"'Freedom in the World 2011' was accompanied by a press release, overview essay and regional maps, all of which highlighted the lack of democracy and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa, currently a hot topic in the British media in light of events in Tunisia.

"At the start of the new year, the Governor of Punjab was murdered because he had opposed the call by Pakistan's Islamists to execute a Christian woman on false blasphemy charges arising out of her harassment by her Muslim neighbors.

"Around a third of young British Muslims favour killing in the name of Islam, according to a survey revealed by the WikiLeaks' publication of U.S. diplomatic cables.

"Each week, Mahmoud Habbash, the Palestinian Authority's minister of religious affairs, sends an e-mail to mosques across the West Bank. It contains what amounts to a script for the Friday sermon that every imam is required to deliver.

"A new wave of Iraqi Christians has fled to northern Iraq or abroad amid a campaign of violence against them ."

"• Embassy cables show Arab allies want strike against Tehran • Israel prepared to attack alone to avoid its own 9/11 • Iranian bomb risks 'Middle East proliferation, war or both'"

"The EU has called on Turkey to open up trade with Cyprus, to better promote gender equality and human rights, and to toe the line on foreign policy issues in a lukewarm appraisal of Ankara's path towards EU membership.

"The number of people killed in a suicide bomb attack on a mosque in north-west Pakistan has risen to 72, local officials say.

"Iranian authorities have amputated the hand of a convicted thief in front of other prisoners, state radio reported Sunday, in a possible step toward restoring the punishment to common use and carrying it out in public.

"A hacker has attacked the website of the Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC), a group assisting the Christian convert Rifqa Bary.

"A study being conducted by a team from Dicle University in the Southeast on honor killings has so far shown that little if any social stigma is attached to the act.

(Opinion):

"According to HRANA, Elnaz Babazadeh, a 26 year old woman was raped and murdered by Basij forces in the city of Tabriz (northwestern Iran) last week. According to the reports, Basij forces stopped Babazadeh in her car for not following the Iranian regime's dress code.

Alyssa Lappen spotlights intrepid Rachel Ehrenfeld's battle against speech-squelching Saudi billionaire Khalid Bin Mahfouz:

"He said the attack signified "increasing desperation" on the part of the Taliban, whose "space is being restricted by security forces". "Witnesses said the dead and injured included women and children.

"A Moroccan man who refused to shake hands with a French female official and whose wife wears the full Islamic veil has been denied French citizenship, the immigration ministry said Friday.

"A veteran Iranian human rights activist has warned that Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani, a mother of two, could be stoned to death at any moment under the terms of a death sentence handed down by Iranian authorities.

"Hamas's security forces in the Gaza Strip detained over the weekend dozens of Fatah activists in one of the largest crackdowns in recent months, Fatah officials said.The latest clampdown on Fatah comes after fresh mediation efforts to solve the crisis with Hamas failed.

"Somali Islamist militants killed two people and arrested dozens of others for breaking a ban on watching the World Cup on television, residents said.

"Militants staged coordinated attacks in this eastern city Friday on two mosques of a minority Muslim sect, taking hostages and killing at least 80 people.

"Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy takes on a terrifying question: How does the Taliban convince children to become suicide bombers? Propaganda footage from a training camp is intercut with interviews of young camp graduates. A shocking vision.

"Saudi law forbids women to socialize with unrelated men or walk in public without a male guardian, other than her husband, father or brother.

"Men on motorcycles splattered 15 students, teachers with acid in Kandahar. The men squirted the acid from water bottles onto three groups of students and teachers walking to school Wednesday, principal Mehmood Qaderi said.

A wall-- plus, of course, checkpoints: "A series of recent suicide bombings has driven the governor of the Iraqi capital to propose the concrete barrier, which will be 15ft (4.5m) high and 70 miles (112km) long.

"Morocco's main Islamist opposition party has called for gay singer Elton John to be banned from performing at a festival in Rabat later this month, a party leader said Friday.

Excellent Resource. Lots of information about how many, many warning signs about the dangers of terrorism by Islamic extremists were ignored before the 911 attack. And, in light of the continuing efforts by Islamic extremists to commit acts of terrorism-- just as relevant today.

(In light of Comedy Central's selective censorship of the image of Mohammed while allowing those of other religions, this interview with Trey Parker and Matt Stone "on liberals, conservatives, censorship, and religion" is still relevant today, and provides more background into th …

"Ingenuity, creativity, and guts have sustained this People longer than any other identifiable group of people in existence today. The only thing that may have outdone this is their sensitivity to needs of others.

"Ahead of a planned opposition rally on Monday, Iran tightened security and arrested over 20 mothers who were mourning children killed in the unrest that has broken out since the disputed June 12 elections.

"State prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei said the opposition leaders could be accused of supporting people who defy God by protesting against the government on Sunday. He said the leaders may face charges of supporting apostates, or those who go against God.

Protests Tehran - Nov 4th - Video of security forces attacking women

"You've been around enough to know that someone who showed the symptoms of Major Hasan in the army of Algeria, or Syria, or Tunisia, or Turkey, would have been in jail long before he could have gunned down his fellow soldiers.

"According to reports by Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN), Iran security police and 'plain clothes' officers invaded a group of more than 70 new believers, interrupting pre-Christmas celebrations.

"When you see footage such as this, with anti-regime Iranian protesters losing any concern about their own safety, it's hard to imagine the current leadership hanging on.

The video speaks for itself.

"Ardeshir — not his real name — is one of scores, perhaps hundreds, of detainees who have been raped and tortured by their jailers in the past three months in what appears to be a systematic attempt to break their will.

December 16, 2009 on BBC World News "Hunger to Learn" - ..

"Islamic Republic of Iran: Yesterday's opposition demonstrations, which were dispersed with violence and loss of life, were followed today by raids by the intelligence ministry and Revolutionary Guards on opposition figures and news media and a new wave of hacker attacks on web …

"But it passed with less support this year than last year, which is good news."

"Cyrus Nowrasteh is soft-spoken and polite, not the qualities you would expect from a man who has directed The Stoning of Soraya M., one of the most disturbing and controversial movies you will ever see.

"Honour killings" are now running at the rate of one a month, it has emerged, following a shocking rise in violent crimes committed in Britain in the name of religion.

"He said no when fighters from Somalia's notorious al Shabab militia came to recruit him. A month later, he was tied down in a stadium while his hand and foot were hacked off. The Star 's Michelle Shephard talks to the victims and butchers in the world's most failed state

"The reputation and credibility of the Turkish military are on the line after whistle-blowers within its own ranks told civilian prosecutors that a plan hatched by the army to undermine the government was genuine, despite public assurances by the chief of the army general staff t …

"Turkey has blocked two of its largest LGBT websites. Users of sites such as hadigayri.com and gabile.com are finding that instead of regular homepages, they are seeing messages stating that the site has been blocked by the Telecommunication Directorate.

''Six people convicted by Islamic sharia courts in a northern Nigerian state are awaiting death by stoning, while 46 others are waiting for amputation, the official News Agency of Nigeria reported on Friday.

Egyptian soldiers killed four Sudanese refugees near the Egypt-Israel border overnight Wednesday in full view of IDF troops, a shaken-sounding IDF soldier said in an interview with Channel 10, Thursday evening.