Tag: religion

Texas governor declares Muslim civil rights group a terrorist organization

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday declared one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S. a “foreign terrorist organization” under a proclamation that he said allows the state to try shutting them down.

He also designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations “a transnational criminal organization” and said it would not be allowed to buy land in the state. The proclamation also included the Muslim Brotherhood.

Neither the CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood are designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.

CAIR told Abbott in a letter that his announcement had no basis “in law or fact.” The group accused his office of stoking “anti-Muslim hysteria.”

“You do not have the authority to unilaterally declare any Americans or American institutions terrorist groups, nor is there any basis to level this smear against our organization,” wrote Robert S. McCaw, CAIR’s government affairs director.

Months ago, Texas Republicans moved aggressively to try to stop a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas. Abbott and other GOP state officials launched investigations into the development tied to the East Plano Islamic Center, saying the group is trying to create a Muslim-exclusive community that would impose Islamic law.

EPIC City representatives called the attacks about Islamic law and other assertions misleading, dangerous and without merit. Earlier this year, the Justice Department closed a federal civil rights investigation into the planned community without filing any charges or lawsuits.

In his proclamation, Abbott cited a law he signed this year that he said prohibits “foreign adversaries” from purchasing or acquiring land. The Republican author of that bill praised the governor’s declaration.

“Today proves exactly why that law was needed,” Republican state Rep. Cole Hefner posted on X.

The Muslim Brotherhood was established in Egypt nearly a century ago and has branches across the world. Its leaders say it renounced violence decades ago and seeks to set up Islamic rule through elections and other peaceful means. Critics, including autocratic governments across the Mideast region, view it as a threat.

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Italian Court Orders Google to Restore Banned Catholic Blog

Google has been compelled by the Tribunale di Imperia to restore Messainlatino.it, a major Italian Catholic website that, as you may remember, the company had abruptly taken down from its Blogger platform in July.

The ruling, issued against Google Ireland Limited, the firm’s European branch, also requires payment of approximately €7,000 (about $8,100) in court costs.

The blog’s editor, Luigi Casalini, filed legal action after Google deleted the site without warning, claiming a violation of its “hate speech” rules.

The company’s notification consisted of a short, generic email and provided no explanation or chance to appeal.

For Casalini, whose publication had accumulated over 22,000 articles since 2008 and reached around one million monthly readers, the removal appeared to be less a matter of policy enforcement and more an attempt to silence dissenting religious opinion.

Messainlatino.it was well known for covering issues surrounding traditional Catholic liturgy and had been cited by major outlets.

Following Google’s action, questions were raised in both the European Parliament and Italy’s Chamber of Deputies.

Legislators noted that the deletion “raises serious questions about the respect for freedom of expression, speech and religion” as guaranteed by Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

They also pointed to the Digital Services Act (DSA), which, despite being a censorship law, obliges platforms to apply their moderation policies with “due regard” for fundamental rights.

Casalini’s legal case focused on that provision. He argued that Google’s decision breached Article 14 of the DSA, which calls for a balance between policy enforcement and the user’s right to free expression.

As Casalini stated to LifeSiteNews, “Google acted in this way in violation of the Digital Services Act.”

Google responded through five lawyers based in Milan. The company claimed that an interview with Bishop Joseph Strickland, who opposed the ordination of women as deacons, violated its hate speech policy.

When the defense team countered that the post merely reported the bishop’s words and contained no discriminatory content, Google’s attorneys maintained in court documents that “it does not matter the source, more or less authoritative (bishop, Pontiff) of the post, if it violates the Policy.”

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MN: Half of Islamic immigrants found to have committed Ilhan-style immigration fraud…

ABC 5 in Minnesota just aired a story that should be front-page news across the country, but of course, it’s barely making a ripple. Nearly half of all Islamic immigrants reviewed during a Department of Homeland Security sweep in Minnesota were found to have committed some form of fraud: immigration fraud, marriage fraud, tax fraud, loan fraud, bribery, forgery, perjury, bigamy, and even incest.

