Tag: Minorities

Nepal PM ‘commits to address’ Christian concerns ahead of elections

November 8, 2017 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Converts, Elections, Hindu nationalism, Minorities, Nepal

Nepal’s Prime Minister has committed to addressing the Christian community’s concerns over religious freedoms, reports Asia News. Christians are thought to account for around 4 per cent of the population. Dinesh Bhattarai, advisor to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, said the commitment “will be immediately put into practice and everything . . . Read More

Iran MPs want to change law so people can only vote for candidates from their own religion

November 3, 2017 Iran Armenians, Assyrians, Ayatollah Khomeini, Elections, Iran, Minorities, Sepanta Niknam, Sharia, Yazd, Zoroastrians

Conservative MPs within Iran’s parliament are proposing that Iranians should only be allowed to vote for members of their own religious group. In Iran, where 90-95% of the population is Shia Muslim, this will essentially mean that it will be impossible for members of religious minorities to be elected. The . . . Read More

‘Pakistan’s blasphemy law here to stay’ – Minister of Religious Affairs

November 2, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Pakistan

Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony says the country is under “no pressure” to scrap its controversial blasphemy laws and that religious minorities enjoy equal rights. “The law cannot be revoked,” Sardar Muhammad Yousuf said at a Pakistan-American Press Association dinner. “It’s there to stay, as it has . . . Read More

Kidnapped 9 months ago in broad daylight, where is Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh?

November 2, 2017 Malaysia Kidnapping, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Minorities, Petaling Jaya, Raymond Koh

Raymond Koh turns 63 today, but almost nine months after his abduction there is still no news of the Malaysian pastor. Koh was kidnapped in broad daylight by masked men driving black 4x4s in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, on 13 February. The whole incident, which lasted less than a . . . Read More

Pakistani Christians face discrimination in prisons too

November 1, 2017 Pakistan Caste, Gujranwala, Kasur, Minorities, Pakistan, Peshawar, Prisons, Punjab, Taliban

Pakistani Christians, often discriminated against because of their faith and standing as members of Pakistan’s lowest caste, find that discrimination follows them in prisons as well. The justice system is extremely slow in Pakistan and, as a result, thousands of Pakistanis languish in overcrowded jails, having yet to face trial. . . . Read More

Qatar conference: ‘no peace in Middle East without democracy and rule of law’

October 25, 2017 Arabian Peninsula, Arabs, Copts, Doha, Egypt, Iraq, Middle East, Minorities, Qatar

A two-day conference in Qatar earlier this week focused on the plight of Arab Christians and the threats they face through wars and conflicts in the Middle East, recognising there is “no magic wand” to deal with inter-religious and sectarian strife. Bomb attacks on Coptic churches in Egypt and forced . . . Read More

Nepali Christians freed 9 months after conviction for ‘witchcraft’ of praying for mentally ill woman

September 26, 2017 Nepal Charikot, Converts, Minorities, Nepal, Proselytism, Salyan

Four Nepali Christians sentenced last year to five years in prison for “violence and witchcraft”, after praying for a mentally ill woman, have been released after their sentences were overturned. In a statement, the Federation of National Christian, Nepal (FNCN) thanked the court for “setting free our innocent people”, and . . . Read More

Chief Minister of India’s most populous state bans ‘illegal’ abattoirs

March 30, 2017 India Beef, BJP, Converts, Ghar Wapsi, Hindu nationalism, India, Maharashtra, Minorities, Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh

Butchers in Uttar Pradesh face difficult times as state government bans 'illegal' slaughter houses.

India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party on 19 March appointed a highly controversial Hindu cleric to lead the country’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. The choice for Yogi Adityanath – a controversial Hindu monk who has been repeatedly accused of stirring anti-Muslim sentiments – is a shocking rebuke to . . . Read More

Pakistani Christians call for ‘fair’ blasphemy inquiries

March 30, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Human rights, Minorities, Pakistan, Quran

Christians call for fairer treatment in blasphemy inquiries, like the case of Asia Bibi.

Pakistani Christians are calling for fairer investigations into alleged blasphemy cases, after a Muslim man caught burning pages of the Quran was quickly acquitted, UCANews reports. After the man was beaten up and handed over to the authorities, the police found that he had been ‘mentally instable’ when he caused . . . Read More

New Erbil university offers fresh hope for young lives disrupted by IS

March 30, 2017 Iraq Bashar Warda, Catholics, Education, IDPs, Iraq, Kurds, Minorities

The new Catholic University of Erbil offers displaced young people an opportunity to continue their education.

Displaced young Iraqis whose education was halted by Islamic State’s violent seizure of territory are receiving a vital opportunity to catch up and train for professional life, thanks to the local Catholic archdiocese and charitable donations. The Catholic University of Erbil (CUE) opened in October 2016 and has around 250 . . . Read More

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