'I Am Told I Will Hang for My Faith in Jesus': American Pastor Faces Death Sentence in Iran

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An American Christian pastor faces a possible death sentence in Iran after prosecutors accused him of harming national security on charges he and his supporters claim amount to religious persecution.

Saeed Abedini, 32, who is Iranian born, is expected to go on trial next week before a revolutionary tribunal in Tehran in a hearing presided over by a judge blacklisted by the European Union for handing down harsh verdicts.

US officials have already voiced concerns over the fate of Mr Abedini, who has been held in custody since July 2011 after being arrested while on a visit to Iran from America.

His wife, Najmeh, says he has suffered beatings during interrogation and has expressed fears for his life in letters to her.

"This is the process in my life today: one day I am told I will be freed and allowed to see my kids on Christmas (which was a lie) and the next day I am told I will hang for my faith in Jesus," Mr Abedini, a father-of-two, wrote in one letter. "One day there are intense pains after beatings in interrogations, the next day they are nice to you and offer you candy."

The origins of the charges against Mr Abdini [sic] are not clear. But the American Centre for Law and Justice, a Christian advocacy group founded by the evangelist preacher, Pat Robertson, said it was connected with starting a home church movement.

"His court file indicated that this national security charge was directly related to his work starting a house church movement in Iran," the organisation said in a statement. » | Robert Tait, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, January 18, 2013

Syrie: un reporter français tué à Alep
LE FIGARO: Yves Debay qui couvrait les combats entre les insurgés et les forces loyales à el-Assad a trouvé la mort jeudi en Syrie. Personnage atypique, il dirigeait la revue Assaut qu'il avait fondée.

Des images vidéo sont venues confirmer la mort du reporter Yves Debay, tué jeudi à Alep par un tireur embusqué, alors qu'il couvrait les combats entre les insurgés de l'Armée syrienne libre et les forces gouvernementales de Bachar el-Assad. Son corps, qui portait sur les images une blessure au front, a été transporté vers la frontière turque.

Yves Debay était un personnage pittoresque, et unique en son genre, que l'on croisait fréquemment sur les champs de bataille. Ce journaliste excentrique était arrivé au reportage de guerre guidé par sa passion pour les armes et pour les soldats. » | Par Adrien Jaulmes | vendredi 18 janvier 2013

LE FIGARO: Syrie: un journaliste d'Al-Jazeera tué – Le journaliste Mohammad Hourani de la chaîne Al-Jazeera, du Qatar, a été tué aujourd'hui par un tireur embusqué dans la province de Deraa, dans le sud de la Syrie, a annoncé la chaîne satellitaire. "Mohammad Hourani a été tué par balle par un tireur embusqué du régime à Basr al-Harir dans la province de Deraa, où il couvrait les affrontements", selon Al-Jazeera. » | AFP | vendredi 18 janvier 2013

Mali : Moscou promet une aide militaire à la France
LE FIGARO: La Russie, qui a publiquement soutenu l'opération française «Serval», devrait envoyer un Antonov 124 et des hommes du 224e détachement aérien au Mali.

Rompant avec sa prudence habituelle, la Russie a promis une aide militaire à l'intervention française au Mali. Selon nos informations, Moscou fournira une assistance à Paris en envoyant, dans les jours prochains, un avion au Mali, destiné à transporter des armes légères. Il s'agirait d'un Antonov 124, appartenant à la compagnie Volga Dnepr, un appareil qui a déjà l'habitude de servir en Afrique sous mandat onusien. Des hommes du 224e détachement aérien seraient également mis à contribution sur le sol malien.

Après que le ministère des Affaires étrangères russe a publiquement soutenu l'opération «Serval» et donné son feu vert à l'intervention militaire française dans le cadre du Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU, voici que Moscou prend une part plus active dans le conflit africain. Cette attitude a de quoi surprendre lorsque l'on sait que, depuis plusieurs mois, la Russie, prétextant un sacro-saint principe de non-ingérence, s'oppose à toute intervention militaire occidentale en Syrie. » | Par Pierre Avril | vendredi 18 janvier 2013

Dispatches : Muslims Vs Free Speech ( UK) – HD
Dispatches is the British television current affairs documentary series on Channel 4.The programme covers issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current affairs and the environment, usually featuring a mole in an organisation.

This particular episode deals with Muslims & free speech. With very sophisticated & well articulated debate regarding the topic is presented here.

Latina Immigrants: The New Ambassadors of Islam

NEW AMERICA MEDIA: Tucked away in a quiet rural neighborhood in Somerset, New Jersey is an old brownstone that houses the New Jersey Chapter of the Islamic Center of North America’s (ICNA) WhyIslam Project. Within its confines, in a second floor office decorated with rose-colored walls, sits the administrative assistant and only female employee of the department, Nahela Morales.


