Terror Accused Shared Virgins of Paradise Song, Court Told

A Cardiff man has gone on trial accused of sharing a terrorist song entitled Virgins Of Paradise. Zakaria Afey, 20, from St Mellons, allegedly disseminated the nasheed poem on January 12 2017. He is also accused of having the terrorist manual How To Survive In The West on May 15 2017. Opening his trial, prosecutor […]

New Zealand ‘Pastafarians’ tie knot in first recognised wedding

Donned in eye-patches and a spaghetti bridal headdress, two New Zealanders have celebrated the first legally recognised ‘Pastafarian’ marriage on board a pirate ship, in a milestone of recognition for the bizarre global ‘religion’. The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose stated beliefs are in a god made of spaghetti, have amassed followers around […]

How do you balance between free speech and criticism of religion?

When Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of The Prophet Mohammed early in 2015 there was a violent and deadly backlash. The magazine’s office were invaded and several employees were murdered in cold blood. A few years ago a Danish magazine published other cartoons and there was a vociferous Muslim outcry. These and other events have prompted many commentators, comedians and controllers of various media to speak in defence of the ‘freedom of speech’. Why should they restrain themselves when discussing Islam? A new phrase ‘self-censorship’ has been coined and applies explicitly to matters with a Muslim and Islamic links. The implication is that commentators are being asked by the state or the establishment voluntarily to impose restrictions on what they say. Let me say from the outset that I am not a Muslim but I have a personal interest in the history of religious practices and from that an interest in interfaith issues. Until late in life I had no idea what about Islam. Like many older people, my religious education did not introduce Islam as a religion, but from history I learned that Moors were ‘alien invaders’ spreading across North Africa until they were halted in Spain by Christians. My [...]

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What is the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and commemorates the creation of the Earth. During this two day celebration, the traditional greeting “L’shanah tovah”… “for a good New Year” rings loud among members of Jewish communities. Ancient Hebrews relied upon the Torah, which celebrated it on the “seventh month” or Nisan. Passover also begins in Nisan. Today, Rosh Hashanah falls between September and October (or Tishrei). Jews believe that God weighs a person’s good and bad deeds over the previous year, and decides what the year ahead will bring. God records this information in the Book of Life. God seals this book on the festival of Yom Kippur. Rabbi Jonathan Romain, noted that the Book of Life created a  ‘theological catastrophe’ that created false assumptions and blame upon God for human deeds. Romain pointed to Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 3.19 to remind Jews of their free will and agency in decisions that impact the year ahead. Rabbi Naftali Brawer reflected that this time of year creates of a paradox of comfort and fear under God’s scrutiny. He wrote “It is frightening, because under God’s scrutiny there is no place to hide. Indeed, this is the major theme of the [...]

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