Duke Students Boycott 'Pornographic' Reading Assignment

A group of students at Duke University have refused to read a book assigned to all new students, saying the graphic novel's depictions of sexuality "compromised" their religious beliefs.

Fun Home was selected as "shared experience" reading for the Class of 2019 at the North Carolina university.

The novel is an autobiography of Alison Bechdel, a lesbian, whose father was a closeted gay man.

But some have taken issue with the novel's depiction of sex and nudity.

"I feel as if I would have to compromise my personal Christian moral beliefs to read it," student Brian Grasso wrote in a post to fellow students on Facebook.

Other students called the graphic novel, which inspired a Tony-winning musical, "pornographic".

The debate comes as US universities continue to grapple with students who disagree with assignments or lectures because of their religious or political beliefs.

Some activists have pushed for universities to use "trigger warnings" to alert students about provocative content.

Duke's Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations Michael Schoenfeld said the assignment is voluntary and the book was selected by a panel of students and staff members.

"Fun Home was ultimately chosen because it is a unique and moving book that transcends genres and explores issues that students are likely to confront," Mr Schoenfeld told the Daily Dot website. But he added that "with a class of 1,750 new students from around the world, it would be impossible to find a single book that that did not challenge someone's way of thinking".

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Flooding, Landslides Hit Vast Area of Burma; Christians Denied Aid

Many villagers in Burma are still afloat in boats ferrying vital supplies for survival amid floodwaters, while others are returning to homes and fields sealed in mud. 

The recent flooding has caused damage across a wider area than 2008's Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 140,000 people and is regarded as the worst natural disaster in Burma's recorded history. 

"Despite Cyclone Nargis being the worse disaster ever in the nation, it was a localized event in that it only affected the Irrawaddy Delta," said the native director of a ministry based in Burma, David (surname withheld for security reasons). "There is a different face to this flood in that it is spread out almost across the entire western half of the nation. It covers three of the four regions known as the 'rice bowl' of Myanmar." 

Unlike Nargis, the flood from rains beginning in July has been gradual, giving residents time to escape, he said. At least 103 people have died. 

"There are surprisingly low casualties, but huge damage to farmland and animals and properties," he said. 

More monsoon rains are expected, and landslides continue to cut transportation routes and crush homes. Familiar with the submerged terrain and its inhabitants, indigenous missionaries sharing in their pain are in prime position to help. 

"Many of the worst affected regions are where we have worked for the past nine years," David said. "I know the region well, and several of the churches planted are in those areas. In one of our sister congregations, we have 28 families who lost their home either in part or whole." 

Heavy monsoon downpours began swelling rivers and creeks in Burma on July 16. A storm system in the Indian Ocean on July 30 was upgraded to a cyclone – a hurricane in the northern Indian Ocean – and dubbed Komen. Cyclone Komen tore into Burma the first week of August. Some 1.2 million acres of rice fields were destroyed as flooding hit all but two of Burma's 14 states and reportedly destroyed at least 17,000 homes. So far flooding has "critically affected" more than 1 million people, according to the United Nations, which in 2008 said Cyclone Nargis had "severely affected" 1.5 million people. 

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ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape

QADIYA, Iraq — In the moments before he raped the 12-year-old girl, the Islamic State fighter took the time to explain that what he was about to do was not a sin. Because the preteen girl practiced a religion other than Islam, the Quran not only gave him the right to rape her — it condoned and encouraged it, he insisted.

He bound her hands and gagged her. Then he knelt beside the bed and prostrated himself in prayer before getting on top of her.

When it was over, he knelt to pray again, bookending the rape with acts of religious devotion.

“I kept telling him it hurts — please stop,” said the girl, whose body is so small an adult could circle her waist with two hands. “He told me that according to Islam he is allowed to rape an unbeliever. He said that by raping me, he is drawing closer to God,” she said in an interview alongside her family in a refugee camp here, to which she escaped after 11 months of captivity.

The systematic rape of women and girls from the Yazidi religious minority has become deeply enmeshed in the organization and the radical theology of the Islamic State in the year since the group announced it was reviving slavery as an institution. Interviews with 21 women and girls who recently escaped the Islamic State, as well as an examination of the group’s official communications, illuminate how the practice has been enshrined in the group’s core tenets.

