Pope Francis touches the wall that divides Israel from the West Bank, on his way to celebrate Mass in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on May 25, 2014.
A three-day summit of Vatican ambassadors from the Middle East and North Africa, called upon by Pope Francis to discuss persecution of Christians by Islamist extremists in the region, concluded this weekend with a call for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reaffirmation of military force against ISIS.
Vatican envoys from Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Libya, the Palestinian territories, Syria and Turkey met in the Vatican for three days to discuss how persecution of Christian minorities in the region could be better prevented.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia have ignited a "time bomb" by funding the global spread of radical Islam, according to a former commander of British forces in Iraq.
General Jonathan Shaw, who retired as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff in 2012, told The Telegraph that Qatar and Saudi Arabia were primarily responsible for the rise of the extremist Islam that inspires Isil terrorists.
Attacks on Church in East Jerusalem Grow More Intense
Palestinian militants seek to stop ministry and seize property, Christians say.
By Our Middle East Correspondent
ISTANBUL, Turkey, September 30, 2014 (Morning Star News) – In the latest of several attacks on a congregation in East Jerusalem, young men with ties to a Palestinian militant group wired shut a church door and sprayed a gaseous substance at those inside hours before dawn on Monday (Sept. 29), church sources said.
The former prime minister warns a global campaign to defeat the forces of radical Islam will take a generation.
Tony Blair has told Sky News that radical Islam is a "global problem" that will take a generation to defeat.
Speaking to Sky's Adam Boulton from New York, the former prime minister said defeating the forces of radical Islam will need a "global response".
"I think President Obama is doing absolutely the right thing in assembling the broadest alliance against Isis," Mr Blair said, referring to Islamic State militants.
"(But) even if we deal with this Isis group, you've got a plethora of these types of groups, not just in the Middle East but in North Africa and elsewhere in the world.
"Looking at this broader issue of radical Islam ... this is a global problem.
Although it is unlikely the movement will be banned in the UK, it is highly speculated that restrictions will be put on the group especially by the Charity Commission.
World Bulletin / News Desk
The United Kingdom is on the verge of introducing curbs on the Muslim Brotherhood and organizations linked to it after senior diplomat and ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sir John Jenkins, filed a report raising concerns over their connections to 'extremist' groups in the Middle-East.
Australia raids Islamic center, arrests two for militant links
Agence France-Presse, Brisbane, Australia Wednesday, 10 September 2014
Australian police Wednesday raided an Islamic center and seized two men for alleged involvement in recruiting and sending militants to Syria.
The raids involving 180 police came a day after the country’s spy chief said he was “actively considering” raising the terror threat level over Australians’ involvement in overseas militant groups.
Australian Federal Police said the men, aged 21 and 31, were arrested for terrorism offences, alleging they were “involved in recruiting, facilitating and funding people to travel to Syria to engage in hostile activities”.
Christian, Hindu in Custody in Pakistan on Accusation of Defiling Koran
Family of convert from Hinduism says Muslims retaliating for refusal to convert to Islam.
By Our Pakistan Correspondent
LAHORE, Pakistan, September 9, 2014 (Morning Star News) – Police in Pakistan have taken into custody a Christian convert from Hinduism and his Hindu co-worker for allegedly burning a Koran and a chart of Koranic verses.
Isis: British women led by Aqsa Mahmood 'running sharia police unit for Islamic State in Syria'
The al-Khansaa brigade reportedly upholds the strict religious rules implemented by the Islamic State (Isis) in the city of Raqqa
Natasha Culzac
As many as 60 British women have joined an all-female sharia police unit for the Islamic State (Isis), reprimanding those who fall foul of the jihad’s strict rules.
The al-Khansaa brigade is believed to be operating in the Syrian city of Raqqa, which is controlled by Isis militants and works as their Syrian headquarters.
Details have begun to emerge about the man arrested for the murder of a great grandmother beheaded in her back garden.
He was named locally as Nicholas Salvadore, a 25-year-old would-be cage fighter who is believed to be a Muslim convert, who had been living a few doors from 82-year-old Palmira Silva.
A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul, June 23, 2014.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamic State, fighting to redraw the map of the Middle East, has been coaching Egypt's most dangerous militant group, complicating efforts to stabilize the biggest Arab nation.
Confirmation that Islamic Sate, currently the most successful of the region's jihadi groups, is extending its influence to Egypt will sound alarm bells in Cairo, where the authorities are already facing a security challenge from home-grown militants.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Bosnian police have detained 16 people suspected of having fought in Syria and Iraq or of recruiting and funding other Balkan men to join the Islamic militants there, they said Wednesday.
