RELIGION TODAY

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Low Estimate? China Reports 13 Million Annual Abortions
Michael Foust


August 3, 2009

WASHINGTON (BP) -- China released statistics Thursday showing there are at least 13 million abortions a year in the country, a sobering number that U.S. experts say likely is a low estimate and a direct result of the country's one-child policy that often includes forced abortions.

The state-run China Daily newspaper published a matter-of-fact article blaming the abortion figure on "inadequate knowledge about contraception" and a lack of sex-education in schools and homes. The story, though, said nothing about the country's one-child policy, which limits urban parents to one child while allowing some rural parents to have two children.

The country's abortion problem is compounded because Chinese culture has a strong preference for sons over daughters, a preference that has resulted in parents undergoing abortions if they learn their unborn child is female. Female babies -- if they make it to birth -- are sometimes abandoned.

The new statistic did not surprise Steven W. Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, a pro-life Christian organization in the U.S. that helps pregnant women in China go into hiding until their baby is born. Mosher and his organization frequently make trips to China and investigate stories of forced abortions.

"The number of abortions in China for the last 30 years has run between 10-15 million a year," he told Baptist Press. "And what people have to understand, though, is those are not for the most part elective abortions. They are not a result of the free choice of parents involved. It's a result of government pressure."

The pressure, Mosher said, can include threats of being fired and/or fined and even threats of having one's electricity and water disconnected. If that doesn't lead the couple to abort, Mosher said, the government, in some cases, might arrest the woman, take her to a facility, and abort the child. A late-term abortion would include a lethal injection into the uterus and possibly even a caesarian section, he said.

The article reported that China -- with a population of 1.3 billion -- has 20 million live births a year. By comparison, the U.S. has a population of 300 million and has 4 million live births a year and about 1.2 million abortions a year.

The Chinese 13 million-abortions-a-year figure, though, is no doubt a low count. China Daily said the statistic includes only abortions that are conducted in registered medical institutions. About 10 million abortion-inducing pills -- such as RU-486 -- are sold each year in the country, the newspaper said.

The newspaper also reported that 62 percent of the women who have abortions are in their 20s. Most abortions, the newspaper said, are by single women, although it didn't provide a statistic. Even those abortions by single women, Mosher said, are pressured or forced.

"Single motherhood is forbidden in China," he said. "It's very different from illegitimate births in the United States. The [Chinese] government won't allow any single women of any age to have a baby. You have to be married in the eyes of the state.... Some people reading that [Chinese] would think, 'Oh, they have the same problem with out-of-wedlock births that we do.' No, this is an artifact in large part of the one-child policy and the restriction on single mothers having children."

It's also likely, he said, that the Chinese government counts as single a woman who has been married in a private ceremony but is too young to be eligible for a government-recognized marriage. Women in China must be at least 20 in order to be married in the eyes of the government. Such a woman who has had an abortion would fall in the statistic's "single" category.

China keeps a close watch on births, Mosher said, by requiring that all babies be born in government facilities so as to prevent mothers from using a midwife to give birth to an illegal baby. Yet even midwives have been trained by the government to perform abortions. He interviewed one young woman who refused to tell her mother -- a midwife -- she was pregnant with another child. The mother -- the would-be babies' grandmother -- had pressured her daughter into two previous abortions.

"The midwife had aborted her own grandchildren," he said. "We helped [the young woman] go into hiding so she could give birth without her mother knowing about it."

China's abortion policy and its cultural preference for sons has led to a situation in which, in 2005, Chinese males under the age of 20 outnumbered females of that same age range by more than 32 million, the British Medical Journal reported earlier this year.

It was thought recently that China might be giving its one-child policy a second look. Such hopes arose when it was reported that the Population and Family Planning Commission of Shanghai, the country's largest city and its financial capital, was urging parents who themselves are only children to have a second child due to concerns of an aging population. But the state-run Xinhuanet.com dashed hopes of a policy reversal when it quoted government officials as saying the one-child population "will be strictly enforced as a means of controlling births for decades to come as overpopulation is still a major concern."

Mosher's organization exists in part to fight myths about overpopulation.

"We believe all human life is sacred," he said. "We believe there's plenty of room on God's green earth for all of us. We believe that overpopulation is exaggerated."

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Religion Today Summaries - Aug. 3, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * China: Officials Abolish House Church in Sichuan
    * Christians Increasingly Vulnerable in 'Secular' Nepal
    * Violence Again Erupts in Egypt over Worship Site
    * IRS Ends Investigation of 'Pulpit Freedom Sunday' Church

China: Officials Abolish House Church in Sichuan

Christian News Wire reports that Chinese authorities abolished the Christian Church of Huaguan Town, a house church in the remote Sichuan province on June 29. Three church members were arrested at the time. Since then, house church members have faced heavy persecution. The church service started in 2002 in a member's house, and has been gathering at a church building built with the help of Christians from Zhejiang province since August 2006. On March 23, 2009 the church was raided by six Public Security Bureau (PSB) and government officers who confiscated both the property of the church and a check with more than 10,000 yuan of the believers' offerings. All three church members have been released after serving several days of administrative detention.

Christians Increasingly Vulnerable in 'Secular' Nepal

Compass Direct News reports that three years after a pro-democracy movement led to the proclamation of Nepal as a secular state, some Christians say they are in greater peril than ever. They are now being targeted by militant Hindu organizations that blame the church for the abolition of Hinduism as the state religion and the end of monarchy. Since May, when the Nepal Defense Army (NDA) -- which claims links with militant Hindu organizations -- struck one of Kathmandu valley's largest churches, the group has threatened to drive all Christians from the country. The Rev. Pius Perumana says he has received at least five threatening calls from the Hindu supremist leader Ram Prasad Mainali, who ordered him to close all Christian organizations and leave Nepal, he said. The NDA leader has also been calling Protestant pastors, demanding money.

Violence Again Erupts in Egypt over Worship Site

Compass Direct News reports that the recent eruption of sectarian violence in Egypt's Minya province continued last week. Local Christians again faced harsh reprisals from Muslims for trying to convert a building into a worship facility. On July 24 security forces in the village of Hawasliya were able to prevent a crowd of Muslims, which numbered in the hundreds according to some reports, from torching the building. But the mob succeeded in setting fire to four neighboring stables, killing sheep and cows belonging to Copts. During the melee two Copts, including an elderly woman, were wounded. Both received hospital treatment. "When Muslims see that Christians are making a church, they get upset about it," said Teresa Kamal, a local journalist. "Why are people full of hate like this? Something has happened to radicalize the people."

IRS Ends Investigation of 'Pulpit Freedom Sunday' Church

Religion News Service reports that a Minnesota church that challenged a ban on politicking from the pulpit is no longer under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service.  Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minn., received a July 7 letter from the IRS saying the probe was closed due to a procedural matter. The letter added, however, that it "may commence a future inquiry." The church was one of 33 that participated in the challenge last September, and sent copies of sermons to the IRS, said Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund. His Arizona-based conservative Christian law firm hoped their actions -- which included support or opposition of political candidates-- would prompt IRS scrutiny and lead to a legal challenge of rules that date to 1954.

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Christians Burned to Death in Islamist Attacks in Pakistan - 1 of 2
Brian Sharma

August 3, 2009

GOJRA, Pakistan (Compass Direct News) -- Islamic extremists Saturday set ablaze more than 50 houses and a church in this town in northeastern Pakistan following an accusation of "blasphemy" of the Quran, leaving at least 14 Christians dead, sources said.