 In a long black garment and gray headscarf, Morales sits in front of a computer entering notes and taking phone calls from the program’s hotline, 1-877-WhyIslam, a resource for individuals hoping to learn more about the religion. A Mexican immigrant and recent convert, Morales is the national Spanish-language outreach coordinator for the program, part of ICNA’s mission to disseminate information about Islam nationwide.


 But Morales’ efforts go beyond U.S. borders: the 37-year-old recently led a trip to bring Islamic literature, food and clothing to her native Mexico.

Morales, who was born in Mexico City but later moved to California and then New York, is part of a growing population of immigrant Muslim converts from Latin America – many of them women -- now helping to bring the religion back to their home countries. 
 » | Wendy Diaz | Friday, January 18, 2013

What Is France Risking in Mali?
We ask if there is French support for the campaign in West Africa amid rebels' warning it could be France's Afghanistan.

Deaths Confirmed in Algeria Hostage Rescue Bid
An Algerian military raid to free hostages at a desert gas plant is over, according to state media. Multiple fatalities have been reported, but it's still unclear exactly how many people were killed. Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan reports.

US Programmer Outsourced Own Job to China, Spent Workdays on Reddit and Facebook

Masked Moscow Attacker Throws Acid at Face of Bolshoi Theater’s Artistic Director

RT.COM: The Bolshoi Theater’s artistic director was attacked by a masked assailant in Moscow who splashed acid onto his face. Sergey Filin is suffering from severe burns, and may lose his sight. Police have linked the attack to his professional work.

The 42-year-old former dancer, now the Bolshoi Theater’s artistic director, was attacked near midnight on Friday as he left his car outside his home in central Moscow. The masked assailant then fled the scene.

The artistic director of the legendary Russian theater suffered severe burns of multiple degrees to his face and eyes, and is being treated at a hospital in Moscow where doctors are working to save his eyesight.

Filin is “in a satisfactory condition, in our burns center, not intensive care,” a hospital spokesperson said. Medics also suggested that Filin will need plastic surgery, and said the acid had affected his hair, which will start falling out soon, forcing him to wear a wig.

“The most threatening thing is that he has third-degree cornea burns which put his eyesight in danger,” medics explained. However, it will not be known for two weeks whether Filin will be able to keep his vision, Moskovsky Komosomolets newspaper reported citing the doctors.

The theater’s supervisory board said it decided to send Filin to a foreign clinic for treatment, indicating Germany and Israel as the two main options, Interfax news agency reported.

It will take Filin at least six months to recover, Bolshoi spokesperson Ekaterina Novikova said. She added that Sergey Filin had received threats from anonymous callers before. “We never imagined that a war for roles – not for real estate or for oil – could reach this level of crime,” Novikova said to Channel One. » | Friday, January 18, 2013

London Muslim Patrol: Vigilantes Attempt To Control Londoners By Enforcing Islamic Law
Muslim vigilantes are approaching Brits and demanding they behave in an Islamic way -- in the middle of London.

Related »

Sahara Hostage Holders Make New Threat

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - At least 18 foreign hostages were unaccounted for on Friday and their al-Qaeda-linked captors threatened to attack other energy installations after Algerian forces stormed a desert gas complex to free hundreds of captives, resulting in dozens of deaths.

With Western leaders clamoring for details of a raid they said Algeria had launched on Thursday without consulting them, a local source said the sprawling compound was still surrounded by Algerian special forces and some hostages remained inside.

Thirty hostages, including several Westerners, were killed during the assault, the source said, along with at least 18 of their captors, who said they had taken the site as retaliation for French intervention against Islamists in neighboring Mali.

The crisis represents a serious escalation of unrest in northwestern Africa, where French forces have been in Mali since last week fighting an Islamist takeover of Timbuktu and other towns in the north, and could devastate OPEC member Algeria's oil industry, just as it recovers from a civil war in the 1990s.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the Algerian government had told him its operation was still going on at mid-morning on Friday. "The death of several hostages is appalling," he told journalists.

Two Japanese, two Britons and a French national were among at least seven foreigners killed, the Algerian source said.

Ten Japanese were among those still unaccounted for on Friday, their Japanese employer said, while Norwegian energy company Statoil, which runs the Tigantourine gas field with Britain's BP and Algeria's national oil company, said eight Norwegian employees were still missing.

Some British workers also appeared to be unaccounted for, though Prime Minister David Cameron said only that fewer than 30 Britons were still at risk as the operation continued.

