RT @BrotherRasheed: Everything Jesus taught, Muslims do the opposite. Jesus said, “Do not pray on street corners to show off”—Muslims do ex…

A new report from the Pew Research Center shows that Islam experienced the largest growth of any religious group between 2010 and 2020, with an increase of 347 million people. Researchers attribute this primarily to birth rates rather than religious conversion. The study found that Muslims remain concentrated in high-growth regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East-North Africa, while the largest increase occurred in the Asia-Pacific region.⁠
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Christianity added 122 million people over the same period but declined as a share of the global population. Pew reports that many people who were raised Christian no longer identify with any religion, especially in Europe, North America, and Oceania. The religiously unaffiliated now make up 24.2% of the global population and represent the third largest group after Christians and Muslims.⁠
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Other findings include a 19 million decline in the global Buddhist population, largely due to disaffiliation in East Asia. Hindu populations grew through migration, particularly in the Middle East-North Africa and North America. The world’s Jewish population increased by about one million to 15 million people, with nearly half residing in Israel. Pew researchers used over 2,700 data sources across 201 countries to produce the study.⁠
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Crowds filled the streets of Tehran on Saturday for the funeral of top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists killed during a 12-day war with Israel. Among the dead were Revolutionary Guard chief Gen. Hossein Salami and missile program head Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Caskets were driven through Azadi Street as mourners chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” State media reported over 1 million attendees, though that figure could not be verified.⁠
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The funeral was attended by senior officials, including Gen. Esmail Qaani and Gen. Ali Shamkhani, who was wounded in the initial Israeli strike. Shamkhani said he awoke for dawn prayer to find his home destroyed. “Suddenly everything around me had become ruins,” he said. In total, 60 people were honored, including women and children.⁠
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Israel claims it killed 30 commanders and 11 scientists and struck eight nuclear sites. Iran launched more than 550 missiles in response, killing 28 people in Israel. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran could resume, but Iran’s parliament suspended cooperation with international inspectors. “If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal,” wrote Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, “he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran’s Supreme Leader.”⁠
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The Story behind the Grave of Victor Noir, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris:

Victor Noir was a 19th-century French journalist whose tomb became an unlikely symbol of fertility and desire. Sculpted by Jules Dalou, the bronze statue shows Noir lying as if freshly fallen, with a top hat beside him — and a noticeable bulge in his trousers that has drawn attention for decades.

Local legend claims that women who kiss the statue’s lips, rub the bulge, and leave a flower in the hat will be rewarded with enhanced fertility and a blissful sex life. There’s a ritual for every wish: kiss the lips to attract a beautiful lover, touch the right foot to get pregnant, the left for twins. The myth promises a baby soon after — and even a husband within the year.

Despite being surrounded by signs asking visitors not to touch the statue, its polished lips, crotch, and feet reveal that the tradition is very much alive.