The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released proposals Thursday, Feb. 19, that seek to change Christian teaching on homosexuality and would permit pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships, reports LifeSiteNews.com.
In response, leaders of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) announced Thursday that they will work to defeat the proposals that ask the ELCA to depart from biblical teaching on sexuality.
Lutheran CORE is a coalition of pastors, lay people, congregations and reforming groups that seeks to preserve the authority of the Bible in the ELCA.
“These recommendations mark a significant departure from the church’s commitment to Scripture as the source and norm of its faith and life,” said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.
“The proposal for change in standards for clergy departs from the clear teaching of Scripture,” said Spring, the retired bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod.
Responses to a 2004 study on homosexuality showed that a significant majority of ELCA members (57 percent) opposed change to accepted Christian teaching on homosexual behavior. Only 22 percent of ELCA members favored change in church teaching to allow for the blessing of same-sex unions or the ordination of practicing homosexuals.
Report from the Christian Telegraph
Posted in Bible, Christianity, Homosexuality, Lutheran, USA
Tagged 2004, accepted, allow, announced, authority, behavior, Bible, Biblical, bishop, blessing, chair, change, Christian, Christianity, Christians, clear, clergy, Coalition, committment, congregations, defeat, depart, departs, departure, ELCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, faith, favored, groups, homosexual, Homosexuality, homosexuals, lay people, leaders, life, Lutheran Coalition for Reform, Lutheran CORE, Lutheran CORE Steering Committee, majority, mark, members, might, norm, northwestern, Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod, opposed, ordination, pastors, Paull Spring, Pennsylvania, permit, practicing, preserve, proposals, recommendations, reforming, relationships, released, response, responses, retired, same-sex, Scripture, seek, seeks, sexual, sexuality, showed, significant, source, standards, State College, study, teaching, unions, work
Attacks on the Christian community of Bauchi State in Central Nigeria are continuing, despite the declaration of a curfew in the state capital, reports Jeremy Reynalds, correspondent for ASSIST News Service.
According to a news release from human rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), at least eleven people were killed and over 1,500 displaced. Fourteen churches, eight vicarages, one mosque and numerous Christian homes were razed to the ground during a weekend of violence that centered on seven neighborhoods in predominantly Muslim Bauchi Town.
CSW said the violence erupted after the burning of a mosque in the Railway suburb during the early hours of Feb. 21 that was blamed on Christians. It is now believed to have been the work of militants seeking a pretext for violence in retaliation for events in Nov. 2008, when rioting Muslims were shot dead for defying a government-imposed curfew in Jos, the capital of Plateau State.
CSW has been told by local sources that on Feb.13, a COCIN (Church of Christ in Nigeria) Fellowship in the Railway suburb of Bauchi Town had requested that worshipers at a nearby newly erected mosque stop parking their vehicles on church facilities. This angered the Muslims, who reportedly threatened to return in large numbers the following weekend “to avenge events in Jos.”
CSW was also told that two weeks prior to the violence, a Cherubim and Seraphim Church was razed to the ground, and that two days before the outbreak, a Faith Mission International Church had also been burnt down.
CSW said that as the violence raged, the Rev. Turde, Secretary of the Bauchi Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, requested the immediate imposition of a comprehensive curfew in Bauchi Town. However, CSW said, Gov. Isa Yuguda imposed a curfew limited to seven neighborhoods, that allowed the looting and burning to continue elsewhere in the town.
CSW said reports indicate that throughout Saturday and Sunday, attackers continued to move from church to church and house to house, setting them on fire and attacking their occupants. Despite the eventual imposition of a comprehensive curfew, local sources claim security personnel have not been drafted into the area in sufficient numbers.
CSW said at least one person is known to have been killed on Feb. 23, and as reports circulate of “armed men gathering in the bush,” the Christian community fears further attacks.
Tina Lambert, CSW’s Advocacy Director in the UK said in a news release, “It is of deep concern that despite the imposition of a comprehensive curfew, deaths continue to occur. Most worrying are reports of armed groups that are allegedly gathering for renewed attacks on Bauchi’s Christian community.”
She added, “CSW joins in the call for an immediate increase in the number of security personnel currently assigned to Bauchi Town, and urges the state government to track down and bring the perpetrators of the violence to justice. CSW also calls on both state and federal authorities to ensure that the needs of those who have been displaced by the violence are met and (ensure) that they are adequately compensated for their losses.”
CSW is a human rights organization which works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs, and promotes religious liberty for all.
