LEAVING ISLAMIC STATE
The cost of leaving Islamic State: Death or jail
While foreigners from across the world have joined the Islamic State militant group, some arrive in Iraq or Syria only to find day-to-day life much more austere and violent than they had expected. These disillusioned recruits soon discover that it is a lot harder to leave than to join, and that even if they escape they have nowhere to go.
The Islamic State group has killed 120 of its own members in the past six months β most of them foreign fighters hoping to return home, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The militants work to prevent recruits from leaving from the time they join. The first step is the removal of passports and identity documents.
If the disillusioned make it out alive, they are considered terrorists and security risks by their homelands. Thousands of returned fighters are now under surveillance or in jail in North Africa and Europe, where they are viewed with even more suspicion after last month’s massacre in Paris by trained militant brothers.
One who escaped warns would-be jihadis, “Don’t give your life up for nothing.”
Sound:
317-c-22-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)-“up for nothing”-AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports that some young Muslims regret joining the militants occupying much of Iraq and Syria. (2 Feb 2015)
< SAME-SEX WEDDING CAKE Damages hearing set in Oregon same-sex wedding cake dispute PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) β A hearing is scheduled in March to determine how much in damages two Oregon bakers owe a lesbian couple for refusing to bake them a wedding cake in 2013. The Oregon labor department says an administrative law judge rejected the bakers’ contention that the state’s discrimination laws violate their religious freedom. Aaron and Melissa Klein have said they serve gays and lesbians but could not in good conscience make a cake celebrating a same-sex wedding. Their attorney says the Kleins had to close their shop after being boycotted. Aaron Klein now works as a garbage truck driver. Investigators for the state Bureau of Labor and Industries have recommended that the Kleins each pay $75,000 in damages. Sound: 265-a-06-(Paul Thompson, attorney for lesbian couple, in AP interview)-“wanted a cake”-Paul Thompson, attorney for lesbian couple, says bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein refused to make his clients a wedding cake. (2 Feb 2015) < 262-v-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–A hearing is scheduled in March to determine how much in damages two Oregon bakers owe a lesbian couple for refusing to bake them a wedding cake in 2013. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (2 Feb 2015) < 263-a-14-(Anna Harmon, attorney for Aaron and Melissa Klein, in AP interview)-“their religious beliefs”-Anna Harmon, attorney for Aaron and Melissa Klein, says the couple could be forced to pay $150,000 in damages to a lesbian couple for refusing to bake them a wedding cake. (2 Feb 2015) < 266-a-08-(Paul Thompson, attorney for lesbian couple, in AP interview)-“to the public”-Paul Thompson, attorney for lesbian couple, says the bakers’ Christian beliefs shouldn’t allow them to refuse to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. (2 Feb 2015) < 264-a-12-(Anna Harmon, attorney for Aaron and Melissa Klein, in AP interview)-“a part of”-Anna Harmon, attorney for Aaron and Melissa Klein, says the couple had no objection to serving gays and lesbians. (2 Feb 2015) < VATICAN-WOMEN Vatican culture minister acknowledges women’s video problem VATICAN CITY (AP) β The Vatican’s culture minister has acknowledged that his office must expand its horizons after a promotional video for a Vatican women’s conference featuring a sexy Italian actress was ridiculed in North America. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi said the criticism that compelled him to remove the English version of the video came from both liberal and conservative wings of the church β including from bishops. Some complained it wasn’t feminist enough and others said it was so liberal it was “unworthy of a church initiative.” The video features actress Nancy Brilli asking women to contribute clips of their lives for broadcast at a meeting of Ravasi’s Pontifical Council for Culture this week. In the video, she says the church leaders will reflect on “the place for women in societies today between equality and difference.” The working paper for this week’s meeting speaks about opening the church’s doors to women so they can offer their skills “in full collaboration and integration” with men. Sound: 229-w-32-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Italian actress Nancy Brilli)–The Vatican’s culture minister has acknowledged that his office must expand its horizons after a promotional video for a Vatican women’s conference featuring a sexy Italian actress was ridiculed in North America. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (2 Feb 2015) < 226-r-05-(Nancy Brilli, Italian actress, in Vatican video)-“you are important”-In a Vatican video, Italian actress Nancy Brilli encourages women to tell Church leaders what it’s like to be a woman today. (2 Feb 2015) < 225-r-10-(Nancy Brilli, Italian actress, in Vatican video)-“your spiritual life (music fades)”-In a Vatican video, Italian actress Nancy Brilli encourages women to tell Church leaders what it’s like to be a woman today. (2 Feb 2015) < HENRY LYONS-CHURCH Church headed by controversial pastor burns TAMPA, Fla. (AP) β Firefighters in Tampa, Florida, have battled a blaze at a church led by controversial pastor Dr. Henry Lyons. Officials said Monday the fire broke out at the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church. The cause of the fire is under investigation. New Salem Missionary Baptist Church faced foreclosure in 2011 and filed for bankruptcy the next year. Lyons was freed from prison in 2003 after serving nearly five years on grand theft and racketeering charges. He was convicted after an investigation revealed Lyons used his leadership role as president of the National Baptist Convention and