Free Republic

Following 9/11, there was renewed interest in the Crusades as explanations were sought for the brutal attacks. As terrorist attacks have continued throughout the years, and now with the rise of the Islamic State, this interest in the Crusades has not abated. Unfortunately, increased interest has not necessarily translated into increased knowledge. Prof. Thomas F. Madden has lamented: “An interested person who simply strolls into a bookstore looking for a history of the crusades is much more likely to walk out with a book written by a novelist, journalist, or ex-nun than one written by a professional historian and based...

Friends and neighbors of a man who has been charged with killing his son because he was gay said Saturday that the young man had a troubled history and was involved in several incidents that resulted in the police being called to the house. On Friday, Shehada Khalil Issa, 69, of North Hills was charged with fatally shooting his son, Amir Issa, 29, outside the family’s home earlier this week because he was gay, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. “The murder was committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation and because of the defendant’s perception of that...

Muslim citizens are as American as apple pie, a new poll says. The survey, from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, shows that though Muslims living in America are facing more violence than ever, they are actually among America's most model citizens. What exactly does that mean? Well, in a land founded on religious freedom, Muslims are among the most religious and patriotic citizens: 42% of Muslims attend services regularly compared to 45% of Protestants. And 87% of Muslims say religion is important to their lives, compared to 94% of Protestants.

Police at Brussels airport have claimed at least 50 Islamic State supporters are working there as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff. In an astonishing open letter, the officers said they have warned about the terrorist sympathisers whose security badges give them access to planes, but they remain employed. The airport police, who are threatening to go on strike because of security deficiencies, also said they have raised the issue of terrorists scouting the airport to plan possible attacks. The extraordinary claims come after the Mail reported how the family of two of the bombers involved in the attacks last...

SAUDI law makers could impose the death penalty on gay people who show their sexuality in public and on social media, according to reports. The government in the Sunni Kingdom is reportedly demanding tougher punishments on those found guilty and claimed social media has caused a boom in homosexuality. According to Okaz newspaper, the last six months has seen 35 cases of homosexuality and 50 cases of cross-dressers as well as cases of "sexual perversion” in Saudi Arabia. The judiciary reportedly also claimed there has been a large rise in "perverts" displaying "sins and obscenities" on social media in the...

Earlier this morning or very late last night (in my world) I received a strange and disturbing report that a group of Muslim men opened fire on hikers and campers in a large state Park in California. Unable to confirm the source, I waited to post. More info is coming in ….. Of course there has been no reporting from the enemedia on this. A heavily armed group of men with Middle Eastern appearance was arrested two hours ago outside Los Angeles after opening fire upon hikers and campers in a large State Park in the area. No word yet...

A British father has been banned from taking his son to a church after the boy's Muslim mother won a controversial court order preventing the boy from attending. The father – a non-practising Muslim who has forged close connections to his local Christian community and is divorced from the boy's mother – has been warned that he could be denied access to the nine-year-old if he attempts to take him to church or to a leisure centre it runs. Now the father, who was born in the UK to Pakistani parents, is challenging the ruling made by District Judge Williscroft...

In the spirit of the season, Asad Shah, a Glasgow newsagent and a "devout Muslim"*[see update at the foot of the page], decided to send out an Easter greeting on his Facebook page: GOOD FRIDAY AND VERY HAPPY EASTER, ESPECIALLY TO MY BELOVED CHRISTIAN NATION X! BISMILLAH... Let's Follow The Real Footstep Of Beloved Holy Jesus Christ (PBUH) And Get The Real Success In Both Worlds xxxx Less than four hours after this ecumenical greeting, Mr Shah was savagely murdered outside his shop by his co-religionists: The victim was found seriously injured on Minard Road, Glasgow, and was taken to...

BRUSSELS — As a dragnet aimed at Islamic State operatives spiraled across Brussels and into at least five European countries on Friday, the authorities were also focusing on a narrower but increasingly alarming threat: the vulnerability of Belgium’s nuclear installations. The investigation into this week’s deadly attacks in Brussels has prompted worries that the Islamic State is seeking to attack, infiltrate or sabotage nuclear installations or obtain nuclear or radioactive material. This is especially worrying in a country with a history of security lapses at its nuclear facilities, a weak intelligence apparatus and a deeply rooted terrorist network. On Friday,...

On Tuesday Diana West reported on the case of Ivar Mol, a Dutch-speaking Belgian man (or, more accurately, a Fleming). Not long after the massacres at the airport and the Metro in Brussels, Mr. Mol posted a tweet about Muslim children who celebrated the atrocities in school. For his temerity in discussing such provocative issues on Twitter, Mr. Mol was visited later the same day by three police officers. That evening Ivar Mol was interviewed (audio only) by Omroep Brabant, the regional broadcaster for North Brabant. Many thanks to H. Numan for the translation: With this tweet it all began:...

