Author archives: Faith Matters

Turkey widens post-coup purge, demands Washington hand over cleric
July 18, 2016 By Faith Matters

Turkey widens post-coup purge, demands Washington hand over cleric

Turkey purged its police on Monday after rounding up thousands of soldiers in the wake of a failed military coup, and said it could reconsider its friendship with the United States unless Washington hands over a cleric Ankara blames for the putsch. Turkish authorities moved swiftly to retaliate for Friday night’s coup, in which more […]

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Turkey army says it seizes power; Erdogan says: ‘We will overcome this’
July 16, 2016 By Faith Matters

Turkey army says it seizes power; Erdogan says: ‘We will overcome this’

Turkey’s military said on Friday it had seized power but President Tayyip Erdogan vowed that the attempted coup would be put down. If successful, the overthrow of Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003, would be one of the biggest shifts in the Middle East in years, transforming one of the most important U.S. allies […]

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Rabbi Wittenberg Reflects Post Nice On the Value of Life
July 15, 2016 By Faith Matters

Rabbi Wittenberg Reflects Post Nice On the Value of Life

Shalom New North London Erev Shabbat, 9 Tammuz 5776 Friday, 15 July 2016 Dear Community, I’ve just spoken to my colleague David Touboul, rabbi of the Masorti community in Nice. Mercifully, it seems his congregation are safe, though many were nearby when the attack took place. But poor people of Nice. Our thoughts are with […]

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Terrorists Cannot Divide Us
July 15, 2016 By Faith Matters

Terrorists Cannot Divide Us

The murders of over 70 people in Nice as they celebrated Bastille Day, is another shocking reminder of the new tactics being deployed by some in order to spread their hatred and fear into communities. Little is known about the perpetrator and more information will no doubt, come to light. Many of us have visited […]

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Facebook Page to the Murderer of Asad Shah is An Affront to Decency
July 10, 2016 By Faith Matters

Facebook Page to the Murderer of Asad Shah is An Affront to Decency

We were notified last week of a Facebook page to the self-confessed killer of Asad Shah, Tanveer Qadiri. The Facebook page, which has 1,621 ‘Likes’ on it, (as of the 10th of July), glorifies and attracts sympathisers who glorify the killer of Asad Shah who was brutally attacked outside his shop in Glasgow. The attack […]

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Family of killed U.S. journalist Marie Colvin sues Syria
July 10, 2016 By Faith Matters

Family of killed U.S. journalist Marie Colvin sues Syria

The family of American journalist Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a U.S. court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her. Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict, now […]

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Assad tells EU delegation West’s actions in Syria cause terror in Europe
July 10, 2016 By Faith Matters

Assad tells EU delegation West’s actions in Syria cause terror in Europe

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told a visiting group of European parliamentarians on Sunday that western governments’ support for opposition groups in Syria caused terrorism in Europe. “The problems Europe faces today of terrorism, extremism and waves of refugees are caused by some western leaders’ adoption of policies which do not serve their people,” Assad told […]

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Macedonian police arrest four suspected of Islamic State links
July 9, 2016 By Faith Matters

Macedonian police arrest four suspected of Islamic State links

Macedonian police said they arrested four people on Saturday believed to have fought alongside Islamic State insurgents in Syria and Iraq, and were looking for another three. Officers detained the group in the capital Skopje and the city of Tetovo and seized computers, mobile phones and passports, police official Dejana Nedeljkovic told local media. Authorities […]

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Killing of mother in Saudi Arabia sparks debate about Islamic scholar
July 5, 2016 By Faith Matters

Killing of mother in Saudi Arabia sparks debate about Islamic scholar

Driven by radical beliefs, twin brothers allegedly killed their mother in Saudi Arabia after she tried to stop them from joining Islamic State in Syria in a case that outraged Saudi Arabians worried about rising Islamic militancy. The June 24 killing, in a country where respect for elders is seen as a bedrock of society, […]

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Suicide bombers hit three Saudi cities, killing at least four officers
July 5, 2016 By Faith Matters

Suicide bombers hit three Saudi cities, killing at least four officers

Suicide bombers struck three cities across Saudi Arabia on Monday, killing at least four security officers in an apparently coordinated campaign of attacks as Saudis prepared to break their fast on the penultimate day of the holy month of Ramadan. The explosions targeting U.S. diplomats, Shi’ite worshippers and a security headquarters at a mosque in […]

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