28th January, 2011
DAVID ADAMS
The world's Muslim population is expected to rise by about 35 per cent by 2030, according to projections from the US-based Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.
The figures show that the Muslim population, currently at 1.6 billion, is expected to rise to 2.2 billion in the next 20 years, making up 26.4 per cent of the world's total projected population of 8.3 billion.
(T)he Muslim population, currently at 1.6 billion, is expected to rise to 2.2 billion in the next 20 years, making up 26.4 per cent of the world's total projected population of 8.3 billion.
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The data also shows that if current trends continue, 79 countries will have a million or more Muslim inhabitants (up from 72) with the largest number of Muslims - 1.3 billion - living in Asia-Pacific region (up from one billion today).
While this represents a proportional drop - only 59.2 per cent of Asia-Pacific's population is anticipated to be Muslim in 2030 compared with 62.1 per cent today - other regions, such as the Middle East-North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas are expected to see the proportion of Muslims in its population increase. In Europe, the proportion of Muslims is expected to remain at about 2.7 per cent of the population.
While the report shows that overall, the global Muslim population is expected to grow at a faster rate than the non-Muslim population, the rate of growth for the Muslim population is still expected to be slower than it has been in the past two decades.
It suggests that several factors account for the faster growth, although not as fast as it has been, include higher fertility rates, the large share of the Muslim population in or entering the prime reproductive years of 15 to 29 and improved health and economic conditions in Muslim majority nations.
Other interesting facts include:
• Muslims only make up two per cent of Chinese citizens but thanks to the size of the country's population, China is expected to be the 19th largest in the world by 2030;
• The number of Muslims in Canada is expected to triple in the next 20 years to nearly 2.7 million;
• Muslims are projected to make up 10 per cent of the population in 10 European countries by 2030 including Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia-Herzogovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Russia, Georgia, France and Belgium; and,
• Nearly a quarter of Israel's population is expected to be Muslim in 2030, up from 14 per cent in 1990.
~ http://pewforum.org/Global-Muslim-Population.aspx
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21st January, 2011
SOUTHERN SUDANESE VOTE FOR SECESSION
Almost 99 per cent of southern Sudanese who voted in the country's recent referendum have backed the secession of the south, according to preliminary results.
Figures from the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) show that as at 21st January, 98.6 per cent have voted for secession. The official results are expected to be released in early February.
Almost 3.2 million votes were cast in the election with the turnout well past the minimum number of people required (60 per cent of the four million voters) for the referendum to be ruled valid.
DAVID ADAMS reports... | more... |
13th January, 2011
PAKISTANI MINORITIES MINISTER URGES REFORM OF BLASPHEMY LAW
Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law must be reformed to avoid more bloodletting of Christian minorities in Pakistan, the country's Minorities’ Minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, has told Assist News Service.
“The blasphemy law has to be amended. We cannot condone contempt of any religion or religious personality, but this law is being abused by Muslim extremists to victimise minorities,” Bhatti, a Catholic, told ANS.
Bhatti’s comments came the same day an anti-terrorism court in the central Pakistani town of Muzafarghar said that it had jailed two Muslim men for life on blasphemy charges.
JAWAD MAZHAR reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
3rd January, 2011
EGYPT'S MUBARAK CONDEMNS CHURCH BOMBING IN WHICH 21 KILLED
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has urged citizens of all faiths, including Christian Copts and Muslims, to resist "terrorist acts", after a church bombing killed at least 21 people and injured nearly 80 others.
Witnesses said a powerful bomb, possibly from a suicide attacker, exploded just a half hour into the New Year in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria where worshipers had gathered to celebrate Mass on New Year's Eve.
Egypt's Interior Ministry said a foreign-backed suicide bomber may have been responsible.
A report from BosNewsLife.com... | more... |
20th December, 2010
IRAQ'S CHRISTIANS FACE EXTINCTION, SAYS REPORT
Christmas should be a time of great joy for all Christians. But festivities appear unlikely this year for believers living in Iraq.
In a news release, Barnabas Fund said it received a heart rending report from a senior church leader who assists Iraqi Christian refugees in Syria.
Barnabas Fund said the report reveals the desperate plight of the Christians still inside Iraq. That plight has worsened since the October attack on a church in Baghdad, and Al-Qaeda's statement that all Christians and Christian institutions were “legitimate targets.”
Barnabas Fund called the report a message that needs to be heard urgently by governments and Christians in the West.
JEREMY REYNOLDS reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
13th December, 2010
SIX OUT OF 10 BELIEVE CORRUPTION ON THE RISE, SAYS REPORT
Six out of 10 people around the world believe corruption has increased, according to the findings of the 2010 Global Corruption Barometer.
The report, released by Transparency International earlier this month, also found that one in four people said they had paid a bribe in the past year. Police are said to be the most frequent recipient of bribes with 29 per cent of people who said they’d had contact with police reporting paying a bribe.
