Tag: religion

Seattle mayor condemns Christian concert as ‘far-right rally’ after Antifa militants stage violent protest

A Christian rally and concert hosted by the conservative group MAYDAY USA in Cal Anderson Park on Saturday afternoon descended into chaos after Antifa militants showed up to clash with attendees, resulting in 23 arrests.

The event, branded by organizers as the “#DontMessWithOurKids” rally, began around 2 pm and drew the attention of the radicals for its mission, including defending the “sanctity of human life,” “biological gender,” and “freedom of religion.”

Antifa and left-wing counter-protesters showed up in park, the same location of 2020’s deadly Capitol Hill protest (CHOP), accusing MAYDAY USA of promoting “fascist family values” and holding the rally in a historically LGBTQ+ neighborhood to incite a reaction. Protesters, including members of Radical Women Seattle and the Freedom Socialist Party, chanted, sang, and waved signs bearing messages such as “Keep Your Bibles Off Our Bodies.”

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Christian Rally In Seattle Park Attacked By Violent Woke Mob

The year of 2020 was an unmitigated disaster for the US for numerous reasons.  With so many chaotic events happening simultaneously, one can be forgiven if they have completely forgotten about the bizarre CHAZ/CHOP takeover of a section of Seattle by woke activists for around a month.  The protest led to extensive violence and some deaths, but was widely supported by city officials.  It was also a wellspring of hilarious memes as ignorant protesters tried in vain to establish a self sustaining progressive community complete with socialist garden spaces.

Seattle is one of the few leftist enclaves in the US still clinging to the old days of BLM and covid mandates, and they are back in the news again.  This time because of an organized and violent mob attack on a peaceful Christian rally this week at Cal Anderson Park.  The rally, held by a group called Mayday USA, spoke on pro-life issues and against transgender hormones and surgeries for children. 

A group called “Radical Women Seattle” explained their protest of the event:

“Aimed to counter the well-funded anti-trans, anti-queer event that is led by far-right Christian activists. The Mayday USA rally in Seattle is provocatively being held in the heart of the Queer community. It is part of a 5-city national tour. Reactionary preacher and former Spokane Valley state representative Matt Shea, of the “On Fire Ministries,” is one of the prominent supporters…”

Freedom Socialist Party leader Doreen McGrath stated:

“We are encouraging everyone to come out and show their solidarity…Attacks of this kind need to be met with protest every time…”

In other words, a Christian group meeting in a public park is considered an “attack”.

By mid-day the mob engaged in a series of violent actions on the Christian rally, forcing police to intervene.  At least 23 activists were arrested on charges of assault and obstruction. 

After a decade of unhinged woke activism in the US most people are now well aware that the political left’s idea of “free speech” is highly one-sided.  They believe that free speech laws give them the right to disrupt and even violently shut down other people’s free speech.  They think that the 1st Amendment gives them the right to do whatever they want whenever they want.  This is simply not reality.

Furthermore, the political left argues that the right to disrupt is supported by the content of their opponent’s speech.  Meaning, if a person or group is presenting conservative or populist views (what they call “hate speech”), this justifies violence as a tool to shut that speech down. 

This is a very convenient mindset because it allows them to rationalize any malicious tactic.  All they have to do is label their enemies “fascists” and the rules of civil order go out the window.  This is why leftists are unlikely to win a majority of elections at any point in the near future and it’s also why the American public is increasingly tempted to return the favor and visit violence on woke activists.

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DEA Approves Church’s Petition To Use Psychedelics In Religious Ceremonies Without The Need For A Lawsuit

A Washington State church says the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has approved its application for an exception under federal drug laws to use the psychedelic ayahuasca in religious ceremonies—and, for the first time, the agency granted the unique exemption without legal challenges.

The Church of Gaia on Friday said DEA approved a petition for congregants to use ayahuasca under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which was enacted in 2009 to create a pathway for religious organizations to request a carve-out under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

There have been relatively few examples of DEA approving such petitions in the years since—and churches that have sought the exemption have had to engage in litigation against the federal government over their requests. Uniquely, approval for this latest petition was granted without the need for lawsuits, as Mason Marks of Psychedelic Week first reported.