The dead include women and children, with several other burn victims unable to reach hospitals for medical care, according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS). The attack came amid a protest by thousands of Muslim Islamists -- including members of banned militant groups -- that resulted in another six people dying when participants shot at police and officers responded with tear gas and gunfire.

The same rumor of desecration of the Quran that led to today's massive protest and attack in Gojra, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Faisalabad, also prompted an arson assault on Thursday (July 30) by Islamic extremists on the village of Korian, seven miles from Gojra, that gutted 60 houses.

Punjab Minister for Law Rana Sanaullah reportedly said an initial investigation of allegations of the Quran being blasphemed indicated "there has not been any incident of desecration."

Because of the earlier assault in Korian, Pakistani officials were already in the area and had sought reinforcements to help control the 11 a.m. demonstration today in Gojra, but security forces were slow to respond, according to CLAAS.

"There were unaccountable people in the mob and they were out of control because only four police constables were trying to stop the mob of thousands of people," a CLAAS report said.

Crowd size and attacks grew, and Islamists managed to block main roads and railways to keep fire brigades from fighting the house fires, according to CLAAS.

With authorities also blocking roads to keep more Muslim extremists from entering from neighboring villages, clerics at local mosques broadcast messages that those "who love Muhammad and Islam should gather with them to defend the Islam because it is in danger," according to CLAAS.

In response to the police road closures, Islamists became more aggressive and began burning property using firearms and explosives in nearby hamlets where primarily Christians live, according to CLAAS.

"About 20 houses have been burnt in Chauck No. 424, and valuable things have been stolen from about 100 Christian houses," according to the CLAAS statement.

Asam Masih, a Christian in Gojra, said that that women and children were severely burned and had no way to get to a hospital, according to CLAAS, which was helping to transport victims for medical care.

Islamists set on fire a Catholic church on Sumandri road and destroyed it using firearms and explosives, according to CLAAS.

"50 houses are burned and totally destroyed," the CLAAS statement read. "14 people including children, women and men are expired."

Wedding and Funeral

As Christians have begun defending themselves against the onslaughts, mainstream media have already begun referring to the overwhelmingly Islamist aggression as "Christian and Muslim rioting."

Compass investigated the facts of the trigger incident in the village of Korian, where more than 500 Muslims, responding to calls from a mosque, attacked Christians in Toba Tek Singh district. Local sources said nearly all village Christian families fled. The fires destroyed their homes -- collapsing their wooden roofs or melting T-iron roofs -- and all belongings within that the attacking Muslims had not first looted.

"Our house is burnt and everything is gone, but Muslim neighbors around are not willing to give us a loaf of bread or a sip of water to us," 80-year-old Baba Sharif Masih told Compass.

He and his wife Hanifa Bibi, 73, were the only Christians left in the village in the northeastern province of Punjab. Masih, who is paralyzed, said the attackers let them live when they pleaded that they were unable to run away.

Two church buildings were ransacked but not burned, Compass sources said.

One Christian resident of Korian identified only as Shabir said the blasphemy accusation grew out of an incident at a wedding on Sunday (July 25). During the ceremony, Christian wedding guests tossed currency notes and coins into the air according to custom, with children catching most of them as they fall. Shabir told Compass a Muslim funeral was taking place at the same time, however, and that mourners told wedding celebrants to stop their music; they apparently declined.

The next day, Muslims met with the parents of the bride, Talib and Mukhtar Masih, and told them that their sons had cut pages of the Quran the size of currency notes and had been throwing them in the air the previous night, Shabir said.

"Talib said that nothing like this has happened, but that if there was anything, 'I'll call my son and he will definitely apologize for it,'" Shabir said. "But then they immediately began beating them and left Talib when he fell unconscious."

Shabir said that afterward when Christian women went to the Muslims and told them that they were wrong to beat Talib Masih, the assailants yelled at them and tried to attack them, but they were able to flee to their homes.

On Thursday (July 30), Shabir said, Muslim clerics announced from the village mosque that "if any infidel Christian wanted to save his or her life, then get out of here or they would be killed."

As the Muslim mobs gathered, he said, Christians immediately fled -- leaving their meals prepared and fires burning in stoves.

"These assailants first looted these houses and then set them on fire and closed the door," he said. "Since then, not a single Christian is left there except a very old couple."

Islamist's Version

Village Muslims declined to open their doors when Compass reporters called on them.

But one of three Muslim leaders standing with a crowd of turban-clad Islamists at the entrance to the village, Qari Noor Ahmed, told Compass the story of the alleged cut pages of the Quran at the marriage ceremony.

"Because it was night, no one noticed, but in the morning we saw that the pages of the Quran had been cut to currency note size, and they were trampled under people's feet," he said.

Ahmed said that village authorities later met and called in Talib and Mukhtar Masih. He said that council authorities decided that their son should apologize.

"But when his son came in the meeting, he by no means seemed apologetic, rather he was aggressive," Ahmed said. "This was the root cause, and we told Talib and Mukhtar to tell their children to apologize."

Ahmed said that afterwards they searched for Talib and Mukhtar Masih and their sons but could not find them.

"Then Muslims became furious that first they had profaned the Quran, and now they had fled and were not apologizing," Ahmed said. "Then the villagers attacked their houses. All the Christians who are visiting here are armed, and we are sitting here to avoid any untoward incident. It is better for you to leave now or you may be attacked."

Munawar Masih, a 20-year-old Christian in Korian, said that he was preparing supper around 7 p.m. when he heard the announcement from the mosque that "infidel Christians had profaned the Holy Quran, and let's teach them exemplary lesson."

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Christians Burned to Death in Islamist Attacks in Pakistan - 2 of 2
Brian Sharma

He looked outside as his family was about to sit down to dinner and saw a large mob approaching.

"We just fled from there to save our lives, and since then we are hiding in Gojra," he said.

Private TV channel reporter Ghulam Muhauddin told Compass that after the Korian houses were set on fire, the Islamic extremists blocked the Faisalabad-Gojra Highway to keep firefighters from arriving.

"When the attack was unleashed, several people were injured and even some domestic animals were killed," he said.

Muhauddin said that after negotiations between the District Police Officer and the protestors, Station House Officer (SHO) Jamshed Iqbal Nasir was suspended for not properly handling the incident.

Christians Accused

Officials at the Sadar Police Station, in whose precincts the attack took place, were not available for comment, but a deputy called Imam Din said that a First Information Report (FIR) had been filed under Section 295-B, or blasphemy of the Quran, against Talib and Mukhtar Masih.

He said that the complainant in the case was Muhammad Ashraf, and that police had possession of the alleged burnt or cut papers of the Quran. Din said that after SHO Nasir was suspended and Ashiq Hussein replaced him, Hussein was willing to file an FIR against those who had ransacked and burned houses of Christians. He said the accused were still at large and that police would arrest them after Christians returned to their homes.

Asked if police were under pressure from Islamists or the government, Din declined to comment.

Advocacy group Community Development Initiative (CDI) field officer Napoleon Qayyum said that the group had informed high officials about the Korian attack, including the presidency, and that soon afterward the president issued a notice. Qayyum noted that the Korian and Gojra attacks follow a July 1 attack in Kasur, where swarms of Islamists ransacked and damaged 110 homes.

