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Many workers allege they're not paid in between jobs at client sites, though such "benching" without pay isn't allowed either. In other cases, companies claim they're employing people in low-salary regions when they're actually working in high-wage areas, in violation of rules requiring payment of the region's prevailing wage.

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The attack happened after Martinez called Fayad to admit he'd spent a night out drinking and doing drugs. Islamic Sharia laws prohibit alcohol and recommend whipping as a punishment for several offenses.

Fayad showed up at Martinez's Sydney home and whipped him 40 times with an electric cord while three other men held him down on his bed. Martinez said he cried and begged for them to stop, and was in pain for about a week after the attack.

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Men from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) "Sharia Committee" killed a Syrian boy in front of his parents and siblings in Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday (June 9th).

Three armed men detained 15-year-old street vendor Mohammed al-Qatta as he sold coffee in Aleppo's Shaar neighbourhood late Saturday, accusing him of blasphemy.


They later returned him to the area with "obvious marks from torture and beating" on his body, the Observatory said.
The men said apostasy is a terrible vice and that anyone who does so will face a similar fate, according to the watchdog. They then shot the boy twice with an automatic rifle -- once in the mouth and once in the neck – in front of his mother, father and siblings.

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The Shia (Arabic: شيعة‎, Shīʿah) represent the second largest denomination of Islam, accounting for 10-30% of the world's normative body of Muslims.^[1] Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī (شيعة علي), meaning "followers", "faction", or "party" of Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin Ali, whom the Shia believe to be Muhammad's successor in the Caliphate.

Shia Islam is based on the Quran and the message of the Islamic prophet Muhammad attested in Shia hadith, and certain books deemed sacred to Shia (Nahj al-Balagha).^[2][3] In contrast to other types, the Shia believe that only God has the right to choose a representative to safeguard Islam, the Quran and sharia. Thus the Shias look to Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law, whom they revere and consider divinely appointed, as the rightful successor to Muhammad, and the first imam. The Shia extended this belief to Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt ("the People of the House"), and certain individuals among his descendants, known as imams, who they believe possess special spiritual and political authority over the community, infallibility, and other traits.

Although there were many Shia branches throughout history, modern Shia Islam has been divided into three main branches, namely the Ithna ashariyya (Twelvers), the Ismailis (Seveners) and the Zaidis ("Fivers").

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Shia Muslims account for approximately 15 percent of the total Muslim population in the world. Shiism has the greatest influence in the contemporary world in Iran where nearly 90 percent of Muslims are Shiite, but Shia are also the majority in Iraq, Bahrain, and Yemen. The division between the Shia and Sunni is rooted in disputes over the proper succession of leadership after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 C.E. The Shia maintain that the rightful successor of the Prophet was his cousin and son-in-law, Ali. Shia especially revere a succession of scholars (called Imams). The Imam is regarded by Shia Muslims to be both a political and a spiritual leader. Although Shia and Sunni Muslims agree on many doctrinal and ritual matters, the Shia hold past Imams and saints in particularly high regard. The most important of these figures are memorialized by often elaborate tombs, which have become important pilgrimage places and objects of devotion. Shia put particular emphasis on the death of Ali; he was assassinated in 661, in Najaf, Iraq, which has become an important place of pilgrimage for Shia. Another very significant figure is Husayn, Muhammad's grandson, who was murdered in Karbala (Iraq) in 680; Shia commemorate this event each year on Ashura, a day of mourning recognized throughout the Shia world, and, particularly, by pilgrimages to Karbala.

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Sunni and Shia Islam are the two major denominations of Islam. The demographic breakdown between the two denominations is difficult to assess and varies by source, but a good approximation is that 70–90%[1][2][3][4][5] of the world's Muslims are Sunni and 10–30%[1][4][5][6] are Shia, with most Shias belonging to the Twelver tradition and the rest divided between several other groups.[7][8]

Sunnis are a majority in most Muslim communities: in South East Asia, China, South Asia, Africa, and some of the Arab world. Shia make up the majority of the population in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain (all together called the Shia Crescent), while Pakistan has the second-largest Shia Muslim (Twelver) population in the world.

The historic background of the Sunni–Shia split lies in the schism that occurred when the Islamic prophet Muhammad died in the year 632, leading to a dispute over succession to Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community spread across various parts of the world which led to the Battle of Siffin. Today there are differences in religious practice, traditions and customs, often related to jurisprudence. Although all Muslim groups consider the Quran to be divine, Sunni and Shia have different opinions on hadith.

Over the years, Sunni–Shia relations have been marked by both cooperation and conflict. Sectarian violence persists to this day from Pakistan to Yemen and is a major element of friction throughout the Middle East.[9][10] Tensions between communities have intensified during power struggles, such as the Bahraini uprising, the 2003 Iraq War, and most recently the Syrian civil war

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Question: What's the Difference Between Shia and Sunni Muslims?

