News

“An evangelical preacher from Northern Ireland who branded Islam satanic has been charged with spreading a ‘grossly offensive’ message. In a May 2014 sermon [broadcast online], James McConnell told worshippers… in Belfast: ‘Islam is heathen. Islam is satanic’” (AP, December 14, 2015). The prosecutor in the case claimed that Mr. McConnell’s comments had “nothing to do with religion or freedom of expression” (ibid.).

“Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that 34 nations have agreed to form a new ‘Islamic military alliance’ to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh… The new counterterrorism coalition includes nations with large and established armies such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt as well as war-torn countries with embattled militaries such as Libya and Yemen.