"It is a clear sign that violent attacks against Christians have dramatically increased in recent days," he said, adding that CDI would provide legal help to victims. CDI works with assistance from the American Centre of Law and Justice.

Muhauddin of the private TV channel added that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had taken the notice of the attacks and was forming a an investigative team comprising the Faisalabad Regional Police Officer and Faisalabad Commissioner, which will send a report to him.

A spokesman from the Pakistani president's office, former Sen. Farhatullah Babar, told Compass that President Asif Ali Zardari had taken a notice of the attack and had asked the provincial government to investigate. He said the president has condemned the attack and that there was no justification for anyone taking the law into their own hands.

Asked why the committee constituted by the provincial government did not have any Christians on it, he responded that it was the discretion of the provincial government to determine the make-up of the panel and that the federal government was concerned only about the report. Asked why an FIR had been filed against Christians and not Muslims for ransacking and vandalizing, he said only that appropriate action would be taken after the inquiry.

Member of National Assembly Farahnaz Ispahani, wife of Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani, told Compass that President Zardari had directed Federal Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti to visit the area and "express sympathy with the victims."

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Beyond Piracy: Inside Somalia's Religious Landscape
Robert Wayne


August 5, 2009

Sadly but not surprisingly, the seriousness of the situation in Somalia gets lost among Americanized images of bandana-wearing buccaneers seeking plunder on the open seas.

After all, if Johnny Depp is your biggest problem, how bad can it be?

Piracy certainly adds to Somalia's problems, but it is the savagery happening away from the water, especially toward Christians, that makes this east African nation one of the most brutal places on earth.

The reports are horrific. In one, Islamic extremists pulled three children from a mother and beheaded two of them. The third escaped, screaming all the way home.

"I watched my three boys dragged away helplessly. I knew they were going to be slaughtered," said Batula Ali Arbow, whose husband, Musa Mohammed Yusuf, refused to provide the extremists with information about a Christian church leader.

Yusuf, himself a leader of an underground church, had already fled to a Kenyan refugee camp, where his wife and family later joined him. Even in the Kenyan camp, however, the persecution continues. The reach of the extremist group Al-Shabaab continues to expand far and wide.

Quite simply, Somalia is a mess. But enough of a mess for the U.S. to mess with? While Darfur attracts our sympathies, Somalia has attracted only indifference. And yet the pot continues to boil.

After 19 years of political unrest, the political and religious situation in Somalia is getting worse. Al-Shabaab militants are hammering away at the fragile government of Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The militants already have power in the outlying regions, but now are focusing on the capital city of Mogadishu, where Islamic insurgents are seeking to establish strict sharia law. To prove their point, last month they recently sentenced four men each to amputation of a hand and a foot for robbery.

More recently, militants reportedly beheaded seven Somalis for being Christians and "spies," according to Reuters News Agency.

Muslims dominate Somalia, which has a 99.95 percent Islamic following. The relative handful of Somali Christians -- only a few hundred -- have been forced underground, while others have sought refuge in neighboring countries.

Somalia is ranked No. 5 on this year's Open Doors World Watch List, which ranks the top persecutors of Christians. The previous year Somalia was ranked No. 12, and next year it will likely jump closer to the top.

"Those who come to Christ in Somalia do so at a huge risk. Most of them are Muslim background believers who face unbelievable pressure and persecution, even death," said Open Doors USA President/CEO Carl Moeller.

Paul Estabrooks, Open Doors Minister-At-Large, explained that while the majority of Somalis are moderate Muslims, they are drowned out by the militants who seek both religious and political rule. It's not enough that the extremists want to influence what and how Somalis should believe. They also want to enforce it.

No wonder Al-Shabaab is being compared to Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden's network of terror.

"Certainly if not linked to al Qaeda economically or politically, they have the same agendas and are willing to use the same kinds of tactics," Estabrooks said.

Similarly, Estabrooks supposes a working arrangement exists between Al-Shabaab and the Somali pirates, who continue to cause trouble along major shipping routes.

"The piracy is perceived as an economic issue -- poor people just trying to make money," Estabrooks said. "One press review even sided with the pirates ... that the country is so bad that people are simply taking things into their own hands."

Estabrooks takes a different slant.

"I can't prove it, but I suspect there is a connection (between pirates and Al-Shabaab). These (militant groups) don't all depend on Osama's millions."

Al-Shabaab is not just a Somali problem, say those who follow the situation closely.

"Al-Shabaab is a threat to the whole world," Somali Information Minister Farhan Ali Mohamoud told CNN last week. "Somalia's problems are not for Somalia alone to solve. Not only for the African Union to solve. It is a global and regional issue."

Regionally, there is deep concern that Al-Shabaab is not content to gain power only in Somalia. The group has threatened an attack on the Kenyan capital of Nairobi if Somalia does not cease asking for international help.

Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua told CNN his country does not fear direct attacks, but is alarmed about foreign jihadists imposing their ideas into the region. The danger appears to be Al-Shabaab linking with foreign terrorist networks.

"We do believe that Al-Shabaab poses a threat, not only to Kenya but to all neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and Eritrea," Mutua said.

Still, the immediate emergency is in Somalia, where kidnappings, militant recruitment drives and murder is becoming almost the norm.

So it is not actual piracy but the symbol of piracy -- skull and crossbones -- that strikes fear into Christian Somalis. They know the horror of headless skeletons.

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Pakistani Christians Strive for Justice Following Onslaught
Brian Sharma


August 5, 2009

GOJRA, Pakistan (Compass Direct News) -- A standoff here between Pakistani officials and Christians protesting the government's reluctance to prosecute a murderous Islamic assault ended with officials finally consenting to file a complaint against key Muslim clerics and security officers.

On Sunday (Aug. 2) hundreds of Christians demonstrated in Gojra, where the previous day rampaging Muslims -- acting on an unsubstantiated rumor of "blasphemy" of the Quran and whipped into a frenzy by local imams and banned terrorist groups -- killed at least seven Christians, looted more than 100 houses and set fire to 50 of them. At least 19 people were injured in the melee.

In protest of government reluctance to name two security officers for negligence in connection with Christians burned to death, demonstrators on Sunday refused to quickly bury the dead as officials requested. Believing the government was stalling in registering a complaint, demonstrators put the coffins with the charred remains on railroad tracks for three hours before officials agreed to include District Police Officer (DPO) Inkasar Khan and District Coordinating Officer (DCO) Sikandar Baloch in the complaint filed against more than 20 named and 800 unnamed people.

Among those arrested include members of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a pro-Taliban, Sunni Muslim group, and its al Qaeda-linked offshoot, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi; officials said members of both groups were suspected of planning the attack in Gojra.

The Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) reported that at least 14 Christians had been killed, and Christians in the affected areas told Compass the final death toll will likely be more than 20. The only deaths confirmed by hospital officials, however, are those of seven members of a family who died when their home was set on fire; names and ages in this report vary slightly from the hospital list as they are based on Compass contact with their survivors: Hameed Masih, 75; his son Akhlaq Hameed, 55; Asia Hameed, 22, wife of Mohsin Hameed; her mother Parveen, 50; Asifa Hameed, 30 (wife of survivor Almas Hameed), and her 8-year-old daughter Umia and 4-year-old son Musa.

With the caskets containing the remains of the dead Christians sitting in public for some time, the local administration tried to force survivors to conduct a hasty funeral, telling them to hold a service in Catholic parish hall and bury the dead as soon as possible.

