Tag: Apostasy

Saudi school textbooks still ‘promote hatred toward religious minorities’ – USCIRF

March 27, 2018 Saudi Arabia Apostasy, Education, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Mohammad bin Salman, Prophet Muhammad, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia

A school complex in Medina, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Ikhlasul Amal via Flickr; CC 2.0)

School textbooks in Saudi Arabia still include content “promoting violence and hatred toward religious minorities and others”, according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Even though the Saudi government has been “engaged in textbook reform for the last 15 years”, a new study by USCIRF found . . . Read More

Saudi Prince ‘commits’ to interfaith dialogue

March 9, 2018 Saudi Arabia Apostasy, Converts, Islamic extremism, Mohammad bin Salman, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia

As part of his first public trip abroad as the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman visited the UK and had a private meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby yesterday, 8 March, at Lambeth Palace in London. As part of his reforms to modernise his country, the . . . Read More

Malaysian Federal Court refuses four people their right to affirm Christian identity

February 27, 2018 Malaysia Apostasy, Converts, Divorce, Hudud, Islamic extremism, Kuching, Malaysia, Marriage, Religious freedom, Sarawak, Sharia

The Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, Malaysia. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Malaysia’s highest court dismissed an appeal today (27 February) against four appellants who wanted to be formally recognised as Christians. The five judges of the Malaysian Federal Court ruled that in matters of conversion away from Islam, it was necessary for them to consult the Islamic Sharia courts. The president . . . Read More

Saudi Arabia is modernising, but will this mean greater freedom for religious minorities?

February 23, 2018 Saudi Arabia Apostasy, Bibles, Churches, House churches, Houthis, Iran, Islamic extremism, King Salman, Minorities, Mohammad bin Salman, Muttawah, Religious freedom, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, Syria, Wahhabism, Yemen

The political landscape in the strict Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is changing, and quickly. A charismatic crown prince seems determined to modernise his country and even speaks of a shift towards a more “moderate” Islam. But will the changes taking place in Saudi also ease the situation for members . . . Read More

Maldives activist investigated for ‘blasphemy’ over ‘religions other than Islam’ tweet

January 8, 2018 Maldives Abdulla Yameen, Apostasy, Blasphemy, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Maldives, Religious freedom, Sharia

An activist in the Maldives has received death threats and is being investigated for “blasphemy” after posting a tweet in response to President Abdulla Yameen’s comment that his government would not allow any other religion in the country than Islam. Shahindha Ismail, executive director of the Maldives Democracy Network, tweeted: . . . Read More

Freedom of thought ‘regressing on a global scale’

December 6, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Apostasy, Asia Bibi, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Comoros, Education, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Qatar, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, The Gambia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

There are many Pakistani Christian women like Aasiya Noreen who live in fear of the Blasphemy law in their country and the (potential of) abuse. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The 2017 Freedom of Thought Report, presented yesterday (5 December), should be alarming “to all who care about freedom of thought and expression”, as it shows “a pattern of regression on a global scale”, says its editor, Bob Churchill. The report, published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) . . . Read More

South Sudan’s Christians return to Sudan, despite pressures

November 28, 2017 Sudan Apostasy, Blasphemy, Omar al-Bashir, Petr Jašek, Religious freedom, Russia, Sanctions, Sharia, South Sudan, Sudan, USA

Village church in Goli, South Sudan. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Many of the Christians who fled Sudan after the South’s independence in 2011 have returned, even though the authorities continue to close churches and harass Christians there, a Catholic priest told The Economist. Prayer centres that were closed have been reopened, Father Juma Charles of St Matthew’s Catholic Cathedral in . . . Read More

Mauritania: death penalty for blasphemy ‘even if they repent’

November 21, 2017 Mauritania Apostasy, Blasphemy, Mauritania, West Africa

Mauritania announced on Friday (17 November) that showing repentance will no longer be a reason to repeal a death sentence handed out for blasphemy and apostasy. The government of the West African nation said in a statement it would introduce a new bill to “harden up expected sentences for blasphemers”, . . . Read More

Indonesia: Christians cancel event Muslims say would have been ‘arena of apostasy’

October 25, 2017 Indonesia Apostasy, Indonesia, Indonesian Ulema Council, Islamic extremism, Java, Yogyakarta

Indonesian Christians planning to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Protestant Christianity were forced to abandon a stadium event following threats from Muslim hardliners. “For the sake of interreligious harmony … and to avoid acts of intolerance, the committee decided to call off the national prayer service to mark 500 years . . . Read More

EU ‘wilfully blind’ to risks of deporting Christian converts back to Afghanistan

October 6, 2017 Afghanistan Afghanistan, Apostasy, Asylum seekers, Converts, Islamic extremism, Kabul, Migrants, Refugees

European countries and the EU are “wilfully blind” to the risks facing Afghans who fail in their asylum claims and are sent home, according to a new report by Amnesty International. “All returnees face a real risk of serious human rights violations,” says Amnesty, but some, such as religious minorities . . . Read More

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