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A baby girl, her seven-year-old sister and their grandmother suffocated to death after a Pakistani mob set fire to the homes of Ahmadi Muslims in protest at a Facebook post by a young man. An expectant mother also miscarried her baby after the attack.

It happened after an argument between some men in Gujranwala town, 140 miles southeast of Islamabad, on 27 July.

The young man, who was not injured, is alleged to have posted a blasphemous photo with nudity showing the Kaaba shrine at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, according to local police official Zeeshan Siddiqi.

A crowd of 150 people then went to a police station and demanded a blasphemy case should be registered against the man. At the same time another mob appeared and began burning the houses inhabited by the Ahmadi community.

Salim ud Din, from the Ahmadi community, said it was the worst attack suffered by the group since 86 Ahmadis were killed during a mob spree four years ago against places of worship. He said police did not try to stop the mob – an accusation denied by police.

He said: “First they looted their homes and shops and then they burnt the homes.”

The Ahmadis are a religious group which claim an identity as Muslims but they believe in another prophet after Mohammed. They are considered non-Muslims by a law passed in Pakistan in 1984 and are one of the ‘most relentlessly persecuted communities’ in the country, according to the BBC. They are not allowed to use Muslim greetings, say Muslim prayers or refer to their worship place as a mosque.

Some 100 people have been accused of blasphemy under Pakistani legislation this year, to date, according to The Telegraph.

 

More than 100,000 minority Rohingya Muslims held in camps due to violence by Buddhist extremists face ‘systematic discriminisation’, according to the new United Nations Human Rights Envoy for Myanmar, Yanghee Lee.

On July 26, Lee spoke after a 10-day fact-finding mission to the region where she applauded the country’s development in human rights but warned there was a danger of ‘backtracking’ by the government elected in 2011, according to The Associated Press.  She visited western Rakhine state during her visit where violence between the two religious communities has caused the deaths of 280 people and left 140,000 homeless – most of them Muslims now living in slum camps. Myanmar is majority Buddhist and the Muslims are denied citizenship.

Lee said: “By virtue of their legal status (or lack of), the Muslim community has faced and continues to face systematic discrimination, which include restrictions in the freedom of movement, restrictions in access to land, food, water, education and health care, and restrictions on marriages and birth registration.”

“The situation is deplorable,” she added, and referred to the fact that camp residents had no access to basic services. This poor health care had caused deaths, such as from pregnancy-related issues suffered by Muslim women.

Lee expressed concern about media coverage inciting violence in the country and new laws protecting the Buddhist majority which would limit the civil rights of the Muslims.

The findings of the UN Envoy will be presented to the United Nations General Assembly later this year.

Iraqi Christians forced out of their city after a serious death threat from Islamic militant fanatics have been offered asylum by the Government of France.

The Christian community of Mosul, considered one of the oldest in the world, fled the country’s second largest city on 19 July after the Islamic State Group (IS) formerly known as ISIS told them to either become Muslims, pay a protection tax – or die. A logo of ‘N’ for Nazarene was daubed on the doors of the homes of Christians by the terror group.

Most of the community of  35,000 left the city that day including children, the disabled and the elderly. Read earlier news article. Just 20 families now remain in Mosul, says the UN, which has been declared capital of the Islamic State by the militants who have previously crucified people including Christians in Syria, according to The Telegraph and other news sources.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Bernard Cazeneuve, Interior Minister, issued a joint statement on behalf of the French Socialist Government about the plight of the Mosul Christians.

The statement read: “France is outraged by these abuses that it condemns with the utmost firmness. We are ready, if they so desire, to help facilitate asylum on our territory.

“The ultimatum given to these communities in Mosul by IS is the latest tragic example of the terrible threat that militant groups in Iraq, but also in Syria and elsewhere, pose to these populations that are historically an integral part of this region.”

Some 5,000 French people gathered in a rally outside Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral to show support for Iraqi Christians on 27 July. A similar event happened in Lyons, reports France 24 with two French catholic bishops announcing they would travel to Mosul this week to support the remaining Christian families.

