Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Iran Persecution of Christians Worsen
Editor’s Note: Reports are emerging from Iran of heightened persecution of Christians. For decades, the largely Armenian Christian community has suffered a fate similiar to that of the Baha’is. Monitoring, arrests, torture, closure of religious centres are frequent following the conversion of a large number of Muslims to Christianity.
In Iran, ‘crackdown’ on Christians worsens
(CE) Two Christian women are being detained by Iranian security forces as “anti-government activists,” according to International Christian Concern, a human rights organization based in Washington. The imprisoned women reportedly are in ill health.
A Pentecostal church in Tehran has been ordered closed and three Iranian Christian men have been declared guilty of cooperating with “anti-government movements,” according to Compass Direct News of Santa Ana, Calif., which provides reports on Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith.
In an overview of persecution in Iran, International Christian Concern stated: “Iranian officials have dramatically increased their persecution of Christians following the conversion of a large number of Muslims to Christianity. Last year alone, 50 Christians were arrested for practicing their faith, some of whom were tortured. There have also been reports that Christians died due to the torture they were forced to endure.”
As phrased by Compass Direct News, there were “more than 50 documented arrests of Christians in 2008 alone.” Compass added that “the recent government crackdown includes Christian institutions that minister beyond Iran’s tiny indigenous Christian community.”
Compass also noted: “A new penal code under consideration by the Iranian Parliament includes a bill that would require the death penalty for apostasy.”
International Christian Concern, in its April 2 report on the two detained women, recounted:
“… [O]n March 5, 2009, Iranian security forces detained two Christian women for practicing Christianity. Iranian officials allege that Marzieh Amairizadeh Esmaeilabad and Maryam Rustampoor are ‘anti-government activists.’
“According to the Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN), Iranian security officials searched the apartment shared by the two women and confiscated their personal belongings before they handcuffed and took the Christians to Police and Security Station 137 in Gaysha, west of Tehran. After appearing before the Revolutionary Court on March 18, the women were sent to the notorious Evin prison. Iranian officials told the Christian women to post bail at a staggering amount of $400,000 in order to be released from the prison.
“Both women are allowed just a one minute telephone call every day to their immediate families. Both are unwell and in need of urgent medical attention. During their last call on March 28, Marzieh said that she was suffering from an infection and high fever. She said, ‘I am dying,’ reported FCNN.”
The Pentecostal church in Tehran was ordered closed because “it offered a Farsi-language service attended by converts from Islam,” Compass reported March 31, attributing the information to the Farsi Christian News Network.
The church, which consists of Assyrian believers, was ordered closed by the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which, as Compass described it, was established as part of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1979 Islamic revolution.
An Assyrian member of Parliament, Yonathan Betkolia, announced the order on March 19.
Compass recounted that Betkolia last October had lauded freedoms extended to Iranian minority groups, but “he has publicly protested” the church allowing Farsi-language services for “non-Assyrians” (namely Muslims). An unnamed regional analyst said Betkolia waged the protest, as Compass put it, because “the increase in government pressure on the Christian community has put him in a difficult position.”
Compass quoted the analyst as saying, “As a representative of the Assyrian community, a priority for Betkolia is to ensure the preservation of the limited freedoms and relative peace his traditional Christian community enjoys. Disassociation from a church which has welcomed believers from a Muslim background should therefore be seen as a form of self-defense.”
Compass reported that the pastor of the church “has indicated that cancelling Farsi-language services may allow it to continue, though it was unclear at press time whether the congregation’s leadership was willing to make that compromise.”
Meanwhile, the three Iranian Christians declared guilty March 10 of cooperating with “anti-Christian movements” have received eight-month suspended prison sentences with a five-year probation. But, Compass reported, the Islamic Revolutional Court judge said he would enforce the sentences of Seyed Allaedin Hussein, Homayoon Shokouhi and Seyed Amir Hussein Bob-Annari – and try them as “apostates,” or those who abandon Islam – if they violate their probation – “including a ban on contacting one another,” Compass noted.
Compass reported: “The ‘anti-government movements’ referred to by the judge are satellite television stations Love Television and Salvation TV. Unlike the Internet, which is heavily censored in Iran, the two 24-hour satellite TV stations can bypass government information barriers.
“Sources said links between the accused and these organizations, however, remain tenuous,” Compass continued, quoting an unnamed source as saying, “The TV link came up almost six months after [the original arrests], so it is very new. We believe they just made it up, or it is something they want to make appear more important than is the reality.”
Compass further reported: “The three men were arrested by security forces on May 11, 2008, at the Shiraz airport while en route to a Christian marriage seminar in Dubai. According to a report by Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN), at that time the families of the three men avoided formal charges by agreeing to terms of release, including payment of a bond amount. Details of the terms were undisclosed.”
According to Compass, “The number of Assyrian Christians in the country is estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000, with estimates of Armenian Christians in Iran ranging from 110,000 to 300,000.”