Report from the Christian Telegraph
Posted in Christianity, Nigeria, Islam
Tagged dead, Christianity, Persecution, Islam, muslims, Muslim, human rights, weekend, government, news, fellowship, Christian, justice, churches, Christians, work, worshippers, violence, security, events, burning, beliefs, fire, killed, militants, Nigeria, secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria, attacks, railway, declaration, capital, burnt, curfew, deaths, United Kingdom, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, homes, state, mosque, perpetrators, compensated, liberty, claim, community, attackers, authorities, organization, federal, displaced, town, religious, reports, bush, attacking, central, men, people, believed, needs, return, threatened, armed, concern, indicate, group, blamed, local, sources, release, retaliation, pretext, vehicles, shot, personnel, erected, stop, persecuted, imposition, allegedly, looting, gathering, increase, deep, person, sufficient, ground, fears, limited, allowed, continue, requested, rioting, reportedly, despite, seeking, numbers, nearby, facilities, worrying, currently, erupted, outbreak, continuing, renewed, imposed, centered, immediate, angered, promotes, assigned, raged, news release, CSW, suburb, newly, Jos, Church of Christ in Nigeria, COCIN, razed, comprehensive, predominantly, losses, neighbourhoods, occupants, Bauchi, vicarages, Bauchi Town, defying, Plateau State, parking, avenge, Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Faith Mission International Church, Rev. Turde, Bauchi Chapter, Isa Yuguda, eventual, drafted, circulate, Tina Lambert, Advocacy Director, adequately, behalf
The executive secretary of the Federation of the Evangelical Entities of Spain, Mariano Blazquez Burgo, has asked the Socialist government to pass a law on the “neutrality” and “laicity” of the State, in order to establish a common equality among all the churches that exist in the country, reports Catholic News Agency.
“We are asking for two laws: one on religious entities and the other on neutrality, laicity, a word which does not frighten me,” Blazquez told reporters during the celebration of the 130th anniversary of the evangelical church of the city of Gijon.
According to the daily “La Nueva España,” evangelicals want the State “to be neutral with regards to all religious beliefs, by advancing laicity, and also with a statute of equality shared by all the churches established in Spain.”
“Not privileges for the churches, but a common statute for all religious entities that is clear and just in rights and obligations,” Blazquez stated, adding that during the Spanish Civil War, evangelicals showed “sympathy for the Republic, saying they were spiritual liberating our nation.”
Since taking power, the government of President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has made it a priority to remove any religious expression from public life and to impose its own moral formation on students through the Education for Citizens course, which thousands of parents have rejected because of its secular and ideological nature.
Report from the Christian Telegraph
Posted in Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Spain
Tagged according, advancing, anniversary, asked, beliefs, celebration, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, churches, city, clear, common, course, daily, dissolve, Education for Citizens, entities, equality, establish, established, Evangelical, Evangelicals, executive secretary, exist, expression, Federation of the Evangelical Entities of Spain, formation, frighten, Gijon, government, ideological, impose, Jose Rodriguez Zapatero, just, La Nueva Espana, laicity, law, laws, liberating, life, Mariano Blazquez Burgo, moral, nation, nature, neutrality, obligations, order, parents, pass, plan, power, President, priority, privileges, publi, regards, rejected, religious, remove, reporters, Republic, rights, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholics, secular, shared, socialist, Spain, Spanish Civil War, spiritual, state, statute, students, support, sympathy, Word
At least 100 churches have been forced to stop holding services in Myanmar (Burma) after military officials made some 50 pastors sign documents promising to do so. They were told that if they did not comply, they would be jailed, reports MNN.
According to Gospel for Asia, Myanmar has been held under an oppressive military regime since 1962. Many believe that the recent violation of religious freedom was an attempt by the military regime to put a stop to Christianity altogether in the country.
Myanmar is 89 percent Buddhist, and the regime does not look lightly on conversions. Some Christians speculate that the military has been keeping a keen eye on them since they began relief work after the May 2008 cyclone, nervous that Christianity would spread as a result.
Most frightening about the recent moves to eliminate church services is the potential threat to personal worship. Most churches that have had to cease meeting are home churches, making Christians anxious that they may no longer be able to worship in their homes.
Gospel for Asia reported that all of the affected churches have been in the Yangon (Rangoon) area, and none of its churches have been directly affected by the deliberate infringements.
GFA missionaries, however, are certainly not left without concern. They ask for prayer that the Lord would change the hearts of political leaders in Myanmar for justice in regard to religious freedom. They also ask for prayers for wisdom and steadfastness for believers and missionaries in the region. Pray that the Lord would do a mighty work in Myanmar and that the church would continue to grow despite obstacles.
