Tag: Blasphemy

Religious freedom in Nepal ‘teetering on the edge’

October 23, 2017 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Blasphemy, Charikot, Constitution, Nepal, Religious freedom

Within less then 24 hours after the provisions on religion were approved by the Constituent Assembly in September 2015, 3 churches in the eastern Jhapa district were bombed. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Nepali president Bidhya Devi Bhandari last week signed into law a bill criminalising religious conversion and the “hurting of religious sentiment”, as two parliamentarians warn religious freedom in the country is “teetering on the edge”. Nepali MP Lokmani Dhakal and Canadian MP David Anderson expressed their concerns after an international . . . Read More

Algerian Christian on hunger strike after parole rejected

October 11, 2017 Algeria Algeria, Bejaia, Blasphemy, Constantine, Jijel, Kabylie, MAK, Setif, Slimane Bouhafs

Slimane Bouhafs has been released after 18 months in prison for alleged blasphemy on Facebook. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

An Algerian court has rejected a parole application for Slimane Bouhafs, an Algerian Christian jailed for five years for blasphemy in September 2016, despite his deteriorating health. Bouhafs heard the news on 2 October while in prison in the coastal city of Jijel, 300km east of the capital, Algiers, and . . . Read More

Asia Bibi nominated for award as human rights defender

October 5, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Europe, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, UN

Aasiya Noreen, a Pakistani Christian woman who has been on death row for over seven years for alleged blasphemy, has been nominated for this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The 52-year-old, who has become widely known as Asia Bibi (‘Bibi’ is an affectionate title given to women in . . . Read More

ASEAN nations told to ‘end blasphemy laws that inspire violence’

October 4, 2017 ASEAN, Blasphemy, Borneo, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Religious freedom, Sharia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Sunni, Thailand, USA, Vietnam

A right for all - USCIRF report on ASEAN nations

On its 50th anniversary, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should repeal blasphemy laws, release prisoners of conscience and strengthen interfaith relationships, says the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). In a new report, USCIRF highlights regional “arrests, detentions, and imprisonments based on religious belief, practice, or activities, . . . Read More

UN calls for abolition of death penalty for blasphemy and apostasy

October 3, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Ahok, Amin Afshar Naderi, Apostasy, Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Human rights, Indonesia, Iran, Mariam Ibrahim, Pakistan, UN, USA

During protests against Jakarta's Christian former governor Ahok for alleged blasphemy, some protestors called for the death penalty. Blasphemy is a criminal offence in Indonesia and carries a penalty of up to five years in jail. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The UN Human Rights Council last week passed a new resolution, demanding the abolition of the death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy. The resolution called on UN member states that still have the death penalty to, among other things, “ensure that it is not imposed as a sanction for specific . . . Read More

Worldwide blasphemy cases highlighted in USCIRF report

September 26, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Ahok, Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Gad Younan, USA

In its push to see blasphemy laws repealed worldwide, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released a new report referencing some of the most high-profile cases. ‘Selected blasphemy cases’ highlights the well-known trials of Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama in Indonesia and Asia Bibi in Pakistan, alongside . . . Read More

Pakistan Christian sentenced to death for WhatsApp ‘blasphemy’, despite gaps in police case

September 20, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Islamic extremism, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Nadeem Masih, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab

Six days after a Pakistani Christian was sentenced to death for blasphemy, the young man’s lawyer says there was insufficient evidence against his client and that the police failed to investigate the matter properly. Nadeem Masih, 24, from the Yaqoobabad area of the religiously conservative city of Gujrat, in Punjab . . . Read More

Nepal criminalises conversions and ‘hurting religious sentiment’

August 22, 2017 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Blasphemy, Charikot, Converts, Hindu nationalism, India, Nepal, Proselytism

As Nepal prepares for its first election following the introduction of a new Constitution two years ago, its parliament has passed a Bill criminalising religious conversion and the “hurting of religious sentiment”, as Christian Solidary Worldwide (CSW) reports. Nepal’s Christian minority fears that, once presidential approval is given, the new . . . Read More

Pakistan: illiterate Christian boy, 16, forced to confess ‘blasphemy’ to escape mob violence

August 21, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Bonded labourers, Gujranwala, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Nabeel Masih, Pakistan, Quran, Rimsha Masih

An angry Pakistani mob almost killed a 16-year-old Christian boy – who is completely illiterate and also slightly mentally challenged – for allegedly burning the pages of a Quran. He was then apparently forced to confess to the alleged crime, and is now in custody – despite apparent inconsistencies in . . . Read More

IS guilty of genocide, says US Secretary of State

August 17, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Al-Shabaab, Andrew Brunson, Blasphemy, Donald Trump, Genocide, Iran, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Lord Alton, NATO, Pakistan, Qatar, Rex Tillerson, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Taliban, Turkey, USA, Wahhabism, Yemen

The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has stressed that the actions of the Islamic State (IS) group against Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims constitute genocide, and also criticised America’s ally, Saudi Arabia, for religious freedom violations. Tillerson made his “genocide” comments in the preface to the State Department’s annual . . . Read More

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