The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) and a coalition of human rights groups have today called for a resolution proposed by Jordan in advance of the 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) — which starts tomorrow — to be “firmly rejected.” The resolution proposed “strongly condemns insults against any religion, its values, principles, books, symbols,…
Baroness Berridge, the chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, today is encouraging Christians in Britain to write letters of solidarity to persecuted fellow believers across the world. The call comes as part of the 40acts programme, which prompts people do a different act of generosity each day during Lent. This…
At least 17 people were killed, and 80 others injured, as two churches in the main Christian district of Lahore, Pakistan, were attacked yesterday, reports World Watch Monitor. An Islamist group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, linked to the Pakistan Taliban, has claimed responsibility. At least two of the young attackers blew themselves up – one at each church…
The UN Human Rights Council has been told by United Nations human rights expert Heiner Bielefeldt, presenting his latest report, that violence committed in the name of religion does not simply ‘erupt’, but is typically caused by contemporary factors and actors that provide the fertile ground for the seeds of hatred. The Geneva press release continues:…
Today the Christians in Parliament All Party Parliamentary Group and the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief launched a joint report on The Persecution of Christians in Iran. In the introduction to the report, the Co-Chairs of the Enquiry, David Burrowes MP and Baroness Berridge of the Vale of Catmose, write: “This is…
Baroness Cox has contributed today’s Credo in The Times: Don’t walk on by: the persecuted of all creeds need you Some passages in the Bible resound with what I think of as a “reverse echo”. Like an echo, they reverberate through the generations, repeating the same message, but unlike an echo, whose sound becomes fainter…
“My husband Raif Badawi was punished with 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes for voicing his opinion on a blog. Now I hear he could even be executed — but in 48 hours, Germany’s Minister of Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel will travel to Saudi Arabia and a huge call from all of us can…
The Bishop of Coventry wrote under this heading in The Sunday Express on 22 February: THE PEOPLE of the Cross, the followers of the hostile Egyptian Church… That is how IS militants described the 21 Coptic Christians they captured, murdered then publicised around the world a week ago. This is the latest in an increasingly…
The All Party Parliamentary Groups for International Freedom of Religion or Belief and Christians in Parliament are launching their Joint Report on The Persecution of Christians in Iran on Tuesday 10th March 2015 at 3pm – 4.30pm. The venue is Committee Room 19 of the House of Commons, and the special guest speaker is Tobias Ellwood MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary…
The Guardian has reported that families in Turkey are finding it increasingly difficult to find a school for their children that does not teach Sunni Islamic religion and Sunni religious practices. Critics have suggested that the government of the ruling Turkish Justice and Development party (AKP) is seeking to reshape the system along Sunni Islamic…