Wolrd Religion

In yet another Muslim attack on free speech the offices of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo have been destroyed by a petrol bomb -- a day after it named the Prophet Mohammed as its "editor-in-chief" for this week's issue.

The fiercely anti-clerical magazine said the move, which included renaming the publication "Sharia Hebdo", was intended to "celebrate" the victory of Islamist party Ennhada in Tunisia's election.

 

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U.S. Federal agents arrested four suspected members of a Georgia militia on charges of plotting attacks with toxins and explosives in Atlanta and against unnamed government officials.

 

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Five Algerian Christians remained jailed in north-eastern Algeria Tuesday after they were reportedly detained this weekend for "worshiping in an unregistered location."

Another Christian, a minor, was released and placed on probation following Saturday's raid in a village near the town of Bougous in north-eastern El Tarf province bordering Tunisia.

 

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South Australia's chief prosecutor is calling for new laws to thwart the rise of cults across the nation.

Stephen Pallaras says a new approach by law-makers needs to address the "mental damage and mental harm" caused by cults.

 

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A Russian couple went on trial Tuesday accused of the gruesome killing of their 26-year-old daughter, allegedly beating, disembowelling and trampling her to death in an attempted exorcism.

The parents, who deny the killing, were ordered to stand trial despite being deemed mentally ill by psychiatrists, investigators say.

 

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Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a Fredrick Merril Jessop, a former bishop of a polygamist FLDS sect. Jessop is accused of officiating at the marriage of an underage girl to the sect's leader, Warren Jeffs, who has since been sentenced to life in prison

 

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Global fears of economic or environmental upheaval feed the growth of gurus and damaging cults that prey on the weak, a French government expert on cults has warned during a visit to Australia.

>Georges Fenech, president of France's Interministerial >Mission for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviances, said it was working for greater international co-operation in dealing with sectarian abuses.

 

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A lawsuit by a disabled woman against fugitive Australian cult leader Rocco Leo has not been settled and will go to trial.

Rocco Leo's former followers claim he preached a doomsday scenario, promising them a new life on an island -- financed by their donations -- to save them from the end of the world.

 

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The parents of a newborn who died while they and Followers of Christ members prayed for him to be healed have received the maximum jail terms allowed by law and three years of post-prison probation following their conviction on manslaughter charges.

Dale and Shannon Hickman, who are members of the controversial church and are related to the founder, were both sentenced to six years and three months in prison.

 

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After getting married in 2006 Julie and Bryon Widner, former pillars of the white power movement had worked hard to put their racist past behind them.

And yet, the past was ever-present — tattooed in brutish symbols all over his body and face: a blood-soaked razor, swastikas, the letters "HATE" stamped across his knuckles.

 

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Religious broadcaster Harold Camping says he and his Family Radio network are embarrassed that the world didn't end on Oct. 21 as he predicted.

He also apologizes for saying that Christians who did not buy into his May 21st doomsday prophecy were not saved.

 

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The German government's attempts to unite different religious groups seem to be turning sour. Introducing lessons on Islam in schools was meant to help integrate the country's three million Muslims.

But the policy is having some undesired effects.

 

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