Tag: religion

Bill C-9 against quoting Bible verses could turn Canada into police state: pro-freedom group

A Canadian constitutional freedom group warned that the imminent passage of a bill that threatens religious expression when it comes to quoting from certain Bible passages after it becomes law will turn Canada into a “police” state.

The Democracy Fund (TDF) alerted Canadians that Bill C-9, or the “Combatting Hate Act,” will expand the “legal definition of hatred and removes key free expression safeguards in the Criminal Code.”

“TDF will continue to oppose the Bill and all attempts by the government to censor Canadians,” the group warned.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, all debate on Bill C-9, a bill that could open the door to the criminalization of religious expression and belief when quoting certain parts of the Bible, was stopped last week.

Bill C-9 passed the committee phase last Friday and will soon pass third reading in the House of Commons.

TDF was invited to testify before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights regarding Bill C-9. In a brief it filed, the TDF outlined its reasons for opposing the bill.

“Ironically, the government has moved to end debate on issues of public concern for a bill that would end debate on issues of public concern. The Bill empowers prosecutors to bring charges based on the merest suggestion that the impugned conduct is motivated by an ill-defined concept of ‘hatred,’ massively increasing potential jail time and legal jeopardy for defendants,” the TDF noted.

“In our experience, these types of offences tend to be laid against marginalized and working-class people rather than powerful elites and political insiders. However, all Canadians can expect greater digital censorship and increased online police surveillance if the Bill becomes law. We only have to look at the UK example, where police make approximately 12,000 annual arrests for online ‘hate incidents’ under similar legislation.’”

Bill C-9 is a Liberal Party censorship bill that has attracted massive backlash from religious Canadians of many faiths. Once it becomes law, certain protections for sincerely held religious beliefs, particularly regarding LGBT issues, could be removed.

In comments to LifeSiteNews, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) campaigns manager David Cooke warned that Bill C-9 would result in the “prosecution of Canadian Christians” when quoting the Bible on issues of life and family.

The federal government, under Prime Minister Mark Carney, recently passed an amendment to the bill removing a religious exemption, prompting condemnation from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who issued an open letter calling for its removal.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Bill C-9 has been blasted by constitutional experts as allowing empowered police and the government to go after those it deems to have violated a person’s “feelings” in a “hateful” way. The bill was introduced by Justice Minister Sean Fraser last year.

CLC had earlier warned that Bill C-9 would open the door to the “criminalization of religious expression and belief” when quoting the Bible

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‘Hateful’: Lawmakers push dark scheme to make certain Bible verses illegal

Lawmakers are pushing an agenda right now that would threaten free speech and make some of the verses of the Bible illegal to recite, under the guise of “Combatting Hate.”

The work on Bill C-9 in the Canadian parliament has been outlined in a report from the RAIR Foundation, which recorded speeches from a recent rally against the misnamed plan.

While the bill does contain some things that could be helpful in a free society, such as actions targeting displays of terror symbols, limits on “intimidating people” trying to access religious sites, and restrictions on intentionally obstructing someone from entering a place of worship, there remains a problem.

That’s the agenda to strip out a decades-old religious rights protection provision in Canada’s Criminal Code. Under that precedent, there is a “good faith” religious defense, meaning that those expressing sincere religious expression are protected from prosecution for “hate” even if those views offend “prevailing cultural norms,” the report said.

The removal “collapses a critical constitutional firewall and opens the door to politically motivated prosecutions of pastors, rabbis, religious leaders, teachers, parents, and ordinary citizens who refuse to affirm state-mandated gender ideology or other government approved narratives,” the report said.

Transgenderism has become a hot button topic for Democrats and other leftists in the United States since Joe Biden spent his four years in the Oval Office pushing the agenda that fails on basic science. Being male or female is embedded in the human body down to the DNA level and the administration of chemicals or access to body mutilating surgeries does not make that change.

Hundreds rallied, in an event organized by ARPA Canada, against the agenda.

“Speakers at the rally made the stakes unmistakably clear: this debate is not about ‘balancing rights.’ It is about whether Canada will remain a country where citizens can speak biological and theological truths without fear of state punishment—or descend into a regime where government authorities determine which scriptures, facts, and moral convictions are deemed ‘hateful,'” the report said.

The damage already has started, the report said, with a recent case involving former Chilliwack school trustee Barry Neufeld who was ordered to pay $750,000 for publicly affirming that there are only two biological sexes.

The bill has been debated by the House of Commons and sent to committee. From there it will return for a final vote before going to the Senate.

The foundation report warned there would develop a “state-narrative enforcement—a system where dissent from ideological orthodoxy is punished while genuine threats or acts of hatred are ignored.”

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Israel confirms Michigan synagogue attacker’s brother was Hezbollah terrorist commander

The brother of a terrorist who rammed a vehicle into a Michigan Jewish preschool was a Hezbollah commander, Israel Defense Forces have said.

