The Nov. 24 attack on a mosque in Sinai, Egypt, marked not only the country’s deadliest terror act but also the largest against Sufi Muslims, who are increasingly targeted by Islamic extremists.

Between 25 and 30 militants stormed the al-Rawdah mosque, where they set off explosives and shot people as they attempted to flee. Witnesses shared gory details of how the militants went through the carnage to fire extra bullets into anyone who was still breathing or moving. At least 305 people died and another 128 were injured. No group claimed responsibility, but Nabil Sadeq, Egypt’s chief prosecutor, in a statement said one of the militants carried a black banner matching those carried by Islamic State (ISIS).

Sufi Muslims practice a form of Islam often called mysticism that focuses on a spiritual search for God and promotes tolerance. Peter Gottschalk, a professor of religion at Wesleyan University, said Sufi practices typically involve “more inward, contemplative focus than many other forms of Islamic practice.” They also venerate the tombs of saints—a practice extremist groups view as idolatrous.

ISIS, with its stronghold in the Sinai Peninsula, has increasingly targeted Egyptian Coptic Christian churches and their members over the past year. Friday’s attack marked the first time the group targeted a mosque, but it made multiple threats against Sufis in the past. Residents near…

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Nov. 29 heard the case of a woman suing her former lesbian partner for parental rights.

A steady stream of gay custody battles is working its way through the courts in the wake of the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage. More same-sex couples are using donor eggs and sperm, surrogacy, and in vitro fertilization to conceive children, but most state laws regarding parental rights and assisted reproductive technology are based on biological assumptions—granting full parental rights to a married husband and wife, but not to a wife and wife or husband and husband.

LGBT advocates argue the redefinition of marriage necessitates a redefinition of parenthood. But critics say these cases are further dissolving the link between biology and parenthood and pushing against what social science has continually shown: Children do best when raised by their biological mother and father who are committed to one another in marriage.

The Mississippi case involves Christina Strickland and Kimberly Day, who legally married in 2009. Day gave birth to a son conceived by an anonymous sperm donor in 2010. But the two split in 2013, and a lower court judge last year gave Day full legal custody of the now-6-year-old boy during divorce proceedings, ruling that Strickland wasn’t a legal parent and the anonymous sperm donor had parental…

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on the morning of November 21, more than 100 government officers in uniform raided the Beimen (North Gate) Catholic Church in the city of Ji’an in Jiangxi Province. They tore religious posters, shattered religious icons and statues, and injured four elderly Catholics who were defending the church.

These officers from City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau, commonly known as Chengguan, are part of city management agencies responsible for handling daily aspects of urban life. They are notorious for their use of violence and capricious crackdowns. In this instance, they were employed to confiscate the church property, although they had no legal basis for doing so.  

According to UCA News, Bishop John Baptist Li Suguang of Jiangxi asked priests to spread news of the raid to the public. The next day, priests and approximately 70 Catholics from the area marched with banners to Ji’an City government offices and demanded apologies from the authorities and that those responsible for the violence be punished.

Fearful of the situation getting out of hand, the Ji’an government has agreed to negotiate with the church, investigate the use of violence by Chengguan, and compensate the injured. Priests already began negotiation with the government on November…

Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias, the head of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), has responded to allegations that he engaged in inappropriate text messaging with a woman he met at one of his conferences.

According to Christianity Today, Zacharias filed a lawsuit that claimed what began as a “friendly correspondence” with the woman evolved into her sending the evangelist “unwanted, offensive, sexually explicit language and photographs.” The woman and her husband reportedly sent a letter to Zacharias demanding a settlement of millions of dollars in exchange for keeping the messages a secret.

“In the alternative of protracted and public litigation, [the couple] will sign a release of you and your church and ministry in exchange for a certified check in the amount of $5 million,” read the letter, sent to Zacharias by the couple’s legal counsel.

Zacharias maintains that he never fostered any inappropriate communication with the woman and had repeatedly told her to stop messaging him and even blocked her number. He also said he informed RZIM of the situation, and filed the lawsuit after seeking legal counsel. Zacharias’ lawsuit alleges that the couple was attempting to compromise the evangelist’s reputation in order to make a monetary gain. “Conspiring together, [the couple] labored relentlessly to foster a relationship with [Zacharias] in hopes…