[Source: http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Apr09/Art_Apr09_23.html]
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Pakistan Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy
PAKISTAN11/09/2010 13:06
Punjab: Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy
For the first time, a woman is sentenced to death in Pakistan for this kind of “offence”. The blasphemy law was introduced in 1986 by then Pakistani dictator Zia-ul Haq and since then it has become a tool for discrimination and violence. Part of the Pakistan Penal Code, the law imposes life in prison for defiling the Qur’an and death for insulting Muhammad.
Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Pakistan has “crossed a line” in sentencing a Christian woman to death for blasphemy. Asia Bibi, a 37-year-old farm worker mother of two, was convicted of committing blasphemy before her fellow workers during a heated discussion about religion in the village of Ittanwali in June last year.
Some of the women workers had reportedly been pressuring Bibi to renounce her Christian faith and accept Islam. During one discussion, Bibi responded by speaking of how Jesus had died on the cross for the sins of humanity and asking the Muslim women what Muhammad had done for them.
The Muslim women took offence and began beating Bibi. Afterwards she was locked in a room. According to Release International, a mob reportedly formed and “violently abused” her and her children.
The charity, which supports persecuted Christians, said that blasphemy charges were brought against Bibi because of pressure from local Muslim leaders.
Release International’s chief executive, Andy Dipper, expressed his shock at Sunday’s ruling.
“Pakistan has crossed a line in passing the death sentence on a woman for blasphemy,” he said.
In addition to the death sentence, Bibi was also fined the equivalent for an unskilled worker of two and a half years’ wages.
Another Christian woman, Martha Bibi (no relation to Asia), is also on trial in Lahore for blasphemy.
According to the National Commission on Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Catholic Church, between 1986 and August 2009, at least 974 people have been charged for defiling the Qur’an or insulting the Prophet Muhammad. They include 479 Muslims, 340 Ahmadis, 119 Christians, 14 Hindus and 10 from other religions.
The blasphemy law has often been used as a pretext for personal attacks or vendettas as well as extra-judicial murders.
Overall, 33 people have died this way at the hands of individuals or crazed mobs.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
A year on, Malay Bibles still stuck at port in Malaysia
A year on, Malay Bibles still stuck at portBy Debra Chong
October 18, 2010
One got away - A copy of the impounded Bible at Port Klang. - Picture by Choo Choy MayPETALING JAYA, Oct 18 — The 5,000 Malay-language bibles remain impounded at Port Klang, despite the best efforts of the Bible Society of Malaysia to retrieve them for over a year — despite assurances from the Home Ministry’s top officials.
Its general secretary, Reverend Simon Wong, told The Malaysian Insider the society has been given conflicting instructions concerning the release of the Bibles shipped in from Indonesia and seized by customs officers on March 20 last year because they contained the word “Allah”.
BSM’s repeated attempts to clear up the confusion with the ministry helmed by Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein — who oversees the immigration and customs department — at its highest-level of command have been met with sympathy but not action, said Wong.
The Malay Bible states it is strictly for Christian consumption only. - Picture by Choo Choy May“Apparently, politicians can’t do anything against the little Napoleons. There are these officers down there who are really powerful,” a frustrated Wong vented in a recent interview, referring to unnamed ministry officials on the ground blocking their bid to collect the Al-Kitab, as the Malay Bibles are called.
The Methodist related that the society had first appealed to the Home Ministry in March last year after it received official notice informing that its shipment of 5,100 religious books had been detained because they contained the word “Allah”, among a list of words banned to non-Muslim publications.
BSM wrote another letter on March 16 this year to remind the ministry of its appeal. It received a formal response from the ministry’s Publication Control and Al-Quran Text division three months later.
In the first of three letters issued in June this year, BSM was told its appeal was approved and instructed to collect the Bibles before June 25, otherwise “your publications will be terminated in whichever manner decided by the Ministry according to the provision of the same Act [Printing Press and Publications]”.
Wong said he was heartened by the first letter dated June 10, and made immediate arrangements to collect the books at the port on June 24.
“My staff got there and was told the Bibles cannot be released. He showed them the letter.
“Someone inside gave instructions not to release the Bibles. He said it was a mistake,” Wong recounted, adding he was in Sibu at the time the incident took place, and had to deal with the matter over the phone.
“They said they would release it when it was sent back to Indonesia,” he added.
He was puzzled and demanded a formal explanation.
The senior officer on duty, Suniranto Shukor, claimed he was under “instructions from above” not to release the shipment, but dutifully produced a letter on the spot and signed his name on the document.
In that second letter, dated June 24, the Publication Control and Al-Quran Text division stated the ministry had “made the decision to reject the import of the publication”.
But the following sentence in the same letter compounded the confusion: “You are requested to contact this office to collect the publication before 30 June 2010 to implement any related decision or present a written appeal regarding this matter. All publication…will be forfeited…after 30 June 2010.”
Rev Simon Wong does not understand the Bible hold-up. - Picture by Choo Choy May“We were shocked. We asked for another letter since the first one said they were released. The second letter was an alarm to us. The second letter says the final decision is to tolak, reject our appeal,” Wong said.
