Tag: religion

Israeli soldiers jailed for desecrating Virgin Mary statue

Two Israeli soldiers were sentenced to several weeks in military prison for desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said.

Last week, a photo surfaced showing a service member hugging the statue in the predominantly Christian village of Debel, near the Israeli border, and placing a cigarette in the statue’s mouth. The image sparked outrage on social media and prompted an official investigation.

On Monday, IDF spokeswoman Ariella Mazor said the soldier posing with the statue and the soldier filming him were sentenced to 21 and 14 days behind bars, respectively.

“The IDF views the incident with great severity and respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities,” Mazor wrote on X.

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Bahrain Intensifies Crackdown On Shia Communities, Arrests Dozens Over Alleged IRGC Links

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry announced on Saturday the arrest of 41 citizens, including multiple Shia religious leaders, over alleged ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The ministry said security services uncovered the alleged network through “investigations, security reports, and previous Public Prosecution cases related to espionage involving foreign entities.” The detainees are accused of “espionage involving foreign entities and sympathy with blatant Iranian aggression.”

Around 30 Shia Muslim clerics were among the 41 arrested, as the Gulf monarchy intensifies a campaign of raids and arrests predominantly targeting Shia religious figures and seminary teachers in Bahrain.

The arrests mark a new security escalation by Manama and form part of a continued policy of restrictions against clerics in the country. The Bahrain News Agency reported that legal proceedings are now underway against the 41 detainees.

Earlier this week, Bahrain stripped three lawmakers of their seats in parliament after they publicly criticized the monarchy’s crackdown on dissent over its support for the US–Israeli war on Iran:

In a vote in Manama on Thursday, the Bahraini House of Representatives revoked the memberships of Abdulnabi Salman, Mahdi al-Shuwaikh, and Mamdouh al-Saleh. The three lawmakers publicly opposed the monarchy’s move last week to revoke the citizenship of 69 Bahrainis and their families, accusing them of “sympathizing with Iran.”

Bahrain has a majority Shia population but is ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa royal family. The kingdom hosts the largest US naval base in the region, home to the US Fifth Fleet.

That decision came less than two weeks after Bahrain revoked the citizenship of 69 people over alleged support for Iranian retaliatory attacks on the country.

The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy described the move as “dangerous” and a “blatant abuse of power,” saying the individuals had not been publicly named and that their legal status remained unclear.

Since the launch of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, Bahrain has escalated a sweeping domestic crackdown tied to alleged support for Tehran and opposition to the country’s western alignments.

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Husbands With Two or More Wives Get Increased Benefits

The Department for Work and Pensions has increased the benefits paid out to households in polygamous marriages from April. The Express has the story.

The DWP has confirmed in its benefits uprating list that “additional spouses” in “polygamous marriages” are being given a 4.8% boost to their benefits from April, which would most likely be for husbands with multiple wives.

Those who are classed as an “additional spouse” in a polygamous marriage and are above state pension age were in 2025–26 able to claim an additional £119.50 per week of Pension Credit or Housing Benefit, with no given limit on the number of separate additional spouses who can claim in one household, other than the overall benefits cap per household per year.

From April 2026, this has been increased to £125.25 per week per additional spouse, a 4.8% increase in line with wage growth, which is how Pension Credit is automatically increased each spring, which is another £5.75 per week, or £299 extra per year.

The money is less than that person would be able to claim if they lived alone (£238 from April 2026), but is still extra money for a three-person household’s income compared to a two-person marriage.

The rule is not new, but the amount given to second wives is still being increased each year.

Although bigamy is illegal in the UK, the act of marrying more than one person at a time – polygamy – is not illegal if the marriages took place overseas.

This is legal where a person has married multiple wives (or husbands) overseas while legally living in a country where this is legally allowed, and then moved to the UK legally afterwards.

In that circumstance, a person now legally living in the UK, who legally married more than one spouse while living overseas, can then see their second, third and even fourth wife (or husband) all claim an additional £125.25 each per week, as long as that additional spouse came to the UK legally in their own right.

The DWP’s benefits and pension rates 2026 to 2027 document states: “If the claimant is a member of a polygamous marriage and all of the members of the marriage have attained pensionable age on or after April 1st 2021, for the claimant and the other party to the marriage [the allowance per week is now] £363.25.

“For each additional spouse who is a member of the same household as the claimant [the allowance per week is now] £125.25.”

It is understood the DWP believe the number of claimants to be small although it has not been able to provide a number for how many second or third wives do claim the benefit.

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Reckoning: Islamic Group with Terror Ties Set to Be Investigated by GOP

The Council on American‑Islamic Relations is coming under attack as House Republicans examine the extent to which it is trying to subvert American law with Sharia law.

A House Judiciary subcommittee has scheduled a hearing to examine how CAIR and its fellow travelers are pushing anti-Western ideals, according to the Daily Signal.

“Sharia law has no place in the United States, and these hearings are about exposing it, defending the rule of law, and protecting the values that make America strong,” Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said.

Roy chairs the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, which will hold a hearing titled, “Sharia‑Free America: Why Political Islam and Sharia Law Are Incompatible With the U.S. Constitution, Part II.”

