Koran

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Iraqi Protesters Storm Swedish Embassy

Iraqi protesters denounced plans to burn Koran outside country's Stockholm embassy

(Newser) - The Swedish embassy in Baghdad was stormed Thursday by hundreds of protesters angered by plans to burn a Koran outside the Iraqi embassy in Sweden. Protesters broke into the compound, which also houses the Finnish embassy, and set a small fire, the AP reports. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said...

He Was Accused of Blasphemy. Then the Mob Descended

Dozens arrested after man stoned to death for allegedly burning Koran in Pakistan

(Newser) - Dozens of men have been arrested in Pakistan's Punjab province after a man accused of blasphemy was stoned to death there over the weekend by an enraged mob. The BBC reports the lynching took place on Saturday evening in Tulamba, located in the district of Khanewal. Police spokesman Munawar...

Prosecutors Wanted Probation. Christian Governor Gets Prison

Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama gets 2 years for blasphemy in Muslim-majority country

(Newser) - An Indonesian court sentenced the minority Christian governor of Jakarta to two years in prison on Tuesday for blaspheming the Koran, a jarring ruling that undermines the reputation of the world's largest Muslim nation for practicing a moderate form of Islam. In announcing its decision, the five-judge panel said...

Lindsay Lohan: I'm Studying Islam

She's also into something called 'tapping'

(Newser) - Lindsay Lohan, who may or may not be engaged (the latest reports claim that she is ), also may or may not be considering converting to Islam. According to Dan Wootton of the Sun , LiLo gave him an exclusive interview about her interest in the religion after she was photographed...

Researchers Make 'Fantastically Exciting' Koran Discovery

2 sheets written in early Arabic are at least 1.3K years old

(Newser) - Pieces of what could be the oldest Koran known have been rediscovered in a library at the UK's University of Birmingham. Mistakenly bound with a Koran dating to the late seventh century, two sheets of the Muslim holy book had sat in a collection of 3,000 Middle Eastern...

Chattanooga Suspect Texted Koran Verse Before Attack

Friend tells Reuters he was angry at the US

(Newser) - Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez sent a text message to a friend hours before the attack in Chattanooga that suggests he wanted revenge on the US for its role in the Middle East, reports Reuters . The message links to a verse in the Koran that reads in part, "Whosoever shows enmity...

'No Mercy' for Mob That Shoved Christian Couple Into Kiln: PM

Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif calls murders of Christian couple 'unacceptable crime'

(Newser) - The mob that swarmed a Christian couple's home in Pakistan on Tuesday broke down their door and beat them before dragging them to the kiln where they worked and throwing them in, CNN reports. For those acts, the killers should receive "no mercy," says Pakistani PM Nawaz...

Mob Kills Pakistani Couple Accused of Blasphemy

Husband, wife beaten, burned on allegations they descecrated Koran

(Newser) - A married Christian couple were killed by a mob in Pakistan after being accused of desecrating the Koran, reports AFP . The brutal assault took place at the brick kiln where they worked in the town of Kot Radha Kishan, near Lahore. Police say the pair were beaten and then burned...

Iran Hangs 'Heretic' for Insulting Jonah

Amir-Aslani had different take on the Koran

(Newser) - Iran has executed a 37-year-old psychologist, apparently in part for the grievous crime of believing that the story of Jonah—which appears in the Koran as well as the Bible—is a symbolic tale instead of a true account of a prophet who survives three days in a whale's...

Imams Forbid Muslims From Traveling to Mars

Fatwa in UAE likens it to suicide

(Newser) - Muslims in the United Arab Emirates hoping to colonize the red planet have had their hopes dashed by the country's General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment, which has issued a fatwa against them doing that very thing. The group was specifically concerned about the one-way trip to Mars...

Pastor Terry Jones Arrested Before Koran Burning

He said he planned to burn one for every 9/11 victim

(Newser) - Police arrested Florida Pastor Terry Jones today as he drove to a park to light nearly 3,000 Korans on fire to protest the 2001 terrorist attacks. Sheriff's deputies arrested the 61-year-old and his associate pastor on felony charges as he drove a pickup truck towing a barbecue-style grill...

Rupert Murdoch Quotes Koran in Weird Twitter Rant

May have something to do with murder of UK soldier

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch and Twitter continue to make for an ... interesting combination. Yesterday the News Corp mogul randomly started quoting the Koran on his account , and Twitchy thinks it was in relation to a couple tweets he sent out the day before about the slaying of a UK soldier . Here...

Terror Suspect in Canada: Laws of Mortals Don't Apply

Criminal code is not the 'holy book,' argues Chiheb Esseghaier

(Newser) - One of the two men detained in Canada on charges that he planned a terrorist attack on a passenger train tried a novel approach in court today: Chiheb Esseghaier made the case that Canada's criminal code doesn't apply to him because it is not the "holy book,...

Mom Who Killed Son for Failure to Memorize Koran Gets Life

Sara Ege beat boy, 7, to death, set him afire

(Newser) - A woman who beat her 7-year-old son to death for failing to memorize Koran passages today was sentenced to life in a UK court, the BBC reports. Sara Ege, 33, had initially admitted to killing son Yaseen in 2010, but later retracted her confession and accused her husband of the...

Religious Hackers Post Warning on Euro Lottery Site

Hackers left Koran warning against gambling

(Newser) - A European lottery website has been hacked by a group that left behind a Koran warning against gambling. The hackers, calling themselves "Moroccanghosts," posted the message on France's Euromillions site in Arabic and French. Officials for the company that runs the Euromillions lottery, Francaise des Jeux, said...

Pakistan Frees Girl Accused of Blasphemy

14-year-old with low IQ is out on bail

(Newser) - A Pakistani teenager who had been jailed on what look to be bogus charges of desecrating the Koran walked out of prison today, reports the Guardian . Prison officials in Rawalpindi released Rimsha Masih one day after a judge granted her bail. Rimsha is 14, but is said to have a...

Girl Accused of Blasphemy Granted Bail in Pakistan

First such case to see bail offered

(Newser) - Following extensive court arguments in Pakistan today, a girl accused of burning pages of the Koran has been granted bail. A minorities activist group has agreed to pay the $10,000 bail fee, CNN reports. A lawyer for the Christian girl, called Rimsha, held that she has a low IQ...

Imam Arrested for Framing Disabled Girl for Blasphemy

Witnesses say cleric tore Koran, put pages in girl's bag

(Newser) - A Muslim cleric was arrested today for framing a blasphemy accusation against an 11-year-old Christian girl who reportedly suffers from Down syndrome, reports Reuters . Witnesses said the cleric tore pages from a Koran and put them in the girl's bag, which led to the original outrage and charges against...

Disabled Girl, 11, Busted for Blasphemy in Pakistan

Mob threatens to torch Christian homes

(Newser) - An 11-year-old girl apparently suffering from Down syndrome has been arrested in Pakistan for blasphemy. A mob demanded the Christian girl's arrest for allegedly desecrating pages of the Koran, and threatened to torch Christian homes outside Islamabad if she wasn't busted, reports the BBC . The girl's parents...

Troops in Koran Burning to Be Punished, Not Charged

They're looking at something like a rank and pay drop

(Newser) - The US military will not recommend the US troops who burned Korans at an Afghanistan NATO base, sparking protests , face any criminal charges. Administrative punishments have been recommended instead, MSNBC reports. The punishment will likely involve a rank and pay drop, a letter of reprimand, or the assignment of additional...

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