Libya

Supreme Court allows full enforcement of Trump travel ban

By Jerome Socolovsky — December 4, 2017
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not a final ruling on the travel ban: Challenges to the policy are winding through the federal courts, and the justices themselves ultimately are expected to rule on its legality.

Pope Francis: Seek forgiveness for shutting out refugees

By Rosie Scammell — June 17, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Drawing attention to the U.N.’s World Refugee Day this Saturday, Pope Francis said people who shut out refugees should seek forgiveness.

Islamic State shoots and beheads 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya

By Reuters — April 19, 2015
CAIRO (Reuters) A video, in which militants call Christians "crusaders" out to kill Muslims, showed about 15 men being beheaded on a beach and another group of the same size, in an area of shrubland, being shot in the head.

Coptic Christians increasingly feel endangered in Libya and Egypt

By Monique El-Faizy — February 16, 2015
CAIRO (RNS) The families of the victims had been holding protests and meetings since the abductions in an effort to prod the Egyptian government to secure their release but had received little support or information, according to people in contact with the families.

Pope Francis condemns Islamic State’s executions of Christians in Libya

By David Gibson — February 16, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) "Be they Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, it doesn't matter: They're Christian! The blood is the same: It is the blood which confesses Christ," Francis said.

Islamic militias continue spread beyond the Middle East into African nations

By Fredrick Nzwili — August 18, 2014
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) The declaration from Libya's Ansar al-Sharia movement mirrors the rise of the Islamic State in northern Iraq and Syria. The two militant movements share similar goals.

Christians in Libya cast anxious eye at religious freedom

By Fredrick Nzwili — January 10, 2014
(RNS) Church leaders in Libya remain hopeful that Christians in the mostly Muslim country will be allowed to practice their faith, even as the country appears to move towards Shariah law.

Report: 8 countries on UN Human Rights Council restrict religious freedom

By Brian Pellot — December 31, 2013
LONDON (RNS) A new report says eight current and incoming member states of the U.N. Human Rights Council were among 24 countries to imprison believers and atheists in 2013 for violating local laws that restrict freedom of religion or belief.

U.S. move of Vatican embassy draws fire

By Sarah Pulliam Bailey — November 26, 2013
(RNS) The United States will move its freestanding Vatican embassy into the larger American Embassy to Italy, a shift that has drawn criticism from former U.S. envoys.

U.S. Muslims, Copts appeal to rioters to drop violence

By Omar Sacirbey — September 18, 2012

(RNS) Muslim and Coptic Christian leaders in the U.S. are pledging not to let a spate of violent protests in some 20 Islamic countries derail recent efforts to improve the sometimes troubled relations between the two communities. By Omar Sacirbey.

Middle East riots fueled by competition between radicals, moderates as new democracies emerge

By Oren Dorell — September 17, 2012

(RNS) Whether U.S. foreign policy has helped create a political environment where radicals are struggling to remain relevant, or emboldened extremists to act out, is a matter of disagreement. By Oren Dorell.

Bishops blast Coptic Christians behind anti-Muslim film

By Daniel Burke — September 14, 2012

RNS) The Coptic Christian bishop of Southern California blasted the Copts who made and hyped an anti-Muslim film that has sparked protests across the Muslim world. By Daniel Burke.

Vatican recalibrates response to Middle East riots, says violence is never justified

By Alessandro Speciale — September 13, 2012

(RNS) The Vatican issued a firm condemnation of the attack against the U.S. embassy in Libya, one day after a statement that focused on decrying "provocations" against Muslim sensibilities. By Alessandro Speciale.

The ‘maverick’ Egyptian-American Copt behind the anti-Muslim film

By Daniel Burke — September 13, 2012

(RNS) The man who circulated the trailer of an obscure anti-Islam film, promoted it on his website and posted it on social media was a little known Egyptian-American Coptic Christian activist who lives near Washington and proudly touts his ties to Quran-burner Terry Jones. By Daniel Burke. 

U.S. Muslims worry about fall-out from Libya attacks

By Omar Sacirbey — September 12, 2012

(RNS) After a mob of Islamic fundamentalists attacked American embassies in Egypt and Libya, leaving at least four Americans dead, Muslim Americans said the violence abroad would increase hostilities against them in the U.S. By Omar Sacirbey.

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