February 10, 2016 - UNITED KINGDOM - Practicing Christians are now a minority in the UK and the
Catholic and Anglican churches must pull together in order to survive,
according to two senior British clerics.
The Right Reverend Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, and Cardinal Vincent Nichols, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, were speaking at an event at Hampton Court Palace, London, on Tuesday.
They hailed the reconciliation between two churches that have traditionally been rivals, and the gathering also saw the first Catholic act of worship at the chapel of Henry VIII for 450 years.
“I would like to think of this evening as a celebration of how far we’ve come and also a celebration of a common agenda,” Chartres said.
Nichols spoke about the contribution Catholics had made to the UK as a “significant minority,” to which Chartres said “we are all minorities now.”
“What I see, particularly around London, is that increasingly we are living in a post-denominational era,” Chartres added.
Recent studies suggest the cleric may be correct, with figures showing a plunge in regular worshippers in the UK.
The church’s annual pew count reports only 1.4 percent of the population of England attends Anglican services every Sunday. Mid-week services have also slipped below the one million mark for the first time.
Average Sunday attendance has fallen by 22,000 from 764,700 in 2014. That is a third less than the average during the 1960s.
The fall is partly down to the ageing and death of worshipers, with the church losing one percent of its attendees per year.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby told a recent crisis meeting of Anglican leaders the church is being affected by an “anti-Christian culture.”
“In this country many talk of the post-Christian society, but the Church of England educates more than a million children in our schools,” he told the gathered Primates. - RT.
January 10, 2016 - UNITED STATES - The American Muslim population stands a strong chance of doubling in
size by 2050 and becoming the second largest religion by 2040, based on new estimates from the Pew Research Center.
At the moment, Pew believes that there’s approximately 3.3 million
Muslims living in the United States. Given the total U.S. population,
this means that Muslims currently comprise 1 percent. But by 2050, Pew
thinks that Muslims may surge to 8.1 million.
Part
of the reason for that surge is due to Muslim immigration, Pew noted,
since about 10 percent of all legal immigrants are Muslim. Another is
because Muslim families tend to have far more children than the average, which is the case in Europe, as well.
Even
before that, however, Islam itself is projected to become the second
largest religion in the U.S. by 2040, which is a far greater increase
than that expected among Jews and Hindus.
For Jews, on the other hand, Pew thinks that the total number will
decline from 1.8 percent to 1.4 percent by 2050, while Hindus will see a
modest increase from 0.7 percent to 1.2 percent.
Following the shooting instigated by
Muslims in California, which left 14 dead, the poll indicated that only
30 percent of Republicans believe that Muslims are no different than any
other community, compared to 60 percent of Democrats.
A total of 14.6
percent of Americans are generally fearful of Muslims– a figure
that jumped to 34.7 percent when respondents were asked about “a few
groups and individuals” in the Muslim community.Most Republicans, at 64
percent, want mosques to be closely monitored.
Exactly 43 percent of
Democrats agree. Additionally, a recent YouGov poll discovered that most Americans do not want to open up the border to Muslim refugees.
Out of 600 American Muslims, 25 percent expressed agreement with the
statement, “Violence against Americans here in the United States can be
justified as part of the global jihad,” according to a 2015 poll produced for the Center for Security Policy. - Daily Caller.
Carolyn Walker-Diallo was sworn in on the Koran, as a civil judge at the Brooklyn Burough Hall, New York.
There's a battle outside and it is ragin'. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls... The order is rapidly fadin'. And the first one now, will later be last. For the times they are a-changin'. - Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin'
December 16, 2015 - UNITED STATES - Reacting to news that a New York judge — who is a practicing Muslim —
took her oath of office using the Koran, commenters flooded a Facebook
announcement, calling it an “abomination” and saying she should be
arrested.
Following her election last month, Carolyn Walker-Diallo was sworn in
as a civil judge for the 7th Municipal District in a Brooklyn Borough
hall last Thursday. She chose to take her oath using a Koran instead of a
Bible.
WATCH: Judge Walker-Diallo sworn in as judge using the Koran.
After video of the New York Law School graduate was posted online by community activist and litigator Mohammed Mujumder, enraged commenters swarmed his Facebook page to express their outrage, with one writing, “Another piece of shit Muslim. Trying to take over this country.”
Mixed in with racist memes accusing President Barack Obama of being a Muslim were concerns that Walker-Diallo might institute Sharia law from her East New York City bench.
“How is using anything other than the holy bible to be sworn in acceptable?” wrote Randy Helms, with Andrew Green adding, “Absolutely disgusting. What a shame and pitiful place New York has become.”
Ray Ivy wrote: “That is so sick, she should be arrested for that,” setting off more commenters. Others wrote, “This is a sad day for America!” and “Makes me sick.”
Linda Brice Burleson took a stab at being reasonable, adding: “In thinking about this, I believe it is foolish for Muslims to be in positions of authority. It’s just asking for trouble; but there is no point in swearing them in on Bibles, since the Bible means nothing to them. Unfortunately, their holy book tells them it is okay to say and do whatever furthers the cause of Islam,” before Terrie cut to the chase with, “Just a short time before Sharia law is implemented. What idiots allow this”
Simon Shears predicted doom: “This is but one of the many signs that unless we do something, anything, not just our way of life but our lives will be put to an end…” while Tom Horne went into more detail, writing: “Those who have never served our country have no idea what their freedom is, it is a fragile thing and they are working to overthrow us from the inside and out. It is one thing to be kind it is another to be foolish, when they are holding you about to chop off your head I would like nothing more then to hear your opinion at that time. You hear and read information spoon-fed to you threw them media from our government – it will not be long in all of you soft headed people will scream and moan and cry out to God but he will not hear you.”
Robert P. Schwartz had a question: “What happened to the AMERICAN TRADITION OF A BIBLE ??????????????????????????” before Ben Mussellman added, “Burn this book and wipe your ass with it what a trader.”
Not all comments were critical, with several people pointing out that government officials should be taking their oath of office on a copy of the Constitution instead of the Bible or the Koran. - Raw Story.
1st US town with majority Muslim city council unites around diversity
Residents of Hamtramck, Michigan elected four Muslims to their city council, making history in a city that once was 90 percent Polish. Some sense a divide in the community, but about 100 people gathered near City Hall this week to unite in diversity.