Report from the Christian Telegraph
Posted in Buddhism, Christianity, Myanmar
Tagged affected, anxious, area, attacked, attempt, began, believe, Buddhist, Burma, cease, certainly, change, Christian, Christianity, Christians, churches, comply, continue, conversions, country, cyclone, deliberate, despite obstacles, directly, documents, eliminate, eye, forced, frightening, Gospel for Asia, grow, hearts, holding, house churches, infringements, jailed, justice, keeping, leaders, lightly, Lord, meeting, mighty, military, missionaries, Mtanmar, nervous, officials, oppressive, pastors, Persecution, personal, political, potential, pray, prayer, promising, Rangoon, recent, regard, regime, region, relief, religious freedom, result, services, sign, speculate, spread, steadfastness, stop, threat, violation, wisdom, work, worship, Yangon
Recent Incidents of Persecution
Madhya Pradesh, February 27 (Compass Direct News) – Police on Feb. 25 arrested the Rev. Venkata Rao Paulose in connection with the sale of a book said to hurt the religious feelings of Hindus; the book was sold near a Christian conference Rev. Paulose organized in January in Sanjay Nagar Colony, Anuppur district. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that Rev. Paulose, founder of Pine Mount English Medium School, was directing the conference at the school on Jan. 16-18 while, unknown to him, two persons were selling books near the school compound. Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bajrang Dal purchased copies of a book, “Secularism and Hindutva” by M.G. Matthew, and took it to the Chachai police station. There they filed a complaint against Rev. Paulose, pastor of Pentecostal Church of God. At 1 a.m. on Jan. 19, police ordered the pastor to the police station, where he gave a statement saying he didn’t know who was selling books near the conference site; he was reprimanded and released. On Feb. 19, police arrested pastors Kailash Mashih and Sharda Prasad Muthel in Anuppur in connection with the complaint about the book and took them to the Chachai police station. Investigating Officer D.S. Divedi told Compass that the pastors were arrested under Section 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code for “deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings.” One of the pastors (undisclosed) was put in Shadol district jail, and the other was freed on bail. On Feb. 25, police for unknown reasons again arrested Rev. Paulose in connection with the complaint about the book. An Anuppur district court judge refused to grant him bail, and at press time the pastor of the 150-member church was in jail at the Chachai police station.
Karnataka – Police on Feb. 24 detained two Christian women in Chickmagalur after Hindu extremists filed a complaint of forcible conversion based solely on the women welcoming two new converts into their home. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the Hindu extremists saw a recent convert to Christianity identified only as Panamma and her daughter visit the home of Christians identified only as Sangamma and K.P. Mary. The Hindu nationalists filed the complaint against Mary and Sangamma at N.R. Pura police station, and the Christian women were in police custody for about two hours. A station officer who goes by only one name, Revannea, told Compass that an inquiry was made into the matter and the two women were released without charges after a warning not to undertake further evangelism.
Chhattisgarh – Hindu extremists on Feb. 23 disrupted a prayer service in Ambikapur, accused the pastors of forceful conversion, beat them and damaged motorcycles. A Compass contact said pastor Joseph Toppa was leading the prayer meeting at the house of Parmeshwar Lakda when the Hindu extremists barged in at about 7 p.m. The extremists belonged to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarhi Parishad (student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party), Dharm Sena (Religious Army) and Dharm Jagran Manch (Religious Awakening Forum), all affiliated with the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Police arrived and, as is customary in India, arrested the victims; officers took about 30 Christians to the police station. Local Christian leaders intervened, and the Christians were released at about 11:30 p.m. after giving their statements. There were no serious injuries.
Andhra Pradesh – On Feb. 22 Hindu extremists led by a village leader barged into the Sunday worship meeting of a church in Ranga Reddy, attacked a pastor and demanded that he turn the property over to them. Led by village head Rokalbanda Ramulu, the intolerant Hindus arrived at about 11 a.m. and beat the pastor, tearing his shirt. About six policemen arrived at the spot and brought the situation under control. Pastor K. Krupanamdam of True Wine Church filed a police complaint. Two officers have been posted to protect the church, but no First Information Report was filed.
Chhattisgarh – Police on Feb. 17 arrested 11 pastors from the Believers Church in Sarguja under Chhattisgarh’s anti-conversion law after Hindu extremists stormed into their revival meeting and beat them. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported that Hindu extremists led by the local legislative assembly member from the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party, Renuka Singh, arrived at about 7 p.m. and attacked the pastors, tore Bibles and banners and damaged the sound system. The pastors were bruised but reported no serious injuries. The Christians were conducting the meeting with prior permission of the police and the civil administration. Police intervened at about 11 p.m. after persistent calls from local Christian leaders. As is customary in India, authorities took the victims of the violence to the police station “for security measures” but ended up filing charges against them under unsubstantiated claims of forceful conversion. The pastors were released on bail on Feb. 18.
Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists on Feb. 14 attacked a Christian media team, accused them of forceful conversion and threatened to kill them in Kawadipally, Ranga Reddy district. Moses Vatipalli of the All Indian Christian Council told Compass that three Christians identified as K. Anand Kumar, Mudi Jacob and Swami Das were distributing gospel tracts when about 15 Hindu hardliners attacked them. The intolerant Hindus assaulted the Christians, tore the remaining gospel tracts, damaged their vehicle and threatened to kill them if they did not leave the village immediately. The Christians were badly bruised but reported no serious injuries. A complaint was filed at Hayath Nagar police station, but no arrests had been made at press time.
