Daily media briefing

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reaffirmed his commitment to punish recent graduates of the Turkish Military Academy who chanted a secularist slogan during their August 30 graduation ceremony, BBC's Turkish service reported on Friday.

Turkish Minute

Pakistan's government says its investigation shows police had orchestrated Shah Nawaz's killing, and then lied about it

Independent*

When the Taliban returned to power three years ago, they promised to do away with the corruption of the past and deliver "justice" under Sharia, a version of Islamic law.

BBC

Labour has signalled a U-turn on backing a definition of 'Islamophobia' amid concerns over free speech.

The Telegraph via MSN

The abuse of power exhibited by Mike Pilavachi was enabled by a "wholesale" failure of organisational culture at Soul Survivor.

Church Times*

Senior judges will hear a school worker's appeal against her dismissal after she claimed she was sacked because of her Christian beliefs.

BBC

On a brutal day for Pope Francis, the king of Belgium, its prime minister and the rector of the Catholic university that invited him here all ripped into the institution he heads for a spectrum of sins.

Associated Press

Little brings more heavenly bliss to the faithful or otherworldly wonder to casual visitors than ethereal hymns cascading amid the columns of Catholic cathedrals. That is, unless the composer is a known molester or someone accused of sexual abuse.

Associated Press

The minority pro-Romanian branch of Moldova's Orthodox Church accused clergy from the rival Moscow-linked branch of the church of campaigning against a referendum asking voters whether they back the government's drive to join the European Union.

Premier Christian News

A Roman Catholic diocese in Long Island, New York announced a new bankruptcy settlement on Thursday that would pay more than $323 million to about 530 sex abuse survivors who alleged they were abused by priests when they were children.

Premier Christian News

Former President Donald Trump recently reissued his loyalty test to religious Americans, declaring that he can best protect their freedoms while preemptively blaming members of certain faiths should he lose the presidential election in November.

Associated Press

The Taliban are to be taken to the international court of justice for gender discrimination by Canada, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands in a groundbreaking move.

The Guardian

Mike Pilavachi, who founded the evangelical movement in Watford, was allowed to bully, wrestle and massage young men, a report has found.

The Times*

Family of Dr Shah Nawaz can file murder charges against police officers over extrajudicial killing, official says.

The Guardian

Rockville Centre diocese in New York settles with more than 530 victims after proposed deal comes close to failure.

The Guardian

New indictment leaves Anthony Odiong facing seven sexual assault charges – all in connection with three women.

The Guardian

Bishop Patrick Hoogmartens told the Belga news agency he would not take part after his tribute to a deceased priest who committed sexual abuse caused offence to a victim.

DPA International via MSN

At least 46 people, most of them children, drowned in the eastern state of Bihar while bathing in rivers swollen by recent floods in observance of Jivitputrika Vrat.

The Guardian

Underage marriage is illegal in South Sudan yet so commonplace it rarely attracts attention. But the case of Athiak Dau Riak, whose mother says she is only 14, has gone viral, polarising her family and the country

The Guardian

"Opening a new Catholic School would be the wrong decision in principle for Aberdeen because it would lead to discrimination and segregation", writes NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson.

The Press and Journal

The project builds on recommendations from the Bloom review, an independent assessment of faith engagement that called for the government to recognise faith groups as a force for good.

Premier Christian News

A man who shared extreme violent videos supporting Islamic State has been jailed six years and nine months at Kingston Crown Court.

WiredGov

In a piece for De Morgen, Tom De Cock said he objects to rolling out the red carpet for the head of a Church which is complicit in "adoption fraud, war, embezzlement, abuse of power, oppression of women and the systematic abuse of hundreds of thousands of children".

Catholic Herald

Emgage Action, the political arm of an 18-year-old Muslim American advocacy group, endorsed Harris´ presidential campaign on Wednesday.

AP

'The response to Christianity and politics is not more Christianity but more democracy. And religious freedom is key', writes Corey Walker.

The Conversation

Even before last month's revised religious rules, Afghanistan's women were being crushed under the Taliban's thumb. Now they cannot even so much as raise their voices.

The Economist*

Both Kadir and Syeedy were sympathisers of the Islamic State militant group and were consumed by hatred of Mr Uddin for his practice of Ruqyah, a form of exorcism, which the terror organisation considered "black magic", the inquiry has heard.

BBC

Five men, including three who threw bricks and other items at a mosque, have been jailed for taking part in violent disorder in Stoke-on-Trent.

BBC

'I love an organisation that starts with H' also heard at gathering in Swiss Cottage.

Jewish News

Thailand's king has signed a marriage equality bill into law, making the country the first in South East Asia to recognise same-sex unions.

BBC

Sweden's security service Sapo has accused Iranian intelligence of hacking into a text messaging service to send 15,000 messages to Swedes.

BBC

If all goes to plan, it will soon become the world's smallest microstate — a Muslim version of the Vatican City (but just a quarter of its size).

Metro

A federal judge is allowing more than 8,000 Catholic employers nationwide to reject government regulations that protect workers seeking abortions and fertility care.

Independent

A self-proclaimed Taoist practitioner accused of murdering an intellectually impaired woman in Hong Kong hit her head against a wall and forced alcohol down her throat as part of an "exorcism", a court has heard.

SCMP

The National Secular Society, which campaigns for separation of religion and state and inclusive education for children from all religion and belief backgrounds, urged councils to resist the church's initiative.

South Wales Argus

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Barnabas Aid amid reports of a possible "£15m hole" in the finances of its global network

Civil Society

Faseh Sajid from Speedwell was found guilty of five counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

Bristol 24/7

Recent provisional data from the Pew Research Center suggests a global decline in religious identity, with the percentage of people identifying with a religion dropping from 84 per cent in 2010 to 77 per cent.

Premier Christian News

Their schtick is to apply for permission to do anything that Christians do, and complain vociferously if this is denied.

The Economist*

Cracked marble and a leaking dome prompt fears that the regional leader of the northern Indian state, a Hindu nationalist, is deliberately letting the Mughal monument rot.

The Times*

Francis skips meetings as a 'precaution' before tour of Luxembourg and Belgium, where he is expected to meet sexual abuse victims.

The Times*

A Christian charity boss reportedly splurged thousands on corporate credit cards for flights to Las Vegas and an Ironman challenge.

The Telegraph*

A marquess took £50,000 from a Christian charity to fight claims he was selling access to Vladimir Putin through the Royal family.

The Telegraph*

The Labour government is unlikely to reintroduce funding for the Inter Faith Network, which was controversially made to close earlier this year, a minister has said.

Civil Society

Four of the most senior Church of England bishops have accused Israel of acting as if it is above the law in an excoriating letter about state and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

The Guardian

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Sunday his country would transform the Tirana-based Bektashi Muslims, an Islamic Sufi order, into a sovereign state to promote moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Associated Press

Pakistani authorities on Friday suspended policemen who had opened fire and killed a blasphemy suspect in the country's south earlier this week, only to be applauded and showered with rose petals by local residents after the killing.

Associated Press

An order of Catholic monks in Quebec is facing a class action lawsuit filed by more than 80 victims, accusing the Brothers of Christian Instruction of widespread sexual assaults spanning decades.

France 24