Syria
Britain’s most high-profile Islamist cleric charged with IS support
By Reuters — August 5, 2015
LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) Anjem Choudary, well-known for praising the Sept. 11 attacks, was accused of using lectures published online to encourage Islamic State support.
The shocking photos many hope will inspire stronger US action in Syria
By Lauren Markoe — July 15, 2015
(RNS) A sign at the entrance to the exhibit warns of the shocking nature of the images beyond -- photos smuggled out of Syria that show emaciated and grotesquely mutilated victims of dictator Bashar Assad's prisons and torture chambers.
Pope chides world powers for failing to push for peace in Syria
By Rosie Scammell — June 19, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis on Friday said the international community has not done enough to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, and said the country’s Christians had been united by “the blood of the martyrs” lost in war.
New Arabic-language Vatican guidebook aims to explain Catholic culture
By Rosie Scammell — June 9, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has released an Arabic-language guidebook, the first of its kind, which aims to bring the culture of the Catholic Church to a new audience. Titled “The Vatican, its Significance and its Monuments,” the book hit bookstores around the Holy See late last month.
5 takeaways from the new report by US Commission on International Religious Freedom
By Brian Pellot — May 5, 2015
(RNS) The Central African Republic is bad, Malaysia is getting worse, and ISIS fighters should face the International Criminal Court.
Syrian Catholic leader pleads with US Christians not to forget his threatened church
By David Gibson — April 29, 2015
NEW YORK (RNS) “We are in grave danger; we may disappear soon,” Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart said in trying to keep one of the world's original Christian communities from vanishing.
Lapsed ban allows YouTube return for Islamist preacher in Michigan
By Reuters — April 8, 2015
WASHINGTON (Reuters) A Michigan-based Islamist preacher whose online sermons have been a leading source of inspiration for foreign fighters in Syria is free to return to social media after restrictions on his Internet use lapsed.
Activists: Islamic State group now holding 220 Christians in Syria
By Jane Onyanga-Omara — February 26, 2015
(RNS) The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the civilians were kidnapped from 11 villages near the town of Tal Tamr over the past three days by the militants, who control vast swaths of Syria and Iraq.
Yazidis thank Pope Francis for his support at Vatican meeting
By Josephine McKenna — January 8, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking people who follow an ancient religion blending elements of Zoroastrianism, Islam, Christianity and local folk beliefs.
Amid tears, ‘cry out with joy:’ Pope Francis’ Christmas Day blessing
By Cathy Lynn Grossman — December 25, 2014
In his annual "Urbi et Orbi" address to the city and the world, his text features the prayers for peace and health in lands torn by strife and by Ebola .
3 things Pope Francis hopes to accomplish in Turkey
By Josephine McKenna — November 26, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) There are so few Christians in this overwhelmingly Muslim country that Pope Francis is leaving the armored popemobile at home. So why is he going at all?
Child soldiers enlisted to fight against Islamic State in Syria
By Sophie Cousins — November 17, 2014
QAMISHLI, Syria (RNS) A Kurdish boy who looks no older than 11 mans the entrance of a military base in northeastern Syria. His pants drag on the ground and his shirt hangs off his bony shoulders as he stands in an ill-fitting military uniform next to a Kalashnikov automatic rifle. Like many of the child […]
Why a Wisconsin man decided to take on the Islamic State
By Sophie Cousins — October 8, 2014
DERIKE, Syria (RNS) Like many Americans, Jordan Matson is outraged by the brutality of the Islamic State. But unlike virtually every other American, he decided to take on the militants personally.
American dies fighting for Islamic State
By John Bacon — August 27, 2014
"I know that he had strong Muslim beliefs," said a cousin of Douglas McCain, "but I didn't know that he was in support of ISIS. I didn't think he would be."
The Audacity of Pope: The ‘Francis Doctrine’ puts the Vatican back on the world stage
By David Gibson — June 3, 2014
(RNS) In a world of heart-wrenching suffering, leaders from President Obama to Russia's Vladimir Putin often seem like helpless actors controlled by events rather than directing them. Pope Francis also risks that fate.
