Tag: Quran

Pakistan student kills school principal in blasphemy row

January 24, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamabad, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Quran, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

Banner protesting against changes to the blasphemy laws, Peshawar 2017 (World Watch Monitor)

A Pakistani student has shot and killed his school principal after they argued over the student missing classes to attend protests over “blasphemous” law changes, reports The Guardian. Police said the unnamed student had attended a sit-in staged by a new ultra-religious party, Tehreek-e-Labaik, to oppose a small change in . . . 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

Philippines: Islamist separatists endorse fatwa denouncing extremist violence

July 6, 2017 Philippines Bangsamoro, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Manila, Marawi, Maute, Mindanao, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Quran

The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group has backed a fatwa against violent extremism issued by a senior Islamic religious leader in the troubled southern region of Mindanao. Sheikh Abehuraira Abdulrahman Udasan, mufti of the influential Bangsamoro House of Opinion in Mindanao, issued the Islamic legal ruling “against the entry and . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian accused of blasphemy for saying he believes Jesus was final prophet

June 22, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Gojra, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Quran

A Pakistani bike shop owner has been accused of blasphemy after telling one of his customers that Christians believe Jesus to have been the final prophet. Ashfaq Masih, 28, was arrested following accusations that he had “disrespected” Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. The incident took place in Lahore last Thursday (15 June) . . . Read More

UNHCR accused of ‘negligence’ after Pakistani Christian dies in Thai detention centre

June 9, 2017 Asylum seekers, Bangkok, Blasphemy, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Malaysia, Migrants, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Quran, Refugees, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UK, UN

Thailand’s government and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Bangkok have been accused of “negligence” after a Pakistani Christian asylum seeker died in a detention centre last month. Ijaz Masih, 35, was reportedly refused medical treatment on 26 May, after complaining of chest pains, and died of a heart attack . . . Read More

Pakistan medical superintendent ‘orders Christian staff to recite Quran’

May 15, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Lahore, Quran

An investigation was launched into the misconduct of the Medical Superintendent. Staff, including medical staff, want to see him being removed.

The medical superintendent of a hospital in Pakistan has been accused of forcing its Christian staff to memorise Quranic verses. Article 20 of the Pakistan Constitution guarantees that no-one can be forced into any religious practice or belief against his/her own faith. Dr. Muhammad Sarfaraz was appointed Medical Superintendent of . . . Read More

How Saudi Arabia promotes extremist Islam

May 2, 2017 Saudi Arabia Arabian Peninsula, Islamic extremism, Quran, Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism

Bangladesh approved the construction on its territory of 560 mosques on Wednesday, April 26. The project, financed by the Saudi government to the tune of over a billion dollars, worries advocates of secularism and representatives of various religious minorities. According to La Croix International, they fear these mosques might become . . . 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

Church body calls for equal education in N Nigeria

January 10, 2017 Nigeria Boko Haram, Christian Association of Nigeria, Education, Nigeria, Quran, Sharia, Yobe

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the north-eastern state of Yobe has appealed to the state government to introduce Christian religious studies in public schools. Despite the constitutional provision for freedom of worship, the teaching of Christian religious knowledge is prohibited by local authorities in Yobe and other northern . . . Read More

Indonesia: Christian Governor accused of blasphemy

November 7, 2016 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Indonesia, Islamic Defenders Front, Jakarta, Quran

Thousands of hardline Muslims turned violent during a protest calling for the prosecution of Jakarta’s Christian Governor over comments he made about the Quran, . An estimated 50,000 demonstrated at a largely peaceful rally in the Indonesian capital on 4 November after the Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said that Islamic . . . Read More

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