“As the sacrament for the Church of Gaia, Ayahuasca serves as a profound ceremonial tool for accessing spiritual connection and abundance,” Connor Mize, founder of the church, said in a press release. “In pursuing the religious exemption, we aimed to ensure the safety of the church’s members, Indigenous elders, and leaders while protecting the right to practice our sacred ceremonies without persecution. This exemption means the church can fully embrace its religious offerings, including the Ayahuasca ceremonies we’ve long prayed for.”

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Trump’s DOJ Files Federal Lawsuit Against Small Idaho Town for Targeting Evangelical Church

President Trump’s Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against the far-left leadership of Troy, Idaho, accusing the city of blatantly targeting a Christian congregation simply for trying to worship.

The lawsuit, United States v. City of Troy, is a blistering rebuke of how local officials weaponized zoning codes to shut down Christ Church, a growing evangelical church based in neighboring Moscow, Idaho.

Trump’s DOJ alleges that city leaders engaged in open discrimination, suppressing the church’s right to assemble — while allowing secular organizations to flourish in the same exact zone.

Christ Church, with a congregation too large for its Moscow area, sought to expand into Troy.

They tried renting a former bank building downtown to host Sunday services — a common sense solution given the building had been vacant for over a year and had ample street parking.

But after just two services, the city attorney sent a cease-and-desist order. The message was clear: Churches are not welcome in downtown Troy.

The church followed the law, applied for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), and faced nothing short of a hostile inquisition.

City officials opened the floodgates to anti-Christian bigotry during the permit hearing. Opponents called Christ Church “a hate group,” accused it of “grotesque” beliefs, and claimed it would “destroy another Idaho town.”

The council then cited these comments — rooted in religious animus — as part of their decision to deny the church the right to worship.

Under Troy’s zoning code, churches are treated as second-class citizens, requiring a special conditional use permit to operate in the very same downtown district where art galleries, community centers, libraries, and even fraternal organizations are allowed to operate without any permit at all.

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Chicago priest accused of molesting kids makes bombshell claim against Pope Leo

A defrocked priest who was accused of sexually abusing at least 13 children has made a bombshell claim against the new pope. 

Robert Prevost, who was named the new head of the Vatican earlier this month, has been accused of turning a blind eye to the Church’s sexual abuse scandal in Chicago when he served as the head of the Midwest Province of the Catholic Church’s Augustinian order.

Now, former priest James M Ray also claims Prevost signed off on his move to a Hyde Park monastery near a Catholic elementary school – despite the fact that Ray had already been accused of molesting children.

‘He’s the one who gave me permission to stay there,’ Ray recently told the Chicago Sun-Times. 

The priest is included on an Archdiocesan list of accused sexual offenders, which claims he was subject to ‘limited ministry with restrictions’ starting in 1990 following sexual abuse allegations.

Still, he worked for three parishes – and in 2000, the Archdiocese of Chicago stepped in to help him find a place to live where he would not pose a threat to the public.

However, they ultimately let Ray stay for two years at the St. John Stone Friary – which is less than one block from the St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School and across the ally from a child care center. 

The school was never notified that Ray – who has never been convicted of any crime and is not included on any government sex offender registries – was moving into the area, and there is no indication that the child care center was notified either.

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Conservative Surrender: Italy and Switzerland Bow to Islamic Pressure, Ban Free Speech Leader Rasmus Paludan

PAY ATTENTION, AMERICA! If you think being in a conservative-led country or a so-called ‘neutral state’ will protect your right to speak out against radical ideologies, think again.

Human rights activist and Islam critic Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish politician known for his relentless stance on free speech, has once again become the target of government censorship. This time, it happened in Italy, a country supposedly led by conservatives who claim to champion Western values.

