Armin discusses the latest news on religion and atheism in the past week 😃
Please consider supporting us on: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/  
Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/PIxo4kapnBI   
Contact Armin: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/Armin  
In order for us to be able to continue the Atheist Republic, we need your help. We think if we reach 100 patrons we'll finally be able to afford all our costs. Help us get there: https://www.patreon.com/atheistrepublic 

1. Tara Fares, a well-known model and social media fashion icon, was shot and killed on Thursday by unknown assailants. She suffered three bullet wounds. Investigations into the killing of the model who has over 2 million followers on Instagram had begun.

2. The first concentration camp for homosexuals since Hitler's camps in 1930s is in Chechnya where homosexuals are being tortured with electric shocks and beaten to death. Last week, 100 gay men were detained and three killed. According to Novaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper, several camps have been set up in Chechnya. Those arrested include well-known local television personalities and religious figures. A prisoner who escaped said that prisoners were beaten to force them to reveal other members of the gay community.

3. Republican Ted Cruz responded to a question about gun safety by saying mass shootings were the result of "removing God from the public square." On the other hand, Democratic Beto O’Rourke responded that thoughts and prayers are just not going to cut it anymore and the children of Texas deserve better. Cruz added that he wanted more officers with guns in every school to protect students from guns.

4. On its crackdown on religion, China burned crosses at Christian churches. The Chinese flag and photos of Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Communist Party leader Mao Zedong will replace the crosses. China has intensified its crackdown despite its deal with the Vatican over the appointment of bishops.

5. Michele Bachmann, a former congresswoman, said at the Values Voter Summit that Donald Trump has ushered the US into an "unparalleled golden time." She added that the president has put the United States on a pathway of blessing.

6. The Coralarium, created by artist and environmentalist Jason deCaires Taylor, was destroyed last week after it was deemed anti-Islamic. Islam is the official religion in Maldives and the government ordered its destruction. The artwork was intended to allow sea life to explore freely and acts as a new habitat for coral and other marine species. Thirty human figures were positioned on top, inside the frame at tidal level, with other submerged beneath. Half of the sculptures were based on life casts of the Maldivians, with some reimagined as hybrid forms including coral or root-like elements.

7. In Alabama, the Blount County school District is the latest to be chastised for allowing prayers over the loudspeakers before football games. Prayers are to be replaced with a moment of silence. During the first football game at Hayden High School, the players ran onto the field with signs reading "In God We Trust". Students and parents were making an initiative so a prayer is still said during the moment of silence. Hayden lost 38-12 to their opponents.

8. Frank Amedia, a televangelist who serves as Donald Trump's "liaison for Christian policy," told a gathering of "POTUS Shield" members that his prayers fixed a man's and a baby's heart. He added that it also helped another baby grow kidneys. For the man who had a 100% occlusion in his heart, Amedia just prayed for a new artery and the next morning, an artery grew around. The doctors said they have never seen anything like it.

9. In a small village in Attock district, Pakistan, an 18-year-old girl and a 21-year-old boy were beheaded by the girl's father and uncle. The police are calling yet another incident of honour killing. The man arrived at the girl's house and her father and uncle walked in, tied both victims with ropes, and beheaded them with a sharp object. Both suspects have been arrested.

10. Nuns march with placards warning that their lives are in danger in Kerala. The man charged with rape, Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who raped one of the nuns 13 times between 2014 and 2016, has only been interrogated once while the victim was questioned five times. No arrest has been made. The congregation to which the victim belongs to, the Missionaries of Jesus, handed out a certificate of innocence to the accused bishop and accused the victim of having a relationship beyond acceptable standards with a local taxi driver.

What are your views on Islam, leftists & the atheist movement?

Armin Navabi debates Sargon of Akkad (aka Carl Benjamin).

