A Texas school principal that had been quoting Bible verses during the morning announcements and whose superintendent said he wouldn’t give in to virulent anti-Christians demanding he stop, has given in.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation had attacked the school because allegedly a student contacted blogger, Hemant Mehta, who calls himself “the friendly atheist.” Mehta contacted the FFRF to demand the school stop quoting scripture.
School superintendent Michael Gilbert stood up for his principal and said that he would not punish him nor make him stop.
“The residents were offended at the use of Scripture, demanding that it be stopped and calling for disciplinary action against Mr. Noll,” he stated. “I am fully aware of the practice at the high school and will not pursue any action against our high school principal or any other member of our faculty/staff concerning this issue.”
“Let me also be clear that we have not (in my opinion) violated anyone’s rights and/or subjected anyone to undue stress,” Gilbert continued. “Bible studies and Scriptures are allowed in schools. The requirement is that the material be presented in a neutral manner. It is my position that we met that standard with the morning announcements.”
However, Saturday, principal Dan Noll said he would be giving in to the FFRF and no longer quote scripture during his announcements.
A group of anti-Semitic vandals attacked the car of a Dallas area rabbi.
Rabbi Yaakov Rich leads a group worshiping at his home in Dallas. The neighborhood’s Homeowners Association (HOA) tried to stop the group from having their times of worship and tried to sue the Rabbi to make him stop. A court threw out the case last month.
Last week, the city of Dallas sued him to make improvements to the home if he wants to continue to hold services.
Then he came outside Thursday to find s swastika painted on his car.
“As a Jew, the swastika is the most offensive symbol that there is. They didn’t just attack me, they attacked every Jew in the City of Dallas. I am very grateful, however, that the members of Congregation Toras Chaim are banding together to ensure that there is no disruption in our activities,” Rabbi Rich told CBS Dallas.
Justin Butterfield of the Liberty Institute told CBS Dallas that this is not the first time the group has faced vandalism.
“In orthodox Jewish homes, there is a little box on the doorway with a scroll on it with a scripture on it, and in the past, somebody had ripped that off of the doorway. They’ve also had people drive in front of the home screaming obscenities at them,” said Butterfield.
The superintendent of a Texas school district is standing up to a militant anti-Christian who attacked a school principal for quoting the Bible during school announcements.
Hemant Mehta, who calls himself “the Friendly Atheist”, took the unfriendly step of contacting the virulently anti-Christian Freedom From Religion Foundation after what he claimed was an anonymous student’s complaint over Proverbs being read during announcement time.
“He who leads upright along an evil path will fall into his own trap, but the blameless will receive a good inheritance,” Principal Dan Noll read from the book of Proverbs in one of the announcements. “The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.”
The FFRF demanded that the Principal stop reading scriptures and for disciplinary action be taken against Noll.
White Oak Superintendent Michael Gilbert would have none of that.
“The residents were offended at the use of Scripture, demanding that it be stopped and calling for disciplinary action against Mr. Noll,” he stated. “I am fully aware of the practice at the high school and will not pursue any action against our high school principal or any other member of our faculty/staff concerning this issue.”
“Let me also be clear that we have not (in my opinion) violated anyone’s rights and/or subjected anyone to undue stress,” Gilbert continued. “Bible studies and Scriptures are allowed in schools. The requirement is that the material be presented in a neutral manner. It is my position that we met that standard with the morning announcements.”
A Texas lawmaker is standing up to say that just because a woman is brain dead it doesn’t mean the baby inside her is also dead.
Rep. Matt Krause is creating a bull that would allow the baby in the case to have his or her own representative in court to argue for the life of the child.
“You’ll hear what the family wants, and you’ll also give the pre-born child a chance to have a voice in court at that same time,” Krause told the Dallas Morning News. “The judge weighs everything and he or she makes their decision based on that.”
The proposed law in the wake of the case of Marlise Munoz, a 33-year-old woman who was found unconscious in the middle of the night. Doctors say Marlise had suffered a blood clot in her lung which caused her to collapse. She spent two months at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth where the baby had a measurable heartbeat despite the mother being brain dead.
The woman’s husband and parents wanted to end the life of Marlise and the unborn child as per her request. She did not want to be “kept alive by machines.”
The hospital said they could not remove Munoz from life support because of a Texas state law that prohibits the removal of life support to a pregnant woman. Judge R.H. Wallace said that the woman was technically dead and so the law didn’t apply to her, allowing Erick Munoz, Lynne Machado and her husband to end the life of Marlise and the unborn baby.
The first Islamic tribunal is now hearing cases and issuing rulings in North Texas.
The “court” is located in Irving, Texas and is being used to settle disputes between Muslims such as divorces and business disputes using Sharia Law rather than U.S. law as the basis for their decisions.
The judges claim that their decisions are nothing more than giving an “Islamic point of view” to situations that they are facing in their lives and participation is voluntary. The three men who run the tribunal say that they do not handle anything that involves criminal activity.
“All our decisions point back to the Koran and Sunna … and what the prophet Mohammed left to us,” Dr. Taher el-Badawi, Islamic Tribunal judge, told KEYE TV.
The restriction to not handle criminal cases allows the tribunal to avoid having to issue any rulings on situations where the Quran calls for stoning if someone commits adultery or the subjugation of women.
