Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2008, Page 57
Former religious teacher Samaria Ali, 57, a graduate of Al-Azhar University and a member
of the Sky Kingdom ―deviant‖ sect, has been found guilty of apostasy from Islam and
sentenced by a Malaysian judge to a term in jail. Kamaria‘s refusal to respond to the judge‘s
greeting — ―Assalamualaikum‖ — indicated that she had not repented.
The Pew Forum has published Politics and the Pulpit, a guide to the rules governing political
activity that apply to non-profit organizations (including churches and other religious
groups) that are tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The
guide, which asks and answers a host of frequently asked questions concerning the legality
of religious organizations‘ political activities, includes hypothetical case studies to make the
rules clear.
The ashes of Transcendental Meditation founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the
―physicist-turned spiritual guru‖ who died in Amsterdam in February, were in April
―immersed‖ in India‘s Narmada River.
K. Gordon Neufeld, author of Heartbreak and Rage: Ten Years Under Sun Myung Moon,
briefly reviews his involvement in the Unification Church in the March, 2008 issue of First
Things, and concludes that despite some headlines made by Moon in recent years, the
organization is moribund and fading away. ―Moon‘s movement never exceeded five
thousand core members in the United States, and what remains are mostly families born to
those weary parents who once pounded the streets so tirelessly selling Moon‘s wares.‖
Former religious teacher Samaria Ali, 57, a graduate of Al-Azhar University and a member
of the Sky Kingdom ―deviant‖ sect, has been found guilty of apostasy from Islam and
sentenced by a Malaysian judge to a term in jail. Kamaria‘s refusal to respond to the judge‘s
greeting — ―Assalamualaikum‖ — indicated that she had not repented.
The Pew Forum has published Politics and the Pulpit, a guide to the rules governing political
activity that apply to non-profit organizations (including churches and other religious
groups) that are tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The
guide, which asks and answers a host of frequently asked questions concerning the legality
of religious organizations‘ political activities, includes hypothetical case studies to make the
rules clear.
The ashes of Transcendental Meditation founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the
―physicist-turned spiritual guru‖ who died in Amsterdam in February, were in April
―immersed‖ in India‘s Narmada River.
K. Gordon Neufeld, author of Heartbreak and Rage: Ten Years Under Sun Myung Moon,
briefly reviews his involvement in the Unification Church in the March, 2008 issue of First
Things, and concludes that despite some headlines made by Moon in recent years, the
organization is moribund and fading away. ―Moon‘s movement never exceeded five
thousand core members in the United States, and what remains are mostly families born to
those weary parents who once pounded the streets so tirelessly selling Moon‘s wares.‖
