Muslim extremists

Five Christians Murdered In A Week Under Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law

by MT on December 1, 2010 · 3 comments

Pakistan (MNN) ? Muslim extremists are blamed for the murders of five Christians in Pakistan in less than a week.

Greg Musselman, spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs Canada, says 22-year-old Latif Masih was shot to death shortly after he was granted bail in a “blasphemy” case. He was accused in early November under Law 295c — the infamous “Blasphemy Law” in which the two militants claimed he burnt pages of the Qur’an.

On November 18, Masih’s accusers caught up with him and shot him to death near his home in Godhpur,  village 111 kilometers (69 miles)

22-year-old Latif Masih | Photo by Compass Direct News

northeast of Lahore. Days earlier, on November 12 in southern Punjab Province, police say Lashkar-e-Taiba militants killed four family members because of their Christian faith.

There are concerns that the violence against Christians will continue. The marked increase in these cases has created a renewed call by human rights watchdog groups for an end to the blasphemy law. The support couldn’t come at a better time. Musselman says, “Christians are always under this kind of law.  In recent days, it’s received international attention because of some of the other cases that are happening. The international community is saying, ‘This is ridiculous. You can’t have these kinds of laws.’ There’s a lot of pressure that I believe will be put on Pakistan.”

This part of the criminal code has come under fire for its vague writing and broad interpretation. Under it,  Musselman notes, “We’ve seen many cases where Christians are really under this law in the sense that it can be used against them. These Muslims often use it for convenience to take over businesses or these kinds of things.”

It seems this is what actually motivated Latif’s murder, rather than fervent faith issues. Musselman says, “It appears that he was actually killed because he had a motorbike shop that these guys wanted to take over.”

A Compass Direct News investigation supports this idea, citing an interview with Latif’s brother, Junaid Masih, who claimed Latif’s killers were associates of a Muslim man who had filed the blasphemy charge.

Human motives aside, Law 295c is a dangerous weapon in Pakistan’s criminal code. Musselman explains that “the blasphemy law, for the most part, is used to intimidate Christians from evangelizing. They need to know that we’re praying for them [and] encouraging them.”

Pray for the families of the murder victims. “The Bible tells us that if one part of the body suffers, we all suffer, so we should be concerned about that,”says Musselman.

Pray that Christ’s Body in Pakistan will continue to be a bold testimony of His love and grace. Ask God to help Christians in Pakistan to respond in a Christ-like manner to injustice and oppression.

Click here to learn how to be voice for those who have none.

Article source: http://mnnonline.org/article/15028

UN Resolution Jeopardizes Religious Freedom Worldwide

by MT on October 14, 2010 · 0 comments

USA (MNN) ? Christians in Muslim-dominated countries are facing increased persecution. Over the last month, churches in Indonesia have been attacked and forced to close. A mob of Pakistani Muslim extremists shot and beat dozens of Christians, including one cleared earlier of “blasphemy” charges.

These Christians, and many more worldwide, are not free to believe.

Open Doors USA is launching an advocacy campaign called “Free to Believe.” The campaign will focus on helping persecuted Christians who currently do not have religious freedom like Christians do in the United States.

The campaign is a response to the United Nations Defamation of Religions Resolution which threatens the freedom of religion and expression for Christians and members of minority faiths worldwide.

This resolution seeks to criminalize words or actions perceived as attacks against a religion, with the focus being on protecting Islam. Passing this resolution would further result in the United Nations condoning state-sponsored persecution of Christians and members of other faiths.

Many of the countries supporting this resolution are the Islamic-majority countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) that persecute Christians and other religious minorities. Members of minority faiths such as Christians or Jews who make truth claims or even evangelize can be accused of “defamation,” and those individuals can be punished under national blasphemy laws as frequently happens in countries like Pakistan. Tragically, the UN resolution provides legitimacy to these countries’ blasphemy laws.

While the Defamation of Religions Resolution has been introduced and passed by the UN in the past–in various forms and under various titles since 1999, support for the resolution has been eroding in recent years. The Open Doors advocacy team has been lobbying countries which have voted for the resolution or abstained from voting on the issue in the past. The resolution is up again this fall for re-authorization.

It is important to encourage key countries to change their vote on this resolution. These countries are not easily influenced by American citizens. But they are more receptive to pressure from our legislators. That’s why we’re asking you to send a message to your legislator, asking him or her to ask key countries to change their vote on the Defamation of Religions Resolution. A sample letter is provided for you to send which includes the necessary information for your elected officials to lobby the target UN country missions.

To send a message, go to www.freetobelieve.info.

“It’s dangerous and alarming that a UN resolution provides legitimacy to national blasphemy laws that are used to persecuting Christians and other minority faith groups,” says Open Doors USA Advocacy Director Lindsay Vessey. “The United Nations Defamation of Religions Resolution in effect amounts to the UN condoning state-sponsored persecution. We as Christians need to speak out against it and do all in our power to stop its passage. Everyone should be free to believe.”

Read more at Mission Network News…..

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...