Karnataka – Hindu extremists on Feb. 3 burned a Christian’s house and threatened to build a Hindu temple on his land in Tumpur. According to a local source, about 15 extremists went to the house of the Christian, identified only as Dasappa, on Feb. 1 and insisted that the area member of the legislative assembly was asking for the site for a Hindu temple. Dasappa refused, saying that the land was legally owned by his son, and the extremists asserted that there was no place for Christians in the area. On Feb. 3, the Hindu extremists went to his house again, splashed gas on it and burned it to ashes. Local Christian leaders filed a complaint, but police refused to register a case.
Karnataka – A group of Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal on Feb. 2 attacked a Christian truck driver in the Deralakatte area on the outskirts of the Mangalore. The Hindu newspaper reported that the extremists beat Albert D’Souza, 48, with iron rods after he found them breaking the windshield of his Jeep and marring the Christian stickers on it. D’Souza was brought to a city hospital in critical condition, the report stated. Konaje police registered a case, saying the attack was communally motivated, and arrested three of the five persons believed to be responsible for the assault.
Karnataka – Police on Jan. 27 arrested a pastor in Bangalore for alleged fraudulent conversion after Hindu extremists who assaulted him filed charges. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that about 30 Hindu extremists led by Shiva Rame barged into the house of pastor G. Kiran Kumar of Bethesda Church and accused him of trying to convert children by luring them with free tuition and asserting that he had insulted Hindu deities. The extremists assaulted the pastor and his father and dragged them to the Vidyaranyapura police station. Surrounding the police station, they bullied officers into arresting the Christians, with pastor Kumar charged under sections 503 and 153(A) of the Indian Penal Code for “criminal intimidation” and “promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion” respectively. The pastor was released on bail on Jan. 31.
Karnataka – Hindu extremists on Jan. 27 accused a pastor of conversion by allurement in Belgaum because he offered light refreshments at his house church on Christmas Day. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that when the intolerant Hindus heard that pastor Tanaya Sunder Nayak served the refreshments at a prayer meeting of his house church last Christmas, they filed the complaint and manipulated police into going on a hunt for him. Arrest warrant in hand, police went to the pastor’s house while he was away. Umesh Pangam, area additional superintendent of police, told Compass that after an inquiry police realized there was no basis for the charges and dropped the case.
Assam – A mob of about 600 Hindu extremists from the Kamalabari-Sattara Establishment assaulted Christians on Jan. 24 in Majuli Island, Jorhat. The Indian Catholic reported that about 400 believers from St. Anthony’s church in Mariani had gone to Majuli Island for an ordination ceremony. Shouting anti-Christian slogans, the Hindu extremists stopped the Christians as they were en route home, accused them of forcible conversion and threatened to cut them to pieces, according to the newspaper. The Hindu mob asserted that Christians should never enter their area, where a temple affiliated with the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is located. The violent mob kicked and punched the Christians, including women and children. Pulling the Christians’ ears, they forced them to walk barefoot to Ferry Ghat five kilometers (nearly three miles) away. Civil administration officials intervened after a priest informed them of the incident and arranged transportation to assist the Christians home. Alan Brooks, spokesman of the Assam Christian Forum, told Compass that Christians filed a First Information Report in Kamalabari and Jarmukh police stations, but no arrests were made.
Kerala – Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Jan. 22 assaulted a pastor and beat him till he fell unconscious in Vaithiry. According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India, pastor T.T. Abraham of the Brethren Assembly Church was distributing gospel tracts when three intolerant Hindus stopped him. In the assault the pastor suffered serious injuries on his neck, stomach and back. The Hindu extremists fled the scene when they saw an approaching auto-rickshaw, and the driver took the pastor to a government hospital. No police complaint was filed, as the pastor said he chose to forgive the extremists.