Meanwhile Baroness Berridge, chair of the APPG on Religious Freedom or Belief, has tabled a written question to the British Government asking if the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme will be extended to include Iraqi refugees fleeing religious persecution.

Hundreds of Muslims and Christians in Baghdad held a rally in public on 27 July to express solidarity with the Mosul Christian community. Muslims have also been targeted by the IS militants. Canon Andrew White, the Vicar of St George’s Church in Baghdad, told BBC Radio Four last weekend that people from his church, which includes Muslims as well as Christians, are disappearing. He said the IS group was bringing the ‘end of Christianity’ very near in Iraq.

“We have had people massacred,” he added. “Their heads chopped off.”

Catholic Online has published a graphic online report showing photos of Christians from the region including a little girl who have been beheaded by the IS group extremists.

The Belfast Telegraph reports that Kurds have been fighting back against the extremists. Read the story here.

The former Religious Affairs Minister in Myanmar was charged in court on July 22 with undermining national security after he allegedly objected to a raid by Government officials from his own department against the Mahasantisukha monastery in Yangon’s Tamwe township which then led to protests by monks.

Hsan Sint is being held in Yamethin prison after he was sacked from the Government Cabinet and following the raid on June 10 which saw 300 riot police capture 20 monks – 15 of whom were released the next day.  Five other monks were given bail on June 20 following public protests. The monastery’s abbot Pyinya Wuntha was visiting Japan when the raid took place.

Hsan Sint, who is believed to be suffering from poor health, was initially charged with corruption after the incident took place. The corruption charge was later dropped which led to the release of eight other people originally detained with the former minister.

His lawyer Tin Htun told RFA’s Myanmar Service: “He said he is ready to face the charges against him and appeal a conviction if necessary, as he has evidence that could show he is innocent. We will do what we have to [to prove his innocence] according to law.”

The next court hearing against Hsan Sint will be held on July 30.

Myanmar’s government has faced international criticism for its handling of religious conversions and marriages of people from different faiths with legislation planned to protect the country’s majority Buddhist identity. The treatment of Muslim Rohingyas in the western Rakhine state with 250 people killed has also been noted by human rights groups since religious violence broke out in 2012.

Read more here.

Historian and author William Dalrymple says the death of Arab secularism is on the horizon as Christians are persecuted and pushed out of the Middle East with the past decade deemed especially ‘catastrophic’ for believers.

Some 12 million Christians in the region face persecution through Islamic fundamentalism, according to the well-known writer in a newspaper article for The Guardian, with killings of Coptic Christians and church burnings in Egypt; a mass emigration of Palestinian believers caught up in the Gaza conflict; and the rape and murder of Syrian Christians, who used to be 10 per cent of that country’s population.

Isis, the newly emerged Islamic militant group has caused many of the latest problems especially in Syria, as above, and Iraq. However some two thirds of Christians had already fled Iraq since the demise of Saddam Hussein due to persecution.

‘Almost everywhere Arab Christians are leaving’, says William Dalrymple, who added that ‘certainly since the 19^th century Christian Arabs have played a vital role in defining a secular Arab cultural identity.

Read more here.

 

On Thursday 24 July, the House of Lords debated the issue of International Freedom of Religion or Belief, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Lord Alton, a Vice Chair of this All Party Parliamentary Group, began his opening remarks by saying that not only was Article 18 a universal human right, it was a human right that is violated universally.

He said: “Article 18 is a foundational human right – many would say the foundational right – because, while there should be no hierarchy of rights and all rights are interdependent, without the freedom to choose, practise, share without coercion and change your beliefs, what freedom is there? As my noble friend Lord Sacks says, on this question, the fate of the 21st century may turn.”

Lord Alton highlighted too the vital work of the APPG on Freedom of Religion or Belief in revealing how Article 18 is ignored on a widespread  scale by authorities of various countries with 76 per cent of the global population living in countries hostile to their religious beliefs. Situations around the world were mentioned showing how people of all faiths and none have been suffering such as in Iraq where both Christians and Muslims have been recently crucified or beheaded by ISIS extremists. Iran, Nigeria, Sudan, Pakistan and Burma were also given as examples of countries where Article 18 is ignored.