And yes, if this all sounds a little familiar, it’s because a certain Minnesota congresswoman has faced her own allegations of immigration fraud, too.

The rumors have been swirling for years now.

But Ilhan doesn’t seem the least bit bothered. She’s brushed all of it off, saying she doesn’t care; deport her if they want, she can live anywhere.

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Vienna Teachers Warn Of Rising Radical Attitudes Among New Immigrant Students

Viennese teachers are reporting growing challenges with students from immigrant backgrounds who are increasingly unwilling to learn German or adapt to local values, according to teachers’ union representative Thomas Krebs of the Christian Trade Unionists Group (FCG).

Speaking to Heute, Krebs said many of those arriving from conflict or crisis regions now bring radical beliefs that pose problems in Austrian classrooms.

“In the past, people fled from extremism. Now, many people come to us radicalized by extremism and spread these ideas here as well,” said Krebs.

He cited incidents of female teachers being disrespected or assaulted by male students and parents, saying such behavior reflects imported attitudes that reject gender equality.

“This disrespect ranges from refusing to shake hands to insults and physical assaults,” he added.

Krebs said the problem also affects staff relations, with reports of some male teachers refusing to shake hands with female colleagues for similar reasons. He warned that children from Western or secular families are sometimes treated as inferior by classmates, while those from conservative backgrounds who wish to integrate face pressure to conform.

“Students from Western cultural backgrounds are not seen as equals,” Krebs said, adding that liberal democratic values are often dismissed in favor of religious rules.

According to the union, teachers frequently encounter resistance to Austria’s educational standards.

“Our educational principles are often rejected. For example, religious content is prioritized over the content of the curriculum prescribed by Austrian law,” Krebs stated.

The FCG union is calling for new measures to address what it describes as a widening integration gap. It wants not only mandatory German-language instruction but also compulsory integration programs held outside of school, with attendance monitored by authorities.

“Effective teaching is only possible if there is also a willingness to integrate,” Krebs said. “The values of our democratic society must be conveyed in such a way that fundamental rights and culture are understood as an enrichment and not opposed.”

Recent data and testimony have reinforced concerns about language barriers and integration in Vienna’s schools. Of the roughly 16,700 first-graders enrolled in the city, more than 44 percent — about 7,400 children — do not have sufficient German skills to follow lessons. In the 2018/2019 school year, the proportion was 30 percent. Officials note that around 60 percent of these students were actually born in Austria, suggesting that many are growing up in what commentator Andreas Mölzer described as “closed parallel societies that simply refuse integration.”

“This means they grow up in families and closed parallel societies that simply refuse integration. Integration into our social system and our cultural fabric depends primarily on language acquisition,” Mölzer wrote in the Austrian daily Krone, warning that many such children risk “entering life without a qualification and with limited career prospects.”

Statistics from Austria’s middle schools show the same pattern. According to STATcube last October, only about 8,500 of Vienna’s 26,800 middle school students use German as their primary language, while 76 percent speak another language at home. In some districts, including Margareten, Hernals, and Alsergrund, that figure exceeds 90 percent.

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Unmasked, the most prolific sex offender in British history who raped HUNDREDS of boys in paedophile ring ‘involving a magistrate and police officer’- at borstal where abuse of 2,000 victims was covered up

Britain’s most prolific sex offender was able to rape and torture boys at a borstal where abuse was ‘ignored and dismissed’ by the prison service, police and the Home Office. 

Neville Husband led a reign of terror where he and other staff systematically raped and abused hundreds of young men and boys who they were supposed to be helping.

A damning report released today lays bare the horrors which took place at Medomsley Detention Centre – where Husband worked as a caterer – in County Durham between 1961 and 1987.

The report today brands Husband – who died in 2010 – ‘possibly the most prolific sex offender in British criminal history’. 

