Anti-LGBT Christian Church Bombed
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/3983027105117452
Location: California, USA

On the morning of January 23rd, a crudely designed explosive was detonated inside the First Works Baptist Church (FWBC) in El Monte, California. Investigators should have many possible suspects for this attack, primarily due to widespread outrage in the community over the bigoted preacher who runs the church. The preacher, Bruce Meija, is known for extreme views, even condemning Halloween, with comments like “...trick-or-treating… is wicked as hell, and you’re worshipping Satan actually, and your daughter is dressed like a whore, because that girl in Frozen is a whore.” He has also claimed LGBTQ stood for “Let God Burn Them Quickly” and said preaching against gay people isn’t enough because they deserve execution. His hateful rhetoric made FWBC a frequent target of community protests, with more than 15,000 people petitioning El Monte’s mayor to denounce the church and label it a hate group, saying, “take them out of our city.” A FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, Laura Eimiller, said they have not yet detained any suspects.  She said the investigation would require more time.  “We have not ruled anything out,” she said.

8-Year-Old Girl Expelled From Christian School For Girl Crush
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/3982789061807923
Location: Oklahoma, USA

While on the playground at Rejoice Christian School, Chloe expressed her feelings for a fellow female classmate. Soon Chloe was escorted to the office. The vice-principal called her in for a meeting to lecture her about Christianity’s extreme views on same-sex relationships. When the vice-principal was finished lecturing Chloe, he called Delanie Shelton, Chloe’s mother, and asked her to pick her daughter up from school. Shelton recalls the vice-principal asked how she views "girls liking girls." The school official "looked shocked and appalled" when Chloe's mother replied, "If we're being honest, I think it's OK." The following day, Shelton received a phone call informing her that Chloe and her 5-year-old brother were no longer welcome as students. According to CNN, Rejoice Christian School’s handbook states that “any form of sexual immorality” goes against its beliefs, which includes professing to be homosexual/bisexual.

The Satanic Temple Suing the City of Boston
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/3979236125496550
Location: Boston, USA

The Satanic Temple (TST) filed suit against the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The city provides council members the choice of who gives the invocation before each meeting when they should be accepting requests from any community member to cite the prayer without regard for which deity they worship. As of now, the city’s loose adherence to the law allows council members, on a rotating basis, the choice of inviting which community member will provide the opening prayer. According to the Satanic Temple (TST), the latter option leads to favoritism and effectively discriminates against people who hold unpopular religious beliefs. As noted in the lawsuit, the Supreme Court previously ruled invocation prayers must be open to local citizens of all faiths or none at all. If Boston refuses to allow Satanists to be a part of that tradition, that is a discriminatory violation. The Satanists ask the courts to decree Boston’s “prayer scheme” unconstitutional. The lawsuit explains that TST’s Boston chapter members formally requested to provide invocations in 2016 and 2017.  Because TST had no council member to promote them, they were not permitted to speak.

Gay Men Caned in Indonesia Under Shariah Law
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/3977826658970830
Location: Indonesia

Authorities in Indonesia’s Aceh province publicly caned two gay men — a total of 77 times each — with rattan sticks. In Aceh's Tamansari city park, dozens of citizens witnessed the cruel enforcement of sharia law. Human rights activists chided Indonesia's authorities for the sadistic showcase. The homosexual men were caned in public after vigilantes detained them. Aged 27 and 29, the two men were arrested in November after a crowd of residents invaded their rented room, where they were purportedly discovered having a sexual encounter. Originally the men were sentenced to 80 strokes by a shariah court weeks ago. But instead, the court flogged the men 77 times since they already served some prison time. Four other people suffered 17 lashes for extra-marital sex and 40 lashes for consuming alcohol.

UK Proposes Amendments to Help Jewish Women Denied Divorce
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/3978907835529379
Location: United Kingdom

The Labor and Conservative parties, Liberal Democrats, and Independent politicians joined forces for a proposal that could provide optimism to Jewish women in the United Kingdom. They presented a motion for updating the Domestic Abuse Bill to help any woman whose husband refuses her a divorce under Jewish Law, thus proffering hope to approximately 30 women in the UK currently being denied a 'Get' by their husbands. A ‘Get’ "is a divorce under halacha (Jewish law), and can only be given by a husband to a wife." The refusal prevents the wife from marrying again under Orthodox Law until they obtain a 'Get' from their husband.  If he refuses, the wife will be known as an 'Agunah.' Agunah refers to the wife becoming chained, prevented from remarrying, or having children in harmony with her Orthodox beliefs.  Members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament in the United Kingdom, proposed amendments to protect victims of Get refusal.