RT’s Alexey Yaroshevsky traveled to Hamtramck (pronounced “ham-tram-ik”) to see whether the anti-Muslim sentiments resonated. Despite some graffiti and other small-scale incidents leading up to the election, the city councilmen did not mention any hindrances on their path to victory.
“Our major thing in the plan was to target everyone in Hamtramck, Muslims or non-Muslims, so we knocked all the doors in Hamtramck, and we asked for everyone in Hamtramck to vote for us regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or their color of skin,” Saad Almasmari, the top vote-winning city councilman said.
WATCH: US's first city with Muslim majority council.
“We work with everybody, we help everybody, and we cooperate with everybody in other religions. So, no question, and there is no problem,” Councilman Mohammed Hassan said.
“We are doing something better that people are moving to Hamtramck, that feel more secure and better life,” Councilman Abu Musa said.
Although Hamtramck now has a majority Muslim City Council – three Bangladeshis and one Yemeni –it’s still hard to call the city’s population of about 24,000 majority Muslims, since there is no religious census information available. However, recent US Census statistics show a diverse community – 24 percent of residents are Arab, mostly Yemeni; 15 percent are Bangladeshi; while six percent are Yugoslavian, many Bosnian. That group is made up of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists, among others. About 19 percent of Hamtramck is African American and 12 percent is Polish.
Mayor Karen Majewski empathizes with her fellow Poles, telling The Washington Post, “There’s definitely a strong feeling that Muslims are the other. It’s about culture, what kind of place Hamtramck will become. There’s definitely a fear and to some degree, I share it.”
Majewski also told CNN, “No, I’m not afraid,” of the city’s large Muslim population.
Bangladeshi business owner Shaker Sadeak told RT, “Because it’s a small, tight-knit community, everybody know each other, and I don’t believe there is Islamophobia in Hamtramck.”
Chester Kasprzak, owner of Hamtramck Drugs, said everyone is “concerned about terrorism, but I feel completely safe here in Hamtramck, without any kind of— no fear at all.”
Bill Meyer, an activist with One Hamtramck, explained one of the societal elements at play for some adjusting to the Muslim culture.
“We were known for having more bars per acre in this city than any other place in the country, and Muslims don’t drink. Muslims don’t,” Meyer told RT. “So, that right there is a cultural shock for people who have always drunk and always partied and did all this stuff, and now they see people being peaceful and quiet and walking around, no crime, no swearing, none of that kind of — it’s a culture shock.” - RT.
December 7, 2015 - BRITAIN - Modern Britain is no longer a Christian country, a report by the
Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life concludes.
It calls on
institutions to adapt to the nation’s increasingly multi-faith and
non-religious makeup.
The commission, set up by the Woolf Institute and chaired by former high court judge Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, is a leading think tank studying relations between Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities.
The massive decline in churchgoing and the rise of Islam means a “new settlement” is needed for religion in the UK, the independent study finds.
The House of Lords, which includes a number of Church of England (CoE) bishops, should also feature imams, rabbis and other non-Christian clerics to give more official influence to other faith groups, the report suggests.
It added that acts of worship in school assemblies should be abolished and replaced with “time for reflection.”
“Three striking trends in recent decades have revolutionized the landscape on which religion and belief in Britain meet and interact,” the report said.
“The first is the increase in the number of people with non-religious beliefs and identities. The second is the decline in Christian affiliation, belief and practice and within this decline a shift in Christian affiliation that has meant that Anglicans no longer comprise a majority of Christians.
“The third is the increase in the number of people who have a religious affiliation but who are not Christian.”
The report was strongly condemned by Cabinet ministers and the Church of England, who said it was a “sad waste.”
In a statement, a spokesman for CoE said: “The report is dominated by the old-fashioned view that traditional religion is declining in importance and that non-adherence to a religion is the same as humanism or secularism.”
A source close to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan described the report’s recommendations on faith schools as “ridiculous.”
“Nicky is one of the biggest champions of faith schools and anyone who thinks she is going to pay attention to these ridiculous recommendations is sorely misguided,” the source told the Telegraph.
In his Easter message earlier this year, Prime Minister David Cameron insisted that the UK is “still a Christian country.”
He praised Christians for living out their religious faith in schools, and took credit for investing “tens of millions to repair churches.”
However, shortly after his speech, YouGov released a poll which found 62 percent of Britons describe themselves as “not religious.”
Some 68 percent of those surveyed said religion is “not important” to their life.
According to the Pew Research Centre, the proportion of the British population identifying itself as Christian is expected to fall from 64 percent to 45 percent by 2050, while the proportion of Muslims is predicted to rise from 5 percent to 11 percent. - RT.
A Muslim woman wears a niqab as she walks past a
McDonald's restaurant in Hamtramck, Mich. (Salwan Georges/For The
Washington Post)
November 23, 2015 - MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES - Earlier this month, a blue-collar city in Michigan that has been home to Polish Catholic immigrants and their descendants for more than a century became what demographers think is the first jurisdiction in the nation to elect a majority-Muslim council, as the Washington Post reports.
However, that simply caps a population shift that has been going on over the last decade. In 2013, Hamtramck became the first majority-Muslim city in the nation after thousands of immigrants from Yemen, Bangladesh and Bosnia moved in.
The city was in the news earlier this month when a video surfaced after the city council election showing Muslim community organizer Ibrahim Algahim saying “Today, we show the Polish and everybody else.”
WATCH: Ibrahim Algahim issues warning to the Polish community in Hamtramck.
The Washington Post notes some residents are proud of the city’s diversity including the fact that at least 27 languages are spoken in Hamtramck schools.
Diversity or divisiveness? How do you possibly teach unity and a singular, consistent love of country in 27 different languages? “Many
longtime residents point to 2004 as the year they suspected that the
town’s culture had shifted irrevocably. It was then that the city
council gave permission to al-Islah Islamic Center to broadcast its call
to prayer from speakers atop its roof. The Polish people think we were invading them,” said Masud Khan, one
of the mosque’s leaders, recalling that time in an interview earlier
this month. “We were a big threat to their religion and culture. Now
their days are gone.”