Two days later, it received another ministry letter dated June 24, stating: “We are delighted to inform that this matter [release of the Al-Kitab] have been forwarded to the Publications Control and Al-Quran Text Division, Putrajaya for immediate action”. This time, it was signed by a Lim Beng Wah, senior private secretary to the Deputy Home Minister.
Copies of the three letters were made available to The Malaysian Insider.
Wong was and remains at a loss on what to do.
The preacher said Christian leaders and church representatives at the federal level had approached the ministry for help, but talks have not been successful to date.
The Malaysian Insider understands the last discussion was last week.
“We’re seeking proactive and constructive measures to resolve the matter,” Wong said, stressing BSM only wanted to claim to fulfil the orders placed by the churches catering to their Malay-speaking congregation.
He said most of the market was for East Malaysian Christians.
He related a similar incident involving another Christian group, the Gideons, had its shipment of 10,000 Malay-language Bibles detained in Kuching last year; but had the confiscation order lifted after Putrajaya intervened directly.
“We have a strong legal case. We have lawyers in the board. [But] Being a Christian organisation, we’re reluctant to take legal action unless we’re really forced to, like the Catholic Church was with the Herald’s case,” Wong replied when asked if BSM had considered legal action to force the release.
He said the board will be meeting tomorrow to discuss its next step, but have to consider the overall picture of the Bible Society as it may affect its other divisions.
Wong admitted that the courts may not be an effective solution to their problem.
He noted the Court of Appeal’s delay in hearing the controversial “Allah” suit, 10 months after the High Court ruled Christians have a constitution right to use the word, had impacted on their case as well.
“What can we do? We can only wait,” he sighed.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Seizure of 15,000 Bibles in Malaysia
Some 10,000 of the Bahasa Malaysia-language Bibles, which were printed in Indonesia, are in Kuching, capital of Sarawak in East Malaysia, and another 5,000 copies are in Kelang near Kuala Lumpur.
The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) on Wednesday (Nov. 4) called for the immediate release of the confiscated Bibles. At the same time, CFM Executive Secretary Tan Kong Beng told Compass that the federation is striving for amicable relations with government authorities.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Malaysia Set to Rule on Use of ‘Allah’ among Non-Muslims
Such a limit on free speech in Malaysia is especially biting for Muslim converts to Christianity; already the Malaysian government does not recognize their conversions and marriages and still considers their offspring to be legally Muslim. With non-Muslims increasingly feeling the sting of discrimination and Muslim elites feeling a need to assert a national Islamic identity, the skirmish over “Allah” is clearly part of a greater cultural war.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
FPI Disrupts Batak Christians’ Mass
Bekasi. At least 300 Islamic hard-liners protested against a Christian prayer meeting in Bekasi on Sunday, in the latest show of simmering religious tensions in the area.
Police said hundreds of members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) from Pondok Timur Indah were praying in a field in Ciketing Asem on Sunday morning, when demonstrators appeared and demanded the worshipers leave.
Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Imam Sugiyanto said 300 police officers were sent to secure the area. Police also demanded that the protesters disperse.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Christians in Bekasi forced to celebrate in the open air under Police Protection
The HKBP community has been the target of Islamic extremists for years. Muslims have shut down their church twice and prevented them from holding services in private locations. This month, they have begun to disrupt open-air Sunday services with threats and insults. In the first six months of the year, there were 28 anti-Christian attacks across Indonesia, seven in the city of Bekasi alone.
Rev Luspida Simanjuntak, who heads the HKBP community, said she would never give in to continuous violence. “I will never give up seeking justice,” she told AsiaNews. “I shall fight for the most fundamental of human rights, the right to worship God and profess our faith.”
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Record number of anti-Christian attacks in 2010
Between January and July, 28 incidents were recorded compared to 18 for the whole of 2009 and 17 for 2008. Bekasi holds the record. “It seems that people and the government do not realise that the right to worship, as stipulated in the Constitution, comes with the right to have a house of worship,” says the deputy chairman of the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy.
Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The first seven months of 2010 were marked by a record number of anti-Christian attacks, the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy said in a report released on Monday. Altogether, 28 attacks on religious freedom were recorded between January and July, compared with 18 incidents in all of 2009 and 17 in 2008.
Bekasi saw the highest number of incidents with seven, followed by Greater Jakarta with six.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Attacks on Christian Churches in Indonesia Rising
From January to July, there were 28 cases of religious freedom violations by “intolerant groups targeting Christians,” up from 17 for the whole of 2008 and 18 in 2009, the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace said in a report.
Based on reports by churches and the media, the violations — mostly by radical Muslim groups — include forced closure of churches, revocation and delays in issuing building permits, and attacks such as torching and damaging churches, the institute said.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sealed Church in Bogor, Indonesia Appeals to UN
Since April 11 the congregation has held services on the roadside in front of the sealed church in stifling heat. The church pastor, the Rev. Ujang Tanusaputra, told Compass that the congregation has held Sunday services six times in front of the building that the mayor of Bogor sealed.
“We are going to continue worshipping by the roadside as part of the struggle to remove the seal,” he told Compass.
Tanusaputra said that the church had received an official building permit from the Bogor City government.