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Report: ISIS Shifts Gears, Readies To Take More Syrian Cities From Assad

As Turkey and the United States jointly conduct airstrikes aimed at eliminating the influence of ISIS, the terrorist group has begun to relocate its troops in an attempt to capture cities where neither Kurds nor rival jihadi ground troops are a threat– towns still officially in control of the Syrian government.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, Islamic State jihadis are being moved into Deir Ezzor, a central Syrian city by the Euphrates River far from the Turkish and Iraqi borders. The group’s report claims “large numbers of foreign fighters are weapons” have moved there in order to solidify their hold on the town, with a few neighborhoods still nominally under control of President Bashar al-Assad.

The move follows a weekend in which ISIS appeared to be bouncing back from attacks by a campaign jointly under control of Turkey and the United States. Turkey began conducting airstrikes in Syria and Iraq last month, though the government has been accused of using its force to weaken the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an enemy terrorist group to ISIS, more than it has fought ISIS itself. The United States begun striking ISIS targets with manned aircraft flying out of Turkey on August 12, the Pentagon confirmed.

Despite this campaign, however, Chinese state news outlet Xinhua reported that a major offensive by the terrorist group resulted in up to 50 Syrian rebels killed in Aleppo province, bordering Syria. The rebels were believed to be aligned with the the al-Shaitaat tribe who, while Sunni Muslims, have resisted Islamic State advances since the terrorist group first arrived in their region.

The Islamic State also took hold of the town of Umm Housh in Aleppo, which Arutz Sheva notes is “along a rebel supply line from Turkey. “ISIS is trying to seize control of these villages from rebels to cut their supply route between Aleppo city and its outskirts, and the town of Azaz,” Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, explained.

The advances of Turkey and the United States appear to have changed the Islamic State’s strategy from moving closer to Turkey and taking on Kurdish-protected towns directly to attempting to conquer towns held by independent rebels or regions controlled by al-Assad piecemeal. Another development that has served to benefit ISIS is the announcement by the al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda subgroup, that they would cease to operate in the “ISIS-free area” Turkey is attempting to create in Syria. Nusra spokesmen objected to the Turkish government’s military advance, accusing Ankara of being more invested in “Turkey’s national security” than in toppling Assad, the Nusra Front’s main objective. Al Qaeda and ISIS are rival jihadi groups.

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Nigeria: Suicide Bomber Kills Six in Church Attack

A suicide bomber killed six people at a church in northeast Nigeria on Sunday at the end of a week in which suspected Boko Haram insurgents killed more than 200 people.

The spate of bloodletting prompted renewed international outrage and French President Francois Hollande said he was ready to hold a summit with regional leaders to coordinate the fight against Boko Haram.

The blast in Potiskum in Yobe state on Sunday came after an attack on the capital of neighboring Borno state on Friday, deadly raids in three towns during the week and suicide bombings along a highway.

President Muhammadu Buhari said the murder of up to 150 Kukawa residents near Lake Chad on Wednesday by Boko Haram was a "heinous atrocity". Several people who attended burials there, including a senior government official, said 147 bodies, including 22 children, had been interred.

Also last week in Borno, about 50 people were shot dead in nearby Monguno, 12 men were killed in a raid on Miringa and two suicide bombers killed another 10 alongside a highway.

"DEVASTATE AND DECAPITATE"
The Defence Ministry said six suicide bombers had blown themselves up during the attack on the outskirts of Maiduguri on Friday, killing a soldier and "scores" of civilians.

The army said it recovered a jeep packed with explosives after repulsing the attack.
New president Buhari vowed to crush Boko Haram when he was sworn in on May 29. But the insurgents have stepped up their attacks, despite losing huge chunks of territory this year to soldiers from Nigeria, Cameroon,Chad and Niger.

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ISIS Massacres Hundreds in Palmyra

Syrian state TV says about 400 civilians were massacred since Wednesday. Other reports say most of the victims were Shabiha militiamen.

The Islamic State (aka ISIS) group has reportedly murdered hundreds of people after seizing the ancient town of Palmyra (Tadmor) last week. The organization seized full control of the town Wednesday.

Syrian state TV has reported that about 400 civilians were massacred by the group since Wednesday, while activists in Palmyra said that ISIS fighters hunted down President Bashar al-Assad's troops and loyalists, killing up to 300 of them.

Nasser, of the Palmyra Media Center – a monitoring group on the ground – told Al Jazeera that most of those murdered were Syrian government troops captured by the fighters after taking over the town.

"Shabiha (a term used to describe a state-sponsored militia), including men and women, were the ones targeted and killed," he said.

Meanwhile, the Syrian military is deploying troops in areas near Palmyra in an apparent preparation for a counter-attack to retake it.

