Religion News Blog - 9 new articles

Posted by religion world Friday, September 18, 2009

 

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Religion News Blog

"Religion News Blog" - 9 new articles

  1. Utah Supreme Court moves Jeffs' appeal hearing from BYU back to Salt Lake City
  2. Violence Overshadows Funeral of "Murdered" Pakistan Christian
  3. Prayerism: Prayer in America
  4. Victory Outreach pastor faces three years in tax case
  5. Cuban pastor to be evicted; Report reveals sharp rise in religious liberty violations
  6. In Malaysia, caning wins support among Muslims
  7. Iran Releases Christian Converts On Bail
  8. Islamic search engine ImHalal hailed a success
  9. Self-proclaimed Malaysian prophet caught
  10. More Recent Articles
  11. Search Religion News Blog

Utah Supreme Court moves Jeffs' appeal hearing from BYU back to Salt Lake City

Warren Jeffs A week after announcing plans to hold the oral arguments in polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs' appeal at Brigham Young University, the Utah Supreme Court has reversed itself.

Reportedly the venue at BYU is too small to accommodate the high interest in the case.


Violence Overshadows Funeral of "Murdered" Pakistan Christian

Sialkot, Pakistan Tensions remained high Thursday, September 17, in Pakistan's Punjab province after police dispersed angry crowds protesting against the death of a young Christian prisoner, who was held for allegedly desecrating the Koran, viewed as a holy book by Muslims.

The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), a Catholic-led advocacy group, called the man's an "extra-judicial murder" and demanded an investigation, Pakistan media reported.


Prayerism: Prayer in America

prayer Is praying becoming a religion unto itself?

Consider this: 39% of Americans attend church weekly yet 75% pray at least weekly, according to the Pew Religion Forum. In fact, 58% overall, and 66% of American women pray daily.

And maybe most remarkably: 35% of those who don't identify with any religion at all -- the "unaffiliated"-- pray weekly or daily. That means there's a large number of Americans who don't attend church regularly but pray a great deal.

These statistics, as well as the popularity over the years of books like the Prayer of Jabez and The Secret and many other devotional books, show that prayer has become popular on its own, sometimes detached from the tradition of church. Call it Prayerism.


Victory Outreach pastor faces three years in tax case

Max Garza A Portland, Oregon clergyman faces possible prison time for helping the owner of a mail-order divorce business evade $220,345 in taxes, a scheme that put an illegal tithe in the pastor's pockets.

Maximo Garza, the 46-year-old pastor of Victory Outreach Church of Portland, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to aiding the preparation of a false tax return, a felony that carries a penalty of up to three years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 11.

Between 2001 and 2003, business owner William C. Thompson -- who ran a mail-order divorce service called Hallwood, Inc. -- gave checks totaling $735,441 to Garza for public relations and other services that were supposedly performed by the nonprofit Victory Outreach Church. In fact, the church performed no such work.

IRS investigators later found that neither the church nor its board of directors knew of the scheme.


Cuban pastor to be evicted; Report reveals sharp rise in religious liberty violations

Mario Alverez Pressure on religious leaders in Cuba has increased significantly over the past year according to a new report by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Comprehensive evidence within the document details a sharp rise in religious liberty violations there.

Independent church leaders from the fast growing Apostolic Movement have been particularly targeted for harassment, detentions and court summons by the Government.


In Malaysia, caning wins support among Muslims

Sharia The end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan this weekend could see Islamic authorities in Malaysia carry out the country's first caning sentence on a woman, a punishment that is fast gaining support among the country's Muslim population.

Negative news reports regarding Islam's growing influence has bruised Malaysia's image as a moderate Muslim state with some commentators highlighting what they see as undesirable Islamic influences in their own countries, Reuters reports.

In our opinion, Islamic law has no place in modern, civilized society, and should not be tolerated in any form.


Iran Releases Christian Converts On Bail

Islam A group of ex-Muslims who converted to Christianity were preparing Wednesday, September 16, for an upcoming court hearing in Iran on suspicion of "apostasy", after they were temporarily released on bail from one of the country's most notorious prisons, BosNewsLife learned.

They were among 25 individuals arrested by security forces while attending a Christian gathering in Tehran.


Islamic search engine ImHalal hailed a success

ImHalal The world's first "Islamic orientated" internet search engine, which flags content that might be considered "haraam" – or forbidden – by Muslims, has been hailed a success by its creators after it attracted more than 500,000 users in its first two weeks on the web.

ImHalal.com has been designed to "help Muslims explore the internet in a safe and clean environment", according to Reza Sardeha, the 20-year-old business management student who runs it.

The site works by assigning the search terms that are plugged in by users a "haraam level", which indicates the likelihood of the results they bring up touching upon things forbidden under Islam.


Self-proclaimed Malaysian prophet caught

Abdul Kahar Ahmad Malaysian authorities captured a Muslim sect leader who claimed to be God's prophet and was on the run for three years, an official said Thursday.

Abdul Kahar Ahmad was charged in 2006 in an Islamic law court with spreading false teaching, blasphemy and violating religious precepts, said Muhamad Nazri Basrawi, a prosecutor in the Islamic Religious Department in central Selangor state.

Abdul Kahar, 59, pleaded innocent to the charges and later went into hiding to evade trial, Nazri told The Associated Press.


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