Answer: Both Sunni and Shia Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs and articles of faith. The differences between these two main sub-groups within Islam initially stemmed not from spiritual differences, but political ones. Over the centuries, however, these political differences have spawned a number of varying practices and positions which have come to carry a spiritual significance.

The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslim nation. Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet's companions, that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word "Sunni" in Arabic comes from a word meaning "one who follows the traditions of the Prophet."

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As an answer, McKnight points to a survey of 100 former Muslims by Georges Houssney, founder and president of Horizons International, that attempts to understand the factors that led to their conversion to Christianity.

The vast majority of respondents—who were mostly moderate Muslims (40%) or nominal Muslims (40%) before their conversions (20% were self-described "fanatics")—said they viewed their relationship with Allah as based on fear or duty. Equal percentages (55%) said they viewed Islam primarily as a cultural system vs. a religious system. Today, 9 in 10 respondents say they believe they now are worshiping a different God than Allah.
So what do they think distinguishes God from Allah? Nearly 3 in 4 respondents emphasized love as the most meaningful characteristic of the Christian God. Meanwhile, 25 percent cited God's forgiveness.
And love appears to be extremely influential when it comes to evangelism as well. More than 8 in 10 respondents cited "the love of Christians as one major factor" in their conversion, and 6 in 10 cited it as the only factor. Only 30 percent cited "disappointment with Islam." Meanwhile, 25 percent say they were drawn to Christ by dreams or visions.

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(Taqiyyah doctrine obligates Muslims to deceive infidels as part the required effort or jihad to institute Islamic doctrine or shariah)

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It is particularly telling that no other group in the United States has been the focus of such a degree of attention and outreach, although FBI religious hate crime statistics from 2009 indicate that Jews are more than eight times more likely to be victims of religious hate crimes than Muslims. Yet there is no special protection afforded to Jews, no events announcing the prosecution of individuals who post material offensive to Jews, nor outreach programs to the American Jewish community to better serve their interests. When it comes to Jews and Christians, offensive remarks and portrayals are permitted under the First Amendment.

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It is truly remarkable that the mission of an entire government agency, NASA, was reconfigured from space exploration and aerospace technology to Muslim outreach by the Obama administration in 2009. At that time, Obama required NASA to reach out to Muslims and help them "feel good about their historic contributions to science, math, and engineering."

Recently, Obama announced that he was launching the Muslim Outreach Summit to elicit feedback from American Muslims on how the government can better serve them. It is unprecedented for any group in the U.S. to receive this level of special consideration.

Following the Benghazi attack, Obama went to the UN and announced, "The future does not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam" and that "Intolerance is a form of violence." He didn't reference the desecrations of images of Jesus Christ and churches or voice concern about Holocaust denial. He mentioned only the criticism of Islam as a cause for concern and a reason to curtail free speech rights. Let us not forget that in the "Audacity of Hope," Obama avowed, "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

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When I was a Muslim I was taught to believe that our eternal destiny and our hope of salvation in paradise are only known to Allah and under his divine control. We or any other creature have no hope whatsoever in securing such on our own, nor have we any control over our final destiny, even though Islam teaches that people may have hope to be saved by works, provided they are covered by the mercy of Allah on Judgment Day. Furthermore, the Quran explicitly teaches that Allah is the ultimate authority over guiding and misguiding people and that he has already determined their eternal abode.

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Upon examining these Islamic sources one can become convinced that Allah, the so called “most compassionate and most merciful”, actually has neither compassion nor mercy for his Muslim people, let alone for non-Muslims. In light of what we have just examined, I want to raise the question of how can anyone have a glimmer of hope in a god who made it very clear that no one has any control concerning their eternal destiny, whether it be based on their good deeds or any other means.

Furthermore, these sources show very vividly that all humans, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, are predestined to do whatever act is ordained for them including the act of shirk, which is the association of other deities beside Allah. In other words, Allah has predestined some to commit shirk against him and others not to.

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How can anyone trust in a god that has a divine purpose to destroy people by commanding them to sin and commit abominations to fulfill his divine purpose?

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How can any individual Muslim have confidence that Allah will make any effort to protect him or her from Satan and his deception if Allah did not even care to protect entire nations? Can we even assume that Allah is able to protect anyone from Satan? It is clear, after all, that Satan was able to mislead them all even though Allah sent messengers to them, supposedly because he was intending to guide them? So, Satan deception is actually stronger than Allah’s guidance?

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The power of Satan according to the Quran includes false revelations of the Quran to the messengers and prophets of the past.

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My dear Muslim brothers and sisters, I beseech you to ponder what you have just read concerning the revelations of the Quran. How can you be certain that whatever promises given to you throughout the Quran are actually from Allah? How can you be certain that your salvation according to the Quran is assured? What if it was Satan who spoke or uttered these promises through Muhammad or the other prophets who preceded him?⁸

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