Leith Community portal, edinburgh, eh16, Leith, Persevere

source-The Gathering Storm

Hundreds of people have attended a wedding in central Somalia between a man who says he is 112 years old, and his teenage wife. for more click here

National governments should be wary of “over-legislation” when it comes to religious criticism and incitement, warned the UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.

Furthermore, education and dialogue among religious leaders and youth of different faiths is more effective at reducing religious tensions than blasphemy laws, Asma Jahangir told the press Tuesday after presenting her latest report to the General Assembly’s Third Committee. for more click here

On Thursday night, former Army Sgt. Sam Provance received a letter of commendation from Common Cause – signed by former President Jimmy Carter and 15,000 others – for his “uncommon courage in defending the rule of law and standing up against torture.” for more click here

The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), which is made up of 57 Muslim nations, met in April to discuss establishing an independent human rights commission. The OIC Secretary-General stated, “Human rights and man’s dignity are an integral part of Islam and core components of Islamic culture and heritage.” The OIC already has its own Declaration of Human Rights (1990 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam), which expresses the central place of sharia law in the Islamic perspective on human rights, specifically in Articles 24 and 25 which state “all the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari’ah” and “the Islamic Shari’ah is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the articles of this Declaration.” Sharia contradicts a number of elements of human rights laid down in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and thus the Cairo Declaration is all but meaningless as a guarant ee of “human rights” in the sense understood by the modern Western world.

• Pray for the UN, that it may bring pressure to bear on the OIC to conform to international standards of human rights. Pray that the difference between “human rights” according to sharia and human rights according to the normal non-Muslim understanding would become widely known.

• Pray for Christians and other religious minorities in Muslim countries, that they may be protected from further violations of their human rights, such as religious liberty, especially the freedom to choose one’s faith.

source-Barnabas Aid

Here in the United States, we haven’t heard much about the impact of VAWA-style laws in other countries. In fact, the recognition that domestic violence is not a gender or political issue is dawning worldwide.

In the UK, they are well ahead of Americans, as they have already begun to insist that shelters and domestic violence services that are publicly supported must provide equal services to men and women both. for more click here

More than 250,000 racist incidents have been reported in schools since 2002, with staff forced to investigate every case, a report has found.

Young children are being branded racist before they even know what the term means and playground spats are being turned into full-blown racial incidents.

Teachers are also being made to operate like police officers, filling in forms about name-calling and jokes, the report claims. for more click here

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared herself on Monday against the institution of an “defamation” of the religions, judging the freedom of religion and the freedom of expression both in the same way indispensable. for more click here

Some dismissed him as a scholarly shadow after the charismatic and warm John Paul II. Others, including in this corner, have been concerned about his seeming insensitivity to Holocaust-related issues (he has since demonstrated magnanimity and public contrition). In fact, Pope Benedict XVI has now demonstrated a particular shrewdness, applauded here, that potentially grows his Church and secures all of us from a common foe. for more click here

Muslim mob in Michigan surrounds and attacks Christians. Video. for click here