Muslim who stabbed Rabbi

A German court has sentenced a Muslim to prison for three and half years because he stabbed a Jewish rabbi in the stomach. Witnesses said Sajed Aziz, originally from Afghanistan, had shouted anti- Semitic insults at Rabbi Zalman Gurevitch as he stabbed him in Frankfurt.

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President Bush's Koran apology

President George Bush has made a personal apology to the government of Iraq for the behaviour of the US soldier who shot at a copy of the Koran. A statement from the office of Iraq’s prime minister, Nouri Maliki, confirmed Mr Bush’s apology.

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Faith and Football

An exhibition displaying the close parallels between modern soccer and religious faith has opened in the museum of the Stephansdom, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Vienna. It draws parallels between acts such as kissing a soccer trophy and the kissing of Orthodox icons, while raising a cup aloft in a stadium of cheering fans is compared to a Catholic priest raising the Eucharist aloft in view of the faithful during a Catholic liturgy. Bernhard Boehler, the museum’s director remarked: “There are many parallels between the cult of football and the rituals of the Christian Church.”

Associated Press

Bishop of Durham and Baha'i arrests

The Bishop of Durham is protesting against the arrest by the Iranian Government of six leading members of the Baha’i faith, considered a heresy in Iran. Bishop Tom Wright says: “It is deeply concerning to hear reports of the arbitrary arrest by the Iranian authorities on May 14 of six members of the leadership of the Iranian Bahá’í community. These arrests are an extremely worrying development, especially when added to the rising tide of persecution against the Bahá’ís in Iran.”

Iraq Church anti-death penalty

The Catholic Church in Iraq is opposing the death sentence of Ahmad Ali Ahmad, who was charged last Sunday with the murder and kidnapping of the Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho. Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad, an auxiliary Chaldean bishop said: “If he were still alive, Archbishop Rahho himself would not permit that someone would die for him. Let us recall that the principles that have always inspired the Church are forgiveness and reconciliation.” Archbishop Rahho, who was Archbishop of Mosul, was found dead in February, shortly after his kidnapping.

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