Canada’s House of Commons Votes To Grant Raif Badawi Citizenship
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/3977580372328792
Location: Canada

The House of Commons in Canada was unanimous in voting for a motion demanding Raïf Badawi be given Canadian citizenship. Raïf Badawi, the Saudi blogger, was sentenced to 10 years in a penal institution and 1,000 lashes because he established a web-based forum to discuss Saudi Arabia’s social issues. The now-banned website was called the Liberal Saudi Network on Facebook. Saudi officials accused him of insulting Islam and convicted him in 2012. His wife, two daughters, and son reside in Quebec. The legislature voted in favor of the Bloc Québécois’s (a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism) motion to ask Marco Mendicino MP (Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship), a member of Parliament (MP), to offer citizenship to the imprisoned Saudi activist. Badawi’s wife Ensaf Haidar stated, “...even if it doesn’t change Raïf’s conviction, even if he stays until the end of the sentence (in June 2022), it would boost Raïf’s morale. It would boost our morale too. […] That will mean that when he gets out of prison, he will be with us right away.”

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Community Fights Police Over Israel’s Lockdowns
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/3968889569864539
Location: Israel

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators recently clashed with police in two of Israel’s major cities. Enforcing coronavirus restrictions in these religious neighborhoods has brought great challenges for local authorities. Most ultra-orthodox Jewish sects have defied virus safety regulations throughout the pandemic by persisting to open schools, pray in the synagogues and hold large funerals and weddings within their communities. Protesters opposed police efforts to enforce coronavirus lockdown restrictions. They reportedly used flaming garbage dumpsters to block roads, threw rocks at moving vehicles, and damaged a bus. Blatant disregard for safety measures contributed to a disproportionate infection rate within the ultra-Orthodox community. Members of the religious sect account for more than 33% of all Israel’s coronavirus cases, in spite of making up only 10% of the population.

Pakistani University Requires Female Students to Wear a Black Abaya
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/3977456032341226
Location: Pakistan

Prof. Dr. Bashir Ahmed, the vice-chancellor who presides over the Academic Council meeting held at Bacha Khan University in Pakistan, recently issued guidelines for a new dress code. In doing so, Bashir says that cultural and religious teachings are taken into consideration. Female students must wear a black abaya with a white or black scarf. An abaya is customarily black; the dress is fashioned like a relaxed and slightly baggy robe or caftan and it covers everything but the face, hands, and feet. The male students are only allowed to wear a white or black shalwar kameez. The vice-chancellor maintains that "proper arrangements should be in place for teaching the students religion, the Quran and its translations with proper explanation in order to make the younger generation better and responsible citizens.”

Belgium Officials to Deport Turkish Imam For Promoting Homophobia
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/3986815164738646
Location: Belgium

Belgium officials are deporting a Turkish imam for “sowing the seeds of hatred” with homophobic comments on a popular social media platform that facilitates the power to affect public opinion. In one of his posts, the Green Mosque’s nameless imam referred to the sermon by Ali Erbaş in April 2020. Erbaş is Turkey’s senior cleric and head of Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, who spoke during the commencement of Ramadan, declaring that “Islam curses homosexuality.”  But the imam posted that “homosexuality is an illness,” adding that Islam forbids it. The imam also agreed with one Facebook user's comment that said “Homosexuality is a virus of capitalism and democracy.” Sammy Mahdi, the Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, told the imam that there is no place in Belgium for those who “sow the seeds of hate.” He also refused to extend the imam’s request for a living permit.

Case involving Atheist Republic to be heard before Supreme Court of India!

The Atheist Republic team discusses a public interest litigation (PIL) that was brought before the Supreme Court of India, that directly mentions Armin Navabi’s tweets blaspheming against the Hindu Goddess Kali as a reason for the government to hold social media companies directly responsible for the “hateful” content on their platforms. This PIL even goes so far as to suggest that the government should create official monitors who remove the “hate speech” from social media platforms. The Atheist Republic team discusses how the Supreme Court recently gave notice that they will in fact hear this case, and how they plan to get involved in this legal battle.