Please consider supporting us on: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/  

Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/qPibvj__4lw 

Contact Armin: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/Armin

In order for us to be able to continue the Atheist Republic, we need your help. We think if we reach 100 patrons we'll finally be able to afford all our costs. Help us get there: https://www.patreon.com/atheistrepublic   

Armin and Jim discuss the latest news on religion and atheism in the past week 😃
Please consider supporting us on: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/  
Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/w1hwjHn3xlo
Contact Armin: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/Armin  
In order for us to be able to continue the Atheist Republic, we need your help. We think if we reach 100 patrons we'll finally be able to afford all our costs. Help us get there: https://www.patreon.com/atheistrepublic 

1. The founder of Mission: America, Linda Harvey, said in a piece about the dangers of sex education that straight people would never engage in oral or anal sex. She made comments before that homosexuality is the result of legal abortion and the first openly gay character of Disney should have been molested first in order to be more realistic.

2. Father Jonathan Morris, a Roman Catholic priest, said that God had a purpose and meaning for the death of a mother and a baby who were struck by a falling tree during the Hurricane Florence. He was speaking on FOX & Friends when he commented that the hurricane was a way of God to test us.

3. Rev. Paul Kalchik, a Roman Catholic priest at Resurrection Parish in Chicago, burned a rainbow flag that was displayed at the church. The rainbow flag had been hanging in Resurrection Parish since 1991 as a symbol of respect to the local LGBTQ community. Despite the Archdiocese of Chicago telling him not to proceed in burning the flag, he destroyed it.

4. In an effort to “streamline” public school learning plans, the "work groups" suggested to remove Hillary Clinton from history classes. The "work group" also suggested the removal of evangelist and Baptist pastor Billy Graham and Moses in discussions but the state board ignored that. The final vote is in November.

5. In the Netherlands, more than half of the leaders of the Catholic Church either cover up the abuse or they abused children themselves between 1945 and 2010. The cardinals and bishops knew there was child sexual abuse in the Church but did nothing.

6. After suffering a stroke, Bill Hayden, a retired Australian politician, converted to Catholicism from atheism. He was nearing death when he decided to be a Christian after having spent most of his life as an atheist. Earlier this month he was baptised at St. Mary's Church in Ipswich, west of Brisbane.

7. An email urging people to contact their senators in support of Brett Kavanaugh was sent by the Focus on the Family to its mailing list. The letter states that Brett Kavanaugh denied the sexual allegations.

8. Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif, a 23-year-old Adelaide woman, has been found guilty of being a member of Islamic State in South Australia's Supreme Court. In July 2016, she was detained at Adelaide Airport trying to board a plane to Turkey with just hand luggage and $170 but she was released without charge. She was again arrested and charged by being a member of a terrorist organization last year in May. 378 audio files associated with IS were found on her phone, along with 125 videos from an IS media organisation, 62 of which contained extremist material including vision of buildings being blown up, captives being executed and dead bodies on the ground.

9. A hotline was set up in New Jersey to report abuse by priests. The hotline allows victims to speak with investigators and since then has been receiving a high volume of calls. More staffs were assigned to receive the calls.

10. Three judges in Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, agreed that it was ridiculous to punish people for making "“objectionable” Facebook posts that offended religious people. A complaint was raised when a Facebook post comparing Lord Parshuram, an avatar of the god Vishnu, to a character from the Indian blockbuster film Sairat. The complainant considered the post blasphemous. The judges said there was nothing wrong with it and they mocked the complainant for not having a sense of humor.

Armin Navabi discusses another topic on religion and atheism.

Please consider supporting us on: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/  

Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/lywocB17AZ8  

Contact Armin: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/Armin  

In order for us to be able to continue the Atheist Republic, we need your help. We think if we reach 100 patrons we'll finally be able to afford all our costs. Help us get there: https://www.patreon.com/atheistrepublic 

Armin discusses the latest news on religion and atheism in the past week 😃
Please consider supporting us on: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/  
Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/QlKKgyeaXbY  
Contact Armin: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/Armin  
In order for us to be able to continue the Atheist Republic, we need your help. We think if we reach 100 patrons we'll finally be able to afford all our costs. Help us get there: https://www.patreon.com/atheistrepublic 

In Israel, a red cow was born. According to the Jewish people, the birth of a red cow or a "red heifer" would fulfill the End Times prophecy and it brings the promise of reinstating Biblical purity to the world. For the messiah to come and the final judgment, the red heifer must be sacrificed. For now, the Temple of Israel is examining the cow if it has the qualifications necessary for the red heifer.

