"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." Northwoods is a ministry dedicated to refreshing Christians and challenging them to search for the truth in Christianity, politics, sociology, and science
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"
Father God, thank you for the love of the truth you have given me. Please bless me with the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed to always present the truth in an attitude of grace and love. Use this blog and Northwoods Ministries for your glory. Help us all to read and to study Your Word without preconceived notions, but rather, let scripture interpret scripture in the presence of the Holy Spirit. All praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Please note: All my writings and comments appear in bold italics in this colour
Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, 55, is among 400 current and former Istanbul city employees on trial in Turkey. He was arrested last year after announcing he planned to run for president. File Photo by Sedat Suna/EPA-EFE
March 9 (UPI) --Istanbul's mayor, a political opponent to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is among 400 current and former city employees on trial in Monday in over allegations of corruption and organized crime.
Istanbul's mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, 55, was arrested last year after announcing he planned to run for president. He is being held in a high-security prison in Istanbul.
The mass trial has drawn criticism for being politically motivated. Imamoglu has been viewed as a political challenger to Erdoğan.
Human Rights Watch called the trial a way for Turkish authorities to "undermine democracy."
Lead prosecutor Akın Gürlek was appointed Turkey's justice minister, the head of the nation's judiciary, last month.
İmamoğlu was backed by the Republican People's party, Turkey's largest opposition party. Upon the announcement of his candidacy, Istanbul University invalidated his diploma. A diploma is a requirement for Turkey's president.
Accusations of corruption against İmamoğlu go as far back as 2014. Prosecutors say the country has lost 160 billion lira, about $3.6 billion, due to criminal activities committed by the mayor. He faces 1,900 years in prison.
In February, İmamoğlu was charged for allegedly leaking voter data to foreign countries.
In Delhi, a 26-year-old man identified as Tarun Kumar was beaten to death by a group of Muslim men following a dispute that began during Holi celebrations in the Uttam Nagar area. The chain of events began earlier in the day, when residents in a narrow lane of the JJ Colony locality were celebrating Holi.
During the festivities, an 11-year-old girl threw a water-filled balloon at her uncle, which accidentally burst near — not on, mind you — a Muslim woman walking in the street, splashing a little bit of colored water on her. The woman objected to the incident, but the girl’s family immediately and profusely apologized, saying that they consider the Muslim woman like their sister, and that the child had made a mistake, this wasn’t done intentionally. The situation appeared to calm down, but it was a temporary calm, meant to last only until a frantic mob could be arranged to avenge the water splash.
Later that evening, Tarun Kumar returned to the neighborhood on his motorcycle after celebrating Holi with friends. He was a member of the child’s extended family who had no involvement in the earlier dispute, and was unaware of the altercation that had occurred earlier that day. A murderous mob of around 15 to 20 Muslims ambushed Tarun. Witnesses claim that this group dragged him off the motorcycle and began assaulting him collectively. They used iron rods, sticks, bricks, and stones as they bludgeoned him. Kumar was repeatedly struck on the head and body while he was on the ground. The assault continued for several minutes, with the rampaging mob striking him even after he was seriously injured and unable to defend himself. The victim’s uncle recounted that the attackers hurled a large stone onto his chest as Tarun lay injured and defenseless on the road.
Family members who rushed to the scene after hearing the commotion were also attacked. Tarun’s father and uncle were severely injured in the confrontation. The attackers fled the scene after the assault, leaving Kumar critically injured. Locals and relatives rushed him to a nearby hospital, but due to the severity of the head and internal injuries, he later succumbed to his wounds.
Officials have arrested four adults and detained one juvenile in connection with the incident, reminding us that there is no concept of being a child among the jihad-inclined Muslims. They are young and well trained. Authorities are trying to identify more suspects from CCTV footage and witness testimonies.
While authorities in Delhi continue to investigate the fatal assault, a separate incident during Holi celebrations in the United Kingdom has also drawn attention. In London, Muslims disrupted a gathering of members of the Hindu community performing the traditional Holika Dahan, a ritual bonfire ceremony held on the eve of Holi that symbolizes the triumph of good over evil in Hindu tradition. The event had been organized at the former Harrow Civic Centre’s parking area, where families from the local Hindu community gathered to observe Holika Dahan.
The gathering was interrupted when three Muslim teenagers approached the event area and pulled out the wires from the sound system, which had been playing devotional music. The miscreants threw the speakers onto the ground, damaging them before fleeing the scene and returning shortly after with a larger group of about 15 to 20 Muslims, some of whom were wearing face coverings; one was allegedly carrying a sword. The group caused further chaos by throwing beer cans into the ceremonial fire, hurling glass bottles, and knocking down barriers.
Videos circulating on social media showed scenes of shouting and pushing, with some attendees claiming the miscreants disrupted the celebration and intimidated participants. The situation escalated into a brief scuffle before authorities were called to the scene.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police arrived and intervened to restore order and later confirmed that a 14-year-old had been arrested on suspicion of affray in connection with the incident, underscoring once again that minors emerging from pro-jihad environments cannot be dismissed as harmless at all. They can be just as dangerous, if not more, than adult members of such circles. Police have appealed for witnesses and video evidence to assist in their investigation into the disturbance.