The mosque, which attracts about 500 people for its Friday prayer
services, has purchased a neighboring vacant limestone building in the
heart of the city that once was a furniture store. The mosque’s leaders
plan to put a minaret — a spire — on the building and use it to continue
broadcasting a call to prayer five times a day.
The private sale enraged city leaders, including the mayor, who sees
the area as key to commercial growth. Mosque leaders estimate that the
20,000-square-foot building will hold up to 2,000 people once the
renovation is finished next year.
Frank Zacharias, an elderly Polish American usher at St. Ladislaus,
the Catholic parish across the street from the mosque, is intimately
familiar with life on Hamtramck’s streets, which he tromped for 28 years
as a mail carrier before retiring. The changes have stunned him, he
said. “It was hard at the beginning,” he said, referring to 2004,
when the mosque began the call to prayer. But, he added: “They’re human.
You gotta live with them. Hamtramck is known for diversity.”
Excuse me, but I don’t believe it’s “diversity” when the majority believes your “days are gone.”
Last week during one of his appearances on Fox News, Col. West mentioned the Muslim Brotherhood’s Explanatory Memorandum which details the group’s plans to bring about a “civilization jihad in North America, specifically:
“Enablement of Islam in North America, meaning:
establishing an effective and a stable Islamic Movement led by the
Muslim Brotherhood which adopts Muslims’ causes domestically and
globally, and which works to expand the observant Muslim base, aims at
unifying and directing Muslims’ efforts, presents Islam as a
civilization alternative, and supports the global Islamic State wherever
it is.”
You may want to pretend this isn’t happening before your eyes. You
may want to believe this can’t possibly be true. Fair enough, then pay a visit to Hamtramck – to see what your town might look like in a few years. - Allen B. West.
May 13, 2015 - UNITED STATES - Christianity is in sharp decline in America, according to new research from the Pew Research Center, making for a significantly less Christian country than that of just seven years ago.
The number of Christians dropped by almost 8 percentage points in seven
years to 71 percent, and the trend holds across race, gender, education,
and geographic dimensions, though Christianity still dominates American
religious identity at 70 percent, USA Today said.
"It's remarkably widespread," Alan Cooperman, director of religion research for the Pew Research Center, said, according to The Washington Post. "The country is becoming less religious as a whole, and it's happening across the board."
The research also found that the percentage of people not affiliated
with a religion has increased from 16 percent to about 23 percent over
that period.
A number of key trends have emerged from the research, the Post said.
For one, millennials have become less affiliated with religion as they
have aged over the last decade. In 2007, 25 percent did not affiliate
with a religion. In the current survey, it's 34 percent.
"Some have asked, 'Might they become more religiously affiliated as they
get older?' There's nothing in this data to suggest that's what's
happening," said Greg Smith, associate director of research at the Pew
Research Center, according to the Post.
A second trend indicates that there are more religiously unaffiliated
Americans than Catholics or mainline Protestants. The unaffiliated
amount to 25 percent, compared to 21 percent for Catholics and 15
percent for Protestants.
Specifically, the numbers of Catholics and Protestants have both shrunk
between 3 and 5 percentage points since 2007, while the evangelical
share of the population is down by 1 point since that time.
"That's a striking and important note," Smith told the Post.
Another trend indicates that those who are unaffiliated are becoming more secular.
The "nones," or religiously unaffiliated, include atheists, agnostics
and those who say they believe in "nothing in particular." Of those who
are unaffiliated, 31 percent say they are atheists or agnostics, an
increase of 6 points since 2007.
"What we're seeing now is that the share of people who say religion is
important to them is declining," Smith told the Post. "The religiously
unaffiliated are not just growing, but as they grow, they are becoming
more secular."
The trend also holds for older generations as the percentage of baby
boomers who identified as "none" increased from 14 percent in 2007 to 17
percent in the current survey.
"More people know the facts, and more people realize they are not
alone," David Silverman, president of American Atheists, told USA Today.
"It's now impossible for an atheist to think he is alone in this
world. They are automatically empowered."
"There's a continuing religious disaffiliation among older cohorts.
That is really striking," Smith told the Post. "I continue to be struck
by the pace at which the unaffiliated are growing."
The poll also found that intermarriage has increased with each
generation, with 39 percent in a religiously mixed marriage compared to
19 percent among those who got married before 1960, USA Today reported. - Newsmax.
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. - Revelation 17:1-5, The Bible.
April 20, 2015 - THE VATICAN - Current “anti-Semitic trends in Europe” are a cause for worry, said Pope Francis Monday morning, as are accompanying “acts of hatred and violence.”
In a historic encounter, Francis met in the Vatican with a delegation
from the Conference of European Rabbis, the first time a pope has ever
met with the Conference.
The Pope underscored that all Christians “must be firm in deploring
all forms of anti-Semitism, and in showing their solidarity with the
Jewish people.” He also remarked on the recent seventieth anniversary of
the liberation of Auschwitz, the concentration camp “which has come to
be synonymous with the great tragedy of the Shoah.”
“The memory of what took place there, in the heart of Europe, is a warning to present and future generations,” he said.
“Acts of hatred and violence against Christians and the faithful of
other religions must likewise be condemned everywhere,” he added.
Pope Francis also proposed that in the face of rampant secularism in
Europe and other parts of the world, Jews and Christians have a
co-responsibility to keep faith in God alive. Both Jews and Christians,
he said, have “the blessing but also the responsibility to help preserve
the religious sense of the men and women of today, and that of our
society.”
WATCH: Anti-Semitic hate crimes worst since 2009.
European society, he said, is “increasingly marked by secularism and
threatened by atheism,” and “we run the risk of living as if God did not
exist.”
He said:
People are often tempted to take the place of God, to
consider themselves the criterion of all things, to control them, to use
everything according to their own will. It is so important to remember,
however, that our life is a gift from God, and that we must depend on
Him, confide in Him, and turn towards Him always.
This means that “it is more important than ever to emphasize the spiritual and religious dimension of human life,” he said.
The Pope appealed for a common Judeo-Christian witness “to the
sanctity of God and human life.” God is holy, he said, “and the life He
has given is holy and inviolable.”