Kat Kerr, a "Christian prophetess", claimed that she can control the hurricane through her scepter and prayer. She commanded the hurricane to not destruct people or properties but it did not work.

One of the places where a Christian prayer is recited over before football games is Man High School in West Virginia. The Supreme Court says that is an illegal endorsement of religion. The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the Logan County Board of Education last week asking them to put a stop to the prayers. If continued, there will be a lawsuit. The people who want to recite prayers are angry and threatened to walk away. Chris Trent, a volunteer PA announcer at the stadium, calls the letter from the FFRF unfortunate.

The president of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell, Jr., is thinking of cutting the school's ties with Nike after the controversial ad featuring football player Colin Kaepernick. Liberty would be the second Christian school to cut ties to Nike if it goes through.

An Egyptian man was arrested in Saudi Arabia after posting a video in which he was having a breakfast with a woman wearing a full face veil. The law in Saudi Arabia is in workplaces or eateries, families and single men have to sit in different areas. The women must sit separately from single men in these places. In the video, the man and woman were joking about eating their breakfast together and at the end of the video, the woman appears to feed the man. The man was accused of "committing several violations and taking up a post exclusively reserved for Saudis".

Rev. Mack Morris, a pastor in Alabama, cuts up his Nike headband and wristband during Sunday's sermon. he said it was in protest to the company's recent ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, the famous football player who was the first athlete to take a knee during the national anthem. Morris got a standing ovation from his audience.

Clarks Summit University in Pennsylvania, a fundamentalist Christian college, has dismissed a student for being gay. Gary Campbell hoped to earn the 6 credits he needed to complete his bachelor's degree. When the school found out he is gay, the school did not want him there.

Johnny Pike, an American Atheist state director in Kentucky, sent a letter to several public school districts warning them against common church/state violations last month. He said in his letter that schools should keep school-events secular. The organization was concerned with field trips to Ark Encounter in Williamstown and Creation Museum in Petersburg. Ken Ham, a creationist, felt that letter was a personal attack. Ham thinks that the letter was to bully them and keep children from being exposed to the teaching at these attractions.

Kent Hovind, a Creationist, explained before why broccoli and celery are proof that evolution is not true. Now, he claims it's grapes. He claims that since grape has 38 chromosomes, just like a cat, there's something wrong with science.

The Supreme Court in India abolished the 157-year old law that made homosexual sex illegal. In 2009, it was once repealed however, an astrologer challenged the repeal in court, hence it was reinstated. The critics challenged the judges decision.They say that it would increase HIV rates.

My response to a Muslim who sent me a video about my "Allah is Gay" sign, asking me to stop insulting Islam.

Here is the "Allah is Gay" video: https://youtu.be/rNvP9o7enqc 

In order for us to be able to continue the Atheist Republic, we need your help. We think if we reach 100 patrons we'll finally be able to afford all our costs. Help us get there: https://www.patreon.com/atheistrepublic 

Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/QIrS6ZAesXA

Armin discusses the latest news on religion and atheism in the past week 😃
Please consider supporting us on: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/  
Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/_JkJf3O-ERU 
Contact Armin: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/Armin  
In order for us to be able to continue the Atheist Republic, we need your help. We think if we reach 100 patrons we'll finally be able to afford all our costs. Help us get there: https://www.patreon.com/atheistrepublic 

During the funeral of Aretha Franklin, Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, a pastor of the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, is caught in a video groping Ariana Grande's breast. He apologized and said that it was not his intention to touch her and that he was just being too "friendly."

A Christian College in Missouri, the College of the Ozarks, has a handbook that says students who support LGBTQ are subject to "disciplinary action". Just last year, the school announced that students are forced to stand for the National Anthem. After Nike's ad of Colin Kaepernick, the school decides that they will no longer be using any product of Nike. Their reason was that they believe Nike is promoting division and disrespect towards the US.

Pope Francis thinks the best response to the allegations of child sex abuse in the church is prayer and silence. His answer to sexual abuse victims is to be silent while they are begging for change.