pastor of Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church to steal an estimated $4 million to buy luxury homes, jewelry and support his mistresses. Lyons’ fall came after his wife set fire to a $700,000 waterfront home he co-owned with another woman. PASTOR-WIFE SLAIN Ala pastor pleads not guilty in wife’s stabbing death BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) β An Alabama pastor says he’s innocent of a murder charge in the death of his wife. WBRC-TV reports that Richard Shahan pleaded not guilty Monday in the death of his 52-year-old wife, who was found dead in their house in Homewood, Alabama, in July 2013. Shahan was working as a minister to children and families at First Baptist Church of Birmingham at the time. Prosecutors say they believe Shahan killed his wife so he could flee the country and start a new life with his boyfriend in Europe. Shahan’s attorneys say he was leaving the country for a three-year mission trip when he was arrested at the Nashville International Airport on New Year’s Eve 2013. He was carrying $27,000 in various currencies at the time of his arrest. DETECTIVE DIES IN RACE Detective, 42, collapses, dies in Philadelphia charity race PHILADELPHIA (AP) β A suburban Philadelphia detective who won an award as his community’s officer of the year has died after collapsing during a 5K race to raise money for his church and its youth programs. Police say 42-year-old Kevin Cornish was stricken Saturday morning about half a mile from St. Anselm parish in Northeast Philadelphia’s Parkwood section. Officers running with Cornish performed CPR but couldn’t revive him. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Officials said it appeared the 12-year department veteran suffered a massive heart attack. Officials described Cornish as hard-working, well-liked and community-minded. He spent the last five years on the department’s special victims unit. The local Rotary club honored Cornish last year as its top officer. He leaves behind a wife and an 11-year-old daughter. FRATERNITY HOUSE-SWASTIKAS California police probe swastika graffiti as hate crime DAVIS, Calif. (AP) β While detectives investigate spray painted swastikas on a University of California, Davis off-campus Jewish fraternity house as a hate crime, a Muslim civil liberties group has come out in solidarity with the Jewish community. Davis police spokesman Tom Waltz said no suspects had been identified and no arrests had been made Monday. The Sacramento Bee reports that the two large swastikas spray painted onto the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house happened between 3 and 9 a.m. Saturday. In a statement, UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi called the behavior “repugnant and a gross violation of the values our university holds dear.” Council on American Islamic Relations Sacramento Valley Executive Director Basim Elkarra released a statement Monday that says the group “condemns all acts of hate targeting members of any faith or background, including rejecting anti-Semitism.” FRANCE-BRITAIN-IMAMS British imams pay solidarity visits to French imams, Jews PARIS (AP) β British Muslim clerics have paid a visit to their counterparts in France to bolster solidarity after the January terror attacks in Paris by Muslim extremists. The imams also met with Jewish representatives of CRIF, the Jewish umbrella group. Four people at a Jewish grocery were among the attackers’ 17 victims, while 12 others died in the newsroom massacre at Charlie Hebdo. British imam Qari Mohammed Asim said sharing experiences is critical in difficult times. Speaking during the visit Monday to the Great Mosque of Paris, he noted that extremists who killed over 50 people in the 2005 London bombings were from his home town of Leeds. Asim told mosque rector Dalil Boubakeur “we’ve seen how difficult it is in those challenging times to keep communities together.” Boubakeur denounced extremists as Muslims’ a “common enemy.” JORDAN-ISRAEL Jordan says its ambassador will return to Israel after spat AMMAN, Jordan (AP) β A spokesman for Jordan’s government says its ambassador will return to Israel after he was pulled over growing confrontations at a hilltop site in Jerusalem holy to both Jews and Muslims. Mohammad al-Momani told journalists Monday that the ambassador would return to Tel Aviv. The trapezoid-shaped compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, is at the heart of the territorial and religious conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Jordan recalled its ambassador in November to protest what it said were heavy-handed Israeli tactics at the Al-Aqsa Mosque there. Under an arrangement with Israel, Jordan has custodial rights over Muslim holy sites in the Old City, which includes the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Sound: 165-a-15-(Mohammad al-Momani (moh-HAH’-mahd ahl-moh-MAH’-nee), Jordanian government spokesman, at news conference)-“demanded months ago”-Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad Al-Momani says the Jordanian ambassador who was pulled from Israel over growing confrontations at a Jerusalem site holy to both Jews and Muslims will return. ((refers to the holy site as Haram al-Sharif, also known as the Temple Mount)) (2 Feb 2015) < CHINA-CULT MURDER 2 cult members executed in China for McDonald’s murder BEIJING (AP) β A Chinese court says two members of a religious cult have been put to death for killing a woman at a McDonald’s outlet. The Yantai Intermediate People’s Court in the eastern province of Shandong says Zhang Fan and her father, Zhang Lidong, were executed after the Supreme People’s Court approved the death penalty. Monday’s statement didn’t say when the executions happened. The two were convicted and sentenced in October along with three others, who received sentences from life imprisonment to seven years. The court said the five had beaten the woman one evening in May after she refused to give them her number so they could recruit new members into the “All-powerful Spirit” group, which China considers an illegal cult. The anti-Communist sect believes Jesus was resurrected as a Chinese woman.