The scale of offending would surpass even the likes of Jimmy Savile, with the prison ombudsman’s investigation revealing that the ‘voracious’ sexual predator would often target two or three young men every day during his 16 years at Medomsley. 

More than 2,000 young men and boys say they were sexually and physically abused at the former Victorian orphanage over nearly three decades. 

And the appalling crimes were covered up to such an extent that Husband was even given the Imperial Service Medal for his role in prison services and was welcomed into a church as a minister.

Victims also claimed they were taken to a ‘posh house’ to be abused by Husband and several other men. One claimant said the magistrate who sent him to Medomsley was present at the house. It is alleged a local serving prison officer was also involved in the abuse. 

The scathing report from the Prisons Ombudsman, Operation Deerness, unearthed the ‘widespread physical and sexual abuse’ at the facility, which was fuelled by ‘a familiarity with violence’ towards young offenders.  

From the moment detainees arrived at the centre, they were physically abused and introduced to the ‘short, sharp, shock’ punishment that became embedded as practice at the facility.

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‘Devout Christian’ Dem caught following prostitutes, OnlyFans models on social media

He was reading from the book of lurk.

Texas Democrat James Talarico, a self-professed “devout Christian,” has been following prostitutes and porn stars on social media, even exchanging messages with some of the busty women, a new bombshell report revealed.

The four-term House rep. follows at least 10 accounts belonging to OnlyFans models, adult film actresses or escorts.

The Texas Dem, who represents the Lone Star State’s 50th district, is running to unseat Sen. John Cornyn next year, and is competing in his state’s primary against ex-Rep. Colin Allred

Talarico, who is also a seminary student, liked multiple photos posted by at least one of the sexpots and even exchanged private messages with another flesh peddler who describes herself as a “bit of a glamour-puss,” the outlet found. 

“Thank you, Alice!” Talarico, 36, wrote to OnlyFans model Alice Greczyn after she tagged him in a story, according to a screenshot released by his campaign.

“Thank YOU! Really appreciate your work. It heartens me to see there are politicians like you,” Greczyn responded.

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Onward Christian Soldiers

Somewhere between New York’s Studio 54 disco and the White House, Donald Trump became infused by militant Christianity. At the same time, he also seems to have been imbued by the most extreme, far-right Zionism.

Politics do odd things. Trump may espouse a lot of oddball causes, but he’s no fool. He lives and breathes politics.

This week’s political rabbit out of the hat is, of all places, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nations, with 232 million rambunctious people. As with many of today’s world problems, Nigeria was a creation of British imperialism. The British took a very large swathe of West Africa comprising all sorts of peoples, religions and tribes, drew a line around its borders, and called it Nigeria.

Northern Nigeria, which abuts the Sahara, was predominantly Muslim. Southern Nigeria, where vast stores of oil were eventually discovered, became largely Christian thanks to intense British missionary activity. The two huge communities occasionally squabble or fight, most often over land disputes, cattle rusting and kidnapping of women.

This behavior is common all over West and Southern Africa. Its victims number less than black people killed each year in Chicago’s endemic urban violence.

It’s nonsense to say Nigeria is racked by anti-Christian violence. The tribal conflict that it suffers is small-time violence whose numbers and severity have long been played up by fundamentalist Christians in the United States who preach holy war against Muslims everywhere. Most of these militant Christian fundamentalists look at Trump as a second savior. He has carefully cultivated this image.

The Christian far right is a key component of Trump’s supporters. The late far-right Christian advocate, Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated was a key spokesman for Trump’s Christian moment. The Christian Right has long been focused on Africa, raising funds for anti-Islamic causes. The most notable were efforts to break the regions of Darfur from Sudan in 2018, and the current conflict in the same region as Sudan is being pulled apart.

Most impressive was US support in 2011 for secessionist, primarily Christian South Sudan – another oil rich area. South Sudan broke away with US help from Sudan, then proceeded to fall into tribal chaos and banditry. Christian groups in America had urged on this dismemberment of Sudan and even, in some cases, supplied arms to the south Sudanese rebels.

