For more than two decades Barnabas Fund has spoken out and supported persecuted Christians, particularly in Muslim-majority contexts. We have recognised that to support our brothers and sisters facing persecution overseas we must speak out both on the persecution itself and on the ideology driving that persecution. In doing so we have always sought to strike a careful balance, distinguishing between ideology and people. On the one hand are the root causes of persecution in terms of Islamic concepts such as jihad, dhimmi and shari‘a and on the other hand are Muslim people – who must be accepted and loved – the majority of whom in the West at least, practise a peaceful, primarily devotional form of Islam.
In the News
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July 27th, 2016
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July 27th, 2016
A transgender identity should no longer be diagnosed as a mental disorder, according to the first field study to evaluate a proposed change in the WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
The mental distress experienced by many transgender people is primarily the result of social rejection and violence, the study found. Not, as has been assumed for decades, solely the result of being transgender.
The findings, published in the Lancet, show that viewing transgender people as having a mental illness might force them to get psychiatric care rather than the physical care they seek.
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July 27th, 2016
For over two years, Isil have waged war on the religious mosaic of the Middle East. They have slaughtered all those they consider apostates in increasingly lurid fashion, targeting Christians, Yazidis, Shia Muslims, and countless Sunnis too. As their war extended into Europe, they chose methods – such as the vehicular butchery of Nice – that even Osama bin Laden had rejected as indiscriminate. But if Isil’s target list is broad, it is not without priorities.
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July 27th, 2016
The makers of Fireman Sam have 'apologised unreservedly' after an episode showed a character standing on a page of the Koran.
Eagled-eyed viewers claim the episode 'Troubled Waters' of the children's television classic is Islamophobic because it showed bumbling character 'Elvis' disrespecting the Muslim holy book.
Channel 5, which aired the episode last month, has removed it from its online catch-up service.
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July 27th, 2016
A charity has trained its counsellors to help parents who fear their children are being radicalised.
The NSPCC said its existing support line could now advise parents worried about extremists grooming a child.
It said counsellors had been trained to spot warning signs such as children isolating themselves or "talking as if from a scripted speech".
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July 27th, 2016
Experts and officials working on reforming Northern Ireland's abortion laws were named last night as Health Minister Michelle O'Neill moved to counter claims of secrecy.
The special panel, which has met only once so far, includes the chair of the group, chief medical officer Michael McBride, as well as chief nursing officer Charlotte McArdle, chief social services officer Sean Holland, Department of Health secondary care directorate official Jackie Johnston, Hugh Widdis of the departmental solicitor's office, and Brian Grzymek and Amanda Patterson from the Department of Justice.
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July 26th, 2016
Two years ago, the children of a Romanian couple living in North London were taken into custody by social services. Their parents, Florin Barbu and Claudia Racolțea, were fighting constantly, which gave their neighbours enough alarm to call in for help to protect the children. They were taken away and last June, the boy and the girl were adopted by a British same-sex couple.
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July 26th, 2016
Social media communications will be the subject of new guidance issued to prosecutors as part of the government’s action plan to tackle hate crime following an increase in the number of incidents.
Home secretary Amber Rudd (pictured) said hate crime of any kind, directed against any community, race or religion, had no place in society.
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July 26th, 2016
A Texas judge on Tuesday dismissed the last remaining charge against two anti-abortion activists who made undercover videos allegedly showing Planned Parenthood officials selling baby body parts.
District Judge Brock Thomas dismissed the charge of tampering with government records against 27-year-old David Daleiden and 63-year-old Sandra Merritt upon the request of the Harris County prosecutor's office.
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July 26th, 2016
Two knife-wielding men killed a priest and injured one other person in a church in northern France Tuesday, reportedly in the name of the Islamic State.
The attackers took at least four hostages at the church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, located in the Normandy region. Both men were killed by police after the standoff. President Francois Hollande quickly blamed ISIS, and the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency said the terrorist organization took credit for the attack, saying their soldiers had targeted the location in France because the country is part of "the crusader coalition."