Tag: Religious freedom

Myanmar on the road to religious freedom

November 22, 2013 Myanmar Buddhist nationalism, Chin, Myanmar, Rape, Religious freedom

Myanmar is moving towards greater interfaith freedom of expression, but challenges remain, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Benedict Rogers, writing for the Wall Street Journal. Rogers notes that, while the country has made great strides in recent years, there is an ongoing threat of ethnic and religious violence. However, he . . . Read More

Egypt votes for religious freedom

October 29, 2013 Egypt Egypt, Islamic extremism, Mohamed Morsi, Prophet Muhammad, Religious freedom, Sunni

The Committee drafting a revised Egyptian Constitution has voted to revise Article 47, which guarantees the free exercise of religion for all citizens – not just the three Abrahamic faiths, as a draft in August had proposed. The draft will now be amended to include all religious minorities, including Shia . . . Read More

EU Parliament pleads for Christian safety

October 12, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country All Saints Church, Blasphemy, Churches, Iran, Pakistan, Peshawar, Religious freedom, Saeed Abedini, Syria

The European Parliament has gone on record condemning violence against Christians in several countries. In a resolution passed on Thursday, Oct. 10, the parliament: Condemned militant attacks on Christians in Syria, and called for protection of monasteries and humanitarian support for nuns and orphans; Condemned the Sept. 22 bombing attack . . . Read More

Maldives elections unlikely to improve religious freedom

September 6, 2013 Maldives Abdulla Yameen, Elections, Islamic extremism, Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, Quran, Religious freedom

Known for its golden sands and crystal waters, the Maldives is perhaps not the first country that springs to mind when one considers locations lacking in religious freedom. However, for more than 10 years the island chain in the Indian Ocean, south-west of Sri Lanka, has been in the top . . . Read More

Senator pushes for religious freedom envoy

August 23, 2013 Copts, Egypt, Middle East, Religious freedom, USA

US Senator Roy Blunt is renewing his call for the State Department to create a special envoy for religious minorities in the Middle East. Blunt, a Republican from Missouri, introduced the necessary legislation in March. This week, in the wake of widespread attacks on Christian churches, schools and other facilities . . . Read More

Report: Nigeria violence is sectarian

August 20, 2013 Nigeria Boko Haram, Islamic extremism, Nigeria, Religious freedom

Boko Haram is the foremost perpetrator of religiously motivated violence in Nigeria, claims a new report issued by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The report, issued Aug. 19 as an update to a July 2012 report, documents dozens of Boko Haram attacks on churches and individual Christians since . . . Read More

Archbishop of Canterbury and UK Foreign Office Minister alerted to need of Syrian Christians

July 10, 2013 Aleppo, Armenians, Bashar al-Assad, Damascus, Homs, Islamic extremism, Justin Welby, London, Middle East, Minorities, North Africa, Refugees, Religious freedom, Shia, Sunni, Syria, Syriacs, UK

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the UK Foreign Office Minister responsible for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), have both acknowledged the findings of a report which says that Christians in Syria are increasingly targeted and vulnerable to persecution, amidst the on-going conflict there. Syria: Church on . . . Read More

All change again in the Middle East

July 7, 2013 Andrew Bennett, Baghdad, Bishop Angaelos, Cairo, Canada, Copts, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, London, Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood, Religious freedom, Saddam Hussein, Syria

Middle Eastern Christians are experiencing one of the most significant periods in their history, according to religious and political leaders meeting in London last week. Regime changes in Egypt and Iran, and sectarian violence in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, have presented an opportunity for the Christian minority to speak out, . . . Read More

Bomb sullies Pakistan founder’s legacy

June 19, 2013 Pakistan Balochistan, Pakistan, Religious freedom

On Saturday (June 15), the Residency in Balochistan where Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah spent his last days was badly damaged in a bomb and grenade attack, reports Pakistan’s News International. Jinnah said in his inauguration speech in 1947: “You are free; free to go to your temples, you are free to go . . . Read More

Libyan human-rights official flees country after death threats

March 21, 2013 Libya Benghazi, Human rights, Libya, Minorities, Muammar Gaddafi, Proselytism, Religious freedom, Tripoli

The head of the Libyan Parliament’s Human Rights Committee has resigned and fled to London, saying he’s received death threats. Hassan Al-Amin, prominent for his long opposition to the Gaddafi regime, recently spoke out against armed gangs and militias in his Misrata area. His self-imposed exile comes as hostilities against . . . Read More

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