Washington has said a number of Americans were among the hostages, without giving details, and the local source said a U.S. aircraft landed nearby on Friday to evacuate Americans. » | Lamine Chikhi, ALGIERS | Additional reporting by Ali Abdelatti in Cairo, Eamonn Mallie in Belfast, Gwladys Fouche in Oslo, Mohammed Abbas in London and Padraic Halpin and Conor Humprhies in Dublin; Writing by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Alastair Macdonald | Friday, January 18, 2013

Augenzeugenberichte aus Algerien: "Sie wollten die Ungläubigen töten"
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die ersten Zeugen berichten über das Geiseldrama in Algerien. Ein Ire musste Sprengstoff um den Hals tragen, ein Franzose überstand das Martyrium in einem Versteck.

Hamburg - Bisher weiß niemand genau, was sich in den vergangenen 48 Stunden in der algerischen Wüste abgespielt hat. Die Zahl der Toten, der exakte Ablauf des islamistischen Angriffs auf die BP-Anlage und der blutigen Erstürmung durch algerische Spezialeinheiten - alles noch offen. Was durchsickert, sind erste Berichte von Menschen, die die Attacke nahe der libyschen Grenze miterlebt haben. Viele von ihnen stehen unter Schock, haben Schreckliches mit ansehen müssen.

Einer von wenigen Ausländern, denen unversehrt die Flucht aus der Anlage gelang, ist Stephen McFaul, irischer Ingenieur aus Belfast. Kurz nach seiner Flucht telefonierte er mit seiner Familie, sein Bruder schildert das Gespräch: "Er bekam einen Sprengsatz um den Hals gehängt, wurde gefesselt und geknebelt. Als die Entführer fünf Geländewagen mit Geiseln beladen wollten, begann der Angriff der Algerier. Die Geschosse zerstörten die Autos, mein Bruder konnte in dem Chaos entkommen."

Auf spektakuläre Weise überstand der Franzose Alexandre Berceaux den Angriff auf die Anlage: "Ich habe mich fast 40 Stunden lang in meinem Zimmer versteckt", sagte er am Freitag dem Sender Europe 1. "Ich war unter dem Bett, ich habe für den Fall des Falles überall Bretter festgemacht. Ich hatte ein bisschen Essen, ein bisschen was zu trinken, ich wusste nicht, wie lange es dauern würde", sagte der Mann, der sich noch in Algerien aufhält. "Ich denke, es gibt noch Menschen, die sich versteckt haben. Man ist dabei, sie zu zählen", fügte er hinzu. Nach Angaben von Berceaux, der für die französische Cateringfirma CIS arbeitete, wurde während der Geiselnahme "in Abständen viel geschossen. Es gibt tote Terroristen, Ausländer, Einheimische." » | jok/hen/mit Material von AFP | Freitag, 18. Januar 2013


EXCLU - "J'ai entendu énormément de coups de feu" by Europe1fr

Muslims, Christians Clash in Southern Egypt
THE GUARDIAN: Associated Press, LUXOR, Egypt (AP) — Police have fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Muslim protesters outside a church in southern Egypt. They were demanding an investigation into allegations a Christian man sexually assaulted a 6-year-old girl.

Residents in the city of Qena say four stores owned by Coptic Christians were torched overnight after villagers accused one of the store owners of molesting the young girl.

The clashes took place in the village of Marashda in Qena. » | Haggag Salama | AP foreign | Friday, January 18, 2013

UCI Muslim Students Host Islam Awareness Week
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: A group of Muslims at UC Irvine isn't looking for fellow students to walk a mile in their shoes, but rather to try a hijab – a traditional headscarf – for a day.

The invitation to campus co[-]eds is among the events the Muslim Student Union has scheduled for Islam Awareness Week.

Tuesday through Friday, the group and several invited speakers will offer discussions on freedom of speech relative to Islam, women's rights and a look at the Quran titled "Beyond Blind Faith." » | Kimberly Pierceall | Orange County Register | Thursday, January 17, 2013

What’s the point of ‘Islam Awareness Week’? I think we are all aware of what Islam is all about by now. – © Mark

Egyptian Court Sentences Christian Family to 15 Years for Converting from Islam
FOX NEWS: The 15-year prison sentence given to a woman and her seven children by an Egyptian court for converting to Christianity is a sign of things to come, according to alarmed human rights advocates who say the nation's Islamist government is bad news for Christians in the North African country.

A criminal court in the central Egyptian city of Beni Suef meted out the shocking sentence last week, according to the Arabic-language Egyptian paper Al-Masry Al-Youm. Nadia Mohamed Ali, who was raised a Christian, converted to Islam when she married Mohamed Abdel-Wahhab Mustafa, a Muslim, 23 years ago. He later died, and his widow planned to convert her family back to Christianity in order to obtain an inheritance from her family. She sought the help of others in the registration office to process new identity cards between 2004 and 2006. When the conversion came to light under the new regime, Nadia, her children and even the clerks who processed the identity cards were all sentenced to prison.