Report from Compass Direct News
Posted in Brethren (Church), Christianity, Hinduism, India, Pentecostalism
Tagged accused, acts, administration, affiliated, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarhi Parishad, Alan Brooks, Albert D'Souza, All Indian Christian Council, alleged, allurement, Ambikapur, Andhra Pradesh, anti-conversion, Anupper, Anuppur, approaching, area additional superintendent of police, arranged, arrest warrant, arrested, arrests, arrived, Ashes, Assam, Assam Christian Forum, assault, assaulted, assist, attacked, authorities, auto-rickshaw, back, badly, bail, Bajrang Dal, Bangalore, banners, barefoot, barged, based, basis, beat, Belgaum, believed, believers, Believers Church, belonged, Bethesda Church, Bharatiya Janata Party, Bibles, BJP, book, Books, breaking, Brethren Assembly Church, briefs, bruised, build, bullied, burned, calls, ceremony, Chachai, Chhattisgarh, Chickmagalur, children, Christian, Christianity, Christians, Christmas Day, church, city, civil, communally, complaint, compound, condition, conducting, conference, connection, contact, control, conversion, converts, copies, court, critical, customary, D. S. Divedi, damaged, Dasappa, daughter, deities, deliberate, demanded, Deralakatte, detained, Dharm Jagran Manch, Dharm Sena, directing, disrupted, distributing, district, dragged, driver, dropped, ears, enmity, Evangelical Fellowship of India, evangelism, extremists, Father, feelings, Ferry Ghat, filed, First Information Report, fled, forced, forceful, forcible, forgive, found, founder, fraudulent, free, freed, G. Kiran Kumar, gas, Global Council of Indian Christians, gospel, government, grant, grounds, groups, Hayath Nagar, head, Hindu, Hinduism, Hindus, home, hospital, house, house church, hunt, hurt, identified, immediately, incident, incidents, including, India, Indian Penal Code, informed, injuries, inquiry, insisted, insulted, intervened, intimidation, intolerant, investigating, iron rods, jail, Jarmukh, jeep, Jorhat, Joseph Toppa, judge, K. Anand Kumar, K. Krupanamdam, K. P. Mary, Kailash Mashih, Kamalabari, Kamalabari-Sattara Establishment, Karnataka, Kawadipally, Kerala, kicked, kill, Konaje, land, law, leaders, leading, led, legally, Legislative Assembly, light, local, luring, M. G. Matthew, Madhya Pradesh, Majuli Island, malicious, Mangalore, manipulated, Mariani, marring, measures, media, meeting, member, mob, Moses Vatipalli, motivated, motorcycles, Mudi Jacob, N. R. Pura, name, nationalists, neck, news, newspaper, offered, officer, officers, officials, ordered, ordination, organized, outrage, outskirts, owned, Panamma, Parmeshwar Lakda, Pastor, pastors, Pentecostal Church of God, permission, Persecution, persistent, persons, pieces, Pine Mount English Medium School, police, police station, policemen, posted, prayer, press, priest, prior, promoting, property, protect, punched, purchased, Ranga Reddy, Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh, realized, reasons, recent, refreshments, refused, released, religious, Religious Army, Religious Awakening Forum, remaining, Renuka Singh, reported, reprimanded, respectively, responsible, Revannea, revival, Rokalbanda Ramulu, said, sale, Sangamma, Sanjay Nagar Colony, Sarguja, saying, scene, school, Secularism and Hindutva, security, selling, serious, served, service, Shadol, Sharda Prasad Muthel, shirt, Shiva Rame, shouting, site, situation, slogans, sold, solely, son, sound system, source, splashed, spokesman, St. Anthony's, statement, statements, station, stickers, stomach, stopped, stormed, student, suffered, Sunday, surrounding, Swami Das, T. T. Abraham, Tanaya Sunder Nayak, team, tearing, temple, The Hindu, The Indian Catholic, time, tracts, transportation, truck driver, Truw Wine Church, tuition, Tumpur, Umesh Pangam, unconscious, undertake, undisclosed, unknown, Vaithiry, vehicle, Venkata Rao Paulose, victims, Vidyaranyapura, village, violent, walk, warning, welcoming, windshield, wing, women, worship
Police ignore arrest order, but lawyers hopeful 13-year-old can be returned to parents.
ISTANBUL, February 26 (Compass Direct News) – After months of legal deadlock, lawyers in Pakistan said they have new hope they can restore to her family a 13-year-old Christian girl who was kidnapped and forced to marry a Muslim.
Saba Masih might be returned to her family, the lawyers said, if they can legally maneuver around Pakistani policemen who have stonewalled their attempts to pursue a kidnapping case against the captors. On Saturday (Feb. 21) a Pakistani judge charged the suspects with kidnapping for the first time in the seven-month legal ordeal.
“The judiciary is one thing, the police are another,” said Arfan Goshe, a lawyer who has taken on the custody case. “I will prove [the three accused men] kidnapped Saba so the judiciary will force the police to arrest them.”
On Saturday (Feb. 21), Judge Mohammed Ilyas issued a First Instance Report (FIR) at a subordinate court in the Punjabi village of Chawk Munda against Amjad Ali, Muhammad Ashraf and Muhammed Arif Bajwa on charges of kidnapping, trespassing, and threatening the Masih family.
Attorney Goshe, a Muslim, said the three kidnappers trespassed onto the property of Yunus Masih, the father of Saba, and threatened to kill his family and burn down his house in late December.
The decision to file kidnapping charges marks a major shift of momentum in the case. In previous hearings judges have nearly always sided with the kidnappers – based on either dubious evidence or threats from local Islamists – in the Muslims’ legal battle to retain custody of Saba and her 10-year-old sister Aneela. A court ruled the younger daughter could return to her family last September.
The two girls were kidnapped in June 2008 while traveling to visit their uncle in Sarwar Shaheed, northwest of Multan. Saba was married to Ali the next day. Bajwa and Ali registered a case with police on June 28 for custody of the girls based on their alleged conversion to Islam. The court granted them custody in July.
