South African Christian News: Telling the God Stories of Africa
Compiled from reports (see below) Indonesia’s highest profile Christian politician is tonight in a prison cell, sentenced to two years for blasphemy, and the country’s reputation for pluralism and religious tolerance is in peril. The district court where the verdict was announced was surrounded by radical Islamist mobs calling for […]
Originally published in Morning Star News A court in Pakistan has sentenced a Christian to life in prison under the country’s blasphemy laws in spite of scanty evidence, an advocacy official said. Nasir Saeed said a trial court in Rawalpindi sentenced Zafar Bhatti to life imprisonment, even though conviction under Section […]
Originally published in Christian Examiner. Jakarta’s once-popular Christian governor – an anomaly in a predominantly Muslim nation – may be charged with blasphemy for quoting the Quran in what hardline Muslims deemed a “disrespectful” manner. The charge against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (known as “Ahok”) comes as the capital province is preparing […]
Originally published in The Christian Post Pakistan’s Supreme Court has finally set a court date for the final appeal hearing for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five who was sentenced to death in 2010 on accusations of blasphemy. According to the Christian persecution watchdog agency International Christian Concern, Bibi, […]
A brief overview of the US State Department’s 2015 International Religious Freedom Report Originally published in World Watch Monitor The following are a selection of news stories covered over the past three months that highlight the extent of the suppression of religious freedom: Algerian Christian gets maximum sentence for ‘blasphemy’ Chinese […]
Originally published in World Watch Monitor Christians in Kano, the largest city in mainly-Muslim northern Nigeria, were bracing for widespread violence following the June 2 killing of a Christian woman, but the weekend and Sunday services passed without further violence. Bridget Patience Agbahime, 74, originally from the southern state of […]
Originally published in Christian Today Pakistan’s infamous blasphemy laws will not be changed after a deal between government and hardline Islamists on Wednesday afternoon. The settlement promised that prisoners convicted of blasphemy, which carries the death penalty in Pakistan, will be shown no leniency. The negotiation marked the end of […]
Originally published in Fox News Pakistan on Monday (February 29, 2016) hanged the convicted killer of a former governor, shot in 2011 by his bodyguard who accused him of blasphemy, officials said. The execution triggered protests in several cities denouncing the hanging after some religious and political leaders, as well […]
Originally published in World Watch Monitor In a landmark judgment on 7 October the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) upheld the death sentence of Malik Mumtaz Qadri, 30, who murdered the former Governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, a liberal Muslim, on 4 January, 2011. Qadri, one of Taseer’s official bodyguards […]
Originally published in The Gospel Herald A Christian pastor who worked to protect the human rights of Pakistani believers was killed by Pakistani policeman after being accused of blasphemy Reuters reports that pastor Zafar Bhatti was shot and killed in jail on Thursday while imprisoned in Rawalpindi, next to the capital, […]