Tag: Islamic extremism

Brunei takes another step towards full implementation of Sharia

March 21, 2018 Brunei Borneo, Brunei, Islamic extremism, Proselytism, Quran, Ramadan, Religious freedom, Sharia, Southeast Asia, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Torture

Parliament building in Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Brunei’s Sultan and his Islamic Religious Council have approved a draft Criminal Code that brings the country another step closer to the full implementation of Sharia (Islamic law), the Borneo Bulletin reports. The draft outlines procedures for investigation, prosecution and the judiciary, and would facilitate the introduction of harsher punishments . . . Read More

Youhanabad dead remembered as Pakistan Senate wants terrorism charges dropped

March 19, 2018 Pakistan Islamic extremism, Joseph Colony, Lahore, Pakistan, Taliban, Youhanabad

A candlelit vigil on March 17, 2015, to commemorate those killed in suicide attacks on the Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church in Lahore's Youhanabad area. (Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Hundreds attended a commemoration service on Thursday, 15 March, for those killed and injured in the 2015 Easter suicide attacks on two churches in Youhanabad – the main Christian district in Lahore, Pakistan. The twin suicide bombings, which killed 17 and injured another 80, were claimed by a splinter group . . . Read More

Egypt’s elections and the man dividing the country’s Copts

March 14, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Arab Spring, Aswan, Asyut, Bahrain, Cairo, Catholics, Churches, Converts, Copts, Egypt, El-Ghad Party, Elections, Faiyum, Hosni Mubarak, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Minya, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Pope Tawadros II, Protestants, Samalut, Sinai, Sohag, Sunni, Tanta, Terrorism, Upper Egypt

Walking around Cairo you would be forgiven for thinking that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was the only candidate running in the elections later this month. His is the only grandiose face bearing down on passers-by, while billboards of his rival, Mousa Mostafa Mousa, are nowhere to be seen. Egypt’s 26-28 March presidential elections have . . . Read More

Ahok ‘victim of cyber jihad against Indonesian government’

March 13, 2018 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Jakarta, Nahdlatul Ulama, Southeast Asia

Jakarta's governor arrives in court for his verdict and sentence in his blasphemy trial. Photo: Getty Images

The Christian former governor of Jakarta who was jailed for blasphemy may have been a victim of a sophisticated anti-government campaign of “fake news” and malicious bots. Indonesian police believe they have uncovered a clandestine “fake news” operation designed to destabilise the government and corrupt the political process, the UK’s . . . Read More

Pakistan Senate seeks same sentences for blasphemy offenders and those who falsely accuse

March 13, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Elections, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Kidnapping, Marriage, Pakistan, Patras Masih, Sajid Masih, Sharia, Women

In November there were widespread anti-blasphemy protests in Islamabad and other cities in reaction to proposed changes to an election law. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Pakistan’s Senate Special Committee on Human Rights has recommended that those who falsely accuse someone of blasphemy should receive the same punishment as those convicted of blasphemy. The Committee also said registration of a blasphemy case should include a minimum of two witnesses who support the charges. Right-wing political parties . . . Read More

Pakistan court orders citizens to declare religion

March 13, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

Religious minorities in Pakistan have to declare their religion when applying for identification papers or for government jobs making them "even more vulnerable" activists say. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Pakistan’s citizens must now declare their religion when applying for identity documents, or if they want to work in government or register to vote, Islamabad’s High Court ruled on Friday (9 March). Applicants who disguise their true religion defy the constitution and betray the state, the judge said. Their true . . . 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

Pakistan: Christian family attacked for helping build church wall

March 6, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Churches, Faisalabad, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Sahiwal, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, Women

Five members of a Christian family in northeast Pakistan were attacked and injured as they helped to build a boundary wall around their church on Sunday, 4 March. The pastor of the Pakistan Gospel Assemblies church in Yousufwala village, on the outskirts of the Punjabi city of Sahiwal, told World . . . Read More

Marawi’s rebuilding yet to start, despite warning that defeating extremism depends on it

March 2, 2018 Philippines Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Marawi, Maute, Mindanao, Philippines, Southeast Asia

Four months after the battle ended over the southern Philippines city of Marawi, Muslim leaders have called on people to stop posting divisive information on social media. Rumours were spread via social media in recent weeks, saying that the Catholic cathedral, which was severely damaged during the conflict last year, . . . Read More

Bangladesh: Militant group ‘targets’ Christian converts

March 1, 2018 Bangladesh Bangladesh, Converts, Dhaka, Islamic extremism, Jamaat-ul-Mujahedin Bangladesh

The arrest of two members of a banned Bangladeshi militant group, who confessed to wanting to kill Christian converts, has put the spotlight on the changing tactics of Muslim extremist groups in the country. Security forces arrested two members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) on 14 February in Dhaka, the capital, . . . Read More

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