In his closing statement, Lord Alton said: “Article 18 demands an end to suppression, persecution and gross injustice. It should be at the heart of our concerns, not an orphaned right.”

Baroness Cox, also a Vice Chair of this APPG, gave details about the widespread view that northern Nigeria is disintegrating and militant Islam could spread. She had just returned two weeks previously from a visit to the country where both Christians and Muslims have been  slaughtered on an almost-daily basis by Boko Haram. 

Baroness Berridge, chair of the APPG, also spoke during the debate about the fact that all continents have been affected by restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, highlighting situations facing Muslims in China, and Christians in Iran amongst others. She said the case of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag from Sudan ‘pinpoints’ the issue.

“It is the right of every human being to choose their own religion, to choose not to have a religion or to choose to change their religion. You may choose to follow the faith of your family but it is not like DNA: you do not have to inherit the faith of your parents.”

“This is a global crisis”, added Baroness Berridge who also said it was a priority issue for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. She said there were issues of enforcing the protection given by Article 18 closer to home and it should be a key part of a school curriculum.

Baroness Berridge added: “Article 18 will be the primary challenge in human rights law for the next generation.”

Lord Sacks called the situations of persecution spoken of by his colleagues in the House of Lords ‘most profound and disturbing’.

He said: “Seldom have I heard a more searing and devastating set of testimonies than I have heard today of the evils currently being committed in the name of the God of love and peace and compassion.”

People in the 21st century were being murdered, terrorized, victimized, intimidated and robbed of their liberties because of the way they worship God and that was a moral outrage, a political scandal and a desecration of faith itself, according to Lord Sacks. 

He added: “I believe that God himself weeps at the evils being committed in His name. Let us urge, as strongly as we can, the worldwide implementation of Article 18 as one of the great challenges of our time so that we can all exercise our fundamental right to live our faith without fear.”

The Minister who responded to the debate, Lord Wallace of Saltaire, promised that this coalition government will never step away from the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho spoke about the effect of restricting beliefs put online and the need for internet interaction to be both free and open.

She said: “I believe that we cannot debate Article 18 without also making sure that we are demanding a free and open internet. No Government should be allowed to shut down the platforms that enable people to express themselves. There are currently 44 countries worldwide that are censoring the internet, and this is immensely serious.”

Lord Elton cited Lord Alton’s earlier comments about the importance of education to deal with the issue. He said that communities of different religions might be meeting ‘at the bottom of the pile’ and living peacefully despite their difference in beliefs. But it was the ‘people at the top’ who were harder to access i.e. leaders.

He also leant on Lord Patten’s reference to persecution fires spreading to Indonesia, saying the fire of restricting beliefs was spreading elsewhere. One way to fight the ‘forces of evil’, said Lord Elton, would be to take the weapons of war away such as from the militants in Northern Nigeria.

Lord Parekh said some countries ‘mean well’ but there were difficulties enforcing freedom of religion rights. He also questioned whether proselytizing a faith was part of the remit of Article 18 and believed that modernity had unsettled religious acceptance amongst communities of different faiths.

Read the full debate here.

A mother of two young children who escaped court verdicts of flogging and death by hanging for her Christian beliefs has flown from the US embassy in Khartoum to Italy.

Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, her toddler son Martin, baby daughter Maya and wheelchair-bound husband Daniel were accompanied by Italian Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Lapo Pistelli during the journey. The minister posted a photo of the family on board the plane with the words, ‘mission accomplished’. It is thought that the government in Khartoum approved Meriam’s departure in advance and she travelled using a Sudanese passport suddenly issued to her.

Pope Francis later met Meriam for a half-hour meeting in his Santa Marta residence located in the Vatican and thanked her for her witness to faith.

