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Nepal’s criminalisation of conversion a ‘direct infringement’ of religious freedom

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Nepal's criminalisation of conversion a ‘direct infringement’ of religious freedom
The clause in Nepal’s constitution that prohibits religious conversions was added to “protect Hinduism at the expense of other religions”, says advocacy group CSW, on the third anniversary of the amended constitution. As World Watch Monitor reported, Nepal’s Christian minority feared that the so-called “anti-conversion” measure, which came into force . . . Read More

Churches destroyed, priests questioned in Myanmar’s Shan state

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The United Wa State Army has ordered that churches built in Wa territory in Shan state after 1989 have to be destroyed. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
An ethnic armed group in Myanmar’s Shan state is destroying churches and holding clergymen for questioning, reports Radio Free Asia. The United Wa State Army (UWSA), the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), reportedly issued a statement on Facebook on 6 September, declaring that all churches built . . . Read More

China: 279 church leaders sign petition urging government to stop its ‘violent actions’

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"Christians are an enigma to the Chinese Communist Party," researcher Aaron Ma says. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
A public letter urging the Chinese government to stop its “violent actions” against Christians has been signed by some 279 church leaders in the country, reports the St. Charles Institute. In central Henan province alone, two-thirds of churches have closed and more than 7,000 crosses have been demolished after pressure from . . . Read More

Vietnam uses ‘national security’ to detain rights activists, UN told

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Vietnam uses ‘national security’ to detain rights activists, UN told
Vietnam has been accused of “misinforming” the international community about the human rights issues in the country. The president of the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights, Vo Van Ai, speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, condemned the alleged “brutal crackdown on freedom of expression, association, peaceful . . . Read More

Kenyan worship leader one of two killed for failing to say Islamic prayer of faith

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Security forces guard the Garissa University College after Al-Shabaab militants killed at last 147 students here in an attack in April 2015. (Photo: Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Two people were killed for failing to recite the Islamic statement of faith when militants, believed to belong to the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, attacked their bus in eastern Kenya on Friday, 14 September. Seven men stopped the bus while it was on its way to Garissa, between the towns of Iljara and . . . Read More

‘UN must recognise persecution of Christians in Middle East as genocide’

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At the moment of the photo taken, ISIS had just been pushed out of the home towns of these Christians. People were hoping and anticipating to return to their towns some day.
The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is appealing to the United Nations to recognise the persecution of Christians in Iraq and Syria as “genocide”, reports the US-based National Review. The ECLJ, an affiliate of the American Center for Law and Justice, said a “genocide” declaration is necessary to . . . Read More

‘Not all incidents are religiously motivated’ – Pakistan professor

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Sabir Michael (YouTube / Academy for Cultural Diplomacy)
A Pakistani professor has warned that some social media activists and religious leaders are falsely portraying incidents as religiously motivated to stoke intolerance, reports UCAN. Sabir Michael, assistant professor at the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology in Karachi, cited three recent incidents that he said were reported . . . Read More

Family of murdered Pakistani Christian MP open training centre for women

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The memorial to Shahbaz Bhatti, which marks the location of his assassination. Islamabad, Pakistan.
The family of the murdered Catholic MP Shahbaz Bhatti is opening an education centre for Christian women and girls in Khushpur, eastern Pakistan, reports AsiaNews Khushpur, near Faisalabad in Punjab province, is the largest Christian settlement in Pakistan and the area where the former minister for minorities came from and . . . Read More