“SCIENCE falsely so called”, a movie that debunks evolution, will be out later this month. In the official trailer, one preacher says that Charles Darwin is a racist. Creationist Kent Hovind is also in the movie.

Karen Smith, a 60 year old middle school teacher in Colorado, assaulted a student last February. The teacher was charged with child abuse with injury and also a third-degree assault as she forced a student who refused to stand. She accepted a plea deal last week and was sentenced to an 18-month deferred sentence.

Rev. Robert DeLand, a Catholic priest, was arrested for abusing young males sexually. He said one of the victims tried to seduce him. He was sentenced to a year in jail for his crimes, a five-year probation term, and will be registered as a sex offender.

Women are not to get a divorce under any circumstances even physical abuse. That is an advice to women in abusive relationships from the Watchtower, a monthly magazine by the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Two women who were convicted of sexual relations between women were canned six times in Malaysia. A Muslim cleric says that it will invite Allah's blessings to the state and its people. He added that there should be a demand of the implementation of Shariah caning in civil cases.

During a Fast and Testimony meeting at a Mormon church, McKenna Denson, shared her testimony that she was raped in the center’s basement by the man who ran the Mormon Church's main Missionary Training Center, Joseph L. Bishop, in 1984. Mckenna claimed that the Church knows of Bishop’s assault towards women but did nothing. Bishop confessed to molesting another woman. Church leaders removed McKenna from the microphone.

Members of Ex-Muslims of North America shared their testimonies of leaving the faith during the annual conference of the Islamic Society of North America that was held in Houston, Texas. The EXMNA members wore shirts that said “I’m an Ex-Muslim, Ask Me Why” and “God Love is Greatest.” As few members went to a Starbucks at a nearby Hilton, they were kicked out by hotel security. The security man did not know why they needed to go. He just knew they had to get off the property as ordered by the Hilton.

Armin discusses the latest news on religion and atheism in the past week 😃
Please consider supporting us on: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/  
Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/sYWNIAsgyA0   
Contact Armin: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/Armin  
In order for us to be able to continue the Atheist Republic, we need your help. We think if we reach 100 patrons we'll finally be able to afford all our costs. Help us get there: https://www.patreon.com/atheistrepublic 

John Daniel Carothers, a 53 year old man, set fire to a VA Assistant Living facility in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It killed an African-American man named Robert Miller and John was charged with first-degree murder. He poured an accelerant onto the victim and ignited it. While in his prison cell, John wrote a letter to the white supremacist group and admitted he did it because the Bible is about and for white people. He also asked them to send him a copy of the Bible.

A former top Vatican official accused Pope Francis of covering up sexual abuse. Francis said he would not say one word on the 11-page document in which the former official says he should resign. The official accused Francis of having known of allegations of sex abuse by a prominent U.S. cardinal.

Jim Bakker is worried that the liberals might murder him if he goes outside wearing a Trump's hat. He added that he has been harassed for believing in the Bible.

97 year old head of Grace Cathedral church in Ohio, Pastor Ernest Angley, is sued for abusing one of his associate pastors, Pastor Brock Miller. Miller has been abused by Angley for several years. Angley ordered Miller to undress and masturbate in front of him. Miller is now suing. Former members of Angley's congregation admitted they had been touched by Angley and he encouraged men to get vasectomies and women to get abortions.

A far right Dutch politician planned a Prophet Muhammad caricature competition and the Pakistan's senate passes the resolution condemning the contest. Dutch opposition MP Geert Wilders announced to hold a Prophet Muhammad caricature competition in the Netherlands later this year. Prime Minister Imran Khan will take the issue to the United Nations General Assembly in September, calling it a collective failure of the Muslim world. He added that such activity is blasphemous.

A painting of a junkie shooting up has gone viral since 2006. The artist claimed God called him to create it. For him, when people abuse their bodies, their hurting the presence of god in their lives.

In Jacksonville, a mass shooting happened at a game bar after a man lost a game. He shot two people and others were injured. He then killed himself. Adam Fannin of Stedfast Jacksonville Church blamed the shooting on everything but the guns. In his sermon, he said that the mass shootings are the result of God's judgment on America and not the guns' fault. He added that Jacksonville choose bars instead of the Bible and it needs to get back to obeying the word of God.