A doctor by trade, Meriam has always been a Christian despite her absent father’s status as a Muslim and yet a Sudanese court sentenced her to death for apostasy earlier this year – whilst she was pregnant with Maya.

The mother was due to be executed by hanging when her child was two-years-old. She was also given a flogging sentence for marrying Daniel, a Christian and a joint US- South Sudanese citizen. Meriam’s son Martin, also a US citizen, stayed with her in prison. Later she gave birth to Maya with her legs in chains.

International outcry led to Meriam’s release but Sudanese officials detained her again when she was leaving the country at Khartoum Airport. This time she faced forgery charges related to travel documents. There was also a legal wrangle from people claiming to be her Muslim family. The US embassy accommodated the family for a month before they were allowed to leave for Italy.

The Bishop of Tambura-Yambio in South Sudan, Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, has said Meriam’s case was not isolated and the legal situation of Christians in Sudan is ‘worrying’.

Violence against Jewish people in Paris has been condemned by the Prime Minister of France.

A synagogue and shops were looted by a masked mob on the rampage protesting against Israel’s military action in Gaza. A funeral parlour and a pharmacy were amongst the premises damaged during the illegal protest which turned violent on Sunday (20 July).

It happened in the Sarcelles suburb not far from the French city. The local Mayor said such violence had never been seen in the Parisian location before and the Sephardic Jewish community was now living in fear.

PM Manuel Valls condemned the violence at a ceremony commemorating the 72^nd anniversary of the Val d’Hive  which saw 7,000 Jews packed by Nazi-compliant French police into the Velodrome d’Hiver indoor sports before they were taken to concentration camps such as Auschwitz.

PM Valls said a new form of anti-semitism was being spread ‘on the Internet, on networks, in working class areas, among young people who are often aimless, who have no awareness of history, who hide their hatred of the Jews behind the facade of anti-Zionism and behind hatred of the Israeli state’.

Violence against Jews in France has led to 2,200 people leaving the country for Israel in the first six months of this year, reports France 24 – compared to less than 600 this time last year.

Police in eastern China failed to remove a cross from a church after Christian protestors surrounded the building at 2am on Monday  (21 July).

Reuters reports that the police had been following a Government order and several people were injured during the altercation in Pingyang county near Wenzhou city. The site was subsequently locked down by authorities.

Churches across Zhejiang, located south of Shanghai, have received official notices during the past few weeks calling for buildings to be demolished and crosses to be removed during a campaign against illegal structures.

The decision ignores the right of protection of religious freedom as enshrined in the constitution of China.

A witness said: “We are Christians and are not looking for trouble, and if the government comes to us with reasonable requests, we will not oppose it. But using force on us at 2am is unacceptable and we cannot understand why they are doing it.”

There are 65 million Christians in China belonging to either the underground church or controlled state churches.

India’s parliament was adjourned to protest against some hungry right wing MPs so angry that a government canteen in Delhi did not serve the food they wanted that bread was forced into the mouth of a Muslim kitchen worker who was fasting for Ramadan.

Parties in opposition followed the Congress by protesting in parliament against the action and called on the Shiv Sena Party to apologise, calling it a violation of religious beliefs. Shiv Sena, based in Western Maharashtra state, later denied the incident took place.

However Rajan Baburao Vichare, shown on CCTV trying to force-feed the Muslim worker on Tuesday (22 July), later told the Press Trust of India that his action against the kitchen worker was merely a display of protest against the standard of food.

He said: “I came to know that the employee was a Muslim only after seeing TV footage and I regret it.”

The supplier at the government guesthouse canteen was then reported as saying the employee was ‘deeply pained and hurt as religious sentiments are attached’. Catering services at the canteen have since been stopped.

Shiv Sena was created to stop the spread of Islam and to keep southern Indian migrants out of the Maharashtra state, according to the BBC. The news channel said the party was known for inciting religious violence such as tensions between Hindus and Muslims causing 900 people to be killed during the Mumbai riots in 1993.

It is the sixth largest party in the parliament with 18 MPs and supportive of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.