At nearly all the hearings, Muslim groups protested outside the courtroom against lawyers attempting to return Saba to her Christian parents. A traditional interpretation of Islamic law (sharia) does not allow non-Muslim parents to have custody of Muslim children.
In spite of the judge’s decision to begin procedures for kidnapping charges, Chawk Munda police have not followed through with the FIR by arresting the three Muslims. Today the judge contacted the local police station and ordered officers to register the kidnapping case against the three men, Goshe told Compass. He said he hopes police will file the FIR within the next few days.
“The police are favoring the accused party at this time,” he said. “Everybody knows [Saba] was abducted, and that the culprits are trying to threaten minorities everywhere.”
But others are less optimistic the kidnappers will be arrested. Khalid Raheel, Saba’s uncle, said he believes he may have to bribe the police. They would likely demand around 20,000 Pakistani rupees (US$250), he said.
Uncooperative police had also blocked the legal team’s efforts to register charges before Saturday’s ruling. As a result, the Christian family’s lawyers filed a private complaint to the subordinate court of Chawk Munda, sidestepping the need for a police investigation to file charges that would be necessary at a normal criminal court.
Goshe said the court is finally complying after months of deadlock because the multiple charges against the kidnappers cannot be ignored. Previous court hearings focused on Saba’s alleged conversion to Islam to mitigate the charges of her kidnapping, but the judiciary could not ignore the three suspects’ subsequent crimes of trespassing and attempting to burn down the Masihs’ house, he said.
In January, lawyer Akbar Durrani of the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) filed an appeal to register kidnapping charges against Ali, the husband of Saba. Durrani had tried to register these charges in December, but Judge Malik Saeed Ijaz refused the case since it was built upon the testimony of Saba’s sister Aneela, whose status as a minor invalidated her testimony.
Instead, the judge ordered Ali to pay a dowry of 100,000 rupees (US$1,255) and allow her parents to visit, both required by Pakistani marriage protocol. Saba, however, relinquished her dowry, a prerogative provided by sharia. Her family suspects that she made this decision under threat.
Struggling Family
Attempts by Saba’s family to contact and visit her have been thwarted by Ali’s Muslim family members, despite a court order for visitation rights.
“We have heard nothing from Saba,” said Raheel, her uncle. “Once we tried to visit her, and [Ali’s family] ran after us and tried to shoot us. But the judges did not do anything.”
The seven months of legal battling have taken their toll on Saba’s family. Her parents have eight children but have been unable to send their sons to school due to the ongoing costs of the case, even though CLAAS has undertaken it pro bono.
The girls’ uncle has been trying to maintain the family’s quality of life as they struggle to get Saba back and their legal options dwindle.
“This year I will try my best to help them and send them to a school,” said Raheel.
Aneela continues to adjust to life back with her family, away from captivity. She is preparing to resume her schooling.
Common Crime
Kidnapping and rape victims in Pakistan are often Christians, since the influence of sharia on the country’s judicial system means they can be unofficially treated as second-class citizens.
Last month Muslims allegedly abducted and raped another 13-year-old Christian girl. CLAAS reported that two men kidnapped Ambreen Masih in the industrial city of Sheikupura, located northwest of Lahore. Her attackers threatened to her keep silent, and she was abducted a second time this month before her parents discovered the crime, according to a CLAAS report.
The family filed rape charges against the two kidnappers in Sheikupura, but policeman have not yet taken legal action, according to CLAAS.
Report from Compass Direct News
Posted in Christianity, crime, Islam, Pakistan
Tagged abducted, accused, action, adjust, against, Akbar Durrani, allow, Ambreen Masih, Amjad Ali, Aneela Masih, appeal, Arfan Goshe, arrest, arresting, attackers, attempting, attempts, battle, battling, begin, blocked, bribe, built, burn, captivity, captors, case, Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement, charged, charges, Chawk Munda, children, Christian, Christianity, Christians, citizens, city, CLAAS, common, complaint, complying, contact, contacted, continues, conversion, costs, court, courtroom, crimes, criminal, culprits, Day, deadlock, decision, demand, discovered, down, dowry, dubious, dwindle, everywhere, evidence, family, Father, favoring, file, filed, FIR, First Instance Report, focused, followed, forced, girl, granted, groups, heard, hearings, hope, hopeful, hopes, house, husband, ignore, ignored, industrial, influence, interpretation, invalidated, investigation, Islam, Islamic, Islamists, issued, judge, judges, judiciary, Khalid Raheel, Kidnapped, kidnappers, kidnapping, kill, Lahore, law, lawyer, lawyers, legal, legally, less, local, located, maintain, major, Malik Saeed Ijaz, maneuver, marks, marriage, married, marry, members, men, might, minor, minorities, mitigate, Mohammed Ilyas, momentum, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammed Arif Bajwa, Multan, multiple, Muslim, muslims, nearly, necessary, new, next, non-Muslim, normal, northwest, nothing, officers, optimistic, options, ordeal, order, ordered, outside, Pakistan, Pakistani, parents, party, Persecution, police, police station, policeman, policemen, preparing, prerogative, previous, private, pro bono, procedures, property, protested, protocol, prove, provided, Punjab, Punjabi, pursue, quality of life, rape, raped, refused, register, relinquished, report, required, restore, result, resume, retain, returned, rights, ruled, rupees, Saba Masih, Sarwar Shaheed, school, schooling, second-class, Sharia, Sheikupura, shift, shoot, sided, sidestepping, silent, sisters, sons, spite, status, stonewalled, struggle, struggling, subordinate, subsequent, suspects, testimony, threatening, thwarted, time, toll, traditional, traveling, treated, trespassing, tried, trying, uncle, uncooperative, unofficially, victims, village, visit, visitation, young, younger, Yunus Masih
Nephew, mother suspect Hindu hardliners shouting anti-Christian threats that morning.