Francis noted that for almost fifty years, “the dialogue between the
Catholic Church and the Jewish community has progressed in a systematic
way,” which calls for gratitude to the Lord, “rejoicing in our progress
and in the friendship which has grown between us,” he said. - Breitbart.
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. - Revelation 18:1-3, The Bible.
April 8, 2015 - EUROPE - As millions of Christians celebrate Easter, statistics show grim prospects for the faith in Europe, challenged by a decline in population, growing numbers of Muslims, and people who do not affiliate themselves with any religion.
Europe can still boast pompous ceremonies at holy sites, gathering thousands of people. Yet, more and more claim that they don’t belong to any confession, and tiny local churches are resorting to any measures to bring the flock back.
RT’s Peter Oliver has found more visible evidence for the decline of the Christian religion – in European churches now surreally turned into museums, or even – in one case – a skate park.
WATCH: Skatepark, bank, pizzeria - Churches in Europe get creative to draw worshippers.
This church was in the Netherlands and witnessed days when it was attended only by a couple of people, after which the sacred place was turned into a skate park. Statistics reflect this nonattendance; more than 40 percent of the country’s population does not see itself as belonging to any religious denomination.
Screenshot from RT video
Germans are marginally more conservative, with just under a quarter of non-believers constituting part of the total population, but some of the churches in the rural areas there are left unlocked 24 hours a day – only to attract all possible visitors. Another way to remind people of their own existence all-year-round is to draw a congregation by adding an unusual Christmas scene – with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus made of tree trunks – or an installation of the Last Supper.
“All the churches have a guest book. I saw in there a suicide note, someone who had decided they were going to take their own life,” Sonja Hahn, chairwoman of the Determined Churches Foundation told RT’s Peter Oliver. “Then a while later, in the same handwriting, that person was saying that being able to come to this place had convinced them otherwise. I think that says just why they should remain as places of prayer.”
It’s hard for statisticians to remain optimistic, as the latest data reveals a trend of religiosity growing around the world – yet in the US and in Europe it is atheism that is on the rise. The number of atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any religion in Europe is projected to rise by some 16 percent by 2050, according to recent Pew Research Center study.
Europe is the only region projected to see a decline in its total population between by the middle of the 21st century, which would also affect the number of Christian church goers. Overall, the number of European Christians is projected to decrease by some 100 million, falling almost 18 percent from 553 in 2010 to 454 million in 2050.
Europe’s Jewish population also is expected to shrink, from 1.4 million in 2010 to 1.2 million. But the remaining religious groups in Europe are projected to grow in number due to a combination of higher fertility, younger populations and net gains via migration and religious switching.
Still globally, the ranks of all major religions, except Buddhism, are likely to expand, with the number of Muslims nearly reaching the number of Christians – and surpassing it by 2070, according to Pew study.
“If current demographic trends continue, Islam will nearly catch up by the middle of the 21st century,” the Washington-based think tank said in the study. “Between 2010 and 2050, the world’s total population is expected to rise to 9.3 billion, a 35 percent increase."
"Over that same period, Muslims – a comparatively youthful population with high fertility rates – are projected to increase by 73 percent. The number of Christians also is projected to rise, but more slowly, at about the same rate as the global population overall.” - RT.
Soldiers from the Kenya Defence Forces. (Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)
April 2, 2015 - KENYA -
The death toll has risen to at least 147 people after the siege of
Garissa University College in Kenya. The attack on the institution by
masked Al-Shabaab gunmen, an Al-Qaeda splinter group, has ended,
according to the government’s disaster agency.
The siege lasted
nearly 15 hours. When it concluded, according to Reuters Interior
Minister Joseph Nkaissery told Kenyan media: "The operation has ended
successfully. Four terrorists have been killed."
In the early
morning, about five gunmen from the Islamist militant group Al Shabaab
stormed a Kenyan university campus during morning prayers, killing a
number students and staff, and taking others hostage. Police and
soldiers surrounded the college, and exchanges of gunfire have been
going on all day.
"We are finding it difficult to access the
compound because some of the attackers are on top of a building and are
firing at us whenever we try to gain entry," a policeman at the
university campus in Garissa said earlier.
Kenyan police have
issued a dusk to dawn (from 6.30 pm till 6.30 am) curfew in four regions
near the Somalia border, as a security precaution following the attack,
Reuters reported.
Still from RT video
Somali Islamist group Al-Shabaab has claimed
responsibility for the assault, saying it was holding Christians hostage
inside the university.
Al Shabaab's spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis
Abu Musab said the gunmen were holding Christian hostages inside. "We
sorted people out and released the Muslims," he told Reuters.
Amnesty
International has condemned the “horrific” attack and has urged
authorities “to conduct a prompt, impartial and effective investigation
to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
“Citizens and public
servants in the north have repeatedly expressed fears about their
vulnerability to Al Shabaab attacks, which the Kenyan government has
failed to appropriately address,” Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty
International’s Regional Director for East Africa said in a statement.
“Learning institutions are meant to be safe places for students and
their teachers. Their protection must be fully guaranteed.”
The
United States in a statement from the White House on Thursday condemned
the “cowardly” attack “in the strongest terms,” adding, “The United
States is providing assistance to the Kenyan Government, and we will
continue to partner with them as well as with others in the region to
take on the terrorist group al-Shabaab.”
Still from RT video
The gunmen allegedly
entered the university as students were heading to morning prayers. The
attackers reportedly posed as worshipers among the students, and then
started shooting indiscriminately.
Students who escaped the
attack told security forces there were at least five gunmen, holding
many others hostage inside. According to some accounts, the gunmen were
also wearing suicide vests.
Just over a week ago, a terror threat alert was issued for Kenyan universities, Twitter users report.
Local
senior security officials said there have been threats from a terror
group. “We had the threats earlier on and alerted the institutions
here,” said an anonymous security official, as quoted by Standard Media.
In the past, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Somali terror group
Al-Shabaab has conducted several attacks in Garissa and
throughout Kenya, the biggest assault being an attack on a
shopping mall in Nairobi in 2013.
April 2, 2015 - RELIGION
- Shifts in the world’s major religions will see Islam growing faster
than any other faith, with the number of Muslims nearly equaling that of
Christians by 2050.