The hearing announcement said the hearing will focus on “the role organizations like CAIR play in promoting and funding” actions contrary to U.S. law.

“In our first hearing this February, we exposed how Sharia law and Islam are being pushed,” Roy said.

“This follow‑up hearing will highlight new incidents unfolding throughout our nation and examine the role organizations like CAIR play in promoting and funding these efforts. Islam is incompatible with Western civilization,” he said.

Roy, who has accused CAIR of having a “30‑year history replete with associating with terrorist groups and individuals who want to undermine the security and values of the U.S. and its allies,” has proposed legislation to make the group a Specially Designated Terrorist Organization.

CAIR, he has said, “has harbored ties to terrorist organizations including Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other extremist groups while operating under the guise of a nonprofit and reaping the benefits of 501(c)(3) tax status.”

In April, Roy was the lead author of a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking him to suspend and debar CAIR.

“CAIR’s longstanding ties to terrorist organizations, including Hamas — a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) — combined with documented financial mismanagement and misuse of federal grant funds administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), pose a grave risk to national security and render CAIR unfit to receive taxpayer dollars,” the letter said, noting that $15 million federal money sub-granted by California has gone to CAIR since 2022.

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Texas Orders Unauthorized MUSLIM ‘University’ To Cease Operations Immediately

Texas is enforcing its laws without apology. Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to issue an immediate cease-and-desist order against the so-called Texas American Muslim University at Dallas, or TexAM, an unauthorized operation in the Dallas suburb of Richardson. 

The entity has been marketing and enrolling students in degree programs—including master’s degrees in Artificial Intelligence and bachelor’s programs in computer science, IT, cybersecurity, and health informatics—without any state approval.

It billed itself as “the first university in the USA to offer STEM degree programs embedded with mandatory courses in Islamic Studies.”

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board delivered a formal cease-and-desist letter on Thursday, demanding that TexAM “cease advertising, offering, and enrolling students in degrees or programs of study” and stop using protected terms such as “university.” The letter states in part:

In order to operate or grant degrees in Texas, a private postsecondary educational institution is required to hold a Certificate of Authority issued by the THECB pursuant to Chapter 61, Subchapter G of the Texas Education Code. TexAM has never been granted a Certificate of Authority to operate in Texas; therefore, TexAM is prohibited by law from granting or offering to grant degrees. A person or entity’s non-compliance with Chapter 61, Subchapter G, subjects them to criminal punishment, administrative penalties, and liability for civil penalties and injunctive relief (Tex. Educ. Code § 61.316-319). Furthermore, non-compliance is a violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and subjects the person or entity to the criminal and civil liability imposed under that act (Tex. Educ. Code § 61.320).

It also notes that unauthorized use of the term “university” carries its own criminal liability under Texas Education Code § 61.313. The institution was given until Friday to confirm in writing that it had “voluntarily, permanently, and immediately ceased” all prohibited activities. Full letter here.

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Conservative Host SHOCKS “Muslims-Only” Waterpark Event Organizer After Exposing a Series of Humiliating Truths About Her “Job” to Her Face

A conservative activist who played a role in exposing a disgusting and racist “Muslim Only” celebration completely embarrassed the organizer of the event after exposing a series of embarrassing truths about her line of work.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, a taxpayer-funded waterpark in a Texas city sparked online fury earlier this week after announcing it would openly discriminate against non-Muslims to celebrate an Islamic holiday.

Epic Waters in Grand Prairie released fliers for a June 1 event celebrating a major Muslim holiday called Eid al-Adha. The event was supposed to require a “modest dress code” and solely serve Halal-slaughtered meat.

Epic Waters, which was funded by an additional sales tax on Grand Prairie residents, would have essentially resembled a hard-core Islamist country rather than the great state of Texas.

The Blaze’s Sara Gonzales was extremely instrumental in exposing this disgusting religious discrimination to the rest of the country. The backlash soon became so severe that the event was cancelled.

On Thursday, Gonzales invited the organizer of the “Muslims Only” stunt, Dr. Aminah Knight, to her podcast to discuss how she felt about her little party getting canceled. But, unbeknownst to Knight, Gonzales had a major surprise up her sleeve.

Gonzales stunned Knight when she revealed that the bigot runs a daycare center called “Excellence Early Learning Center” in which the word “learning is spelled “learing.” Just like one of the Somali Daycare Centers in Minnesota!

Gonzales next asked if it was appropriate for her to teach kids when she can’t spell a basic word correctly.

Knight was left speechless and stunned when confronted about this, so Gonzales started mocking her. Then, she meekly said it was a typo.

Gonzales then informed Knight that her registration to run the business had been involuntarily terminated and asked how the daycare center was still operating.

Knight had no clue how to respond. She proceeded to complain that she had been brought on to answer questions about the cancellation of her event.

Gonzales informed that they had already discussed this and hoped Knight had learned a lesson about not discriminating based on religion.

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Texas ‘Muslim Only’ Waterpark Organizer Runs a Misspelled “Learing Center” for Kids

Only in 2026 America could a taxpayer-funded waterpark become the backdrop for a “Muslim only” event that blew up so spectacularly it ended up scrapped by order of the Texas governor.