More than 91,000 people living in 86 different countries and territories were surveyed for the report.
DAVID ADAMS reports... | more... |
6th December, 2010
"DON'T BUY ZIMBABWEAN DIAMONDS", URGES SWISS CHURCH GROUP
The Swiss church-backed group Bread for All says numerous human rights violations are being committed in certain Zimbabwe's diamond mines by state security forces and the minerals should be labelled "blood diamonds".
Bread for All (Switzerland) is calling on the government of Switzerland, as a member of the Kimberley Process, to demand the exclusion of certain Zimbabwean diamonds tainted by links to human rights' violation from international trade.
Marlon Zakeyo, who heads the Zimbabwe Advocacy Office in Geneva, told ENInews, "Switzerland is an important jewellery centre, but it is also known as a country that is a centre for human rights. The Swiss government is also a key partner in the Kimberley Process, which deals with international diamond trading."
PETER KENNY reports for ENInews... | more... |
18th November, 2010
MALAWI'S CATHOLIC BISHOPS WARN RULERS ON GOOD GOVERNANCE
Malawi's Roman Catholic bishops have called on their government not to use its numerical parliamentary strength to suppress minority views about the way the country should be run.
"When we emerged from the 2009 elections, our hopes were high for peace, stability and development for all. Somewhat more than a year later, our hopes are slowly fading away," said the Catholic bishops in a pastoral letter made available to ENInews.
"The majority the ruling party enjoys in parliament was meant to facilitate government business and progress, but unfortunately it has bred a spirit of overconfidence on the part of government," said the bishops.
FRANK JOMO reports for ENInews... | more... |
8th November, 2010
FIRST NEW CATHOLIC SEMINARY IN 50 YEARS INAUGURATED IN CUBA
Cuba's Catholic bishops have inaugurated the country's first major church-related construction in the half century since Fidel Castro's revolution.
President Raul Castro was a guest of honour at the ceremony to mark the launch of the San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary.
Cuba's bishops and representatives of the Vatican and the Catholic Church in the United States, Mexico, Italy and the Bahamas were among those present in Havana on 3rd November, 2010.
Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana reminded the gathering that the late Pope John Paul II blessed the first stone of the new seminary at a Mass during his January 1998 visit to the island.
A report from Ekklesia... | more... |
31st October, 2010
CHRISTIANS URGED TO PRAY FOR FORTHCOMING REFERENDUM IN SUDAN
Christians in Sudan, especially the southern part of the country, are soliciting prayers in respect to the forthcoming referendum that will be held on 9th January, 2011, which will determine whether south should become independent from the north.
Open Doors UK and Ireland said in a report that its co-workers in southern Sudan explained that conflicting views between the political leaders pose a serious concern for the church, and have asked Christians around the world to lift them up in prayer.
SUCCESS KANAYO UCHIME reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
20th October, 2010
CELEBRATING RECONCILIATION IN CAPE TOWN
More than 4,000 invited guests from nearly 200 nations have descended on Cape Town, South Africa, this week to strategise how to evangelise the world for Christ in the 21st Century.
Tens of thousands more around the globe tuned in via GlobaLink to the opening day of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization when it opened in Cape Town last Sunday.
The congress is the brainchild of evangelist Dr Billy Graham, who founded its parent organisation known as The Lausanne Movement, which is uniquely placed to reaffirm the primary truths of Biblical Christianity.
MICHAEL IRELAND reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
14th October, 2010
HONG KONG CHRISTIANS URGE RELEASE OF NOBEL LAUREATE
Hong Kong Christian leaders have urged the government in Beijing to release 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, who was honoured for his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China".
Representatives from the Roman Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Hong Kong and the Christian Concern Hong Kong Society joined activists in petitioning the Chinese government's liaison office in Hong Kong soon after the announcement of the prize in Oslo on 8th October.
They asked Beijing to release Liu, who initiated the "08 Charter" that asked for greater democracy and respect for human rights. More than 10,000 people in China and overseas had signed the charter.
FRANCIS WONG reports for ENInews... | more... |
5th October, 2010
CHRISTIAN LEADERS LAMENT DURING NIGERIA'S 50th ANNIVERSARY
Christian leaders in Nigeria have joined in marking 50 years of independence in Africa's most populous nation but have also called for divine intervention because of their concern for the state of the nation.
"Though it might seem like there is not much to jubilate about in the nation, prophetically and by faith, we celebrate Jubilee. We believe that as God sees our faith, He will give us cause to be jubilant as we begin the journey of another 50 years," said the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.
He was speaking at a media conference in the country's capital Abuja on 1st October, 50 years to the day since Nigeria achieved its independence from the Britain in 1960.
LEKAN OTUFODUNRIN reports from Lagos for ENInews... | more... |
19th September, 2010
ROMANIAN CHURCH LEADERS SAY ROMA EXPULSIONS WRONG
A Catholic bishop in Romania has deplored the mass expulsion of Roma from France, and he has urged European governments to do more to integrate the continent's Gypsy minorities.