A new Pew Research Center study finds that with the exception of Buddhists, the world’s major religions will all see an increase in numbers by 2050, although some will make up a smaller percentage from today. Muslims are the only major religious group projected to increase faster than the world’s population as a whole.
Over the coming four decades, Christianity will remain the world’s largest religious affiliation, but Islam will see a major increase that will make the two religions nearly equal in numbers by 2050. In 2010, Christianity was by far the world’s largest religion, with 2.2 billion followers of the faith and composing nearly one-third (31 percent) of the Earth’s 6.9 billion people. Islam was second, with 1.6 billion adherents, or 23 percent of the world’s population.
If current fertility rates and youth populations continue to grow at their current rate, Muslims will make up 10 percent of Europe’s overall population by 2050. Islam is expected to nearly match Christianity in the coming four decades as a result of a “comparatively youthful” population with high fertility rates.
If current trends continue, Muslims will outnumber Christians worldwide around 2070.
Muslims worldwide are projected to see a 73 percent increase while Christians will rise about half that fast (35 percent). The world’s overall population is predicted to rise to 9.3 billion by 2050, also with a 35 percent rate of increase over the same time period.
In the United States, Christians will decline from more than three-quarters (78 percent) of the population to about two-thirds (66 percent) by 2050.
Muslims, “other religions” and those unaffiliated with religion will see the largest increases in North America. The religiously unaffiliated are expected to rise from 16 percent to more than one-quarter of the population, 26 percent. And by 2050, the U.S. will have more Muslims (2.1 percent of the general population) than people who identify as Jewish (1.4 percent).
Europe is predicted to be the only region with a decline in its total population. Europe’s Christian population will see a loss of about 100 million people in the coming decades, falling from 553 million to 454 million people. Although Christians will remain Europe’s largest religious group, they are expected to decrease similarly to U.S. Christians, dropping from nearly three-quarters to less than two-thirds of the overall population.
Worldwide, Muslims have the highest fertility rate with an average of 3.1 children per woman – far exceeding the replacement level needed to maintain a stable population. Christians are second, with an average 2.7 children per woman. In 2010, more than one-quarter (27 percent) of the world’s total population was under the age of 15. And Muslims comprised an even higher percentage of this youthful group at more than one-third (34 percent), compared to 27 percent of Christians under age 15.
Pew’s “The Future of World Religions: Population Growth and Projections, 2010-2050” analysis estimates that four out of every 10 Christians in the world will live in sub-Saharan Africa by the middle of this century. - CBS.
An armed security officer runs down a street near a venue after shots were fired where an event titled "Art, blasphemy and the freedom of expression" was being held in Copenhagen, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. Kenneth Meyer / AP Photo
February 14, 2015 - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - A
gunman opened fire on a Copenhagen cultural center, killing one man and
wounding three police officers in what authorities called a terror
attack against a free speech event featuring an artist who had
caricatured the Prophet Muhammad.
After
searching for the gunman for hours, police reported another shooting
near a synagogue in downtown Copenhagen after midnight Sunday. One
person was shot in the head and two police officers were shot in the
arms and legs, police said, adding it wasn’t clear whether the two
incidents were linked. The gunman fled on foot.
WATCH: Copenhagen synagogue shooting - 1 shot in head, 2 police injured, gunman at large.
Sebastian
Zepeda, a 19-year-old visitor from London, said he didn’t want to leave
his hotel room after hearing of the first shooting and was text
messaging with his mother when the second shooting happened on the
street below.
“I was on my bed and I heard gunshots. And my heart raced,” Zepeda said. “All of a sudden the road was packed with police.”
The
earlier shooting came a month after extremists killed 12 people at a
satirical newspaper in Paris that had sparked Muslim outrage with its
depictions of Muhammad.
There was no immediate
claim of responsibility for the first shooting, which took place shortly
before 4 p.m. Saturday. Danish police said the gunman used an automatic
weapon to shoot through the windows of the Krudttoenden cultural
center, which TV footage showed were riddled with bullet holes. The
gunman then fled in a carjacked Volkswagen Polo that was found later a
few kilometers (miles) away, police said.
WATCH: Deadly attack at free speech meeting at a cafe with cartoonist who depicted Muhammed.
They
said the victim was a man about 40 who was inside the cultural center.
He has not yet been identified. Two of the wounded officers belonged to
the Danish security service PET, which said the circumstances
surrounding the shooting “indicate that we are talking about a terror
attack.”
Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who has
faced numerous death threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad, was
one of the main speakers at Saturday’s panel discussion, titled “Art,
blasphemy and freedom of expression.” He was whisked away by his
bodyguards unharmed as the shooting began.
Vilks, 68, later told The Associated Press he believed he was the intended target of the shooting.
“What
other motive could there be? It’s possible it was inspired by Charlie
Hebdo,” he said, referring to the Jan. 7 attack by Islamic extremists on
the French newspaper.
“At first there was panic. People crawled down under tables,” Vilks said. “My bodyguards quickly pulled me away.”
The cultural center had a lecture hall as well as a cafe. Vilks said no one in the hall was wounded.
“We
were well isolated in there. It would have been much worse if this
happened during the break, when people walk out,” Vilks said.
He said he deplored the death and the injuries but was unfazed as to what it meant for his own safety.
“I’m not shaken at all by this incident. Not the least,” he told AP by phone.
Police
initially said there were two gunmen but later said they believed there
was only one shooter. They described him as 25 to 30 years old with an
athletic build and carrying a black automatic weapon. They released a
blurred photograph of the suspect wearing dark clothes and a scarf
covering part of his face.
“I
saw a masked man running past,” said Helle Merete Brix, one of the
event’s organizers. “I clearly consider this as an attack on Lars
Vilks.”
Niels Ivar
Larsen, one of the speakers at the event, told the TV2 channel he heard
someone shouting and firing automatic weapons. “Police returned the
fire and I hid behind the bar. I felt surreal, like in a movie,” Larsen
said.
Visiting the scene of the first shooting,
Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt called it a “political
attack and therefore an act of terror.”
Police spokesman Joergen Skov said it was possible the gunman had planned the “same scenario” as in the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
François
Zimeray, the French ambassador to Denmark who was at the event to speak
about the Charlie Hebdo attack, tweeted that he was “still alive.”