Muslims have been attacking Hindus on their festivals, often resulting in deaths, for over a decade now, and still, the narrative of Muslims being the eternal victims in a Hindu society remains popular. What was once seen as an issue largely confined to India is now increasingly being witnessed in other countries as the Muslim population in many non-Muslim countries increases. Local authorities continue to investigate both incidents. They occurred in two different countries, on different continents, and in entirely different social environments, yet followed a strikingly similar pattern, establishing that certain ideologies are fundamentally incompatible with peaceful coexistence in diverse societies.
Leftist New York leaders are already downplaying the incident. Amir Balat and Ibrahim Nick will likely be released quickly and given some token punishment, if anything at all. And we will see much, much more of this.
They know that the Carney government won’t do anything to stop them or impede their activities; instead, it is more likely to rebuke the “Islamophobia” of those who were threatened. So they can act with complete impunity.
In Egypt, which is often described, most inaccurately, as an “American ally,” the authorities have just sentenced a Christian — that is, a Copt — to five years at hard labor. Dr. Augustino Samaan, a Coptic researcher on religion, was charged with having committed the crime of “blasphemy,” for supposedly “deriding Islam.” More on this latest display of Muslim savagery can be found here:
Egypt Sentences Christian Scholar to Five Years’ Imprisonment with Hard Labor
The Egyptian government continues to disproportionately arrest Coptic Christians on “blasphemy” charges. Dialogue or debate regarding religious beliefs, criticism of Islam, or the Egyptian government often brings arrest, torture, and imprisonment.
Dr. Augustinos Samaan, 37, is a Coptic researcher arrested by masked special-forces officers on Oct. 1, 2025, for “derision of Islam” under Egypt’s “contempt of religion” laws. Samaan holds a Ph.D. in comparative religion and is engaged in Christian apologetics.
Through scholarly work and online educational content, Samaan peacefully discussed religious issues and responded to anti-Christian sentiment. These are all activities protected under international human rights law. Yet on January 3, Samaan was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labor. He was also assaulted by other detainees.
The Organization Coptic Solidarity (CS) is campaigning for Dr. Samaan’s release.
During his detention, the officers confiscated his laptop, phone, books, and personal papers. Following national security investigations — an ordeal that reportedly included torture — he was initially charged with terrorism-related offenses. Prosecutors eventually amended the case to “contempt of religion” under Article 98(f) of the Penal Code.
The sentence was issued in a secret criminal trial without notification to his legal counsel or family, without public proceedings, and without granting the defense access to the case file or a meaningful opportunity to represent him….
The incredible tale of Dr. Samaan’s trial and punishment, without a single procedural protection, and instead a system, from the police who first picked him up to the trial judge who sentenced him, that is a travesty of justice, stacked against the Copt whose “blasphemy” appears to be nonexistent, since it is never described. Dr. Samaan is one of many Copts who are not stabbed or bludgeoned to death, but instead must endure the slow death of being confined inside an Egyptian prison, where fellow inmates, if Muslim, are likely to physically mistreat him for the crime of being a Christian. His lawyer, Saeed Fayez, was never given access to the case files, thus making a coherent defense impossible. Nor was his lawyer present during his two trials. He is reported as having endured torture from the police while in custody. And now, with no possibility of further appeal, without contact with his lawyer or with the outside world, he has been sentenced to five years at hard labor for a crime — “blasphemy” — he did not commit, and which has yet to be explained by the authorities. Five years at hard labor can be for some — depending on their physique — a death sentence.
There is only one way to make the Egyptian government call a halt to this judicial persecution of Dr. Samaan and other Copts. That is for the American government to use aid, or rather withholding aid, as a weapon. The U.S. currently provides Egypt with $1.5 billion in aid, most of it military in nature. The U.S. government makes an annual human rights assessment, and $225 million of that $1.5 billion can be withheld if the Egyptian government has not taken “sustained and effective” steps to improve its protection of freedom of expression and association, and strengthening the rule of law. Withholding that amount has clearly not been enough to change Egypt’s behavior — just look at what happened to Dr. Samaan.
President Trump should have Secretary Rubio explain to General El-Sisi, Egypt’s dictator, that no US aid, none, will be forthcoming until Egypt stops its persecution of the Copts, and that includes the Star Chamber proceedings which characterized the prosecutions of Dr Samaan and Said Abdelrazek. Egypt should provide security for Coptic churches and schools that it the past have been the subject of Muslim attacks. Finally, Copts on trial should have their lawyers given access to case files, and allowed to be present at every stage of the proceedings. These demands can be made privately, so as not to leave El-Sisi in a position of having to reject it publicly in order to be seen as “standing up to the Americans.”
Will El-Sisi comply? Oh, I think so. $1.5 billion is a most convincing argument.