Many fundamentalist Christian voters get much of their world news from the propaganda mill at Fox News or church-issued news bulletins. Many approve Trump’s proposal that US troops be sent to Nigeria to succor Christians without being able to locate Nigeria on a map. All this fits in with efforts by the Trump administration to vilify Muslims in general or ban them from the US.

Let’s hope the 82nd Airborne Division is not about to be dropped onto Abuja Nigeria on some sort of later-day Crusader mission to please the folks in Biloxi, Mississippi. Trump vowed no more Third World wars (China excepted) and now he’s stepping right into one of totally unpredictable outcome and no sense whatsoever. Some in the White House are urging Trump to conquer all the world’s oil producers. He wants to be King of Oil on top of king of most everything else.

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California Teachers Forced into LGBTQ ‘Loyalty Test’ that Labels Christian Beliefs as Bigotry

In accordance with a recently passed law in 2023, the California school system is now requiring all 7th–12th-grade teachers and certificated school employees to undergo annual LGBTQ “cultural competency” training and testing. Developed by activist organizations, the training labels those with traditional Christian beliefs about sexuality and biological sex as “homophobic” or “transphobic.” It instructs employees to protect students’ “privacy” from their own parents and to use so-called “preferred pronouns” such as they/them or ze/zem. The training concludes with a test to ensure school employees repeat the state-approved beliefs about sexual orientation and gender ideology. (Image via Pixabay)

An alarmed former elementary school principal, Brett Loring, and current Director of Student Services at a TK–8 district in Northern California, is one of several concerned Christian educators who have reached out to the California Family Council. “It’s not training; it’s programming,” Loring said. “It’s telling teachers what to think and how to respond to students, no matter what their own beliefs or the parents’ beliefs are.”

The curriculum, mandated by the California Safe and Supportive Schools Act, AB 5 and AB 130, was funded with $2.4 million in taxpayer dollars. These funds support online courses designed by LGBTQ advocacy groups in partnership with the California Department of Education and the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Organizations such as the ACLU, Equality California, the Trevor Project, OUT for Safe Schools, the California Teachers Association, and the California State PTA helped craft the training outline—called PRISM—but school board members and parents have struggled to access the full material.

CFC has spoken with several school board members who have been denied access to PRISM training in their districts. One Southern California school board member was even told by his superintendent that the Department of Education will not allow school board members to view the material.

Recently, however, CFC obtained a recording of a teacher taking the LGBTQ “cultural competency” training and final exam as promoted by AB 5 and PRISM. While the PRISM website allows districts to create their own “substantially similar” version of the course, the content must still meet the same ideological standards. (read the ED code for details) Yet since the PRISM online training is free to school districts, it is assumed most school boards will opt for the no-cost version.

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‘Most prolific pedophile priest.’ New suit resurfaces notorious Florida case

A new lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Miami has revived a notorious case involving a former Catholic priest convicted of a string of sex offenses more than a decade ago.

The most recent lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in June, is only the latest accusing the Catholic Church of failing to protect multiple underage boys from Neil Doherty, a serial sexual abuser who was employed by the archdiocese as a priest from 1969 until 2002, when he was removed.

“He is probably the most prolific pedophile priest in U.S. history. He sexually abused, we think, thousands of kids over the course of about 40 years,” said Daniel Ellis, senior lead attorney at Herman Law, the firm representing a victim identified only as John Doe 8 to protect his privacy.

According to the lawsuit, Doherty groomed and raped the victim around 1995, when he was around 16 years old. The alleged abuse happened multiple times in Doherty’s residence in the mid-1990s.

The lawsuit comes decades after the abuse took place and after Doherty was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in Florida prison in 2013.

At least four other civil lawsuits naming seven plaintiffs (John Doe 1-7) have been filed against the archdiocese in the past five years, naming Doherty as the primary abuser and seeking “compensatory damages” for the years of inflicted “emotional distress.” The more recent cases against Doherty appear to have been settled, though the law firm would not discuss details of those settlements.