Federal Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti and other prominent Christians met with the local administration, but negotiations failed as the two security officials were not named in the First Information report (FIR). A Catholic priest identified only as Father Mani then told protestors that an FIR had been registered and that he had seen it, and that therefore the demonstration should be called off.

But protestors did not believe him, insisting that they would not quit until they saw a copy of the FIR. Only after continued protests, with the dead bodies on the railway track for more than three hours, did officials register a case against key suspects in connection with murder, looting and violence: more than 20 identified people, including DPO Khan and DCO Baloch, who are accused of negligence in allowing the Islamic violence to erupt, and some 800 unidentified suspects.

Nevertheless, sources told Compass, the two officers have not been suspended, terminated or arrested. Rather, they have been made Special Duty Officers -- an officer who is fully paid but has yet to be posted.

The FIR also names Muslim clerics of several Gojra mosques, including the imam of nearby Chamra Mandi Mosque, called Firdausia Mosque. Muslim groups held a press conference today in Gojra calling on the government to free clerics named in the FIR, according to CLAAS. They also threatened to hang Talib Masih, father of the boy who was falsely accused of tossing cut pages of the Quran into the air as part of a wedding ceremony in Korian.

The same rumor of desecration of the Quran that led to Saturday's massive protest and attack in Gojra, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Faisalabad, also prompted the arson assault on Thursday (July 30) by Islamic extremists on the village of Korian, seven miles from Gojra.

In the Gojra violence, several people have also implicated Qadir Awan, president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Gojra, who was also named in the FIR. Zahid Iqbal, administrative head of a section of Gojra called Union Council-21, said that Awan had no role in the rioting.

The bodies of the seven Christians had been kept in the mortuary of Civil Hospital in Gojra, where the Christian advocacy group called Community Development Initiative (CDI) helped wash the bodies and facilitated their transfer to the families.

Government Response

Amid strict security, a funeral service for the victims of the Gojra riots' victims took place on Sunday (Aug. 2). Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Minorities Affairs Minister Bhatti participated in the funeral procession.

There Sanaullah announced that Punjab Chief Minister Sharif would visit the Christian community to express his condolences -- "Beyond the FIR we are with you in punishing those who let this conspiracy succeed or participated in this conspiracy," Sanaullah said -- but Christians were disappointed the next day when he didn't show.

Christians refused to speak with the representatives the chief minister had sent in his stead nor with other PML-N members. Provincial Minorities Minister Kamran Michael threatened to resign over the issue, and due to this pressure Chief Minister Sharif visited the area yesterday (Aug. 4), assuring the community that he would do his utmost to provide justice.

To assess the damage, the chief minister has constituted a 16-member group under the chairmanship of Michael.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has formed a committee to ascertain the amount of damage done during the rioting, and as soon as President Asif Ali Zardari learned of the incident he sent Minorities Minister Bhatti to Gojra.

President Zardari also announced that 500,000 rupees (US$6,040) will be made available for each person killed and 300,000 rupees (US$3,624) for those whose houses were burned. Prime Minister Gilani is also expected to announce a special package for the affected families.

A report submitted by Bhatti to the president states that the Punjab government and local administration failed to stem the violence. It adds that additional troops were not sent to help local authorities in Gojra, despite the advice of the minorities minister.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has also sought a report from the interior secretary and the Punjab inspector general.

Farahnaz Ispahani, spokesperson for President Zardari, told Compass that after Muslims burned more than 50 homes in Korian village on July 30 and 31 -- following the accusation of "blasphemy" of the Quran that proved to be false -- the president asked the Punjabi government to report on it. After the subsequent Aug. 1 rioting in Gojra, she said, he immediately dispatched Bhatti to the site with orders to report back.

Ispahani said that after the president talked to Prime Minister Gilani, the prime minister called Chief Minister of the Punjab Sharif over the incident. When it became clear that police were unable to handle the matter, she said, the president ordered Rangers -- paramilitary troops mainly deployed along the border for security -- into Gojra to take charge and save Christians from further damage.

CDI Field Officer Napoleon Qayyum told Compass that CDI had strongly objected to the route of the Aug. 1 Islamic demonstration -- which had been called to protest the release of the man whose son was falsely accused of desecrating pages of the Quran -- saying he had told DPO Khan that it should not pass by any churches or Christian areas. As Islamic clerics made threatening announcements from mosques the day before the rampage, Qayyum said, DCO Baloch also had ample warning that violence was imminent.

"The way things were moving in Gojra, no rocket science was needed to predict this fallout," he said, adding that announcements from loudspeakers mounted on vehicles broadcast how Christians had supposedly desecrated the Quran.

Punjab Minister for Law Sanaullah said an initial investigation of allegations of the Quran being blasphemed indicated "there has not been any incident of desecration."

The CDI also objected to a two-member committee set up by provincial Chief Minister Sharif regarding violence in Korian village.

"Our objection was that no Christian was on the committee," Qayyum said, "because how could administration and police be thought to be unbiased? It was the first step where the provincial government showed partiality."

After Korian village Christians were attacked, the government showed no interest in arresting or reining in rampaging mobs, according to Qayyum, who said that the day after that assault he saw crowds there still armed with clubs wearing green, dark brown or black turbans, an indication that "religious fanatics were still roaming free."

Likewise, he added, the provincial government allowed the civil administration and police to use delaying tactics in June 30 violence in Bahmaniwala village, where 110 houses were plundered and ransacked in Kasur.

Christians make up less than 5 percent of Pakistan's 175 million population, which is mainly Muslim.

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Religion Today Summaries - Aug. 4, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Pakistan Christians Shut Schools to Mourn Killings
    * Gay, Lesbian Priests among Bishop Nominees by L.A. Diocese
    * Christians Fear Limits under European Equality Directive
    * Uzbekistan: Christian Camp Leaders May Face Charges

Pakistan Christians Shut Schools to Mourn Killings

The Associated Press reports that Christian schools and colleges in Pakistan are closed through Wednesday to mourn fellow Christians killed in weekend violence. At least eight Christians were killed after hundreds of Muslims burned dozens of houses in a Christian neighborhood Saturday. Christians say a banned Islamist group and Islamic clerics in the eastern city of Gojra incited the mob by falsely accusing a Christian of desecrating the Koran. "We are closing the schools to show our anger and concern," Bishop Sadiq Daniel told The Associated Press, noting the move was a peaceful tactic. "We want the government to bring all perpetrators of the crime to justice." Security forces monitored the city streets on Monday. Meanwhile, Christians say the violence shows the insufficiency of discriminatory laws that put religious minorities at a legal disadvantage.

Gay, Lesbian Priests among Bishop Nominees by L.A. Diocese

The Los Angeles Times reports that two of six priests nominated to become the Los Angeles diocese's next suffragan bishop are openly gay. The Rev. John L. Kirkley and the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool are among the first openly gay bishops nominated since New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson's 2003 election catalyzed a church split. The Episcopal Church re-opened the position of bishop to gay and lesbians just last week at its annual convention. "I affirm each and every one of these candidates, and I am pleased with the wide diversity they offer this diocese," the current bishop, the Rt. Rev. Bruno, said in a statement Sunday. The day before, the Diocese of Minnesota also nominated priests for bishop, including the Rev. Bonnie Perry, a partnered lesbian.