Text Description of the Video: "I find it very ironic when you look at these anti-Trump protests and see Muslims protesting along with the others saying how "Trump hates women etc." Especially when women lack rights/freedoms compared to men across countries in the Middle East. Some of these things include only being allowed to wear certain clothes, not being allowed to go out in public unless with a man, or not being allowed to drive vehicles."Video Link

The Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) has elected the first Muslim student to serve as its president at the school which brands itself as America’s “oldest Catholic and Jesuit institute of higher learning. Enushe Khan joined the board of the university Muslim Student Association (MSA) soon after arriving at Georgetown, and served as chair of Interfaith and Service for five semesters, reports The Hoya – the school’s oldest and largest student newspaper.

report indicates there is evidence that members of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) have forced children to play soccer with decapitated heads as a way to desensitize them to violence. “Children not only get desensitised to violence, but they also deem these practices as normal, and eventually defend them,” wrote the researchers at the London based think tank the Quilliam Foundation. “Children have been seen accompanying prisoners to their death and, in one example, distributing knives to adults before a mass beheading.”

Four gunmen attacked an old people's home in the Yemeni port of Aden on Friday, killing at least 15 people, including four Missionaries of Charity nuns of Mother Teresa, the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia told the Vatican’s Fides news agency. The Vicariate said two of the slain nuns were from Rwanda and one each from India and Kenya. One nun who survived and was rescued by locals said that she hid inside a fridge in a store room. The gunmen, who first told the guard they were on a visit to their mother, stormed into the home with rifles...

The practitioners of the Religion of Peace have been at it again.From FNC: Gunmen execute 16 people, including 4 nuns, in Yemen retirement homeA team of gunmen unleashed a massacre at a retirement home run by Catholic nuns in Yemen Friday, killing 16 people including four nuns, Yemeni security officials and witnesses said.The gunmen then moved from room to room, handcuffing the victims before shooting each of them in the head. A nun who survived said that she hid inside a fridge in a storeroom after hearing a Yemeni guard shouting “run, run.”Missionaries of Charity, an organization established by Mother...

Former President Bill Clinton, his voice hoarse from weeks on the campaign trail for his wife’s presidential bid, spoke Thursday at Freedom Temple in downtown Rock Hill. The East Main Street church was a last-minute addition to the former president’s schedule, two days before voters will choose between his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina Democratic primary. Clinton urged voters to ignore what Hillary Clinton’s opponents say about her now, because “they’re just scared to run against her.” Peace in the Middle East can only be accomplished by winning the...

Teen locked up for gay man 'snake murder' A teenager who murdered a gay man and wrapped a snake around his neck has been sentenced. Gothenburg disctrict court on Wednesday sentenced the 16-year-old to four years in a detention centre for juvenile offenders and to pay damages to the relatives of the victim. After he has served his time the boy, who is understood to be of North African origin and had been sleeping rough in the streets of Sweden, will be deported from the Nordic country, said the court. The gruesome killing took place in June, with a trial...

Former U.S. President George W. Bush speaks about the presidential candidacy of his brother U.S. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush as he appears on the campaign trail with his brother for the first time in the 2016 campaign at a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, February 15, 2016. ... As he praised South Carolina's Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian-born parents, Bush pointedly said, "Thank goodness our country welcomed her parents when they immigrated here in 1969." It was a reminder of how much the Republican Party has changed since he was president. While Bush championed failed...

Tommy Robinson, an organiser behind the anti-Islamisation group PEGIDA UK, has been found unconscious after a night out with his family in his hometown of Luton. He is said to have sustained head injuries, and is now recovering in hospital. "Tommy attacked – for those of you asking how he is, he is okay," his personal assistant Helen Lel Gower revealed on Facebook yesterday. The attack is thought to have occurred on Saturday night. "He was on a night out with his wife and was found unconscious," wrote Mrs. Gower. Adding: "They have been at the hospital all night and...

A Clallam Bay Corrections Center officer who suffered serious head injuries last week continued to improve but remained hospitalized Monday. Correctional Officer Terry Breedlove remained at Forks Community Hospital and will remain there until he can walk, according to his family. He’s going to be here longer, I think, said Breedlove’s mother, Joanne Spaulding. Breedlove suffered a brain injury during an attack Jan. 25 by inmate Abdinjib Ibraham, 28, of King County, investigators said. An MRI was performed on Breedlove on Saturday. It showed injuries to two vertebrae, Spaulding said. Breedlove can stand but experiences difficulty once standing, she said....