Ayman Muhammad Ghazali, 41, was shot dead after driving the vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., on Thursday.

His brother, Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali, was responsible for managing weapons operations within a specialized branch of Hezbollah’s Badr Unit, the IDF said in a statement Sunday morning.

This unit of the Lebanese terror group is responsible for launching hundreds of rockets toward Israeli civilians throughout the recent war with Iran, the IDF said.

Ghazali’s two brothers, a niece, and a nephew were killed in an Israeli airstrike on March 5 in the town of Mashgharah, Lebanon, just days before the attack, a local official told AP Friday.

The family had sat down for their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when they were struck.

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Armed Muslim Man Wearing Military Gear Arrested After Walking Into Texas Elementary School

An armed Muslim man wearing tactical gear was arrested after walking into an elementary school in Spring, Texas, this week.

The suspect, 39-year-old Kyle Najm Chris, AKA, Muhi Mohanad Najm, walked into Zwink Elementary School on Tuesday after another visitor failed to secure the first set of doors to the school.

Although Najm Chris was able to enter through the first set of doors, the school’s double-door security system blocked him from entering the hallways and approaching the school children.

Klein ISD waited until Wednesday evening to notify parents about the breach.

The school district was reportedly working with the FBI before officers arrested him at his home, 4 miles away from the school.

Najm Chris initially told police he was a security guard; however, he is unemployed and does not hold any certifications or licenses to serve as an officer.

He is being held on a $75,000 bond.

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CNN’s Hack Abby Phillip Forced to Issue Humiliating On-Air Correction After FALSELY Claiming Islamist Terror Attack in NYC Targeted Socialist Mayor Mamdani

Far-left host Abby Phillip was caught red-handed spreading a massive lie this week, forced into a humiliating on-air correction after she shamelessly lied about an Islamist terror attack in New York City.

In a desperate attempt to smear House Republicans, Phillip claimed that an ISIS-linked bombing was targeted at NYC’s socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, the chaos unfolded on Saturday when 18-year-old Amir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Nick, launched homemade bombs during an anti-Islam protest organized by former January 6 political prisoner Jake Lang, who was pardoned by President Trump last year.

According to the New York Post, authorities said the homemade device was constructed using sports drink bottles packed with triacetone triperoxide (TATP)—a highly unstable explosive widely favored by terrorists and often referred to as the “Mother of Satan.”

Federal authorities are digging deeper, revealing that these aren’t just misguided kids; they’re part of a broader network with alarming links to foreign radicals.

Following the attack, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) responded with an extremely provocative comment that infuriated the left: Muslims do not belong in the United States.

“Muslims don’t belong in American society,” Ogles wrote on X. “Pluralism is a lie.”

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Report: Michigan Synagogue Attacker a Lebanese National

The West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, Temple Israel attacker is identified as a Lebanese national, according to reporting by FOX News’s Bill Melugin.

Breitbart News reported that the attacker drove into the Temple Israel building Thursday and was engaged by security and killed. The attacker’s vehicle was registered to a Dearborn, Michigan, resident from Lebanon.

Melugin is now reporting that “DHS confirms to FOX News that the Michigan synagogue attacker has been ID’d as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a Lebanese national who first entered the U.S. in 2011 on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen.”

He noted that Ghazali “was naturalized into a U.S. citizen in 2016 during the Obama administration.”

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UK Councils Tell Schools: Children’s DRAWINGS Could Be Blasphemous Under Islamic Law

In yet another assault on free expression in British classrooms, schools are being instructed by Labour councils to treat kids’ innocent drawings as potential offenses under Islamic interpretations. 

Guidelines warn that depicting humans or prophets could spark blasphemy complaints, forcing teachers to tiptoe around religious sensitivities at the expense of creativity and open education. 

The push comes amid a broader Labour government drive to monitor and suppress any perceived slights against Muslims, turning schools into surveillance outposts rather than places of learning.

The guidance, titled “Sharing the Journey,” originates from northern Labour councils like Leeds, Calderdale, Oldham, and Wakefield, and has been adopted by others including Sefton and Tameside. It explicitly states that “for some Muslim parents, sensitivities may exist in connection with the teaching of aspects of art, dance, drama, music, physical education, religious education and RSHE”.

Teachers are advised: “It is very important that the school understands this and is also careful not to ask its students to reproduce images of Jesus, the Prophet Mohammed or other figures considered to be prophets in Islam. Some Muslim pupils may not wish to draw the human figure.” This stems from hadith interpretations prohibiting images of living beings, viewed as idolatrous by some sects.

The restrictions don’t stop at art. On music, the document notes: “in Islam, music is traditionally limited to the human voice and non-tuneable percussion instruments as in the days of the Prophet, when they were only used in marriage ceremonies and on the battlefield”. It adds that “schools should listen to any concerns, discuss the place of music in the curriculum and ensure that students are not asked to join in songs that conflict with their religious beliefs”. 