Islam – A Subject You Dare Not Speak About

The shocking truth revealed by these incidents is that Islam has become a subject so sensitive that even non-Muslim countries impose blasphemy-like restrictions to appease violent reactions. Rather than confront the problem—an imported crisis fueled by mass Islamic immigration – these countries are instead targeting the critics. It’s safer, they think, to ban the critic rather than face the backlash. This massive problem could have been prevented and even deported, as promised by the supposedly conservative Giorgia Meloni government, which has fallen woefully short of its commitments.

Italy: Conservative-Led, But Not Safe for Islam Critics

Days ago, Rasmus Paludan was stopped at Milan Malpensa Airport and denied entry into Italy. According to Paludan, he was informed by the prefect of Varese that his presence in the country could provoke anger from others. As a result, he was banned from entering Italy for five years.

“I can’t leave the airport. The prefect has decided that since other people will be angry if I’m in Italy, it’s best if I’m not allowed into the country for five years,” Paludan told RAIR Foundation.

This decision raises troubling questions about the state of free speech and the willingness of conservative governments to bow to potential threats instead of upholding the right to criticize any ideology. Instead of deporting the violent threats, Italy finds it easier to block the critic, revealing a cowardly capitulation to potential violence rather than an enforcement of democratic principles.

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Exposed: NHS manager accused of Rushdie-style fatwa death threat over ‘insult to Mohammed’

An Islamist extremist working at one of London’s most famous hospitals has been suspended after being accused of issuing a fatwa-style death threat for blasphemy.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that NHS employee Omar Abdallah Mansuur, 39 – an influential imam – faces claims that he decreed a fellow Muslim should get the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Mohammed.

His broadcast was made to tens of thousands of followers and is thought to be the first time a cleric in Britain has made such a threat.

The terrified victim, now in hiding in Europe, has been warned by police that it is too dangerous for him to visit the UK. ‘It is a living nightmare,’ he said last night. ‘My life is at risk and I am constantly looking over my shoulder.’

But last night, Mansuur denied issuing a death threat, saying he merely stated the Islamic punishment for blasphemy.

In some of his inflammatory diatribes, Mansuur appears on video from inside St Thomas’ Hospital – directly across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament – where he works in procurement.

One sequence shows him going into the hospital via an underground entrance and walking along a corridor before sitting down in an office.

Staff describe bespectacled Mansuur, a British national of Somali origin who lives in North London with his wife and children, as unassuming and polite. But his social media profiles tell a different story.

Using TikTok, Facebook and X, he reaches millions of followers with his hate-filled videos and live broadcasts.

On Friday, after the MoS passed on its evidence, the hospital said Mansuur had been suspended pending an investigation.

Yair Cohen, a lawyer representing the victim, said: ‘I am calling for immediate and decisive action to protect my client.

‘Police forces seem able to swiftly arrest people for far less serious social media activity.’

The National Secular Society said: ‘It’s appalling that here in the UK, Islamists are calling for the death of supposed blasphemers or those who leave Islam. The police and counter-extremism authorities must take this threat seriously, and people who incite murder against those who they see as offending their religion must face justice.’

In one broadcast, Mansuur says of the 32-year-old moderate imam, whom he accuses of making offensive remarks about the Prophet: ‘When he repents, he will be put to death in the manner Muslims are killed. If he refuses to repent he will be caught, killed, then thrown in a hole like a dog.’

The death threat victim vehemently denies insulting Islam and insists comments he made on social media were doctored. The Metropolitan Police said it had referred his complaint to police in the country in which he is hiding.

The target of the ‘fatwa’ told the Met in a statement that he fears he will suffer the same fate as French teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded near his school in Paris in 2020 after hate campaigners accused him of showing a cartoon of the Prophet to students.

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Christian camps sue Colorado for gender identity rules as state faces SCOTUS trifecta of losses

Coloradans with religious objections to same-sex marriage and gender ideology may have thought they could escape compelled affirmation of the state religion on these subjects as long as they weren’t creative professionals or didn’t send their kids to public school.

Then the Centennial State came for Christian summer camps.

Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je Association – whose name refers to the hymn “I’d Rather Have Jesus” – sued the leaders of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and its Division of Early Learning Licensing and Administration to block new childcare licensing rules that force it to treat children by gender identity rather than sex in its camps.