Police said about 200 officers from a number of Bosnian law enforcement agencies were involved in an operation targeting 17 locations around the country.
Four Christian Egyptians Kidnapped by Armed Men, Remain Missing in Libya
ByLEAH MARIEANN KLETT(This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Violence has reportedly escalated in Libya due to an unstable government. (Scrap TV)
Four Egyptian Christians were reportedly kidnapped by unknown persons this week in Libya near the city of Sirte while attempting to leave the country.
According to theLibya Herald, the four victims are named as brothers Jamal Matta Hakim, Rafat Matta Hakim, and Romani Matta Hakim, and the son of their cousin, Adel Sadiki Hakim.
The UK terror threat level has been raised to its second highest meaning an attack on the country is “highly likely”.
It is the first time the threat level has been at “severe” since 2011 when it was reduced to “substantial”.
David Cameron says cause of threat is 'a poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism'
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, said the decision was taken in light of the increasing dangers posed by British fanatics and other foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria.
Palestinian Church Forced Out of Building in East Jerusalem, Israel
Pastor has lost other worship sites to Islamist antagonists.
By Our Middle East Correspondent ISTANBUL, August 28, 2014 (Morning Star News) – Seven years of harassment and attacks by hard-line Muslims have finally forced a Palestinian church in East Jerusalem out of their building, church leaders said.
The congregation of Calvary Baptist Church, under Holy Land Missions, moved out of their building in the Shofat area of Jerusalem in July after Islamists threatened their landlord. They are looking for a safer, more permanent place to meet.
Over the span of two days, 43 Islamic extremists were arrested in Kosovo. Dozens more are under watch, both at home and in the Middle East. As fears of terror attacks grow, Kosovo is clamping down.
The act that triggered the largest police action in Kosovo since the war in 1999 was terrible and barbaric. The Kosovar jihadist Lavdrim Muhaxeri posted before and after photos of the beheading of a 19-year-old in Syria, where the jihadist is currently fighting for the Islamic State (IS). Those images were published in nearly every Kosovo newspaper and Internet portal and sparked outrage and deep shock among Kosovars.
Khaled Sharrouf is one of the Pendennis Nine, who managed to leave Australia on his brother's passport. sharrouf3.jpg
Almost a decade after their arrest, much of the most comprehensive terrorism cell in Australian history continues to menace the country with the same messages of violence and anti-Western hate, which are being spread either by cell members or some of their close relatives.
The menacing advance of the Islamic State in Iraq should not prejudice Western people against Muslim people and the Islamic faith.
I once served as an airman in Egypt and Iraq and can vouch for the kindness and goodness of many Muslim people. Indeed, more than three million have made their home in Britain, and by far the majority want to get on and make good and peaceful homes among us.
But there is a darker side. Radical Islam is on the rise and imperilling our way of life, threatening to undermine the values that have been bitterly won over the centuries.
Lord Carey says Radical Islam is on the rise and imperilling our way of life, threatening to undermine the values that have been bitterly won over the centuries
In recent weeks, we have heard desperate reports of barbaric violence – including crucifixions and beheadings – accompanying the onward march of the terrorist group calling themselves ‘Islamic State’ (IS, formerly ISIS).
Boris Johnson Calls For 'Jihadi John', James Foley's Murderer, To Be Killed
The Huffington Post UK/PA
Boris Johnsonhas said he wants the reportedly British jihadist who beheaded American journalist James Foley to be killed in a bomb attack.
The Mayor of London said Britain must take on Islamic State (IS) and "try to close it down now", warning that doing nothing would mean a "tide of terror will eventually lap at our own front door".
Mr Johnson, who has overall responsibility for the Metropolitan Police and is planning to return to parliament next year, called for new laws that would mean anyone visiting Iraq and Syria would be automatically presumed to be terrorists unless they had notified the authorities in advance.
Boris Johnson said James Foley's murderer was a 'prat' who should be killed
Islamic State Executioner of James Foley: 'John' from London
Beheading of US journalist James Foley by a British Islamist, highlights the prominent role played by British Muslims in the Islamic State.
By Ari Soffer
James Foley appears in video soon before his execution
British and American intelligence services are hunting for the Islamic State jihadist w
ho beheaded an American journalist, and have identified him as a British Muslim extremist known as "John", according the Telegraph.
"John" is said to be the leader of a contingent of British fighters for IS nicknamed "The Beatles", due to their British nationality, and is described as "well-educated, intelligent, but highly committed member of the extremist terror group."
David Cameron says cause of threat is 'a poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism' 