NEW DELHI, February 25 (Compass Direct News) – Family members of a Christian found murdered last week in the Pandagadu area of Orissa state’s Kandhamal district said they believe the killers were Hindu nationalists such as those responsible for more than two months of violent anti-Christian rioting last year.
Hrudayananda Nayak, a 42-year-old father of two, was found dead on Thursday (Feb. 19) with several injuries to his head sustained as he took a shortcut through a forest to his home village of Rudangia, two kilometers from Pandagadu and five kilometers from G. Udayagiri.
His mother, Prasanna Kumari Nayak, has submitted a written complaint to police alleging the killers were associated with Hindu hardliners involved in last year’s rioting. His nephew Sujan Nayak, a lawyer and resident of Rudangia who saw the victim’s body, said that his uncle appeared to have undergone a fatal beating.
Sujan Nayak told Compass that on the day of Hrudayananda Nayak’s death, Feb. 18, his uncle told him before leaving home that he had received threats from three drunken men who were standing outside shouting threats at Christians in general that morning.
“He quoted them as saying, ‘We will not burn houses this time but will kill all Christians one by one,’” Sujan Nayak said.
Describing the injuries on his uncle’s body, Nayak told Compass there were wounds on his forehead, a severe wound on the left side of his head near the ear, as well as injuries to the back of his head and “marks around his neck.” He added that a blood-stained towel and flashlight battery were found near the body.
“From the battery and the injuries on his head it is evident that a huge torch was used for hitting him, and the mark on the neck shows that the towel was put around his neck to drag him,” he said.
There is reason to suspect the men who had threatened anti-Christian violence, he said.
“The three men threatening violence in the morning were seen on the same road passing through the forest where Hrudayananda was murdered at 11 at night on the date of the murder,” Nayak said, adding that the three suspects have absconded. “It is one week since the murder, and the suspects have not returned back home.”
He said that the victim’s mother also witnessed the threats that her son and others received the morning of the murder, “but due to fear of revenge from them she did not reveal this to the police.”
District Superintendent of Police S. Praveen Kumar reportedly said it is not clear that the murder was related to last year’s anti-Christian rioting.
“I am not sure if his death has anything to do with the communal violence,” he told media. “Our investigation is on. Somebody may have hit him on the head, causing his death.”
The killing is the third such murder since October 2008, when the more than two months of large-scale, anti-Christian violence that began in August officially came to an end.
Missing
Sujan Nayak said that his uncle left home in Rudangia for a market at G. Udayagiri on the afternoon of Feb. 18.
On his way back, Hrudayananda Nayak took a vehicle from G. Udayagiri as far as Gressgia village, from which he took a shorter route to Rudangia, crossing the forest by foot. It was around 7 in the evening. He had covered a distance of two kilometers and reached an isolated part of Pandagadu when he was attacked.
When he did not return home as expected that day, the following day villagers went searching for him in different directions. Around half a kilometer from the site of the murder is a school, and students there informed the search team of a blood-stained slipper lying near the school grounds.
The victim’s mother identified the slippers as belonging to her son, Hrudayananda Nayak. A rigorous search began around the area, and soon they noticed blood spots on a path leading up a hill. Reaching the top of the hill, between two huge rocks forming a cave shape they found Nayak’s body.
“His shirt and pants were taken off and kept aside, which means they had intentions of burning the body,” said Sujan Nayak. He explained that it is normal practice in the area to remove clothes on a body to be burned to reduce the time necessary for cremation.
Police were immediately informed, he said, adding, “Sniffer dogs were brought who led them to the lane of the house that belongs to one of the men who screamed threats the other morning, and then to a pond located in the same area used for bathing.”
Police suspect the killers had washed in the pond after committing the crime, Sujan Nayak said.
The house of the suspect to which the dogs led police is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the house of the victim.