Christians Fear Limits under European Equality Directive

Christian Today reports that Christians fear their religious liberty will suffer if the European Commission's "equal treatment directive" is approved. Catholic Bishops in England, Wales and Scotland said the Church supports the "underlying moral principle" of the directive, but worry that the effort to prevent discrimination on a wide variety of bases - including sexual orientation and religious belief - could ultimately hinder the Church. The bishops feared such efforts would limit "the right of the Church and its members to act in accordance with Catholic belief," perhaps interfering with membership requirements and hiring practices. Christian Today notes that France, the Czech Republic and Germany are among the countries to have voted against the directive.

Uzbekistan: Christian Camp Leaders May Face Charges

Mission News Network reports that Christian leaders who organized a children's summer camp in Uzbekistan now face criminal charges. Camp Joy first experienced attacks from a government-sponsored newspaper, followed by accusations of misusing property and coercively instructing children about Christianity without their parents' consent. "It's just simply a ridiculous charge," said Joel Griffith of Slavic Gospel Association. "For any children that would come to this camp, their parents sign an agreement allowing them to be able to come there. It's well-known that they're Baptist; it's known what the Baptist church teaches." The Baptist group is registered with the Uzbekistan government, and had previously avoided harassment by Islamic extremists.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - Aug. 5, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * N. Korean Leader reportedly Pardons U.S. Journalists
    * Pakistan Parliament Condemns Deadly Violence in Gojra
    * Christians Dispute Theory on Priest's Death in India
    * Faith Groups More Likely to Attract Volunteers

N. Korean Leader Reportedly Pardons U.S. Journalists

CNN reports that two U.S. journalists jailed in North Korea will soon come home. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ordered Laura Ling and Euna Lee pardoned and released after meeting with former U.S. President Bill Clinton Wednesday. "Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it," the state-run news agency KCNA reported. The paper insisted the move was "a manifestation of [North Korea]'s humanitarian and peace-loving policy." The journalists' families said they "are overjoyed by the news of their pardon. We are so grateful to our government" and those who worked to bring the women home. Their release comes just a week after reports that North Korea publicly executed a Christian woman on false charges.

Pakistan Parliament Condemns Deadly Violence in Gojra

ASSIST News Service reports that the Pakistani Parliament on Monday condemned the weekend killings of eight Christians in Gojra. Pakistan Parliament unanimously passed Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti's resolution to condemn the killings, and leaders urged that those responsible be given full punishments under the law. Still, the fact remains that Christians are relegated to the lower classes and deprived full rights under the law. "Considering minorities as their easy and soft targets, extremist elements are targeting them," Bhatti said. Meanwhile, The Associated Press reports that police questioned more than 200 people in connection with the deaths. Police are unsure if the mob that killed the Christians was spontaneous or coordinated by a militant group.

Christians Dispute Theory on Priest's Death in India

Compass Direct News reports that the suspicious death of a 39-year-old priest in the southern state of Karnataka has further terrified Christians living in an area. Police, however, indicate that they doubt it is a homicide. The body of the parish priest of St. Mary's Church, the Rev. James Mukalel, was found lying near his motorbike in Belthangady sub-district near Mangalore early on July 30. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) maintains that Mukalel, from Belthangady's Syro-Malabar diocese, was killed. Officials at the CBCI said the death of the priest appeared to be suspicious and unnatural, as his body was found nearly naked lying on a remote roadside near the motorbike he had been riding. Superintendent of Police Subramayeshwar Rao told Compass that police believe Fr. James Mukalel died of poisoning, but are unsure if it was natural food poisoning or a deliberate act.

Faith Groups More Likely to Attract Volunteers

Religion News Service reports that more than one-third of the country's almost 62 million volunteers served through religious organizations last year, according to a recent survey by the Corporation for National and Community Service. "Religious organizations are a key source of potential volunteers for nonprofit organizations," said Nicola Goren, the corporation's chief executive officer. The "Volunteering in America 2009" report released on July 28 showed that adults over the age of 65 and youth who regularly attend religious services are more likely than general volunteers to serve in faith-based organizations. Also, youth from disadvantaged circumstances, who are least likely to volunteer, are most likely, when they do volunteer, to do so through their religious congregation.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - Aug. 6, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Police in Bangladesh Torture Pastor, Two Others
    * Oldest Known Portrait of St. Paul Revealed
    * No Pardons for Thousands of North Korean Prisoners
    * Global Distribution of Scripture Drops Slightly

Police in Bangladesh Torture Pastor, Two Others

Compass Direct News reports that police in western Bangladesh have tortured a pastor and two other Christians for legally proclaiming Christ at the urging of local Muslim leaders,. Habibur Rahman, 45, pastor of Boalia Spiritual Church (Boalia Ruhani Jamat) in Boalia in Cuadanga district, 220 kilometers (136 miles) west of Dhaka, said he was about to meet with 11 others for a monthly meeting on evangelism at 8 p.m. on June 8 when local police stormed in and seized him and Zahid Hassan, 25, and a 40-year-old Christian identified only as Fazlur. Police blindfolded them and took them to Shamvunagar police camp. "While beating us, police told us there will be no Christian in this area," the pastor said. "Police hurt our hands, lips, thighs and faces with burning cigarettes. They beat me in the joints of my limbs with a wooden club. They beat us for one hour, and I became senseless at some point."

Oldest Known Portrait of St. Paul Revealed

The U.K.-based Times Online reports that Vatican archaeologists have revealed what they believe to be the oldest known portrait of St. Paul. The portrait, which is in accord with later depictions of the apostle, dates to the 4th century. The discovery and restoration of the portrait was "an extraordinary event," said Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Archaeologists found the artifact in the catacombs of St. Thecla, nearby the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls. The Vatican recently confirmed further evidence that the remains at the site are the apostle's, corroborating centuries of tradition. The discovery comes just days after the end of a "Pauline year," when the Vatican again focused on the apostle's message and ministry.

No Pardons for Thousands of North Korean Prisoners

Christian News Wire reports that two U.S. journalists have returned home to their friends and family, but thousands of other political prisoners remain behind bars in North Korea. According to Open Doors USA, an international watchdog for the persecuted church, North Korea is suspected of detaining more political and religious prisoners than any other country in the world. An estimated 200,000 are behind bars. That number includes 40,000-60,000 Christians. North Koreans can be imprisoned for virtually any state-defined crime such as owning a Bible, making a negative comment about the regime, failing to have a picture of Kim Il-Sung in their house and traveling to China to look for food and freedom. The country has ranked at the top of Open Doors' Watch list for seven years in a row.

Global Distribution of Scripture Drops Slightly

ASSIST News Service reports that world distribution of the Bible and Scripture portions has dropped slightly since last year. According to the United Bible Societies, based in Reading, England, the 145 member societies distributed more complete Bibles in 2008 than in the previous year but fewer portions and Scripture elections. Almost 28.5 million complete Bibles were distributed, roughly 5 percent more than in 2007 (27 million). The result for New Testaments was 11.6 million in 2008 and 13 million in the previous year -- a decline of 11 percent. The distribution of Bible portions fell by 5 percent from 16.2 million in 2007 to 15.4 million in 2008. In all, 382 million Scriptures were distributed last year compared to 391 million in 2007.

[nChrist]

Pakistani Christians Stage Protest Rallies after Violence
Dan Wooding and Sheraz Khurram Khan


August 7, 2009

LAHORE, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Some 3,000 Christian residents of Yohannabad on Wednesday (August 5) took out a protest rally under the aegis of Pakistan Christian National Party (PCNP) to condemn Muslim violence against Christians in Gojra on August 1 in which some eight Christians were killed.

