Umar Farooq

Umar Farooq is an author at Religion News Service.

All Stories by Umar Farooq

Andrew Brunson freed after telling court, ‘I love Jesus, I love Turkey’

By Umar Farooq — October 12, 2018

IZMIR, Turkey (RNS) — The American missionary, imprisoned nearly two years on terrorism-related charges, had been the subject of a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Turkey.

Turkish star witnesses against US pastor Andrew Brunson are his expelled congregants

By Umar Farooq — August 13, 2018

IZMIR, Turkey (RNS) — The Turkish government isn’t Brunson’s only foe. He’s also battling former members of his congregation who were expelled in part for harboring racist views toward ethnic Kurdish refugees, according to one pastor at the church.

In Turkey, suspicion of US clouds case of pastor Andrew Brunson

By Umar Farooq — July 28, 2018

ISTANBUL, Turkey (RNS) — For many in Turkey, Brunson's case has little to do with his faith or his work as a missionary, and everything to do with how Washington addresses the concerns of Ankara.

Is bitcoin permissible in Islam? Muslims disregard clerics’ warnings and invest

By Umar Farooq — March 8, 2018

ISTANBUL (RNS) — Religious rulings call bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies haram, or prohibited in Islam. But some people worry religious scholars do not have all the facts about how the currencies work, which might be closer to the Quranic conception of money than they realize.

With construction of a new mosque, Greek Muslims look to come out of the shadows

By Umar Farooq — November 2, 2016

ATHENS, Greece (RNS) Decades of legal restrictions and a lack of funding have meant only three prayer spaces are registered properly with authorities. But that's about to change.

To counter Islam’s critics, imam says Muslims need to relearn faith

By Umar Farooq — December 29, 2015

ISTANBUL (RNS) Imam Fadel Soliman teaches Muslims to deal with critics, but his "hidden goal" is to challenge his listeners' own understanding of the precepts of Islam.

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