In 2006, the Miami Herald reported that the church settled six civil suits, including two against Doherty, for $750,000.

In a statement to the Miami Herald, the archdiocese said it is “in the process of responding to a lawsuit involving allegations of sexual abuse of a minor by a former priest that occurred over twenty-nine years ago.”

“As always, the Catholic Church’s concerns are for the victims and a prevailing sense of justice and healing,” the statement said.

The archdiocese said that Doherty was “permanently removed from active ministry within the Archdiocese and the universal Catholic Church in April 2002,” and since the disgraced and defrocked priest has been named in multiple lawsuits.

“As is the Archdiocese’s practice, any allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest is immediately reported to the appropriate State Attorney’s Office in Monroe, Miami-Dade, or Broward County,” the statement said.

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Islam in America: Sanctioned Intolerance and Indifference

When prejudice targets Black, Jewish, or Latino communities, Americans respond with collective outrage. But bigotry against Muslims? It’s far less taboo and routinely brushed aside – even openly condoned in certain circles. Islamophobia isn’t fringe; it’s woven into the fabric of American society and etched into its national identity.

With few avenues for recourse, millions of Muslim Americans have grown accustomed to thickening their skin and weathering the backlash stemming from their faith – a belief practiced by nearly two billion people worldwide, a quarter of humanity. Why is such blatant partiality tolerated? Is Islamophobia truly born of fear, as its name suggests, or have Americans been conditioned by political and foreign interests determined to barricade the U.S. from the Muslim world?

I have witnessed this reality firsthand since the fall of 2001 – at the onset of a career in federal law enforcement that intersected with a personal relationship that would forever reshape my life. On the morning of 9/11, I was driving to the Pentagon for scheduled interviews as a background investigator, unaware of how profoundly that week would alter both history and my ideology. At the time, I knew little about Islam, but days later I would meet – and eventually marry – a Palestinian-American whose perspective enlightened my understanding of faith, humanity, and the world’s uneven balance of power.

Structural bias against Muslims is especially entrenched within military, intelligence, and law enforcement sectors. While employed as a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, I’ll never forget attending a terrorism seminar hosted by former CIA officials who propagated widespread misconceptions about Islam: that Muslims sought the annihilation of all Jews and Christians, that martyrs were literally promised “72 virgins,” and that Muslim women were universally oppressed – forced to wear hijab, denied higher education, and coerced into arranged marriages. Yet through my wife, colleagues, and countless Muslim families I’ve known for decades – the reality is quite the contrary. Muslim households are like any others, with women often serving as the anchors that hold the family unit together.

Over the past twenty-five years, I’ve recognized dynamics that are part of a larger-scale phenomenon: Islamophobia has evolved from individual prejudice into institutionalized bias – embedded in communities, workplaces, government agencies, and the media alike. Policies framed as patriotism or security measures routinely single out Muslim Americans, while political rhetoric and news coverage reinforce caricatures that bear little resemblance to reality. This is not merely ignorance or fear – it is systemic, sustained because it serves political, geopolitical, and territorial interests.

That distorted perception permeates institutions and communities alike: mosques, like other minority places of worship, are routinely subjected to harassment and vandalism. Yet unlike attacks on other religious communities, these incidents rarely prompt meaningful accountability, and public response is strikingly muted. According to the ACLU, “anti-Muslim sentiment has spiked” in recent years. Rawand Abdelghani, a board member at the Nueces Mosque in Austin, Texas, noted, “Since October 2023, we’ve definitely seen a rise in Islamophobia.” This prejudice, more than any other, has become America’s tolerated bigotry.

Further illustrating this resentment, coordinated efforts to block the construction of new mosques have emerged across the United States – prompting an uncomfortable question: would the same tactics be used to obstruct the building of new synagogues or churches?

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