This report was compiled by the U.S. Department of State for 2012. The study found that the government increased its targeting and surveillance of members of faith groups it deemed a "threat," including members of the country's Sunni majority. This occurred concurrently with the escalation of the civil conflict that resulted in the regime killing 35,000 civilians between the start of the uprising in 2011 and year's end. Such targeting included killing, detention, and harassment. There were credible reports that the regime targeted citizens based on religious affiliation in mixed neighborhoods in Homs and rural Aleppo. The government outlawed groups it claimed were "Muslim extremist groups," as well as Jehovah's Witnesses. It continued to monitor the activities of all religious groups and to discourage proselytizing, which it deemed a threat to relations among and within different faiths.

This report was compiled by the U.S. Department of State for 2012. The study found that the government increased its targeting and surveillance of members of faith groups it deemed a "threat," including members of the country's Sunni majority. This occurred concurrently with the escalation of the civil conflict that resulted in the regime killing 35,000 civilians between the start of the uprising in 2011 and year's end. Such targeting included killing, detention, and harassment. There were credible reports that the regime targeted citizens based on religious affiliation in mixed neighborhoods in Homs and rural Aleppo. The government outlawed groups it claimed were "Muslim extremist groups," as well as Jehovah's Witnesses. It continued to monitor the activities of all religious groups and to discourage proselytizing, which it deemed a threat to relations among and within different faiths. Large Print Edition 18pt]

A prominent rabbi and imam, each raised in orthodoxy, overcome the temptations of bigotry and work to bridge the chasm between Muslims and Jews
Rabbi Marc Schneier, the eighteenth generation of a distinguished rabbinical dynasty, grew up deeply suspicious of Muslims, believing them all to be anti-Semitic. Imam Shamsi Ali, who grew up in a small Indonesian village and studied in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, believed that all Jews wanted to destroy Muslims. Coming from positions of mutual mistrust, it seems unthinkable that these orthodox religious leaders would ever see eye to eye. Yet in the aftermath of 9/11, amid increasing acrimony between Jews and Muslims, the two men overcame their prejudices and bonded over a shared belief in the importance of opening up a dialogue and finding mutual respect. In doing so, they became not only friends but also defenders of each other's religion, denouncing the twin threats of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and promoting interfaith cooperation.
In "Sons of Abraham," Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali tell the story of how they became friends and offer a candid look at the contentious theological and political issues that frequently divide Jews and Muslims, clarifying erroneous ideas that extremists in each religion use to justify harmful behavior. Rabbi Schneier dispels misconceptions about chosenness in Judaism, while Imam Ali explains the truth behind concepts like jihad and Shari'a. And on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the two speak forthrightly on the importance of having a civil discussion and the urgency of reaching a peaceful solution.
As Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali show, by reaching a fuller understanding of one another's faith traditions, Jews and Muslims can realize that they are actually more united than divided in their core beliefs. Both traditions promote kindness, service, and responsibility for the less fortunate--and both religions call on their members to extend compassion to those outside the faith. In this sorely needed book, Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali challenge Jews and Muslims to step out of their comfort zones, find common ground in their shared Abrahamic traditions, and stand together and fight for a better world for all.

There is too much intentional and mistaken misinformation in our present culture about the purposes and practices of modern Catholicism. This had led to endless bigotry and needless hate speech and deeds against Christ's original Church. This little book is an attempt to explain to fellow Christians what it really means to be Roman Catholic. It is not a debate. It is an honest attempt on my part to share. It is not an attempt to convert you to joining the more than 1.2 billion Christians that call themselves Catholic.

WINTERING ON THE BAYOU SALADE- This is a true story of a man who after a lifetime of being physically, emotionally, financially and psychologically abused for not adhering to the oppressive radical teachings and beliefs of the LDS (Mormon) Church, took it upon himself to escape and relocate from behind Utah's Zion Curtain in spite of the long reach and influence of the vile and violent history of this powerful religious sect of the American west. In the process of these endeavors he literally meets the woman of his visions and together they successfully build the life they want together in the primitive high-country of the central Colorado Rockies. Successful in every way but for the continued duress and inescapable heavy-handed harassment and vandalism by members of the dangerous zealots he thought he had left behind. Never off his back are the Danites; the Mormon secret society of Avenging or Destroying Angels that was created to not only lurk under the dark cloak of night to harass those they consider an enemy of the church, but murder through their doctrine of Blood Atonement those who apostate or appose their beliefs. Attached is the 1834 edition of E. D. Howe's Mormonism Unvailed. The first documentary on Mormonism ever published.

On the surface it may appear that I am quite negative about many things in my church and that I am pessimistic about the church's future. That would, however, be a wrong conclusion. I am not about to give up on my church but I try to take the long view. I believe current clouds can blow away and eventually new winds can begin to blow. The last thing I would want to do is discourage any readers by my analysis of the crisis in Christianity in general, and in Adventism in particular. I would be devastated if my book drove people away from faith and away from their church. On the contrary, I hope with all my heart that it will help at least some readers to take a new 'leap of faith' and then (re)-connect with their church. I have written this book because I deeply care for all those who have ended up 'on the margins.' I do not have the illusion that reading it will make all doubts disappear. I do hope and pray, however, that it will help those who read it to establish priorities in their faith experience and in their ties with the church, and dare to live creatively with their uncertainties and doubts.

"Thank you, Father Kim Il Sung" is the first phrase North Korean parents are instructed to teach to their children. From cradle to grave, North Korean citizens are surrounded by the all-encompassing presence of the "Great Leader" and his son, the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il. The Kim dynasty is much more than an authoritarian government; it also holds itself out as the ultimate source of power, virtue, spiritual wisdom, and truth for the North Korean people. Heterodoxy and dissent are repressed, quickly and efficiently, with punishments meted out to successive generations of the dissident's family. The study that follows was commissioned by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent, bipartisan U.S. government agency that monitors freedom of religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments, and that provides independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress. Forty former North Koreans were interviewed extensively regarding conditions of freedom of religion or belief in the DPRK.

Professor Roberts examines the relationship between antisemitism and the practices of citizenship in a colonial context. She focuses on the experience of Algerian Jews and their evolving identity as citizens as they competed with the other populations in the colony, including newly naturalised non-French settlers and Algerian Muslims, for control over the scarce resources of the colonial state. The author argues that this resulted in antisemitic violence and hotly contested debates over the nature of French identity and rights of citizenship. Tracing the ambiguities and tensions that Algerian Jews faced, the book shows that antisemitism was not coherent or stable but changed in response to influences within Algeria, and from metropolitan France, Europe and the Middle East. Written for a wide audience, this title contributes to several fields including Jewish history, colonial and empire studies, antisemitism within municipal politics, and citizenship, and adds to current debates on transnationalism and globalization.