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Arab News
5 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Egypt denies court ruling threatens historic monastery
CAIRO: Egypt has denied that a controversial court ruling over Sinai's Saint Catherine monastery threatens the UNESCO world heritage landmark, after Greek and church authorities warned of the sacred site's status. A court in Sinai ruled on Wednesday in a land dispute between the monastery and the South Sinai governorate that the monastery 'is entitled to use' the land, which 'the state owns as public property.' President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's office defended the ruling Thursday, saying it 'consolidates' the site's 'unique and sacred religious status,' after the head of the Greek Orthodox church in Greece denounced it. Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens called the court ruling 'scandalous' and an infringement by Egyptian judicial authorities of religious freedoms. He said the decision means 'the oldest Orthodox Christian monument in the world, the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai, now enters a period of severe trial — one that evokes much darker times in history.' El-Sisi's office in a statement said it 'reiterates its full commitment to preserving the unique and sacred religious status of Saint Catherine's monastery and preventing its violation.' The monastery was established in the sixth century at the biblical site of the burning bush in the southern mountains of the Sinai peninsula, and is the world's oldest continually inhabited Christian monastery. The Saint Catherine area, which includes the eponymous town and a nature reserve, is undergoing mass development under a controversial government megaproject aimed at bringing in mass tourism. Observers say the project has harmed the reserve's ecosystem and threatened both the monastery and the local community. Archbishop Ieronymos warned that the monastery's property would now be 'seized and confiscated,' despite 'recent pledges to the contrary by the Egyptian President to the Greek Prime Minister.' Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis contacted his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty on Thursday, saying 'there was no room for deviation from the agreements between the two parties,' the ministry's spokesperson said. In a statement to Egypt's state news agency, the foreign ministry in Cairo later said rumors of confiscation were 'unfounded,' and that the ruling 'does not infringe at all' on the monastery's sites or its religious and spiritual significance. Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said 'Greece will express its official position ... when the official and complete content of the court decision is known and evaluated.' He confirmed both countries' commitment to 'maintaining the Greek Orthodox religious character of the monastery.'
Fox News
28-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
FBI to probe claims of 'targeted violence' against religious groups after evangelicals' protest in Seattle
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Tuesday he had requested an investigation into allegations of "targeted violence" against religious groups after an evangelical conservative group held a rally at Seattle City Hall in response to the mayor blaming Christians for igniting a weekend demonstration that turned violent. "We have asked our team to fully investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups at the Seattle concert. Freedom of religion isn't a suggestion," Bongino wrote on X. The Christians' "Rattle in Seattle" demonstration began at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the 4th Avenue steps of City Hall in downtown Seattle, where counter-protesters were also present, according to Fox 13. A total of eight people were arrested for assault during dueling demonstrations as of 8 p.m., according to Seattle Police. No injuries were reported. "Two opposing groups gathered along 4th Avenue. Streets around the dueling demonstrations were shut down for several hours, but reopened just before 8 p.m.," police said in a press release. Fox News Digital has reached out to Seattle Police for possible updated arrest totals. Tuesday's protest comes after a demonstration on Saturday at Cal Anderson Park during MayDayUSA's "Don't Mess With Our Kids" rally and a pro-LGBTQ counter-protest. Police made 23 arrests at that demonstration after violence broke out when event organizers, attendees and counter-protesters converged. Mayor Bruce Harrell, a Democrat, released a statement after the weekend demonstration, blaming the Christian rally and infiltrating "anarchists" for the violence breaking out at the counter-protest. "Seattle is proud of our reputation as a welcoming, inclusive city for LGBTQ+ communities, and we stand with our trans neighbors when they face bigotry and injustice," the mayor said at the time. "Today's far-right rally was held here for this very reason – to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city's values, in the heart of Seattle's most prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood." "Anarchists infiltrated the counter-protestors group and inspired violence, prompting SPD to make arrests and ask organizers to shut down the event early, which they did," he continued. The mayor also released respective statements on Tuesday from several of the city's Christian and Jewish leaders siding with Harrell and condemning the weekend "Rattle in Seattle" protest. "Mayday's desire is to wrap their personal hate, fear, and bigotry in Christian speak. It won't work," Rev. Dr. Patricia L. Hunter, a Baptist pastor, said in a statement. "The call of Jesus to his followers was to first love God and secondly to love our neighbors. In no way does the ideology or bad theology of this fringe group embody the love of God we are to exhibit. Those of us who actually follow the Jesus of the New Testament work to make the welcome tent bigger so that all God's children regardless of sexuality or sexual identity are welcome at the table of love, justice, grace, and mercy." Organizers of the "Rattle in Seattle" protest took issue with the mayor's statement, which they said showed religious bigotry and an attack on their First Amendment rights, and held the rally on Tuesday to protest his remarks. "Following the MayDay USA worship event at Cal Anderson Park on Saturday, Mayor Harrell had the audacity to issue a press release blaming Christians for the premediated violence of Antifa which resulted in the hospitalization of Seattle Police Department personnel and the arrest of 23 Antifa agitators," the organizers said in a statement. "Under Mayor Harrell's leadership, the city of Seattle has continued its spiral into lawlessness and dysfunction while the First Amendment rights of citizens to peacefully assemble has been disregarded." Fox News Digital has out to the mayor's office for comment.