Regulators denied its request for a religious exemption from those rules – while having granted an “undue hardship” exemption since 2017 for the height of its “playground equipment” – even though the department grants a wide array of exemptions including to camps.

The association believes some licensees have received “categorical” exemptions and asked for the same under the “special school or class in religious instruction” exemption, but the department said that exemption isn’t applicable to it, according to the suit.

The result is the association must “surrender its religious character, beliefs, and exercise” by letting 6- to 17-year-olds use “restrooms, shower facilities, dressing areas, and sleeping facilities designated for the opposite sex” or lose its license of 30 years, the suit alleges.

It’s seeking a judicial declaration that enforcing gender-identity regulations against the association violates the First Amendment free exercise and establishment clauses and 14th Amendment equal protection clause, and preliminary and permanent injunctions against tying its childcare license to following those rules or abandoning its religious views.

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How Beijing’s 1995 Disappearance of the Panchen Lama Enabled Crimes Against Humanity

Thirty years ago today, Chinese authorities disappeared a six-year-old Tibetan boy and his family. They haven’t been heard from since – but the impunity enjoyed by the Chinese government continues to fuel threats to religious freedom, collective punishment, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detention. 

In early 1995, the Dalai Lama identified a young boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the incarnation of the Panchen Lama, Tibetan Buddhism’s second highest-ranking monk. But the government, then headed by Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin, refused to acknowledge the Dalai Lama’s decision, and identified another child for the role. To prevent Tibetans from becoming loyal to the boy chosen according to religious traditions, authorities opted to abduct him and his family. 

But this story didn’t end in 1995: the genuine Panchen Lama and his family are far from Beijing’s only Tibetan victims of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention. Databases of Tibetans wrongfully detained currently reflect grim descriptions: “life imprisonment,” “forcible disappearance,” and, chillingly, “no further information.” Chinese government restrictions on information make definitive conclusions difficult, but research that likely underestimates counts of political prisoners shows that while Tibetans comprise only half a percent of China’s total population, they made up 8 percent of all prisoners of conscience sentenced between 2019 and 2024.

In 2017, United Nations human rights experts tasked with tracking arbitrary detention assessed the case of Tashi Wangchuk, a Tibetan shopkeeper, and determined that he had been wrongfully detained for his wholly legal advocacy in support of Tibetan-medium education. In the same decision the experts also argued that the scope and scale of such abuses across China might be so great such that they might constitute a crime against humanity. 

It is possible Beijing will never clarify how, let alone how many, Tibetans have died in state custody. Even in high-profile cases authorities have refused to provide the remains of and key information to family and religious community members. The body of revered monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who died in July 2015 after being tortured in prison, was swiftly cremated, preventing an investigation. Questions are swirling about Tulku Hunkar Dorjee, a well-known monk who fled political pressure to Vietnam, where he died under highly questionable circumstances in April 2025; he too was cremated without family consent, but with Chinese officials present.

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Gay imam who performed same-sex marriages in South Africa murdered in suspected hate crime

A South African imam known advocating LGBTQ+ inclusion within Islam was shot and killed in what some suspect to be a hate crime. The imam had performed same sex marriages and was reportedly the world’s first openly gay imam.

Imam Muhsin Hendricks, an imam who had performed same-sex marriages in South Africa, according to Breitbart, was fatally attacked on Saturday near Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth. Authorities say unknown assailants in a pickup truck blocked his vehicle before two masked individuals opened fire.

According to the BBC, local police said, “Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle.”

The Muslim Judicial Council condemned the killing, stating, “While police are still investigating the motive, speculation suggests it may be linked to Hendricks’ views on same-sex relationships.” The organization emphasized that “the sanctity of human life is a fundamental tenet of Islam” and denounced violence against any community.

Executive director at the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association Julia Ehrt is calling on authorities to investigate “what we fear may be a hate crime.”

“He supported and mentored so many people in South Africa and around the world in their journey to reconcile with their faith, and his life has been a testament to the healing that solidarity across communities can bring in everyone’s lives,” she said.

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