Talal Barazi, the governor of the central province of Homs, which includes Palmyra, confirmed to the Associated Press on Sunday that government forces intend to launch a counter-attack. "There are plans, but we don't know when the zero hour for a military act in Palmyra [sic]," Barazi said.

The capture of Palmyra has stoked fears that ISIS might try to destroy the well-preserved, 2,000-year-old Roman-era city on the town's edge – as they have destroyed other archaeological treasures in Syria and Iraq.

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Muslims Demand Turkey Convert Hagia Sophia Into Mosque

Breitbart.com reports: “A large rally in Istanbul demanded the government change the historic Hagia Sophia church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, into a mosque. The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) led the rally through the Sultanahmet district.  Many people carried signs that said, ‘Hagia Sophia needs to be reopened as a mosque’ and ‘Let our lives be sacrificed for Islam.’  The idea to change the church into a mosque begun to gain momentum in April after Pope Francis recognized the slaying of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide. Liam Deacon at Breitbart London chronicled the history of Hagia Sophia. The Ottoman Empire did convert the church into a mosque in 1453. After the empire fell, the new Turkish government transformed it into a secular museum.  ‘Frankly, I believe that the Pope’s remarks will only accelerate the process for Hagia Sophia to be reopened for [Muslim] worship,’ Professor Hizli, a senior government cleric, said in a written statement on April 15th.  He decried the Pope’s comments as a ‘modern reflection of the crusader wars launched in these lands for centuries,’ and suggested that Turkey’s role as a ‘standard bearer’ for the Muslim world provoked criticism from non-Muslims.  The latest blow was using the church to celebrate Islam during Easter holy week…”

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Turkey, U.S. sign deal to train, equip Islamists against Syria

Turkey will provide an equal number of trainers to work alongside their American military counterparts, said an official at the U.S. military’s Central Command.

Reuters said that the agreement is “to train and equip Syrian moderates to fight the Islamic State.” Yet, the same Reuters report said, “Turkey hopes the training will also bolster the weakened and divided Syrian opposition in their war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.”

It is highly doubtful that these “moderate” Islamists will fight the Islamic State (ISIS). In fact, according to WorldNetDaily,“moderate” Syrian rebels trained in 2012 by U.S. military instructors later joined the Islamic State.

WorldNetDaily was first to report the U.S., Turkey and Jordan were running a training base for the Syrian rebels in Jordan in 2012 and 2013. Again, the same Jordan will train similar Islamists.

Why use an alleged war against ISIS to expand training for Islamists who eventually join ISIS? Reuters said that Saudi Arabia also offered a site for such training. Saudi Arabia is notorious for its total ban on Christianity. In contrast, Syria, whose president the U.S., Turkey and Saudi Arabia want to overthrow, has been known for its tolerance for a Christian community that has existed in Syria for 2,000 years.

U.S.-supported Syrian rebels have been known for atrocities against Christians in Syria.

It seems that a bigger Republican presence in the U.S. Congress has increased pressure to support these “moderate” Islamists fighting Assad.

Even though Obama, the Republicans and the mainstream media insist on calling these Islamic rebels “moderate,” Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forthright:“The term ‘moderate Islam’ is ugly and offensive — Islam is Islam.”

Actually, if the Syrian rebels were “moderate,” Saudi Arabia would never support them. William Murray, president of the Religious Freedom Coalition, said“the only way to stop the tide of Islamic terror in the Middle East and the world is to shut down the funding state of that terror, Saudi Arabia.”

Turkey would never train Syrian rebels to fight ISIS. According to WorldNetDaily, Turkey backs ISIS to eliminate Assad. And Pat Buchanan, a former Reagan adviser, told in WorldNetDaily: “Depose Assad, welcome Muslim Brotherhood.”

Because of the extreme violence, rapes and slaughters against Syrian Christians by Syrian rebels, CBNNews said in a headline: “Syrian Christians: “Why Is America at War with Us””

You can ask on behalf of these Christians:

Why Is Obama at War with Syrian Christians?

Why Are Republicans at War with Syrian Christians?

If the U.S. were serious about a real war against ISIS, it would not be helping Turkey and Saudi Arabia to overthrow Assad, the only Islamic dictator in the Middle East who is fighting ISIS and protecting Christian minorities.

If the U.S. were serious about a real war against ISIS, it would be helping to overthrow Islamic dictatorships in Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The U.S.-Turkey agreement to expand training of Islamists in Syria will only expand persecution against Christians.

What can you do? If you are an American Christian, you have a responsibility to speak up, because your tax money is being used to fund U.S. military trainers and their Islamist trainees against Syria. Because of these wicked policies, there is blood in the hands of American taxpayers. The Obama administration, with Republican assistance, makes your tax-money an accessory to the murder of Christians.

