Tag: Constitution

Iraqi Christian MPs challenge their constitution

October 22, 2015 Iraq Children, Constitution, Converts, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Marriage, Minorities, Yazidis

Four Christian members of the Iraqi parliament have called for a change in the law to preserve the religion of dependent children whose fathers convert to Islam, reports Middle East Christian News. As the civil law now stands, children under the age of 18 become Muslim when their father converts. . . . Read More

Nepali constitution could render Christianity illegal

August 7, 2015 Nepal Constitution, Hindu nationalism, India, Proselytism, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, Religious freedom

In Nepal, 80 per cent of the population is Hindu; Christians comprise between 1.5 and 3 per cent.Courtesy Open Doors International Nepali Christians fear that proposed amendments to Nepal’s new constitution, likely to come into effect on Monday (10 August) after seven years of parliamentary discussions, could eventually render all . . . Read More

Indonesia ‘suppressing’ religions

June 9, 2015 Indonesia Churches, Constitution, Indonesia, Proselytism, Religious freedom

A draft law aimed at protecting religious communities fails to uphold religious freedoms in Indonesia, says a human rights group. “The bill upholds that the state can intervene in freedom of religion to maintain stability and security at the expense of minority groups,” said Bonar Tigor Naipospos of the Setara . . . Read More

A clash of courts in Malaysia

May 20, 2015 Malaysia Constitution, Islamic extremism, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Putrajaya, Sharia

A constitutional showdown over religion is taking shape in Malaysia, where the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council has asked the courts to decide whether Islamic laws can be held up to the scrutiny of the country’s federal constitution. At the center of the case is a Christian lawyer, Victoria Jayaseele . . . Read More

Nepal’s long-delayed transition to democracy worries its Christians

April 27, 2015 Nepal Burial, Constitution, Kathmandu, Maoists, Sushil Koirala

As Nepal struggles to respond to the massive earthquake and aftershocks during the weekend that left thousands dead, the world has offered aid to a country which is still one of the poorest and most isolated in Asia, despite its attractive image for mountaineers and Western backpackers. It’s still overcoming . . . Read More

Indian church burning compared to Nazis

February 11, 2015 India Constitution, Delhi, India, Proselytism, Religious freedom

The Archbishop of Mumbai has asked whether India’s constitutional guarantee for people to freely ‘profess, practise and propagate religion’ actually applies to the Christian community in light of the treatment of those protesting in Delhi on 5 February against the fifth attack on the city’s churches in recent weeks. On . . . Read More

Obama addresses persecution during India visit

January 27, 2015 India BJP, Constitution, Hindu nationalism, India, Narendra Modi, Religious freedom

President Obama addressed India’s treatment of minority faiths during his final speech on January 27 after a three-day-long visit to the country. His comments were widely interpreted as a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose rise to power emboldened activists to declare India . . . Read More

Egyptian bishop advocates for convert rights

December 11, 2014 Egypt Churches, Constitution, Converts, Egypt, Religious freedom

Bishop Mounir Hanna Anis of the Episcopal Diocese of Egypt has declared that Egyptian Muslims who become Christians should be issued identity cards and other official documents, just as they are granted to citizens who convert to Islam from other religions. “The Egyptian Constitution guarantees freedom of belief. However, not all . . . Read More

Argentina’s fight to hold onto religious freedom

May 5, 2014 Argentina Argentina, Constitution, Córdoba, Marcelo Nieva, Protestants, Río Tercero

Marcelo Nieva, 34 leader of Pueblo Grande Baptist Church in Río Tercero, a city in Argentina´s central Cordoba region.World Watch Monitor An Argentinian pastor subjected to death threats says his country is facing a fight to retain its religious freedom. Marcelo Nieva, 34, leader of Pueblo Grande Baptist Church . . . Read More

Tunisian constitution finds no place for Sharia

January 20, 2014 Tunisia Apostasy, Arab Spring, Constitution, Ennahda, Islamic extremism, Sharia, Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

Al-Zaytuna Mosque, Tunis.Christopher Rose / Flickr / Creative Commons Three years after the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ started in Tunisia, the country’s National Constituent Assembly is close to passing a new constitution which rejects Islam as the “main source of law”, but states it is the State’s duty to “protect the . . . Read More

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