Police said he was not wounded.
French
President Francois Hollande called the Copenhagen shooting “deplorable”
and said Thorning-Schmidt would have the “full solidarity of France in
this trial.” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was arriving
Sunday in Copenhagen.
Conflicting reports in local media said there were two attackers
in the synagogue, with one of them possibly arrested in the
ongoing police operation. Police helicopters have been circling
above the city’s central streets.
Police arrest one, However police say it's unrelated to manhunt, at least 1 shooter still at large.
Leaders across Europe
condemned the violence and expressed support for Denmark. Sweden’s
security service said it was sharing information with its Danish
counterpart, while U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette
Meehan said U.S. officials were ready to help with the investigation
and have been in touch with their Danish counterparts.
Vilks
has faced several attempted attacks and death threats after he depicted
the Prophet Muhammad as a dog in 2007. A Pennsylvania woman last year
got a 10-year prison term for a plot to kill Vilks. In 2010, two
brothers tried to burn down his house in southern Sweden and were
imprisoned for attempted arson.
Vilks told the
AP after the Paris terror attacks that, due to increased security
concerns, even fewer organizations were inviting him to give lectures.
The
depiction of the prophet is deemed insulting to many followers of
Islam. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction
of the Prophet Muhammad – even a respectful one – is considered
blasphemous.
While many Muslims have expressed
disgust at the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo employees, many were
also deeply offended by its cartoons lampooning Muhammad. - Global News.
January 16, 2015 - UNITED STATES & EUROPE -
The United States and European countries are on heightened terror alert,
following the Paris shootings that claimed the lives of 17 people.
Gunman armed with Kalashnikov takes hostages at post office near Paris
A suspect in a hostage taking situation raises his arms in the air as he
is detained by members of special French RAID forces outside
the post
offices in Colombes outside Paris, January 16, 2015.(Reuters / Philippe
Wojazer)
Several
people were taken hostage by an unknown gunman at a post office in
Colombes, a northwest suburb of Paris, French media reported. After
negotiations, the assailant handed himself over to police.
The
gunman was armed with a Kalashnikov rifle, a gun and numerous grenades,
French RTL radio reports.
From two to five people were taken hostage,
say police sources. The incident took place at about 12:00 GMT.
WATCH: Scenes from new hostage situation in Paris.
After
negotiations with the assailant began, reports emerged that an unknown
number of hostages was released and the gunman eventually surrendered to
police.
BFM TV says no one was injured in the incident.
The hostage-taker “is disappointed in love”, local prefecture told Liberation newspaper, adding that the hostage taker is a customer “who lost his head” and speaks of “heartbreak.”
Sources told AFP that the man was "speaking incoherently".
The
gunman is known to police as a petty crime suspect. The officers have
secured the perimeter and a helicopter has been deployed to the area of
Charles-de-Gaulle boulevard where the post office is situated.
It
is not yet clear if the incident is connected with last week’s Paris
shootings that left 17 people dead, including journalists and police
officers. However, police sources indicate it may be an attempt of armed
robbery.
A suspect in a hostage taking situation is detained by members of
special French RAID forces outside
the post offices in Colombes outside
Paris, January 16, 2015.(Reuters / Philippe Wojazer)
Alexis Bachelay, the deputy of Hauts-de-Seine's first
constituency where Colombes commune is located, confirmed the
hostage-taking situation.
“I am going to the Petit-Colombes
[or just Colombes commune] where police have sealed the area after a
robbery at Aragon Post Office. There are hostages,” he said on Twitter.
EU anti-terror alert: 2 suspects killed, 1 captured in Belgium raid
Belgian special forces police block a street in central Verviers, a town
between Liege and the German border, in the east of Belgium January 15,
2015.
(Reuters / Stringer)
Belgian
police have killed two suspects and arrested a third in a raid on a
terror cell in Verviers. They were allegedly planning a serious and
“imminent” attack. The anti-terror operation is ongoing as Europe is on
high alert following attacks in France.
The suspects, all Belgian
nationals who are believed to have recently returned from Syria, opened
fire at police officers with automatic weapons in an attempted escape. “They were planning to commit serious terrorist attacks, and to do so imminently,” Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the country’s federal prosecutor, said at a briefing in Brussels. "The
suspects immediately and for several minutes opened fire with military
weaponry and handguns on the special units of the federal police before
they were neutralised." “They didn’t even know who was at the door,” he added. No police or civilians were injured in the shootout.
Belgian
TV stations are reporting that the third suspect was wounded and may
have died. Meanwhile AFP has quoted a source in the mayor’s office as
stating the raid was “jihadist-related.” "We've averted a Belgian Charlie Hebdo," an unidentified police officer told La Meuse.
The
anti-terrorist operation continues in Belgium as officials raised the
threat level to three out of four. Overall, police have searched about a
dozen locations across the nation.
Van Der Sypt said that so far
the investigations have found no links with the Paris assaults, but said
the investigation leading to the raid began before the Paris attacks.
Law enforcement allegedly learned of a planned attack through
intercepted phone conversations. “The searches were carried
out as part of an investigation into an operational cell, some of whose
members had returned from Syria,” he said. “For the time being, there is no connection with the attacks in Paris.”
Belgian authorities alleged that the cell was planning attacks on police buildings within “hours or days.”
Many European countries are on high alert, boosting security measures in the wake of last week’s deadly terror attacks in Paris.
The
Italian capital of Rome has become the latest to increase security at
local media outlets following the attack on Charlie Hebdo that left 12
people dead. Rome’s prosecutor announced that security measures have
been increased at and around other “sensitive places” –
including the Vatican, embassies, and tourist attractions, the Local
reports. Up to 20 people in Italy are being investigated for their
alleged links to extremist cells in Iraq and Syria, according to Italian
media reports.
WATCH: Heightened terror alert grips Europe, 2 suspected jihadists killed in Belgium raid.
In Germany, federal prosecutors have confirmed the
arrest of a suspected jihadist militant. According to reports, the
suspect could be part of a wider cell of Islamic State sympathizers
allegedly planning attacks in Germany.
Denmark and Norway are also
on alert after a threat was reportedly posted against two Scandinavian
countries on a French website.
