Police in Pakistan on Saturday (July 19) arrested and charged a 60-year-old Catholic with blasphemy after he accused a Muslim shopkeeper of overcharging, sources said. Amir Peter of Nishat Colony in Lahore, capital of Punjab Province, was charged under Section 295-C of the country’s controversial blasphemy laws pertaining to disrespect of Islam’s prophet, Muhammad – punishable with death – on the complaint of Sanor Ali.
India’s famed Emperor Ashoka was an ancient convert from Hinduism to Buddhism. He demonstrated that a person is NOT forced by others to convert from one religion to another. Today, “religious conversions are forced,” is the flawed premise of all anti-conversion laws of India. Who could have forced mighty Emperor Ashoka to change his religion? The Emperor’s famous religious conversion was his choice.
In a perfect world, where legal systems hold political power to account and protect minorities against human rights abuses we might expect an end to persecution. But we do not live in a perfect world. People with power continue to act with impunity against those who think and live differently to them. Christians have a way to cope with this reality and a real and living hope for a future free of persecution.
Air India flight AI-171 from from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick dominated the headlines mid-June. Like many large scale tragedies it captures our attention briefly, but for those closer to the story the impact can be longer lasting. This reflection observes that tragic news can become a wake up call to "seek first the kingdom" with renewed vigor without delay.
Every forcibly displaced person's story is unique and harrowing. To commemorate World Refugee Day, here is a first-hand account of a boy's refugee journey with his family. He is now a mature follower of Jesus dedicated to helping refugees and believes the Church has a crucial role in refugee care—a role that is a powerful witness to the love of Christ.
In a significant development, a court in Pakistan refused to hand custody of a Catholic girl to a Muslim who abducted and forcibly converted/married her, noting that as a minor she could not go with him even if she said she was willing to do so, sources said.
Pakistani Christian female athletes are gaining recognition for their achievements in various sports, including a recent victory by 12-year-old Aiyana Noel Arthur at the South Asian Karate Championship held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She won gold in the under-12, 40+ kg Kumite category.
Hindu extremists in central India on June 8 ransacked a church’s worship building, burned Bibles and assaulted every member, causing one to lose consciousness, sources said.
Relatives of ethnic Rohingya Christian refugees cast into the sea by India’s navy have yet to hear from them nearly two months after the cast-offs swam ashore to their native Myanmar (Burma).
As police and soldiers looked on, about 200 Muslims on Friday (June 27) stormed a Christian youth retreat at a home in Indonesia, driving out participants and damaging property, sources said.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan today (June 25) ordered the acquittal of an elderly Christian on death row for 23 years on a blasphemy conviction, declaring that a person of unsound mind could not be held liable for such a crime, his lawyer said.
Public trust in the church as an institution has risen after three years of stagnation, with 36% of Americans now saying they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in it. The shift, recorded in Gallup’s latest survey on the topic, marks the first significant increase since 2020.