The organizers of Say Nope to the Pope in Ireland was planning on snatching up tickets to his largest scheduled event in Dublin then not show up. What happened was, most people did not even bother buying tickets at all. There were 500,000 tickets made available to the public but the crowd was estimated to be less than 130,000 people.

Pope Francis was asked what would he tell a father of a child who came out as gay. He first suggested prayer. He said that if the child begins to show traits that are "worrisome", seek psychiatric help. The Vatican removed that conversation from the official account.

In Thailand, a nine year old boy was beaten by Suphachai Suthiyano, a Buddhist monk, after the child was disruptive during a prayer session. He used a bamboo stick to assault the boy. The monk slammed the boy's head into a pillar. After falling into a coma, the boy died.

Armin discusses the latest news on religion and atheism in the past week 😃
Please consider supporting us on: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/  
Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/2O6bAMdzrOs
Contact Armin: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/Armin  
In order for us to be able to continue the Atheist Republic, we need your help. We think if we reach 100 patrons we'll finally be able to afford all our costs. Help us get there: https://www.patreon.com/atheistrepublic 

In Switzerland, there is a problem with Muslim immigrants who do not adopt to their cultural norms. A Muslim couple was denied citizenship because they did not shake hands with officials of the opposite sex during the interview. The officials said that they were not rejected based on religion but for the lack of respect for gender equality.

Claire Dalton, a 21 year old Mormon woman dumped her fiance a week before the wedding after she found out that he watches porn. She was looking at her fiancé’s phone and saw porn. He lied and told her that it was his brother. Later that night, he admitted that it was him. She said that her life is ruined.

The Bishop of Madison, Wisconsin, has said that the Catholic Church must renew its conviction to identify and reject sin, and admit that a homosexual culture among some clerics has caused great harm in the Church. This is his response to the recent sexual abuse crises.

In Texas,Imad Khalil took his stepdaughter Pamela to private schools in the area. She just moved from Lebanon. Both of them went to Cornerstone Christian Schools and she was treated by the staff well. The staff asked her if she would be comfortable with the Bible classes and mandatory classes in which she agreed. It changed when the staff found out that she is a Muslim. They told her she could not enroll and rejected her application.

A prominent Saudi campaigner, Israa al-Ghomgham, has been given a death sentence in Saudi Arabia. Canada called out Saudi Arabia over its treatment of women and prisoners. Al-Ghomgham is most likely facing execution with a sword. Some sources said that she had been killed already but no evidence of this has been made public.

Denmark is one of the European countries that enforces a new law which bans women from wearing face veils in public places. The first person to be fined for breaking the law is a 28 year old woman. She was involved in a fight with another woman who tried to tear her niqab off. Police were called and took a photograph of the woman wearing the niqab. Aside from being fined, she was asked to either leave the premises or remove her niqab. Fine was $156. She chose to leave the shopping center.

Daniil Markin, a 19-year-old film student from Barnaul, the main city in Russia's Altai region, is standing trial for saving memes that mock Christianity in an album on the social media platform VKontake (VK). Last year on the month of July, police came to his house and took him for interrogation. One of the interrogators opened his VK page and showed him some of the memes he had saved to a public album. Markin was banned from using his bank accounts. After nearly a year, the case against him, on charges of "inciting hatred against a religious group" moved to trial. Markin confessed to saving the memes. This autumn, the judgement is expected. The authorities are busy building cases against at least three other "online offenders."

In China there is a worsening crackdown in the country's inaccessible western region Xinjiang. They may be detaining "millions" of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in "reeducation camps for political and cultural indoctrination." The Uighurs are a majority-Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic group in western China.

In Utah, Walter J. Plumb III, a Mormon lawyer is suing to keep voters from getting a chance to legalize medical cannabis as his religious beliefs are more important than sick people who use it. Polls show that two-thirds of Utahans are in favor of the medical marijuana bill. If it passes, it will be the 31st state to legalize medical cannabis.

