Terrorist Attacks against Christians increase 309% in Africa

A statement by Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva explains the terrorist attacks against Christians have increase to 309% in Africa, Middle East and Asia.
In a speech given by the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva, Mons. Silvano Tomasi, he noted that 2.2 billion people face this problem worldwide.

He says that Christians are not the only victims, but the numbers are hard to ignore. About 70 percent of the world's population faces religious restrictions. Terrorist attacks on Christians in Africa, the Middle East and Asia have increased 309 percent between 2003 and 2010.Tomasi said religion is not a threat, but a resource. The problem, he says, rises when governments and extremists consider minority religions harmful and offensive because they differ from a country's main religion.

When it comes to developed countries, mostly in the West, the persecution is not necessarily violent, but cultural. It's usually seen when people face hostility, scorn and even ridicule for their beliefs. It's a situation faced by many, but above all, says Tomasi, by Christians.

British voice behind a call to supports for Somalia's terrorists

Video reports of al-Shabaab battles with Somali forces feature jihadist with London tone of voice. An aggressive Islamist group in Somalia that has declared its allegiance to al-Qa'ida is using a young British man to file video propaganda from the front lines of the country's civil war to try to draw English-speaking Muslims to the Horn of Africa for jihad, The Independent can reveal.

The man, who stays behind the mask throughout his videos, speaks in fluent English with a clear London accent and presents breathless reports of battles that the militant groups have fought against Somali government and foreign forces.Intelligence sources and terrorism experts believe the man was either born in Britain or spent considerable time here and that he may have even had some media training before heading abroad to join the militant network..The Independent has collected at least three videos in which the man features.
The first – which runs for 11 minutes and is titled "African Crusaders" – was released in June 2010 and only contains the man's voice. A second 21 minute long video – "Mogadishu – the Crusader's Graveyard" – was released a month later and shows the young reporter appearing with his face covered in front of burning tank that he claims was destroyed by Islamist fighters.

Pope Benedict XVI condemns religious terrorism in the name of God

POPE Benedict XVI has condemned religiously-motivated terrorism at a meeting with 300 leaders of world religions in Assisi aimed at repudiating violence in the name of God.POPE Benedict XVI said, “We know that terrorism is often religiously motivated and that the specifically religious character of the attacks is proposed as a justification for the reckless cruelty that considers itself entitled to discard the rules of morality for the sake of the intended 'good'.
"This is not the true nature of religion. It is the antithesis of religion and contributes to its destruction," he added during the day of inter religious council held in St Francis of Assisi's birthplace in northern Italy yesterday.

More than 50 Islamic representatives were attending the talks as well as Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, a Zoroastrian, a Bahai and representatives of Taoism, Confucianism and traditional religions from Africa and America.The pontiff admitted that Christians were guilty of having used violence in the name of God in the past."It is true, in the course of history; force has also been used in the name of the Christian faith. We acknowledge it with great shame. But it is absolutely clear that this was an abuse of the Christian faith," he said.He also called on all those present to "try to identify the new faces of violence and discord more closely."The event marks the 25th anniversary of the first interreligious meeting in Assisi, organised by John Paul II in 1986, and is intended to be a "journey of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world". For the first time, four atheists will also attend the meeting, which is being criticized by Catholic fundamentalists who are strongly against the idea of dialogue with other religions.