Critics say that the “court” sets a dangerous precedent and fear that would allow other foreign groups to use foreign law.
The family of Redeemer Episcopal Church in Houston were still reeling from the news their pastor and his family had been murdered when they suffered a second blow.
The son of Pastor Israel Ahimbisbwe has been arrested in the murder of his father, mother and brother.
Houston police say that 19-year-old Isaac Tiharihondi has been charged with two counts of capital murder and was being held in custody in Mississippi where he fled after the killings. He covered the bodies with blankets and towels in the back bathroom of the apartment where the victims were found Monday.
A member of the church told a local TV station that she had lunch with the accused killer after police say he committed the crime.
“It’s devastating. It’s sad. It’s unexplainable,” Nancy Taylor, who attends Church of the Redeemer, told KHOU. “We had lunch, we sat, we chatted, we talked, we laughed. It was just a real enjoyable experience and time together. … Good kid, polite, nice, respectful, grateful.”
“While I am relieved authorities have found Isaac, I am heartbroken that he has been charged with capital murder. This only adds to the tragedy of their deaths and raises more questions than it answers,” Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Episcopal Bishop of Texas said in a statement.
The faith community of Houston, Texas is reeling from the news a popular pastor, his wife and 5 year old son were murdered in their home.
Police confirm that Israel Ahimbisibwe, Jr. was found in his apartment around 9:30 a.m. Monday. A welfare check had been made on the family after the pastor and his wife didn’t show up Sunday and didn’t return phone calls Monday morning.
“He didn’t show up for church yesterday afternoon, which is totally out of character for them not to let us know, and didn’t respond to text or phone calls,” church member Keever Wallace told the Christian Post.
Investigators say that there were no signs of forced entry into the apartment.
“I will say that they did suffer some type of unknown wounds,” Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties told FOX 26. “It is being investigated as a homicide.”
“This is a horrific and awful tragedy,” noted Bishop of Texas C. Andrew Doyle in a release from the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. “We are in touch with the police and Israel’s family here in Houston. Please keep the Ahimbisibwe and Redeemer families in your prayers.”
The pastor leaves behind two older sons.
A Christian activist who made headlines last year when she boldly proclaimed Christ during a Muslim prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. made another bold stand in Texas.
Christine Weick took the microphone at the podium during the 7th annual Texas Muslim Capitol Day and declared Christ as Lord over the state.
“I proclaim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ over the capitol of Texas,” declared Weick. “I stand against Islam and the false prophet Mohammad. Islam will never dominate the United States, and by the grace of God, it will not dominate Texas.”
While no lawmakers were seen at the event, one Democratic State Senator from Houston referred to the declaration of Weick’s as “hate speech.”
“People of all faiths deserve to be treated with respect and dignity in our state’s capitol while they exercise their rights in a peaceful manner,” Sen. Rodney Ellis remarked in a statement provided to the Houston Chronicle. “We felt the need to stand in solidarity with Texas Muslims in the face of virulent hate speech and bigotry.”
Weick had also protested the “Stand With The Prophet” event in Garland, Texas in January.
Hundreds protested this weekend outside a Muslim conference in Garland, Texas that was aimed to tell Muslims to “Stand With The Prophet.”
The event reportedly was sold out.
“Frustrated with Islamophobes defaming the prophet? Fuming over extremists like ISIS who give a bad name to Islam? Remember the Danish cartoons defaming the prophet? Or the anti-Islam film, ‘Innocence of Muslims’? These attacks are no accident,” the website for the event reads.
“Prophet Muhammad inspires love and devotion in the hearts of Muslims, peace be upon him; unfortunately, Islamophobes have turned him into an object of hate,” it continues. “Hate groups in the U.S. have invested at least $160 million dollars to attack our prophet and Islam. Isn’t it time we invested in defending our faith? Otherwise, groups like ISIS and Boko Haram will only continue to increase the media’s ammunition to incriminate Muslims.”
One of the speakers was Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who has been called the “unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.”
Vietnam Veteran Jeff Higgins says that he came out to protest because he wants people to know the truth about Islam.
“This is my backyard,” Higgins stated. “We live under the American law, not Shariah law and I know that ultimately, that’s their goal, is to bring Shariah law to America. This is the first kind of, in-your-face attempt to do that. I know they’ll say this is about peace, but peace means submission to them.”
Muslim leaders from around the U.S. will be heading to Texas for a rally called “Stand With the Prophet in Honor and Respect.” The event is being called “a movement to defend Prophet Muhammad, his person and his message.”
The event seeks to combat “Islamophobes in America” who have, in their words, have turned Muhammad “into an object of hate.”
The event comes a week after Islamists killed 17 people in France for mocking Muhammad.
One of the scheduled speakers at the event is Siraj Wahhaj, the man called an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings.
“Frustrated with Islamophobes defaming the Prophet?” the event materials ask. “Fuming over extremists like ISIS who give a bad name to Islam? Remember the Danish cartoons defaming the Prophet? Or the anti-Islam film, ‘Innocence of Muslims’?”
“When real events warrant, like the Danish Cartoon controversy, Sharia ban, Quran burning, Boko Haram kidnappings. [Islamic State] brutality, etc., we articulate fresh talking points and content quickly, and in a timely manner, working with professionals to disseminate it through community spokespersons and our allies,” organizers state on their website.
