Tag: Pakistan

Welby concerned by Pakistan’s blasphemy laws

June 3, 2014 Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Justin Welby, Pakistan, Religion Law

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby expressed his concerns over daily threats Christians face from Islamist militants and the blasphemy laws at the end of a two-day visit in Pakistan. Speaking to Muslim leaders, Welby is determined to improve relations between Christians and Muslims in the West. He was also . . . Read More

68 Pakistani lawyers charged with blasphemy

May 14, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab

Pakistani police in Punjab have opened a blasphemy case on Sunday against 68 lawyers after they staged a protest last week against a police officer. The police complaint stated that the protesting lawyers had insulted a close companion of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed while they were demonstrating outside a district police . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian sentenced to death for blasphemy

March 27, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Joseph Colony, Lahore, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Prophet Muhammad, Sawan Masih, USA

Lahore, Pakistan – A year after Muslims devastated the predominantly Christian Joseph Colony; the man at the center of the controversy has been sentenced to death for blasphemy because of claims that he insulted Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. Sawan Masih’s sentence, handed down March 27, is based on a conversation that . . . Read More

Freedom of religion an issue ‘whose time has come’

February 13, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Arab Spring, Barack Obama, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Europe, India, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Middle East, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Sharia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, UN, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Freedom of religion and belief is an issue “whose time has come”, the vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said yesterday. During the presentation of two reports on religious freedom at the European Parliament in Brussels on Feb. 12, commission Vice Chairwoman Katrina Lantos Swett said . . . Read More

Pressure on Christians grew in 2013

January 8, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, African Union, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, BJP, Buddhist nationalism, Central African Republic, Colombia, Eritrea, FARC, Hindu nationalism, India, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Kyrgyzstan, Middle East, Nigeria, North Africa, North Korea, Pakistan, Peshawar, Religious freedom, Sadad, Sharia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, UN, Yemen

More than ever, some of the hardest places for Christians to live are fragile or failed states where militant Islamist movements flourish, according to an annual report on Christian religious freedom. Pressure on Christians intensified worldwide in 2013, according to Open Doors International, a charity that provides support to Christians . . . Read More

Christian deaths double in 2014 World Watch List

January 8, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Angola, Central African Republic, Churches, Egypt, India, Kidnapping, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Rape, Religious freedom, Syria

Nearly twice as many Christians died for their faith in the past year than in 2012, according to Open Doors International’s 2014 World Watch List. Open Doors International, a charity that supports Christians under pressure for their faith, said 2,123 Christians were reported to have been killed during the 12 . . . Read More

UK Parliament is told Christianity is ‘most persecuted religion’

December 4, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country Baroness Warsi, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Human rights, Iraq, Kazakhstan, London, Maaloula, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Sadad, Syria

The Bishop Moussa Coptic Church in Minya was destroyted by pro-Morsi supporters in Egypt, many of whom blamed Christians for his overthrow.David Degner, Getty Images The plight of Christians around the world was discussed in a three-hour debate at the Houses of Parliament in London yesterday. Members of the . . . Read More

Christians face extinction in Middle East, warns UK Minister

November 15, 2013 Baroness Warsi, David Cameron, Human rights, Middle East, Pakistan, UK

Baroness Warsi on a visit to Pakistan in 2010.DFID / Flickr / Creative Commons A UK Foreign Office Minister has warned that Christians in some parts of the world face extinction because of violence against them. Ahead of a speech on Friday, Nov. 15 at Georgetown University in Washington, . . . Read More

EU Parliament pleads for Christian safety

October 12, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country All Saints Church, Blasphemy, Churches, Iran, Pakistan, Peshawar, Religious freedom, Saeed Abedini, Syria

The European Parliament has gone on record condemning violence against Christians in several countries. In a resolution passed on Thursday, Oct. 10, the parliament: Condemned militant attacks on Christians in Syria, and called for protection of monasteries and humanitarian support for nuns and orphans; Condemned the Sept. 22 bombing attack . . . Read More

Pakistan ‘beset with religious rage’

October 4, 2013 Pakistan All Saints Church, Islamic extremism, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Peshawar

The World Council of Churches has registered with Pakistan Prime Minister Naraz Sharif its dismay at the recent wave of violence that has claimed nearly 150 lives. In an Oct. 3 letter to Sharif, council General Secretary Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit said the council’s 345 member churches, representing 500 million Christians, . . . Read More

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