws, it’s repulsive that a guy charged with defending human rights would equivocate on speech. But not surprising: The Organization of the Islamic Conference has used the UN for years as a platform to push anti-blasphemy resolutions. That’s textbook Islamism, exploiting an ostensibly liberal institution to advance illiberal goals. Say what you want about Ban, but he’s speaking for an awful...

Not gonna happen.Via Arab News: The KingdomÂ’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh called on the international community to criminalize acts of abusing great prophets and messengers such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them all), according to a statement issued today.The statement was issued in response film in the United States denigrating Islam and ridiculing the Prophet (pbuh).Al-Asheikh also appealed to the Ummah to react to any attempt to denigrate Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by strictly adhering to the values advocated by the Prophet (pbuh) instead of unleashing violence against innocent people, the Saudi Press Agency reported.The...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities have identified a Coptic Christian in southern California who is on probation after his conviction for financial crimes as the key figure behind the anti-Muslim film that ignited mob violence against U.S. embassies across the Mideast, a U.S. law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Apparently, there are a few nitwits who still believe in the hopey-changey crapola. An Obama calendar sold in Charlotte this week compares the failed president to Jesus Christ. Here is the August 2013 page from the “Keep the Dream Alive” calendar:(IMAGE AT LINK)There’s even a video to accompany the calendar:(VIDEO AT LINK) What part of “worst jobs president since the Great Depression” do they not understand?

Lampooning religion has proven an easy way to get into hot water in recent years. Caricatures poking fun, or outright hostility, at Islam have been especially prone to producing controversy -- or even violence. Now, however, it is Germany's Christians who find themselves on the receiving end of an indelicate cartoon. Several religious leaders in Kassel, the western German city that is currently hosting the semi-decadal art exhibition Documenta, have protested against a drawing advertising a show in the city's caricature museum. "I find it problematic when a caricature disparages the very heart of a faith," Barbara Heinrich, a Protestant...

An 11-year-old Christian girl has been arrested after being accused of desecrating pages of a book containing Islamic text. She was detained for blasphemy after an angry mob demanded her arrest and threatened to burn down Christian homes outside of the capital, Islamabad, Pakistani media say. The girl is known to have learning difficulties, officials say. Police have taken her parents into protective custody following threats. According to Dawn newspaper, police said the girl had been unable to answer questions properly during the interrogation. Dr Paul Bhatti, Pakistan's minister for National Harmony, told the BBC that the girl was known...

President Barack Obama’s top civil rights official repeatedly declined to support religious free speech during a July 27 congressional hearing, despite repeated questioning from Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks, who chairs the House’s constitution subcommittee. Tom Perez, the progressive who runs the Justice Department’s civil rights office, refused to answer the questions posed by Franks. “Will you tell us… that this administration’s Department of Justice will never entertain or advance a proposal that criminalizes speech against any religion?” Frank asked four times. Perez refused to answer, saying “it is a hard question, in the sense that when you make threats...

Lahore - A mob of thousands burnt a mentally deranged man to death in Pakistan's Punjab province after accusing him of desecrating the Quran, police officials and witnesses said on Wednesday. The man, who was a 'malang' or hermit, was attacked yesterday at Channigoth in Bahawalpur district, 400 km from Lahore, by a mob of about 2,000 people. The mob also torched two police vans and attempted to set a police station on fire. The man had allegedly burnt some pages of the Quran. After the news spread through Channigoth town, a large crowd gathered at the main police station...

Children show their creative imaginations in some intriguing ways. The artwork and storytelling they engage in often illustrates the ideas that are bopping around inside of their heads. Take, for instance, a student-drawn picture at Hamilton Elementary School in Fresno, California. The image, which has become intensely controversial, portrays Jesus Christ, with a caption that reads, ”I want you to kill all infidels.” Under this shocking line are two others: “meet me in Jerusalem” and “get a free ticket to heaven.” Obviously, the picture, which is hanging prominently in the school’s lobby along with others, is causing a stir. While...

In America we elect presidents, we don't worship them. But the Weekly Standard blog offered a headline on April 17, 2012 that seemed to contradict this traditional practice. In a short piece by Daniel Halper the headline was "Michelle Obama: 'This President Has Brought Us Out of the Dark and Into the Light' If it were not a direct quote taken from Michelle Obama's rally speech at a campaign event in Nashville, Tennessee earlier the same day, we could only imagine that some virulent anti-Obama politico went too far and just made up a false and despiteful headline to hurt...

Jesse Jackson, the president and founder of Rainbow PUSH Coalition, doubled down on a statement he made in London in December proclaiming Jesus was an “occupier,” this time tying the proclamation to the story of Easter weekend. Speaking at an Occupy Chicago rally in Grant Park on Saturday, Jackson told a crowd his interpretation of why Jesus went to the cross: “He fought for the poor because he was among the poor. He faced crucifixion as he fought occupation.” Specifically, Jackson said Jesus was killed because he confronted the money changers in the temple in Jerusalem, as told in the

Arab expatriate offends in remarks on micro-blogging siteAn Arab man in Saudi Arabia is accused of offending Islam and its Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) in remarks on his Twitter page, the second man to be charged with apostasy in the Gulf Kingdom. Hundreds of Twitter users joined hands in demanding the arrest of Mohammed Salama on apostasy charges as was the case of Hamza Kashgari who is in jail for offending the Prophet (PBUH) in comments on his Twitter page. “Mohammed Salama has followed the same path followed by Hamza Kashgari,” the Saudi Arabic language daily Sabq said...

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, March 22, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Religious Education Congress bills itself as an “opportunity to hear God’s voice in their own lives.” However, some of the featured speakers at the March 22-25 event, said to be the largest of its kind in the world, have described Barack Obama as “pro-life,” longed for “public models of gay priests,” opposed marriage protection legislation, and encouraged children to engage in “genital self-touch.” Neither Tod M. Tamberg nor Carolina Guevara, media representatives for the Archdiocese, responded to an e-mail from LifeSiteNews.com concerning allegations speakers at the REC...

A Pennsylvania man walking in a parade dressed as a zombie Muhammad next to a man dressed as a zombie Pope was physically assaulted by a recent Muslim immigrant for insulting Islam. Instead of facing jail time or being assessed for damages, the attacker was absolved by Judge Mark Martin. Martin, himself a Muslim, brushed aside the victim’s First Amendment rights asserting that “freedom of speech does not entitle anyone to commit blasphemy against another’s religious beliefs. I am quite familiar with the Koran. Nowhere does it state that Muhammad arose and walked among the dead. For him to be...