Samuel Tadros, a research fellow at Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, said conversions like Nadia's have been common in the past, but said Egypt's new Sharia-based constitution "is a real disaster in terms of religion freedom.” » | Benjamin Weinthal | FoxNews.com | Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Hooded 'Muslim Patrol' Vigilantes Remove Alcohol from Drinkers and Tell Women to Cover Up as They Stalk London Suburb
MAIL ONLINE: Group has released a video filmed in London called: 'The Truth About Saturday Night' / The gang confronts people and accuse them of living an unclean life / They film a hurt cyclist in the road, blaming alcohol for their injuries and call it an invitation to Islam / Films show them burning posters they believe are 'vile and disgusting' - including one for a bra / Muslim groups condemn them for their hard-line views and approach

Police are investigating reports a gang claiming to be Islamic vigilantes have been confronting members of the public and demanding they give up alcohol and women cover their flesh in their 'Muslim area'.

The hooded men, who call themselves Muslim Patrol, have been filmed walking London's streets and calling white women 'naked animals with no self respect.'

The group is also shown taking 'evil' booze from revellers and film a cyclist being treated after a road accident, claiming they were injured because they were unclean.

In one exchange a member of the group says: 'We don't care if you are appalled at all', before calling themselves 'vigilantes implementing Islam upon your own necks'.

They have uploaded videos to their YouTube channel with the most recent three-minute clip causing a stir online.

'The Truth About Saturday Night', which was uploaded on Sunday, has already been viewed more than 42,000 times. Scotland Yard says it is investigating.

It was shot on a mobile phone at night in what the Met say is Waltham Forest, London, with a number of men seen shouting 'this is a Muslim area' towards white Britons they've confronted. » | Martin Robinson | Thursday, January 17, 2013

Algerian Siege: Cameron Warns UK to 'Prepare for Bad News'
BBC: Britain should "prepare for bad news ahead" on the Algerian hostage crisis, the prime minister has said.

David Cameron was speaking after it was revealed that Downing Street was not informed in advance of an operation by Algerian forces to free hostages and end the siege by Islamist militants at a gas facility in Algeria.

A British citizen and an Algerian were killed on Wednesday. Two unnamed people from Scotland and an Irishman, 36-year-old Stephen McFaul, have reportedly been released. Watch BBC video » | Thursday, January 17, 2013

US Gun Debate: Obama Unveils Gun Control Proposals

BBC: US President Obama has unveiled the most sweeping gun control proposals in two decades, setting up a showdown with firearms rights advocates.

He called for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and wider background checks on gun buyers.

The Democratic president also signed 23 executive actions, which do not require congressional approval.

A month after last month's school massacre in Connecticut, he said gun-control reforms could wait no longer.

Mr Obama unveiled the proposals at the White House on Wednesday, flanked by children who wrote him letters after December's Newtown shooting, which left 20 children and six teachers dead.

Mr Obama said: "if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try."

The top US gun lobbying group, the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), said the proposals were "not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation".

"Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy," the group said in a statement. (+ video) » | Wednesday, January 16, 2013

New York Passes Tough New Gun Control Law
US president Barack Obama is expected to reveal a new gun control initiative on Wednesday. His announcement will come just hours after the state of New York passed some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Cath Turner has more.

'Briton Killed' and '40 BP Workers Held Hostage' in Algeria Attack
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Al Qaeda-linked hostage takers claiming to hold 41 foreigners hostage at a gas field partly operated by British Petroleum in Algeria have reportedly threatened to blow themselves up after killing a Briton.

Algeria's official APS news agency cited provincial officials for news of the death, which came after an early morning attack by Islamists.

The militants say they are holding an [sic] seven Americans and an unspecified number of British, Japanese and French amongst other nationalities, a spokesman is cited as saying by two Mauritanian news agencies - Agence Nouakchott information et Sahara Medias. A security source quoted by Algeria's El Watan newspaper quoted the same figure.

"A second person, a British national, died in the terrorist attack carried out early on Wednesday morning in Tigantourine," the APS news agency said, citing local officials. Six other people have been wounded.

Prime Minister David Cameron will chair a meeting of the Government's crisis committee Cobra on the incident later on Wednesday.

The natural gas complex, the third largest in the country, is a joint venture of British Petroleum, Norway's Statoil and the Algerian Sonatrach company located some 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) south of the capital near the Libyan border.

The Algerian Interior Ministry said heavily armed gunman in three vehicles attacked the complex early on Wednesday morning. » | Barney Henderson, and Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, January 16, 2013