Yohannabad, the largest colony in Asia is home to some 35,000 Christian families.

Angry participants of the rally, who were holding black flags shouted slogans against government and demanded arrests of culprits behind Gojra violence within a week. They also set tires to fire and blocked the road.

The speakers at the meeting demanded of the government to ensure protection of lives and properties of Christians of Pakistan. They said that the peace-loving and patriotic Christian residents of the country have same rights as Muslim citizens.

Addressing the rally Chairman PCNP, Mr. Joseph Francis demanded that all people accused of blasphemy should be bailed out and "false" and "baseless" cases against them be quashed.

Mr. Francis condemned Gojra violence and urged people to pray for victims' families and Christians of Gojra.

As PCNP spokesperson, Mr. Sohail Johnson told ANS that PCNP activists had also staged protest demonstration in Karachi.

PCNP had decided to observe August 11 as "Black Day." He said a rally would be taken out on August 11 from High Court Lahore to Punjab Assembly.

Mr. Johnson feared that if extremist militants were not curbed they would start committing Gojra-like violence against Christians across Pakistan.

"In that case it would not only leave minorities more insecure but would bring a bad name to country as well," feared Johnson.
Johnson apprehended that If Pakistani Christians continued to suffer violence at the hands of extremists and miscreants then they at some point would start hating Pakistan.

"Increasing violence, discrimination and injustice against Christians will breed rebellion among them," Johnson remarked.
He called for media trial of the Gojra incident and demanded of the government to set an example by meting out exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of Gojra violence.

Mr. Johnson urged prospective donor individuals and funding organizations to give their donations to the Release International, UK and HMK Germany "so that these funds could be used for rehabilitation of affected Christians of Gojra."

He urged Christians of Pakistan to come forward and play their role in rehabilitation of Gojra victims.

He appealed to the Christians across Pakistan to give sacrifice of their money, time and talents to restore and rehabilitate affected Christians of Gojra.

Terming Gojra violence as the fifth biggest incident of violence against Pakistani Christians in 2009, Mr. Johnson said that Pakistani Christians should stand by their brethren who suffered worst kind of violence.

Criticizing semi-literate Muslim clerics, he said they were propagating religious intolerance in the country through hate preaching. He called for appointment of educated clerics in mosques.

He flayed police and district administration Gojra for their negligence. "Did the officials at the nearby police station not hear inflammatory speeches of clerics? Why did police not take timely action to stop them," Johnson argued.

Mr. Johnson said that Islam does not advocate killings of innocent people. "Islam does not teach burning people to death. It rather teaches its followers to live in peace and harmony," he said.

He said the law enforcement agencies should stop Muslim clerics to make speeches against Christians and people of other religions during their Friday sermons.

The Muslim clerics, he said, make hate speeches on design to earn "cheap popularity."

"Do these extremists want to create Orissa-like situation for Pakistani Christians?" he asked.

If government wants to avert such an eventuality then it would have to take stringent measures aimed at protecting lives and properties of Pakistani Christians, he warned.

Mr. Johnson called for measures aimed at reigning in hardline Muslim clerics, extremists and fundamentalists. He feared that Pakistan's image in the comity of the nations would be further damaged if extremist elements in the country were not bridled.

Hailing Pakistani Christians' contribution in the creation and development of Pakistan, Mr. Johnson said that Pakistani Christians have played a vital role in the fields of education and medical.

"Today were are forced to observe August 11 as Black Day because minorities are being subjected to violence and attacks."

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - Aug. 7, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Pakistan Rights Group: Christian Riots Planned
    * Nigeria: Girl Forced to Watch Pastor's Brutal Murder
    * Honduras: Political Instability Hurts Missions
    * Turkey: Christian Held Hostage at Knife Point in Istanbul

Pakistan Rights Group: Christian Riots Planned

The Associated Press reports that last weekend's deadly attack on Christians was planned by an group with al-Qaida links. According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan head Asma Jahangir, interviews with victims' families and witnesses said many attackers came from a neighboring district known as a stronghold of banned militant groups. "The attackers seemed to be trained for carrying out such activities," she said. Muslim clerics were also implicated, she said, as many of them had encouraged Muslims the day before to "make mincemeat of the Christians." Other reports indicate that militants fleeing an army offensive in northwest Swat Valley were also involved in the killings. The verbal attacks culminated in mob violence that killed eight Christians.

Nigeria: Girl Forced to Watch Pastor's Brutal Murder

Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that a 13-year-old Nigerian Christian was forced to watch her pastor's murder during recent violence. She was also held as a prisoner in the besieged compound of Islamist group Boko Haram for four days. On July 26, Mary was in church with her pastor, his brother and an older Christian woman when a group of fifty militants broke in. She and her pastor hid as the group killed the pastor's brother and dragged the older woman out of the room. On discovering their hiding place, the militants cut off her pastor's hand to stop him holding on to her, then hacked him to death with machetes before setting him on fire. Mary says she was forced to wash the blood stained clothing of Boko Haram fighters. She managed to escape with a few others when military forces intensified their attack on the compound.

Honduras: Political Instability Hurts Missions

Mission News Network reports that political limbo in Honduras has hampered missions and compounded a growing humanitarian problem. Twenty-four hour curfews have prevented people from accessing water, food, medical care and even shelter. Military troops patrol many areas of the country, raising tensions even higher. John Lowrey with Christian Resources International says his group's mission trip has been continually pushed backward, ultimately leading them to cancel the trip. "We did go ahead and ship all of the materials that we intended to use for our ministry while we were in country," Lowrey said. "We shipped it to [a Honduran pastor] so those resources are there. And we also had a pastor and his wife from Mississippi that chose to go ahead and do the trip on their own."

Turkey: Christian Held Hostage at Knife Point in Istanbul

Compass Direct News reports that a young Muslim in Turkey took a Christian Turk at knife point in a bizarre show of Turkish nationalism. Yasin Karasu, 24, took Ismail Aydýn, 35, hostage and draped his head with the national flag and threatened to slit the throat of the "missionary dog" in broad daylight earlier this week. Police quickly arrived at the scene, while Karasu held them at bay with threats to kill Aydýn. "Do you see this missionary dog?" he yelled at the crowd. "He is handing out gospels and he is breaking up the country!" Police managed to convince Karasu to put down the knife and release Aydin, telling him that if he killed the convert Turkey would be ridiculed around the world, and that as a last resort they were authorized to shoot to kill him. The ordeal lasted less than half an hour.

[nChrist]

Authorities in Vietnam Raid, Threaten House Churches
Special to Compass Direct News


August 10, 2009

HANOI (Compass Direct News) -- Local authorities in Vietnam have balked at registering house churches, contributing to a recent uptick in sometimes violent harassment of congregations.

Four police officers and two government officials broke up the Sunday morning worship service of a house church in Tran Phu Commune in Hanoi on July 26, announcing that it was illegal to worship and teach religion. The police chief of Tran Phu Commune in greater Hanoi, Dang Dinh Toi, had ordered the raid.

When Christians under the leadership of Pastor Dang Thi Dinh refused to sign a document admitting they were meeting illegally, an angry police officer shouted, "If I find you meeting here next Sunday, I will kill you all like I'd kill a dog!"

