In a landmark judgement, a Malaysian court on Monday ruled that non-Muslims cannot use the word "Allah" to refer to God and prohibited a Christian newspaper from using it in the Muslim-majority nation.
The Philippines army battles terrorists backed by Islamic State in the first major military encounter with Islamists in that part of the world.
John Ridsdel, 68, was one of four tourists captured by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines in September 2015.
Europeans believe that what is under attack is their way of life, their secular faith, the long-fought right to keep religion out of the public sphere, observes Virendra Kapoor.
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