Contact right now your representative and senator and say: “I do not want my money shedding Christian blood in Syria! Please, stop it!”

Because this is an international crisis involving Syrian Christians and their families, international Christians can also help by contacting the members of U.S. Congress to condemn Turkey for its support for ISIS and Syrian rebels and condemn Saudi Arabia for its blatant anti-Christian ban.

You can contact the U.S. House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/

You can also contact the U.S. Senate: http://www.senate.gov/

The U.S. Congress should also be encouraged to praise the Syrian government for being the Muslim government that most protects Christian minorities in the Middle East.

If the U.S. wants to defeat ISIS, it should sign an agreement with Syria. If the U.S. wants nothing to do with Syria, it should do as President James Madison said, “To cherish peace and friendly intercourse with all nations having correspondent dispositions; to maintain sincere neutrality toward belligerent nations and to exclude foreign intrigues and foreign partialities.”

If it is hard for a Christian America to support Syria for the sake of persecuted Christians, it should be impossible for her to support Turkey or Saudi Arabia.

Turkey was responsible for the worst genocide against Christians in the 20th century.

Saudi Arabia has a total ban on Christianity.

America should have a total ban on agreements with both radical Islamic nations.

 

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Judicial Watch: Defense, State Department Documents Reveal Obama Administration Knew that al Qaeda Terrorists Had Planned Benghazi Attack 10 Days in Advance

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it obtained more than 100 pages of previously classified “Secret” documents from the Department of Defense (DOD)and the Department of State revealing that DOD almost immediately reported that the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was committed by the al Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood-linked “Brigades of the Captive Omar Abdul Rahman” (BCOAR), and had been planned at least 10 days in advance. Rahman is known as the Blind Sheikh, and is serving life in prison for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and other terrorist acts. The new documents also provide the first official confirmation that shows the U.S. government was aware of arms shipments from Benghazi to Syria. The documents also include an August 2012 analysis warning of the rise of ISIS and the predicted failure of the Obama policy of regime change in Syria.

The documents were released in response to a court order in accordance with a May 15, 2014, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed against both the DOD and State Department seeking communications between the two agencies and congressional leaders “on matters related to the activities of any agency or department of the U.S. government at the Special Mission Compound and/or classified annex in Benghazi.”

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Iraqi Christian Leader Denied US Visa

Religious freedom activists are calling on the US State Department to reverse its decision to deny a visa to an influential Iraqi Christian leader, Sister Diana Momeka, who planned to visit the US this spring to advocate for persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

Today, Johnnie Moore, co-chair of the 21 Martyrs Campaign, and Samuel Rodriquez, president of the NHCLC/CONEL, a large association of Hispanic Christians, issued the call after the organization's conference in Texas this week. Momeka was to be a member of a delegation of Iraqi religious leaders visiting Washington, DC.

“Sister Momeka is a gift to the world and a humanitarian whose work reminded me—when I met her in Iraq—of Mother Teresa,” said Moore, author of Defying ISIS and a key partner with the 21 Martyrs Campaign, created following the beheadings of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya earlier this year. "It is incomprehensible to me that the State Department would not be inviting Momeka on an official visit to the United States, as opposed to barring her from entry.”

Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute was also critical of the decision. In an online commentary, she wrote, “Earlier this week, we learned that every member of an Iraqi delegation of minority groups, including representatives of the Yazidi and Turkmen Shia religious communities, has been granted visas to come for official meetings in Washington—save one.

“The single delegate whose visitor visa was denied happens to be the group’s only Christian from Iraq. Sister Diana Momeka of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena was informed on Tuesday by the US consulate in Erbil that her non-immigrant-visa application has been rejected.” Shea said the nun told her that her status as a displaced person was the reason she was given for the visa denial.

Chris Seiple, head of the Institute for Global Engagement, had hoped to assist Momeka during her US visit. Seiple posted on Facebook, “In the same week that the State Deptment says it will take the engagement of religious leaders seriously (as announced in its quadrennial review two days ago), it refuses a visa to a persecuted Christian nun who has fled ISIS, Sister Diana.”

Momeka was displaced from her home at the hands of ISIS. Some 50,000 other Christians from the Iraqi city of Qaraqosh were also forced to flee. The State Department typically does not comment publicly on individual visa applications. She has visited the United States before, including a trip to Chicago to deliver a commencement address at the Catholic Theological Union in 2012.

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