Uzbekistan: ‘Anti-terror’ raid on old people's home
Six Baptists who led Sunday worship in an old people's home near Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent face criminal and administrative charges after an ‘anti-terror operation’ against their service, Baptists told Forum 18 News Service. Asked why the authorities halted the service and harassed participants, deputy police chief Major Sofar Fayziyev – who took part in the raid – told Forum 18: ‘They could not produce any proof that they had authorisation for their activity.’ Elsewhere, three Baptists were fined after police raided a Sunday morning church service. As happens frequently, the court verdict ordered the destruction of Bibles and other confiscated Christian literature. Judge Abdumumin Rahimov who handed a massive fine to a young resident of Navoi for transporting literature insists that ‘the main purpose of the punishment is not revenge against the offender, but teaching him to respect the law’. Pray: for the believers in Uzbekistan that the authorities will cease to block God’s Word and His message. (Ps.1:6)
Kazakhstan: Harsh new religion law coming?
Human rights groups in Kazakhstan are expressing concern over a document from the ruling parliamentary party that attacks ‘non-traditional faiths’ in the country. The groups believe the document is setting the stage for another attempt by the Kazakh parliament to change the existing law on religion. The document accuses several religious groups - including some Protestant Christian churches - of ‘being financed by Western countries.’ The document adds that tens of thousands of Kazakh citizens are members of such groups and ‘need help.’ A spokesman for the ruling Nur Otan party claims that the document was stopped before issuance, and that the researcher responsible for the religion section had ‘been sacked.’ These reports show yet again that the religious freedom so hard-won in former Soviet lands is tenuous at best, and that the opponents of evangelical churches are not giving up in their efforts to suppress the Gospel. Pray: regularly for Kazakh churches, asking the Lord to protect and sustain them in the midst of determined opposition. (Rev.3:8).
Kazakhstan: Harsh new religion law coming?
Human rights groups in Kazakhstan are expressing concern over a document from the ruling parliamentary party that attacks ‘non-traditional faiths’ in the country. The groups believe the document is setting the stage for another attempt by the Kazakh parliament to change the existing law on religion. The document accuses several religious groups - including some Protestant Christian churches - of ‘being financed by Western countries.’ The document adds that tens of thousands of Kazakh citizens are members of such groups and ‘need help.’ A spokesman for the ruling Nur Otan party claims that the document was stopped before issuance, and that the researcher responsible for the religion section had ‘been sacked.’ These reports show yet again that the religious freedom so hard-won in former Soviet lands is tenuous at best, and that the opponents of evangelical churches are not giving up in their efforts to suppress the Gospel. Pray: regularly for Kazakh churches, asking the Lord to protect and sustain them in the midst of determined opposition. (Rev.3:8).
British courts are 'set against religious freedom for Christians'
Parliament must rectify the ‘bad laws’ restricting the freedom of Christians to live according to their beliefs, says a Christian barrister Paul Diamond. Mr Diamond said there was much to be commended in the Equality Act and the Sexual Orientation Regulations and that sexual orientation or faith should not be a reason to discriminate against others. However, he said the laws were ‘poorly drafted’ and ‘leaving too much discretion to the Courts’. He added that they were being used to eradicate Judeo Christian morality and usher in secular values. The ‘countless’ cases where accommodation of conscience was being denied to Christians amounted to a ‘liberal tyranny’. Campaign group Christian Concern warns that recent legislation and its interpretation in the courts has led to several Christians being barred from different areas of public life and is ‘creating a serious obstacle to the Christian community’s full and active involvement in the Big Society initiative’. Pray: for a review leading to clarification and protection of Christian morality. (Gal.5:1)