Officials had previously refused to grant the church's application for registration. Pastor Dinh and the national leader of the Ecclesia Revival denomination, Pastor Vo Xuan Loan, appealed to commune authorities the following day -- again trying to register the church according to the Prime Minister's 2005 Special Directive Concerning Protestants.

The commune head angrily proclaimed, "There are absolutely no Christians in this commune!" and then shooed them away, church leaders reported.

In nearby Hung Yen province, an Agape Baptist house church led by Pastor Duong Van Tuan was raided several times in June. Since then Compass learned from Pastor Tuan that his wife Nguyen Thi Vuong was badly abused on June 21. A group of policemen roughed her up, and then two of them seized her by her arms and repeatedly banged her head into a wall, he said.

When she fainted, Pastor Tuan said, they dragged her out and dumped her in a nearby field. Fellow Christians took her to medical care. The church situation remains unresolved.

Also in the north, in Viet Thuan Commune of Thai Binh Province, commune police broke up a house church meeting of the Vietnam Good News Mission Church on July 25, seizing seven hymnals and summoning Pastor Bui Xuan Tuyen to the police station for interrogation. In a letter to his superiors, Pastor Tuyen complained of police cursing and scolding him.

They confiscated his motorbike and sent it to a distant district office. In spite of such pressure, he refused to write a confession for what they termed his "crimes." He was held until 10 p.m. before being released to collect his motorbike.

Southern Troubles

The situation is not better in the south. On Friday (July 31) Vietnam Good News Mission Church Pastor Mai Hong Sanh was subjected to a public denunciation and trial reminiscent of 1950s-style communism in the town of Ea Hleo, in Dak Lak Province.

He was sentenced to three months of "local re-education" for expanding his house without permission and giving religious training without permission -- both practically impossible for Christians to obtain -- and "causing social division." This was the government's answer to his church's aspirations and attempts to provide training for ethnic minority church workers at Pastor Sanh's home.

As a result, he can go nowhere without prior permission and must submit to political indoctrination courses at the whim of local officials. About 120 people, mostly town officials and police, attended his "trial" -- Pastor Sanh was not allowed to defend himself, and authorities marshaled people they said were members of another church to accuse him, Christian sources said.

On Sunday (Aug. 2), some 15 policemen barged into a house church worship service in Xuan Thoi Thuong Commune, Hoc Mon district, Ho Chi Minh City. Brandishing batons and electric prods, police demanded that people leave immediately, according to local sources. Two new believers fled, they said, but most of the small congregation remained.

In a show of force, police officers also lined up outside the house and announced to curious neighbors who had gathered, "If anyone of you come to Chinh's house and believe in his God, you will be in deep trouble," according to the sources. Nguyen Van Chinh, leader of this independent house church, had been receiving such visits and threats by security forces since January.

Following the advice of local authorities, he had tried to register his house church as provided by Vietnamese law, but to no avail. At midnight on July 24, five police officers beat on his door demanding to be let in "to check IDs."

Though he had submitted a registration application months before, they told him that "future zoning would not allow religious activities" and that he must permanently cease church meetings, sources said. When his congregation continued meeting, he was issued an "administrative fine," which he appealed. His house church continued worshiping, leading to Sunday's raid.

Church leaders said such incidents are representative of many others not reported for security reasons. Asked about the reasons for this uptick in harassment, church leaders strongly agreed that it is a firm though unwritten government policy to try to stop any expansion of Christianity. They said the harassment was so widespread that it must have approval from the top level of the central government.

All of the churches in this report tried to register according to supposedly clear government guidelines but have been denied without a legitimate reason.

Christian leaders also observed that Vietnam, having achieved its goal of getting off the U.S. religious liberty black list and won accession to the World Trade Organization, no longer worries much about international opinion. Others added that authorities, who retain a special suspicion of Christianity, are trying to suppress any expressions of the widely growing discontent with Vietnam's government and the Communist Party.

At the same time, Catholics have been involved in larger clashes with authorities and with gangs of thugs widely believed to be hired and stirred up by the government. The government-backed gangs have beaten Catholic families. A fierce clash between Catholics and the government flared up in Dong Hoi City, in central Quang Binh province, on July 22. Police and hoodlums interfered with some 200 faithful trying to rebuild part of the bombed out Tam Toa Cathedral.

Reminding Catholics of the heavy-handed ending to church property claims in Hanoi last year, this incident quickly got the support of Catholics around the country. Some estimated that up to 500,000 Catholics nationwide participated in prayer vigils the following Sunday.

According to a long-time Compass source on Vietnam, the legally registered Protestant bodies are no more optimistic than their Catholic counterparts. Their leaders complain of unending bureaucratic blockages, harassment and interference.

"Overall, there is more pessimism today than four or five years ago, when people had hopes that new religion regulations might lead to steady improvement," the source said.

"But it was not to be. Hence trust in government promises to improve religious liberty is at a very low ebb."

[nChrist]

Pakistani Christians Worldwide Protest Gojra Killings
Dan Wooding and Sheraz Khurram Khan


August 11, 2009

ONTARIO, CANADA (ANS) --Canadian Pakistani Christians on Saturday (August 8 ) assembled in front of Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Queen's Park under the aegis of the International Christian Voice (ICV) to condemn recent incidents of violence against Pakistani Christians.

Christians in India also protested in front of the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi on Friday, calling for "strong action" against the perpetrators of anti-Christian violence in a memorandum addressed to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari.

A large number of expatriate Pakistani Christians in Canada including some relatives of the victims of Gojra violence along with representatives of churches, members of human rights organizations and members of parliament participated in the demonstration.

The prominent churches and organizations which backed and joined the Saturday protest demonstration included the Evangelical Asian Church, the New Covenant Church of Canada, the All Nations Bible Church, the Asian Christian Alliance Church, the South Asian Bible Church, the Cornerstone Asian Church, the Redeemer South Asian Fellowship, Hamilton and the Canadian Christian Association.

Prominent from among demonstrators included Pastor Sarwar Dean, Pastor Alexandra David, Pastor Samuel Gori, Pastor Carol Patrick, Pastor Salim Arthur, Pastor Peter Paul, Pastor Javid Akhtar, Romila Mallo, Pervaiz Masih, President of the International Christian Voice, Sabestian Gill, Shahbaz Sandhu, Tabassum Iqbal, Obeid Newton, Augustine James, human rights activist Mark Parsud and Agnes Tabbasum, ubgone19 Farooq, Waseem Iqbal and Benett Shahzad.

Addressing demonstrators, the Chairman of the International Christian Voice (ICV), Mr. Peter Bhatti condemned torching of Christians' houses by extremists and miscreants in Pakistan on August 30 and August 1 in Korian and Gojra respectively.

Mr. Peter said the expatriate Christians and like-minded people had gathered in front of Legislative assembly of Ontario to express their sympathy and solidarity with victims' families. Eight Pakistani Christians lost their lives as a result of August 1 Gojra carnage.

"We equally share the grief and sorrow of Pakistani Christians and stand with them during this difficult time.

"We have come here to record our protest against the worst kind of brutalities Christians have been subjected to recently", said ICV chairman Mr.Peter Bhatti.

Terming minorities as "sons of soil", Mr. Peter Bhatti commended minorities for the role they have played in prosperity, development and integrity of the country.

Minorities' vital vote in partition of Punjab contributed towards creation of Pakistan, he recalled.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr.Peter Bhatti hailed minorities for their role in the field of medicine. "They have always played a significant role in serving suffering humanity", he said.