Following the recent developments,
Austria and Spain also are on “high alert,” relying on a general threat
level. Transportation hubs – such as airports, seaports, and train
stations – as well as energy networks and nuclear power plants have
tightened up security.
UK security services are also taking
precautionary measures and have increased security after
counter-terrorism officials reportedly uncovered a plot to abduct a serving police officer or soldier on UK soil and broadcast their brutal murder on the web.
Germany arrests suspected ISIS fighter amid investigation into wider group
Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Reuters / Stringer)
Authorities
in Lower Saxony have confirmed the arrest of a suspected jihadist
militant. According to reports, the suspect could be part of a wider
cell of Islamic State sympathizers allegedly planning attacks in
Germany.
Federal prosecutors in Germany have confirmed that the
State Criminal Investigation Department has arrested a suspect in the
city of Wolfsburg. However, they denied a threat of “serious subversive violence” in Germany.
The arrested suspect, named as a 26-year-old German-Tunisian Ayoub B, has undergone “combat training for the militant jihad” and “recruited more fighters for the association” during a nearly three-month stay in Syria between late May and mid-August 2014, the prosecutors announced, according to Welt.
He
is allegedly one of the seven members of a 50-member cell which
traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight with the Islamic State, Bild
reported earlier.
The President of the Office of Criminal
Investigation (LKA), Uwe Kolmey, confirmed the investigation into the
suspect's extremist activities is ongoing, but said there is no evidence
that the suspect had planned attacks in Germany.
German former ISIS fighter Ayoub B. from Wolfsburg arrested by a special police unit. Charged for terror plans.
In total, there are 12 ongoing investigations into the Islamist “group” in Baden-Wuerttemberg state, Kolmey added, emphasizing that it is not a “terror cell,” according to NDR.
Meanwhile,
LKA officials reportedly searched several homes of Islamists in
Pforzheim, a town of nearly 120,000 inhabitants in Baden-Württemberg,
southwest Germany, on Thursday morning.
The head of the Federal
Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Maren
Brandenburger, pointed out that their authority has "no concrete evidence” of threats to Germany. "So we now have no real fear,"
she said. The activities of Salafists in Wolfsburg are well known and
are observed by the intelligence community, Brandenburger told German
N-TV.
A spokesman for the Lower Saxony branch of BfV told the
station that authorities are currently aware of some 40 people from
Lower Saxony that "have left the country in the direction of Syria" to become involved with ISIS.
Meanwhile,
Wolfsburg Mayor Klaus Mohr has warned the public against panic.
Although there are some known IS sympathizers in the city, he emphasized
that most of the Muslim community is strongly opposed to any extremism. "The overwhelming large number of Muslim citizens also thinks and acts completely differently [than IS sympathizers]," Mohr said, according to Welt.
Overall,
German officials believe around 550 nationals have traveled to Syria
and Iraq to fight alongside Islamic State, raising fears of possible
attacks on home soil when they return.
Ohio man arrested for ‘plotting’ ISIS-inspired attack on Capitol
Christopher Lee
Cornell, 20, of Green Township, Ohio, was arrested on charges of
attempting to kill a U.S. government official in an alleged plot to
attack.
The
FBI has arrested an Ohio man for allegedly planning to detonate a
series of bombs aimed at lawmakers and public officials in Washington,
DC, according to an ABC News report. The plan was reportedly inspired by
the Islamic State.
Little is currently known about Christopher Lee Cornell, who also goes by the name Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, but officials told ABC that he viewed American lawmakers as enemies. He has been charged with attempting to kill a US public official.
Specifically,
Cornell is accused of planning an assault on the US Capitol that
included setting off pipe bombs and using firearms to shoot officials
and others after those explosives were detonated.
Prior to his
arrest, 20-year-old Cornell was allegedly taking the “final steps” in
his plan – setting up travel arrangements to DC, buying two
semi-automatic weapons and 600 rounds of ammunition. Court documents
also stated that he made contact with an FBI informant, meeting twice in
person last year. During these meetings, Cornell told the informant of
his intention to attack the Capitol.
The same informant originally
told the FBI about Cornell after noticing posts on Twitter expressing
support for the Islamic State (also known as ISIS/ISIL). Cornell also
allegedly posted similar thoughts on message boards. “I believe that we should just wage jihad under our own orders and plan attacks and everything,” Cornell allegedly wrote online, the FBI said. “I believe we should meet up and make our own group in alliance with the Islamic State here and plan operations ourselves."
Following Cornell’s arrest, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security alerted law enforcement about the case. "The
alleged activities of Cornell highlight the continued interest of
US-based violent extremists to support designated foreign terrorist
organizations overseas, such as ISIL, by committing terrorist acts in
the United States," the notification reads. "Terrorist group
members and supporters will almost certainly continue to use social
media platforms to disseminate English language violent extremist
messages."
Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary (AFP Photo/Leon Neal)
January 13, 2015 - BRITAIN
- Radical Islamist cleric Anjem Choudary has declared the decision to
print a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover of Charlie Hebdo’s
first issue since Wednesday’s massacre an “act of war.”
The controversial cleric made the statements days after claiming Muslims did “not believe in freedom of speech” following last week’s terror attack in Paris, in which 17 people were killed by Islamist gunmen.
Among those killed were journalists and cartoonists working for the controversial magazine, which printed images of the Prophet Muhammad.
According to the Islamists, depicting images of the Prophet was an act that warranted capital punishment under Sharia (Islamic) law.
Choudary claimed the magazine’s decision to print the cartoon was “attacking the honor of the Prophet,” and that ridiculing the Prophet of Islam is “extremely serious.”
He also described the decision as an act of “blatant provocation” that would be tried as an “act of war” in a Sharia court.
However, self-styled Sharia law judge Choudary did not directly declare that Muslims would react to the decision violently.
Charlie Hebdo’s latest edition features a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on a green background, holding a placard reading “Je Suis Charlie” – the slogan widely used to express solidarity with the deceased journalists.
The magazine also features a strapline saying “All is forgiven.”
While the image has been shared numerous times online, the British press remain divided over whether to publish it. So far, only The Independent has decided to print the cover image.
The magazine is expected to sell over three million copies on Tuesday. - RT.
