Brussels Jewish Museum Gunman Charged

ARTNET NEWS
By Alexander Forbes

A memorial that sprung up outside the Brussels Jewish Museum, where four were killed as
a result of the May 24 shooting. Photo: Virginia Mayo, courtesy the Associated Press.

BRUSSELS---The man alleged to have shot and killed four people at the Brussels Jewish Museum on May 24, Mehdi Nemmouche, was charged with “murder in a terrorist context” in Brussels on Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post reports. Nemmouche was extradited to Belgium from France on Tuesday, a little over a month after French authorities announced their intention to do so. The 29-year-old is a French citizen of Algerian descent. The attack was carried out using a AK-47 style assault rifle and a handgun, according to surveillance footage released by Belgian police. [link]

Read More

Op-Ed: Religious Freedom in Peril

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Nicholas Kristof

A Pew Research Center study found Muslims victims of religious repression in about as many countries as Christians. A Sudanese court in May sentences a Christian woman married to an American to be hanged, after first being lashed 100 times, after she refuses to renounce her Christian faith. Muslim extremists in Iraq demand that Christians pay a tax or face crucifixion, according to the Iraqi government. In Malaysia, courts ban some non-Muslims from using the word “Allah.” In Pakistan, for example, a brutal campaign has been underway against the Shiite minority. Likewise, Iran represses the peaceful Bahai, and similarly Pakistan and other countries brutally mistreat the Ahmadis, who see themselves as Muslims but are regarded as apostates. Pakistani Ahmadis can be arrested simply for saying, “peace be upon you.” [link]

Read More

Gay Christian Conservative Employee Sues Gay Bar for Sexual, Religious Harassment

THE WASHINGTON POST
By Eugen Volokh

WASHINGTON, DC---The case is Parker v. Side by Side, Inc. (N.D. Ill. June 27, 2014). An excerpt: "Plaintiff is a practicing non-denominational Christian. Plaintiff bases his claim for religious harassment on purportedly anti-Christian video clips Sidetrack played during comedy nights, offensive performances ridiculing Christians at special events, and degrading comments Sidetrack employees, particularly Lee Trudell and Defendant Oakes, made to Plaintiff because of his religion and his relationship with [Kevin DuJan, a Christian conservative blogger]." In making this determination, the Court notes that the allegedly offensive anti-Christian video clips about which Plaintiff has complained do not contribute to the alleged hostility of his work environment. [link]

Read More

Atheists Face Discrimination On A Shocking Level (INFOGRAPHIC)

THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Yasmine Hafiz

It's a sad, but well-known truth that many people around the world are persecuted for their religious beliefs. But many people are also suffering for their lack of religious belief, though their stories are not as often shared. The American Humanist Association created this infographic which shows some of the ways in which atheists are socially and legally discriminated against. [link]

Read More