Tag: Burial

Indonesia: Cutting of burial cross in public cemetery ‘against constitution’

December 21, 2018 Indonesia Burial, Crosses, Indonesia, Java, Religious freedom

Inside a church in Indonesia. Villagers in Central Java requested the top of a burial cross to be cut before a Catholic was to be buried in what is a public cemetery but is regarded by Muslim groups as 'their' graveyard. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The removal of a cross on the grave of a Catholic before he could be buried in an Indonesian public cemetery has been condemned by the country’s church leaders, reports the Catholic news agency UCAN. Albertus Slamet Sugihardi died in the village of Purbayan, in the province of Central Java. . . . Read More

Tajikistan: Christian convert’s burial delayed as relatives call for husband to return to Islam

June 20, 2018 Tajikistan Apostasy, Burial, Central Asia, Converts, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Tajikistan

When an elderly Christian woman from a Muslim background died last week in a Tajikistan hospital, her husband Mihrab* and children – all of them Christians – organised a funeral ceremony and invited people from their church. But Mihrab’s Muslim relatives also invited local Muslims, including a cleric, who demanded . . . Read More

Moroccan Christians demand equal marriage rights

June 12, 2018 Morocco Burial, Converts, King Mohammed VI, Marriage, Morocco

A Moroccan couple who converted to Christianity and recently married, ignoring threats from people in their conservative hometown, have demanded legal recognition of their union, Reuters reports. The Maghreb nation, which is 99 per cent Muslim, is officially an Islamic state – King Mohammed VI holds the title of ‘Prince . . . Read More

Nepal ‘should practise what it preaches’ as UN member

May 1, 2018 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Burial, Churches, Elections, Human rights, Minorities, Nepal, Proselytism, Religious freedom, UN

As a newly elected member state of the UN Human Rights Council, Nepal must address its own commitment to the protection of human rights, including freedom of religion and belief, says Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The advocacy organisation highlighted Nepal’s decision in October to criminalise religious conversion and the “hurting of . . . Read More

Kyrgyzstan Baptists repair church after arson attack

March 7, 2018 Kyrgyzstan Baptists, Burial, Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan

An arson attack on a small Baptist church in Kyrgyzstan has not deterred the congregation from meeting. The 40 Kyrgyz and Russian members of the church feared for their safety when attackers set fire to their church on 2 January. They were told by police that the attack was “organised . . . Read More

Kyrgyz church arson followed dispute over Christian’s burial

January 29, 2018 Kyrgyzstan Baptists, Burial, Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan

The church in Kajisay, Kyrgyzstan, was set on fire (World Watch Monitor)

Christians in Kajisay, eastern Kyrgyzstan, have said opposition to the burial of a Protestant man in a nearby village could have led to the arson attack on their church earlier this month, despite official denials of “religious discord”, reports regional news agency Forum 18. The opposition to the burial in . . . Read More

Nepal’s Christians have to trek into mountains to bury their dead

March 23, 2017 Nepal Burial, Hindu nationalism, Kathmandu, Nepal

One way in which the freedom of religion or belief in a country can be measured is whether minorities are permitted to carry out their own rituals during key ‘rites of passage’ such as birth, marriage and death. One of the world’s fastest-growing Christian communities is that in Nepal. Between the censuses . . . Read More

Algerian converts denied Christian funerals

November 4, 2016 Algeria Burial, Kabylie, Protestant Church of Algeria, Tizi Ouzou

Christian cemetery in Algiers.Joseph McGonagle / Flickr / Creative Commons When someone close to us dies, emotions are difficult enough…imagine if then, on top, you couldn’t ‘say goodbye’ in the way that would honour them and bring comfort to the grieving. That is the situation for many Christians when . . . Read More

Mexican Protestants continue to face pressure for leaving ‘traditionalist’ churches

June 13, 2016 Mexico Burial, Catholics, Chiapas, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Lauro Pérez Núñez, Protestants, Tuxpan de Bolaños, Veracruz

Lauro Pérez Núñez has been arrested and detained several times since leaving ‘traditionalist’ church.Coordinación de Organizaciones Cristianas Mexican Christians who branch away from the “traditionalist” village churches, which blend aspects of indigenous paganism and popular Catholicism, continue to face pressure to return to the fold or leave their villages. . . . Read More

‘Losing my religion’ – why it’s so hard in the Middle East

April 26, 2016 Burial, Children, Education, Marriage, Middle East, Mohammed Hegazy

Why is the Middle East the way it is? There are many ways to approach answering this question. The book ‘Identity Crisis’ by Jonathan Andrews, a former researcher for Middle East Concern, a group of Christian charities which all work across the region, provides “a unique and timely perspective on . . . Read More

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