According to Sujan Nayak, even after the dogs traced the lane where one suspect lives, police have been slow to proceed with the case.
Hrudayananda Nayak is survived by his 35-year-old wife, Reena Nayak, a 10-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son.
Report from Compass Direct News
Posted in Christianity, crime, Hinduism, India
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In case on whether he can legally change religion, Christian is accused of ‘apostasy.’
ISTANBUL, February 26 (Compass Direct News) – In the latest hearing of a Muslim-born Egyptian’s effort to officially convert to Christianity, opposing lawyers advocated he be convicted of “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, and sentenced to death.
More than 20 Islamic lawyers attended the hearing on Sunday (Feb. 22) in Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary’s case to obtain identification papers with Christianity designated as his religious affiliation. Two lawyers led the charge, Ahmed Dia El-Din and Abdel Al-Migid El-Anani.
“[El-Din] started to talk about the Quran being in a higher position than the Bible,” one of El-Gohary’s lawyers, Said Fayez, told Compass. “[El-Din said] people can move to a higher religion but not down, so people cannot move away from Islam because it is highest in rank.”
Memos submitted by opposing lawyers asserted that cases such as El-Gohary’s form part of a U.S. Zionist attack on Islam in Egypt, that Christianity is an inferior religion to Islam and that Copts protect and defend converts from Islam at their own peril.
“We received 150 pages from them that talked about religion,” said Fayez. “We are not in a position to talk about religion, we are only talking about the law.”
El-Gohary Beaten
El-Gohary was not present at the hearing, as attendance would put him at extreme personal risk. He had planned to obtain papers authorizing attorney Nabil Ghobreyal to act as his proxy representation in court, but staff members at the registry office swore at and beat him, lawyers said.
Judge Hamdy Yasin was forced to adjourn the case until March 28 because El-Gohary did not obtain the necessary proxy representation documents.
“I am now in a position where I can’t do anything else,” El-Gohary, who has been in hiding, told Compass. “I have to go [to court] despite the danger. I believe God will protect me. It’s a very hard decision, but I have to go.”
Copts and Christian converts have to face such systemic prejudice daily in the battle for their rights, he said.
“Our rights in Egypt, as Christians or converts, are less than the rights of animals,” El-Gohary said. “We are deprived of social and civil rights, deprived of our inheritance and left to the fundamentalists to be killed. Nobody bothers to investigate or care about us.”
El-Gohary, 56, has been attacked in the street, spat at and knocked down in his effort to win the right to officially convert. He said he and his 14-year-old daughter continue to receive death threats by text message and phone call.
But he also has received text messages, he said, of encouragement from other Muslim-born converts too fearful to take a similar stand.
“Everyday I get calls from people who have converted but are secret,” said El-Gohary. “They ask me every day about what is happening, because it affects their future.”
The danger to himself and his daughter has led El-Gohary to suggest that he will most likely leave Egypt, but not until the case is over.
“He wouldn’t go without doing this trial, he doesn’t want to leave before it is finished,” said attorney Ghobreyal. “Because it [conversion] is his right, then he will do whatever he likes.”
El-Gohary said he feels a responsibility to witness about God and Jesus. “I have to do what I am doing for the sake of God and the sake of the converts, to the glory of God,” he said.
He decided to legally change his religious affiliation out of concern over the effects that his “unofficial Christianity” has on his family, saying he was particularly concerned about his daughter, Dina Maher Ahmad Mo’otahssem. Though raised as a Christian, when she reaches age 16 she will be issued an identification card stating her religion as Muslim unless her father’s appeal is successful.
At school, she has been refused the right to attend Christian religious classes offered to Egypt’s Christian minorities and has been forced to attend Muslim classes. Religion is a mandatory part of the Egyptian curriculum.
Encouraging Horizon
Despite setbacks, delays and the vitriol on display in the courtroom, El-Gohary and his lawyers reserve optimism not only about the future of the case but the future of the country as well.
“There is evidence and signs on the horizon that are very encouraging, that there will be a time in the future that equal rights will be achieved,” said Fayez. “People have started to ask for their rights and demand to have the freedom of religion. This is a good sign.”
Mohammed Hegazy, the first Muslim-born Christian convert to attempt to have his new religion officially registered, is also in hiding after receiving death threats.
Despite a constitution that grants religious freedom, legal conversion from Islam to another faith remains unprecedented. Hegazy, who filed his case on Aug. 2, 2007, was denied the right to officially convert in a Jan. 29, 2008 court ruling that declared it was against Islamic law for a Muslim to leave Islam.
The judge based his decision on Article II of the Egyptian constitution, which enshrines Islamic law, or sharia, as the source of Egyptian law. The judge said that, according to sharia, Islam is the final and most complete religion and therefore Muslims already practice full freedom of religion and cannot return to an older belief (Christianity or Judaism).
Report from Compass Direct News
Posted in Christianity, Egypt, Islam, Judaism, Orthodox
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