The mastermind behind the fiasco, Aminah Knight, is now under fresh scrutiny for running a child care center with a glaring typo in its name, the “Excellence Early Learing Center.”

The facility, located in the Fort Worth suburb of Hurst, proudly advertises itself online with that same misspelled banner, something most educators would rush to fix within moments.

Knight, who is listed as the owner, operator, and curriculum designer, boasts of academic credentials from both USC and Vanderbilt University. Yet, somehow, “learning” got lost along the way.

The daycare’s pitch includes buzzwords common in modern progressive education circles: “multiculturalism,” “small classroom sizes,” “healthy eating,” and a “loving environment that feels like home.”

Staff reportedly hold degrees from “their home countries” in fields ranging from biology to accounting.

The center seeks to project an image of inclusivity, except when the conversation turns to who’s welcome at the local waterpark.

Earlier this month, Knight’s separate group, DFW Epic Eid, made headlines after it rented out Epic Waters in Grand Prairie, an enormous $88 million facility funded by local taxpayers, for an Eid holiday celebration labeled “Muslim only.”

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Pastor Found Guilty of Violating U.K. Speech Laws for Preaching John 3:16 Sermon Near Hospital

The United Kingdom, which has been cracking down on speech for years, dealt free speech another blow on Thursday when a district judge found Clive Johnston, a retired Northern Irish pastor, guilty of preaching John 3:16 in public.

The 78-year-old was convicted of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zone) Act (Northern Ireland) for holding an open-air service near Causeway Hospital in Coleraine in 2024. This law makes it a crime to do anything that could be seen as “influencing” or “preventing or impeding” people seeking abortion services within 100 meters of a clinic. Eight of these “buffer zones” have been created in Northern Ireland.

However, Johnston did not mention abortion in his sermon. It was also a Sunday, which meant the sexual health clinic was not open for scheduled abortion appointments. Body camera footage shows Johnston speaking about his journey toward faith, playing the ukulele, and preaching John 3:16 (“for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son”) before being interrupted by a police officer. The officer tells Johnston that “this is a safe access zone,” and he must stop preaching or he “may be removed and liable to prosecution.”

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NIRVANA DROID: Humanoid Robot Gabi ‘Converts’ to Buddhism and Becomes a Monk

In Korea, an android is on a spiritual quest.

While technology is usually thought of as the polar opposite of ancient religious practices and beliefs, in Korea, these two worlds seem to be colliding.

In the Jogye Temple in Seoul, a group of monks from Korea’s largest Buddhist sect sat across from a cyborg postulant awaiting the ceremony that would make him a monk.

The Korea Times reported:

“Clad in humble black shoes and the Buddhist order’s ceremonial gray and brown robe, the 1.3-meter-tall robot stood in front of Buddhist monks and nuns as it pledged to commit itself to Buddhism in the ceremony held Wednesday, ahead of Buddha’s Birthday later this month.

The robot folded its hands together and bowed to the monks officiating the ceremony, as one of the monks carefully hung a 108-bead rosary and attached a sticker instead of the original ritual where one has to slightly burn his arms near an incense stick.”

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Over 123 Historic Christian Churches In Canada Burned Or Vandalized In Past 5 Years – More Than 220 Burned In Europe

In many of Canada’s small towns sits an architectural wonder. It’s their church. These are the centerpiece of each town. They tower over the residential homes and small businesses. Often, massive structures with intricate designs and steeples, some of which are over 200 years old.

Many of these small towns are “defined by their churches”. Is this the reason they are being torched? Who is benefiting from this systemic removal of Christian churches across Canada and Europe? The respective governments can no longer deny that these fires are a pattern.

All across Canada, churches are being vandalized and burned to the ground. The Canadian government seems to have little interest in learning why or stopping it. A recent study by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute proclaims arson of Canadian churches has doubled since 2021.

The Gateway Pundit recently reported on all the churches that have been burned in Europe over the last few years. Data from Ecclesiastical Insurance, the popular insurer of Christian buildings in Europe, stated that from 2020 to 2024, there were over 200 incidents of arson affecting churches.

Investigators in Canada have only charged people in 4% of the church arsons between 2021 and 2023. Because of this, the “official motives” are unknown in more than 96% of the cases. However, in Europe, local newspapers say the common cause of the arson is mental illness, or “pyromania”, with no particular ideological reason. That’s truly hard to believe.

The most recent Canadian church to burn was in the lake town of Saint-Romain, Quebec. It burned on the evening of April 13th. Their original church was built in 1893.  It’s a very small town of roughly 800 people. The following day of the fire, the founder of Rebel News, Ezra Levant, went to the site and noticed no other news outlets. The major news organizations in Canada have mostly ignored this arson trend. Politicians have been accused of downplaying the attacks.

Even though roughly 45 firefighters from six stations were dispatched, the Church burned completely to the ground. It’s hard to make sense of how this could happen. In 2025, the town built a new $1.7mil Fire Department just 430 ft. from the church (image below). Fire officials said they saved the church bells and the cross from the top of the steeple.

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