He also praised missionary educational institutions for serving the nation.

Mr. Peter Bhatti emphasized that minorities had always endeavoured for peace and harmony. He regretted that peace-loving, patriotic and innocent Pakistani Christians, who he said have never been involved in any act of terrorism or violence become victims of menace of terrorism.

He said minorities were seen as easy and soft targets by miscreants and extremists.

Mr. Peter Bhatti went on to say: "The incident of Gojra has hampered efforts to promote interfaith harmony and national unity and has tarnished the image of the Pakistan.

"Rumors of disgracing of The Quran (Muslim holy book) have been unnecessarily blown out of proportion.

"Police investigated blasphemy accusations but up to now, they could not find any witness to alleged blasphemy.

"The crime of committing blasphemy has not been proven against a single Pakistani Christian, since this law has been introduced".

He added: "Gojra and Korian violence is a result of criminal negligence of the police.

"Government of Punjab has failed to protect lives and properties of religious minorities of Pakistan. The Christians of Pakistan would not have suffered deaths if local government had taken timely action."

The Chairman of the International Christian Voice appealed to all human rights organizations, political parties and to all peace loving Canadians and the international community to condemn this heinous act of violence against Christians and stand by the Christians of Pakistan in their pursuit of justice.

"We urge the international community to exercise its influence on the Pakistan government so that they can ensure lives and properties of religious minorities of Pakistan," said Peter Bhatti.

Condemning Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws he said: "We demand that the blasphemy law and other discriminatory laws be repealed. They (the blasphemy laws) are a tool in the hands of those who want to exploit religion to their advantage," he said..

Mr. Peter Bhatti demanded that the culprits behind Korian and Gojra violence should be awarded exemplary punishments according to the law of the land and victims' families be rehabilitated.

"We Pakistani Canadians demand the rights of minorities should be protected according to the vision of founding father Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and constitutional guarantees given by 1973 constitution," he said.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - Aug. 10, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Death Toll Climbs in Islamic Attack in Nigeria
    * China False Evidence Accepted at Christian's Trial
    * Russian Orthodox Head Rejects Calls for Independent Church in Ukraine
    * Charities Wary of 'Cash for Clunkers'

Death Toll Climbs in Islamic Attack in Nigeria

Compass Direct News reports that 12 Christians, including three pastors, have been confirmed killed in rioting ignited by an Islamic sect, but that number may rise. "We are still taking inventory of how the crisis affected our members, but so far we have confirmed some of the Christians killed and churches burnt," Samuel Salifu, national secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), told Compass. Rampaging members of the sect burned 20 churches before police captured and killed Boko Haram's leader, Mohammed Yusuf. The chairman of the Borno state chapter of CAN, the Rev. Yuguda Zubabai Ndurvuwa, said many Christians abducted by Boku Haram extremists were yet to be found.

China: False Evidence Accepted at Christian's Trial

Mission News Network reports that a detained Uyghur Christian in China faced a trial stuffed with forged documents. The Kashi District Intermediate People's Court in Xinjiang openly used forged documents to accuse Alimujiang Yimiti of "revealing state secrets or intelligence to overseas organizations," saying they were under no obligation to prove the documents' validity. Yimiti's family was barred from the trial, where he was convicted with the falsified evidence. Only his two lawyers were allowed inside the courtroom. Yimiti's wife and two sons have seen him only once -- en route to a police car -- since he was detained 18 months ago. His family said they are disappointed that "such a wrongful case" proved "so difficult." The court has not yet handed down its verdict.

Russian Orthodox Head Rejects Calls for Independent Church in Ukraine

The Christian Post reports that Ukrainians will not easily establish a church independent of Moscow, despite thawing relationships with the Russian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Kirill told Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko last Monday that a local church "already exists" under his headship. "But wounds have formed in this church," he acknowledged, according to The Associated Press, "and these wounds must be healed." Some churches in Ukraine have proclaimed themselves independent of Moscow, but the world's orthodox spiritual leader, Bartholomew I of Constantinople, has yet to speak clearly for either side. The request is part of Ukraine's ongoing efforts for cultural independence from Russia.

Charities Wary of 'Cash for Clunkers'

The Christian Post reports that the government's "cash for clunkers" initiative may further impact charities that accept cars as donations. "One man's clunker is another man's coat" said Ron Marlette, executive director of Mission Solano that operates a charitable car lot in Fairfield, Calif. His group accepts and then resells old cars to fund their mission to the homeless. "It is too early to know how much we will be hurt by the Cash for Clunkers program, but we know we can't compete with the government's checkbook," he said. "Our donations were already down due to the economy as people are driving their old cars longer or brokering a sale themselves. The Cash for Clunkers program could shut us down."

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - Aug. 11, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Lutheran Groups Spar over Inclusion of Gay Pastors
    * Principal, Coach Face Criminal Charges for Prayer at Luncheon
    * International Community Urged to Bring Change to Burma
    * Pakistani Police 'Torture, Kill' Christian Man

Lutheran Groups Spar over Inclusion of Gay Pastors

The Minnesota Independent reports that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will be the next denomination to address the role GLBT pastors and leaders. Thousands of ELCA leaders will meet August 17 in Minneapolis to decide whether openly gay pastors in committed relationships may serve in the pulpit. Leaders will also vote on a "social statement" that would "soften" the church's position on homosexuality. Both supporters and detractors have been vocal. "The proposals are in fact no compromise," conservative group CORE wrote in a letter to delegates. "They clearly imply that same-sex blessings and the ordination and rostering of homosexual persons in committed relationships are acceptable within the ELCA. The teaching of the church will be changed."

Principal, Coach Face Criminal Charges for Prayer at Luncheon

Christian News Wire reports that a high school principal and athletic director now face criminal contempt charges for a prayer offered at a field house luncheon. Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman offered a prayer to bless the meal served to consenting adults at the appreciation luncheon, the ACLU alleges. Based on the ACLU's allegations, U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers has now initiated criminal contempt proceedings and has referred Lay and Freeman to the United States Attorney's office for prosecution. The men allegedly violated a broader injunction the ACLU forced into place at the school that essentially prohibits bans all employees from engaging in prayer or religious activities, whether before, during, or after school hours.

International Community Urged to Bring Change to Burma

Christian Today reports that a human rights organization marked the anniversary of Burma's violent suppression of pro-democracy protests with pleas to the international community. Several thousand demonstrators, many of them students, died when Burma's military junta squashed the movement on August 8, 1988. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) accused the regime of perpetuating "gross violations" of human rights. "It is essential that we do not simply remember this anniversary as yet another in Burma's tragic history of brutal oppression," said CSW's East Asia team leader Benedict Rogers. More than 2,000 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, remain in prison in the country.

Pakistani Police 'Torture, Kill' Christian Man

Worthy News reports that police tortured a Christian man to death on false charges of bootlegging, his family said Thursday. Shafiq Masih, 46, was detained on suspicion of bootlegging in Sargodha, Punjab province, even though Christians are issued permits to keep liquor and drink alcoholic beverages. Witnesses of the July 12 incident said police beat Masih "in such a ruthless manner that skin of his feet was devoured and bleeding." Masih was eventually admitted to Sargodha's District Headquarters Hospital with serious injuries, and died at the hospital. One Christian resident, Salamat Masih, told Worthy News that police paid Masih's three heirs several thousand dollars on the condition that they not insist on an autopsy or take legal action.