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Texas close to requiring Ten Commandments in public school classrooms
Texas lawmakers are close to passing a bill to require public schools to exhibit the Ten Commandments in classrooms starting this fall, a victory for the religious right that critics say blurs the line between church and state. 'There's no doubt about the historical and cultural foundations and the significance of the Ten Commandments for our heritage and systems of law,' said Thomas Saenz, president and attorney for Texas Values, a Christian legal and policy advocacy group supporting the measure. 'There's value for students to have an awareness of those things.'
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Tehran pushes for Saudi Arabia to release Iranian cleric who posted critical video
DUBAI, May 27 (Reuters) - Iran's judiciary on Tuesday denounced the arrest of an Iranian cleric in Saudi Arabia who shared a video criticising the kingdom's recent policies to ease many social restrictions in its bid to open the economy for tourism and Western businesses. Gholamreza Qassemian, who is in the kingdom for hajj - an annual pilgrimage that millions of Muslims make to Mecca with the intention of performing religious rites - was arrested on Monday after posting a video online in which he heavily criticised Saudi Arabia for what he called enabling moral corruption. His remarks came after media reports - denied by a Saudi official on Monday - that Riyadh was planning to lift a 73-year-old ban on alcohol, which is prohibited for devout Muslims. Iran's judiciary said Qassemian's arrest was "unjustified and illegal." The Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. In his video, the mid-ranking cleric said: "People will now be able to go to Mecca and Medina for casinos, brothels, and vulgar concerts instead of going to Antalya," a reference to the Turkish tourist destination, which is popular for Iranians. Some Muslims see the idea of any easing of the alcohol ban in the kingdom - which is the birthplace of Islam and home to its two holiest mosques, in Mecca and Medina - as highly controversial. Many fundamentalist Muslims also disapprove of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reforms. Those have included lifting a ban on women driving, the hosting of a film festival in Jeddah, which neighbours Mecca, as well as global sports events like Formula One motor racing. Iran, a conservative Shi'ite Muslim country, rebuilt ties with Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia in 2023 after years of regional rivalry. While some Iranian users of social media platform X celebrated Qassemian for his "courage", others berated him for what they said were insulting comments that risked reversing the thaw. State media reported that Iran's Consulate General in Jeddah was following up on the issue to secure Qassemian's release and had met him twice since his arrest. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X that Iran condemned "any attempt to harm Muslim unity, particularly in the spiritual atmosphere of the Hajj." "We are determined to not allow anyone to sabotage relations with our brotherly neighbours, including the progressive path of Iran and Saudi Arabia."
CNN
27-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Supreme Court declines to halt land transfer that would destroy sacred site for Western Apache
The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to halt a land transfer in Arizona that Western Apache people say will destroy a scared site in order to mine for copper. The decision leaves in place a lower court ruling that allowed the transfer by the federal government to go forward. Two conservative justices — Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas — dissented. Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the case. 'Just imagine if the government sought to demolish a historic cathedral on so questionable a chain of legal reasoning,' Gorsuch wrote in dissent. 'I have no doubt that we would find that case worth our time.' 'Faced with the government's plan to destroy an ancient site of tribal worship, we owe the Apaches no less,' he wrote. 'They may live far from Washington, D.C., and their history and religious practices may be unfamiliar to many. But that should make no difference.' Congress approved the transfer of the federal property in the Tonto National Forest in 2014, and President Donald Trump initiated the exchange in the final days of his first term. The land includes a site known as Oak Flat, where native tribes have practiced religious ceremonies for centuries. A non-profit sued the federal government, asserting that the transfer violated the First Amendment's free exercise clause and a law that requires courts to apply the highest level of scrutiny to any law that burdens religious freedom. The Western Apache, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, argued the questions at the heart of the case were 'vitally important for people of all faiths.' An adverse decision, they said, would provide 'a roadmap for eviscerating' federal religious protections in other contexts. 'Many sacred Apache rituals will be ended, not just temporarily but forever,' the group told the Supreme Court. The case arrived at the high court before Trump took power again in January. The Biden administration defended the decision in court papers, arguing that 'Congress has specifically mandated that Oak Flat be transferred so that the area can be used for mining.' Lower courts, including the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled that the land transfer did not impose a substantial burden on religious exercise since it doesn't coerce or discriminate on the basis of religion. But a federal district court in Arizona on May 9 barred the administration from moving forward with the transfer until the Supreme Court decided what to do with the appeal. US District Judge Steven Logan said the case 'presented serious questions on the merits that warrant the Supreme Court's careful scrutiny.'
