Hitchens: Stop Fearing (and Coddling) Islam

Koran quotes discovered in music track

(NEWSER) - Sony has held up distribution of a top video game after the discovery that it contains quotations from the Koran in a background music track, reports the BBC. Copies of Playstation 3 game LittleBigPlanet have been recalled and Sony has apologized. A modified version will be released next month. The Koran quotes were discovered by a blogger, who warned that their use alongside music could be considered deeply offensive. More»

Kathleen Parker apologizes to the 'Muslim World'

(NEWSER) - Kathleen Parker pens a letter to the “Muslim World” in the Washington Post , calling herself “an American citizen who is deeply embarrassed by current events in my country.” When it comes to “so-called pastor” Terry Jones , “please ignore” him. “What we hope you understand is that most Americans were appalled by Jones's proposal, too,” she writes, and then apologizes, “as a member of the news media,” for handing Jones “a megaphone.” More»

(NEWSER) - A debate on freedom of religion featuring ultra-nationalist zealots is playing out in the most unlikely of places: a sleepy hamlet in Switzerland. A group is trying to block the construction of a 30-foot tall minaret on a mosque in Langenthal (pop. 14,000) because it's a symbol of Islam's "desire for power," the Independent reports. More»

Crowd avenges alleged Koran desecration

(NEWSER) - Six people are dead after Muslim protesters torched houses in a Christian neighborhood of Pakistan’s Gojra City yesterday, CNN reports. The demonstrators, who were protesting an alleged desecration of the Koran at a Christian wedding last weekend, set fire to between 40 and 50 houses. A crowd burned 15 houses in a similar incident last Thursday. More»

Clerics say book aims to replace holy text

(AP) - A pocket-size translation of the Koran has landed six men in prison in Afghanistan and left two of them begging judges to spare their lives. They're accused of modifying the Koran, and their fate could be decided Sunday in court. The trial illustrates what critics call the undue influence of hardline clerics in Afghanistan, a major hurdle as the country tries to establish a lawful society amid war and militant violence, the AP reports. More»