January 8, 2015 - MIDDLE EAST- Car bombs exploded at several areas in Yemen and Iraq, killing at least forty people and wounding dozens.
30 killed, 50 injured in car bomb blast at Yemen police academy
Policemen gather at the scene of a car bomb attack outside a police college in Sanaa
About 30 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a car blast outside a police college in Yemen's capital Sanaa, police say.
The victims of the attack are mostly college students and people who came to enroll with the police, witnesses and law enforcers say. They add the blast was heard across the city and a plume of smoke could be seen from a distance.
"What happened is we were all gathering and ... (the bomber) exploded right next to all of the police college classmates," eyewitness Jamil al-Khaleedi told AP. "It went off among all of them, and they flew through the air."
Photographs of the aftermath of the blast have quickly been posted on social media. They show the burning wreckage of the vehicle, another car burning and bloodied bodies lying on the pavement.
A car was passing when the bomb went off and was set on fire along with everyone inside, according to police.
Police officers look at the wreckage of a car at the scene of a car bomb outside the police college in Sanaa Jan 7, 2015.
"The situation is catastrophic. We arrived to find bodies piled on top of each other," a paramedic at the scene told Reuters as ambulances took casualties away.
"We found the top part of one person screaming, while his bottom half was completely severed."
The Interior Ministry said it was suspending enrollment at the police college.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
WATCH: Minibus bomb blast kills 30 in Sanaa.
Yemen has seen an increase in instability since the 2011 popular uprising that ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been increasingly active, staging a growing number of terror attacks. Neighboring nations are fearing of AQAP gaining enough power to carry out attacks outside Yemen.
At least 33 people were killed in a suicide attack near a cultural center in southwest Yemen a week ago. The attack targeted the Houthi Shiite Muslim militias, who have managed to drive AQAP from many areas they used to control. In November, the AQAP military chief vowed to carry out fierce attacks against Houthi rebels.
Car bombs kill 10 in central Iraq
Troops of the Interior Ministry take part in a parade during a ceremony
marking the Iraqi Police day's 93rd anniversary
at police academy in
Baghdad January 8, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Several car bombs have exploded on the outskirts of Iraq’s holy city of Samarra, killing ten people and injuring a further 41, a security official and eyewitnesses told journalists on Thursday.
The three bombs killed a civilian and two police officers, and were followed by a rocket and mortar fire battle, according to the official. This lasted for several hours, as gunmen escaped the security forces and fighter jets targeting them.
The city where the incidents occurred is 125km (80 miles) north of Baghdad, and is a place of great religious significance to the country’s Shiite population. It contains an important shrine.
Samarra, however, is itself is a Sunni-majority city. The Islamic State’s hardline Islamist version of faith does not believe in tombs or shrines. Ever since the destruction of one in 2006, tit-for-tat violence has been happening around the city. - RT.
December 31, 2014 - YEMEN
- A suicide attack targeting Shiite rebels has killed at least 33
people who had gathered in a cultural center in the Yemeni city of Ibb.
The rebels, known as Houthis, had reportedly gathered at the cultural center to prepare for celebrations of the prophet Muhammad’s birthday over the weekend, AP reports. Witnesses said a strong explosion targeted the area.
Medical sources and residents told Reuters that at least 20 bodies, including women and children, were rushed to Ibb’s al-Thawra hospital. Another 13 bodies were taken to another hospital called al-Manar.
The provincial governor was reportedly among those wounded in the blast.
DETAILS: Suicide attack targeting Shiite rebels kills at least 33 in Yemeni city of Ibb http://on.rt.com/ynplvn
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, though al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has a strong presence in Yemen, has carried out similar bombings against the Shiite rebels in the past.
At least 34 people, including 25 Houthis, six tribesmen and three AQAP fighters, were also killed on Tuesday and Wednesday morning when fighting broke out in the Khubza and Almanaseh villages in Radaa district of central Yemen, Al Jazeera reports.
According to the Doha-based broadcaster, the violence erupted after Houthi rebels tried to seize the villages from local tribesmen.
Since September, the Houthis have captured large swaths of Yemen, including parts of the Yemen capital Sanaa in a protracted battle against the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Hadi had previously warned that Yemen is facing “three undeclared wars” against Al-Qaeda, pirates in the Gulf of Aden, and the Houthi rebels, which he claims are being supported by Iran. - RT.
Police rescue personnel carry an injured woman from the Lindt cafe,
where hostages are being held, at Martin Place
in central Sydney
December 16, 2014. (Reuters/Jason Reed)
Witnesses have reported the
sound of automatic gunfire at the scene, with police deploying flash
bangs before storming the premises. Paramedics wearing bulletproof vests
were seen entering Lindt Cafe, where over 40 people were taken hostage
on Monday.
Police have now formed a line in front of media. #sydneysiege
Live shot from #sydneysiege now on @7NewsPerth some hostages injured, gunman is down, siege over
Police officers position themselves at a corner near Lindt cafe in
Martin Place, where hostages are being held,
in central Sydney December
15, 2014.(Reuters / Jason Reed)
#BREAKING: Man Monis has been named as the gunman behind the #SydneySiege. #9News
Public urged to go about its business as usual - Martin Place siege
Hostages held in Sydney cafe forced to hold an 'Arabic flag' at the window - http://huff.to/1AaSNOb #sydneysiege
"The exchange was started by three discrete bangs.
The first brought about five people from the building. A space followed
between the subsequent two and then a near-continuous volley rang out.
Dozens of shots," James Robertson, a reporter for the Sydney
Morning Herald, reported at the bottom of Martin Place; about 150 metres
from the scene.
One woman was seen being carried out with blood
running down her leg. Paramedics have been seen carrying at least 4
stretchers into the building. Unconfirmed reports say that eleven
additional hostages have been freed, with four people injured. One
police officer was reportedly injured in the operation.
The
dramatic scene follows a 16 hour standoff, after Iranian-born Sheik Man
Haron Monis, took over 40 people hostage. Monis, who refers to himself
as “the Brother”, is apparently a supporter of the radical militants
from the Islamic State, an Iraq and Syria-based terrorist organization
aiming to create a fundamentalist nation, or a caliphate in the region. -
RT.
