United Arab Emirates renames mosque ‘Mary, Mother of Jesus Mosque’
A mosque in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital, has been renamed “Mary, Mother of Jesus”. Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi crown prince and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces, ordered that the mosque be renamed to “consolidate bonds of humanity between followers of different religions.” Mary plays a prominent role in the Christian and Islamic traditions. Reverend Canon Andrew Thompson of St. Andrew’s Church, an Anglican parish near the newly renamed mosque, expressed his gratitude in an interview with Gulf News. “We are delighted that we are celebrating something that we have in…
Christians Denied Land to build churches in the North – Mosques spring up in South, East
In what looks like a deliberate plan to stop the spread of Christianity up North, State Governments in the Arewa Zone have continued to turn down applications for the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy, popularly called C of O to the Church. A statement issued by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), expressed dismay that churches were being denied their right of expansion in the north, contrary to the provisions of the constitution of Nigeria. “In the area of religious freedom of worship and conscience, we are saddened by the fact that many state governments, universities and other institutions…