A Buddhist woman in Indonesia has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for blasphemy. The Indonesian court carried that sentence after she was accused of insulting Islam when she complained the Muslim call to prayer was being played loudly at the mosque near her house. She cried as the presiding judge announced her sentence. Her lawyer said they would appeal the verdict. Islamic Community Forum, a conservative group, said Meilana's sentence was too light.

Armin discusses the latest news on religion and atheism in the past week 😃
Please consider supporting us on: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/  
Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/S7MIIMKtus0
Contact Armin: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/Armin 

Farah Alhajeh, a 24 year old Swedish Muslim woman, applied for a job as an interpreter. Instead of shaking the hand of the male interviewer, she placed her hand over her heart in greeting instead. She declined the hand shake for religious reasons. The Swedish labour court ruled the company had discriminated against her and ordered it to pay 40,000 kronor ($4,350; £3,420) in compensation. The company defended that its staff were required to treat men and women equally and could not allow a staff member to refuse a handshake based on gender.

Jack Phillips, a Christian bigot baker, won his Supreme Court case after refusing to sell a wedding cake to gay customers. The bakery refused to make a cake for a transgender person citing that the baker did not want any part in celebrating someone being trans and it's against his religious beliefs. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission said it was form of discrimination and Phillips fired back suing the commission for discriminating against him. They feel confident that they will win on the merits.

The investigation took about 2 years and the report is now out. The results of investigations into child sexual abuse in six of Pennsylvania’s eight Catholic dioceses has been released. It's reported that there are more than 300 predator priests preying on boys and also girls. The victims' called for help but the church leaders protected the abusers and covered up their crimes. The length of the report is 1,356 pages long and it covers a period of more than 70 years. Several names are hidden from public view.

Pat Robertson freaked out when he found out about the "Drag Queen Story Hour" in which drag queens do the reading. He showed his disgust and said we are all going to hell by allowing it.

Last November, Devin Kelley shot people at a church in Sutherland Springs. His wife, Danielle Kelley, speaks up for the first time telling her side of the story. On that day when her husband committed the crime, he bound her to a bed with a duct tape and rope which made her unable to prevent the tragedy. She said that whenever she convinces Devin to go to the church, he would laugh. He was an atheist. However, there was no evidence suggesting the shooting was done by an atheist trying to kill Christians. Despite all of that, she says that she still loves and misses him.

Shelly Fitzgerald, a counselor in Roncalli High School (Indianapolis), was told by the administrator and principal of the Catholic school to resign after finding out that she was in a same-sex marriage. She wrote in a facebook post that she has no intention of divorcing, quitting, and not telling anyone why she have to leave her job. In support for her, some graduates placed school shirts outside the front of the building, essentially turning them back in out of shame for their alma mater. Fitzgerald is not fired yet.

An update of this news: It's not only eight states but nine states that require schools to put up the sign "In God We Trust" according to the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Many of the "In God We Trust" bills were written by politicians who also happen to be preachers. Christian nationalist groups have pushed for state bills promoting religion.

President Russell M. Nelson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is asking people to stop calling it the "Mormon Church", or the "LDS Church". Mormons should not be called "Mormons" as God does not like it. Members should be called “members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” or “Latter-day Saints”. So, what happens now to the Mormon Tabernacle choir?

Dr. Taylor Marshall, a Catholic theologian, has listed three reasons why sex scandals occur in the church in relation to the recent Pennsylvania grand jury report on the Church's sex abuse scandal. One reason is denial of Christian faith, second is homosexuality and the third one is the evolution of the mega-diocese. He suggested that these clerics are secretly atheists, agnostics, or Satanists.

Ashwaq Ta’lo was fifteen years old when her family was rounded up in the ISIS attack in Northern Iraq four years ago. Her sister, other young women including her were sold and lived with a man she knew as Abu Humam. She escaped to Germany as a refugee and was reunited with her mother and other family members. Her sister is still believed to be in ISIS captivity. In February, as she walked home in Stuttgart, a man called her. She looked at him and recognized him as the man who bought her for $100 and abused her. During the encounter, Abu told her that he knew where she lives and what she's doing.