Muslim prison numbers soar as staff warn of Islamic ‘gang culture’ in jails
Prison officers have warned of Islamic ‘gang culture’ in jails after figures showed the number of Muslim inmates has rocketed compared with other faiths. Stats obtained by the Sunday People reveal convicts in England and Wales who say their religion is Islam have passed the 11,000 mark for the first time. The total for Christians is 43,235, according to data given out under freedom of information laws. Prison officers’ association general secretary Steve Gillan said: ‘There is clear evidence of gang culture and a radicalisation of young men. They use the name of religion as an excuse to behave badly and in a threatening manner. Muslims in jail numbered only 3,681 in 1997 but last year there were 11,278. ‘Terrorists in maximum security jails have increased dramatically in number. It puts pressure on prisons at a time of cost cuts and overcrowding. This has been reflected in problems involving some Muslim gangs.’
Pray: against any growth in gang culture and radicalism amongst the prisoners. (Heb.13:3)
More: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/muslim-prison-numbers-soar-staff-1982124
New EU guidelines on religious freedom welcomed
The European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) has welcomed the European Union's adoption of guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion. The guidelines were adopted by the foreign ministers of all 27 EU member states at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. They were developed in consultation with the European Platform on Religious Intolerance and Discrimination (EPRID), founded in 2006 by the EEA, Open Doors International and Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The focus of the guidelines is on the external policy of the European Union related to understanding, monitoring and promoting freedom of religion or belief and raising awareness of this right in non-EU countries. The EEA said the guidelines would strengthen the EU's capacity to defend religious freedom by addressing the causes of violations and formulating responses. Victims of religious freedom violations will also be in a stronger position to ask EU delegations and member state embassies to intervene on their behalf.
Pray: that the adoption of these new guidelines will strengthen the EU’s capacity to defend religious freedom. (Jam.2:12)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/new.eu.guidelines.on.religious.freedom.welcomed/32964.htm
New EU guidelines on religious freedom welcomed
The European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) has welcomed the European Union's adoption of guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion. The guidelines were adopted by the foreign ministers of all 27 EU member states at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. They were developed in consultation with the European Platform on Religious Intolerance and Discrimination (EPRID), founded in 2006 by the EEA, Open Doors International and Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The focus of the guidelines is on the external policy of the European Union related to understanding, monitoring and promoting freedom of religion or belief and raising awareness of this right in non-EU countries. The EEA said the guidelines would strengthen the EU's capacity to defend religious freedom by addressing the causes of violations and formulating responses. Victims of religious freedom violations will also be in a stronger position to ask EU delegations and member state embassies to intervene on their behalf.
Pray: that the adoption of these new guidelines will strengthen the EU’s capacity to defend religious freedom. (Jam.2:12)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/new.eu.guidelines.on.religious.freedom.welcomed/32964.htm
France: Police swoop on Islamist terror suspects
French police are holding nine suspected Islamists as part of an anti-terrorism investigation. Three were arrested last Tuesday in southern France. The other six detained last Monday in the Paris area have been described by the Interior Minister Manuel Valls as ‘particularly dangerous’. They are being questioned by anti-terrorist investigators at Levallois, north of the capital. By law they can be held for up to four days. Monday’s raids by anti-terrorist police took place in three towns around Paris. Four of the six suspects are French, one is from Benin and the other from the Comoros Islands. They are all said to be aged in their twenties and thirties. They are thought to have been involved in armed robberies including a hold-up at a bank near the capital in April. Since the murders by one individual of seven people in Toulouse last year, several terrorist cells have been dismantled, according to the interior minister. France raised its domestic terror alert level after its military intervention in Mali.
Pray: that the authorities will continue to be successful in thwarting the terrorist activities. (Pro.2:7)
More: http://www.euronews.com/2013/06/25/french-police-swoop-on-islamist-terror-suspects/