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Critics Say New Definition of Anti-Muslim Hostility Is ‘Assault’ on Free Speech

Critics have said that a new UK government definition of anti-Muslim hostility is an “assault” on free speech.

On March 10, the Labour government adopted a new non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility as part of its “Social Cohesion” strategy, aimed at tackling hate crime and strengthening community relations.

The guidance, titled “Protecting What Matters,” sets out a definition intended to help institutions identify and respond what they call to anti-Muslim hatred and discrimination.

The Free Speech Union (FSU) said the initiative could represent an attempt to revive blasphemy-style laws in Britain. The FSU offers legal help to people disciplined or arrested for lawful expression.

“What we are seeing is an attempt to reintroduce Britain’s blasphemy laws, 18 years after they were abolished by Parliament, and the biggest assault on English liberty, particularly free speech, in over 800 years,” it said in a March 10 post on X.

According to the document, the definition, laid out over three paragraphs, says anti-Muslim hostility includes “intentionally engaging in, assisting or encouraging criminal acts—including acts of violence, vandalism, harassment, or intimidation, whether physical, verbal, written or electronically communicated, that are directed at Muslims because of their religion or at those who are perceived to be Muslim, including where that perception is based on assumptions about ethnicity, race or appearance.”

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ADL Orders Advertisers to Bail on Twitter, Calls the Bible an ‘Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory’

The far-left Anti-Defamation League has ordered advertisers to “pause Twitter spending” after accusing the platform’s users, and its new owner Elon Musk, of “antisemitism” and “hate” amidst a surge in free speech. Among the “hate” tweets cited by the ADL is a Bible verse posted to Twitter by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

After a week of back and forth between Elon Musk and the ADL regarding free speech on the Twitter platform, the far-left pressure group that’s increasingly seen as being a Jewish supremacist organization authored a long tweet thread calling on advertisers to ditch the platform.

Allowing free speech, the ADL claimed in the thread, is not only “toxic,” but part of a “hate for profit” scheme.

“Today, we are joining dozens of other groups to ask advertisers to pause Twitter spending because we are profoundly concerned about antisemitism and hate on the platform,” reads the ADL’s initial tweet, authored Friday, November 4th.

“Here’s why we’re asking advertisers to #StopHateForProfit and #StopToxicTwitter,” it went on, introducing the thread that called the Holy Bible an “antisemitic conspiracy theory.”

The ADL’s call for collectively multi-billion dollar advertising sponsors to leave Twitter high and dry came just days after Elon Musk was slammed for groveling to the anti-speech group that threatened “dire consequences” for allowing free speech and re-instating accounts they don’t like.

On Wednesday, Musk announced that he’d met with ADL leadership following their threat, as well as the NAACP, and even members of the Bush political machine.

Musk said at the time that his Twitter platform would continue enforcing anti “hate” and “election integrity” policies at the ADL’s behest.

But, “since that meeting,” the ADL claimed in their tweet thread, “Musk permitted @KanyeWest to start posting again,” which, apparently, is a grave offense.

Among Ye’s tweets that the ADL is most vehemently opposed to is his sharing of Holy Bible verse John 19:19, something the ADL claims is equivalent to posting “antisemitic conspiracy theories.”

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The Satanic Temple working to save Satanists in Ukraine

The Satanic Temple launched an effort to save fellow worshippers of Baphomet in war-torn Ukraine:

“As the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine continues unabated, The Satanic Temple is organizing its networks to ensure TST members trying to flee can reach safety,” the organization posted on its website. “By coordinating donations to pay for transport and accommodations, and strategically locating members who can physically aid refugees, we are doing what we can to assist our members who are caught in the conflict.”

The site called for Ukrainian Satanists to contact them.

Jack Matirko, formerly associated with the  Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and now an advocate for The Satanic Temple, covered the story for Only Sky Media.

“While it is taken for granted that larger religious organizations will be offering aid to members of their communities who need help, we rarely focus on the plights of members of severely marginalized religions, such as Satanism,” Matirko wrote.

Though it is unknown how many, or even if there are any Satanists in Ukraine, Russia has accused several members of the Ukrainian government of worshipping the devil. In 2014, Rossia 24, a state-owned Russian news channel, accused Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchynov of allying with Satanists in a plot to destroy the Russian Orthodox Church. The report claimed that the group had received permission from local authorities to build a church, focusing on footage of a lamb that is apparently about to be slaughtered in a ritual sacrifice. As a Baptist, Turchynov drew suspicion. Yatsenyuk was even worse, accused of practicing Scientology, which the Russian government does not recognize.

It should be noted that there are Satanists on both sides of the conflict. The Satanic Church of Russia began operating in 2013 and received legal recognition on May 10, 2016 

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