A month after the attack on a Christian colony in Faisalabad, Imran, a Pakistani Christian, analyses the situation on the ground. “Churches fear a repetition”, he says.
The contrast of the Old Testament’s Cherem wars with the Quran’s ideology of Jihad is striking. This will help understand the current debate in Sweden – and elsewhere.
Christians are against desecrating holy books, says Olof Edsinger, leader of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance. But “something is terribly wrong when totalitarian regimes are trying to force us to abandon our hard-won human rights”, he adds.
“The mobs not only burned and looted our churches and homes, they also vandalized our graveyard and the office of the assistant commissioner, who is also a Christian”, sources in Jaranwala said.
The government also agreed to establish a “Counter Blasphemy Wing” to take action against dissemination of “blasphemous content” on the internet.
“There was no proof against him, and none of the witnesses produced by police could corroborate the blasphemy allegation against him”, said the attorney.
A Christian was arrested for allegedly posting and sharing blasphemous images on social media. He may face death penalty.
The landlord, rival shop owner, falsely accused him of disrespecting Muhammad by allegedly saying that Christ was the only “true prophet”.
The Christian brothers have been in jail since 2014, accused of creating a blog with blasphemous material, after “a shoddy investigation and evidence”, said the lawyers.
They were accused of “unauthorized worship”. The court has upheld the sentence of six months in prison but reduced the fine by half.
A report originally written to help the EU fight the persecution of faith minorities was watered down before its approval. The European Evangelical Alliance warns about the risks of minimising the importance of certain human rights.
The death sentence is for a Protestant pastor who has been in prison since 2012, while the other was released on bail after four years in prison for Facebook comments.
Somali militant group was suspected of joining the attacks. “Please pray for the families affected. People have fled from the area for fear of their lives”, evangelicals say.
Decision cloaked for two months to deter Islamist backlash.
The nurses were accused of “defiling the Koran”. A Muslim co-worker attacked one of them with a knife.
A large number of Islamist lawyers swarmed the courtroom during a hearing, an intimidation tactic designed to obtain convictions and harsh sentences.
The father of four young children had been sentenced to five years in prison and fined 100,000 dinars. “That this story goes back three years and only now it’s resurfacing – it’s hard to digest”, says the church that supports his family.
A Korean Christian and three nationals have been accused of fraudulent conversion attempts while distributing food to people in need.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has analysed the effects of blasphemy laws worldwide between 2014-18. 11% of the blasphemy-related incidents took place in Europe.
Muslim mobs attacked a Christian area of Lahore, Pakistan after false the blasphemy allegation in March 2013.
“The state shall not establish an official religion. No citizen shall be discriminated based on their religion”, the new agreement between the government and the rebels says.
How easy it is to attach God’s name to our particular cause, to our political party, to our church denomination, and boldly proclaim to the world, ‘God is on our side’.
The Pakistani Christian absolved of death penalty shares details about her suffering as a “prisoner of fanaticism” . Journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet is co-author of the book.
Civil society reports estimate that in 2017 alone at least 50 individuals were imprisoned on charges of blasphemy, with at least 17 facing possible death sentences.
“Blasphemy law should be reviewed, with proper investigation mechanisms”, Asia Bibi told The Sunday Telegraph in her first interview since she left Pakistan. The Christian woman and her family are expected to move to Europe soon.
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