"There are substantial Roma communities in all European countries, not just Romania and Bulgaria," said Virgil Bercea, the Greek Catholic bishop of Oradea. "When the French drive them out, all they do is return to visit their families and then travel somewhere else, whether back to France, or on to Italy, Spain or Germany."
JONATHAN LUXMOORE reports for ENInews... | more... |
13th September, 2010
POPE TO DEFEND RELIGION AGAINST RISING SECULARISM DURING UK VISIT
Pope Benedict XVI is likely to focus on religious freedom during the first official State visit by a pontiff to Britain, where secularism is growing and Christianity declining.
The Pope is also likely to face scrutiny at a time of global questioning of secrecy in the Roman Catholic Church and the attitudes of its hierarchy on social issues that are seen as out of step with the norms of many people.
Benedict will arrive in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh on 16th September for the first papal visit to Britain since 1982, when his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, drew big crowds on a six-day trip that was described as a pastoral, rather than a State, occasion.
TREVOR GRUNDY reports for ENInews... | more... |
6th September, 2010
BUDAPEST REOPENS OLDEST SYNAGOGUE
After some 60 years, the oldest synagogue in Hungary's capital Budapest will reopen for the public on 8th September, just in time for the Jewish New Year.
The synagogue was forced to close its doors following the Holocaust, when Hungary became a Communist nation. Israel has described the event as proof of a revival of Jewish culture and religion in the country, despite concerns about anti-Semitism here.
Ahead of this week's Jewish New Year prayers, a huge crowd, including Holocaust survivors, attended a dedication ceremony where a scroll of the Torah, the Jewish scriptures, was carefully carried into the 190-year old Obuda Synagogue.
STEFAN J. BOS, of BosNewsLife, reports... | more... |
17th August, 2010
TRIBUTES MARK 70 YEARS OF TAIZE SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY
World Christian leaders are paying tribute to the ecumenical community of Taizé in eastern France, which is marking its foundation in 1940 by Brother Roger Schutz, who died in 2005.
In a message in advance of the 14th August commemoration to Brother Alois, who now heads the community, Pope Benedict XVI described Schutz as a "pioneer in the difficult paths toward unity among the disciples of Christ".
"Seventy years ago, he began a community that continues to see thousands of young adults, searching for meaning in their lives, come to it from around the world, welcoming them in prayer and allowing them to experience a personal relationship with God," Pope Benedict said.
STEPHEN BROWN, of Ecumenical News International, reports... | more... |
1st August, 2010
NEW YMCA PRESIDENT SAYS YOUTH MUST TAKE ON GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
The new president of the World Alliance of YMCAs has said the movement will do more to provide services to people in need, and must "work urgently" to help young people take up leadership roles in global affairs.
"For the first time in our world's history, most of our global population will become urbanised, primarily in the world's poorest countries, where safety, sanitation and health care are often scarce," the new president of the world alliance, Kenneth B. Colloton, told the 24th July closing session of the YMCAs' world council in Hong Kong.
FRANCIS WONG, of Ecumenical News International, reports... | more... |
26th July, 2010
TUTU ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT PLANS, THANKS SOUTH AFRICANS
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has announced his intention to wind down his public engagements, when he turns 79 in October.
"I think I have done as much as I can, and I really do need time for other things that I have wanted to do," Archbishop Tutu told a 22nd July media briefing at St George's Cathedral in Cape Town. He also thanked South Africans for their contribution to the world.
Tutu became the first black general secretary of the South African Council of Churches in 1978, and then in 1986 the first black Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, a post from which he retired in 1996.
MUNYARADZI MAKONI, of Ecumenical News International, reports... | more... |
12th July, 2010
THOUSANDS MOURN SREBRENICA VICTIMS, CRITICISE UN, ON MASSACRE'S 15TH ANNIVERSARY
Tens of thousands of people have commemorated the 15th anniversary of Europe's worst massacre since World War II in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. Survivors have expressed frustration over the United Nation's perceived failure to prevent the killing of more than 8,000 Muslims by Serb forces in July, 1995.
In the summer heat, huge crowds of mourning Muslims attended the biggest funeral near the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
A hillside was dug out with graves for 775 green-draped coffins of recently identified victims of Europe's largest mass killing since the Holocaust. The youngest victims were two boys, aged 14, who were laid to rest alongside thousands of bodies already in the graveyard.
STEFAN J. BOS, of BosNewsLife, reports... | more... |
6th July, 2010
CHRISTIANS AMONG THOSE "STARVING" IN NIGER, SAYS AID GROUP
Christians in this vast, drought-prone country on the edge of the Sahara desert, are among those facing starvation after aid groups described the food situation in Niger as "extremely desperate".
Save the Children warned that up to 380,000 children under five are at risk of death by starvation. Christian aid and advocacy group Barnabas Fund told BosNewsLife Christians are "particularly vulnerable during this time of crisis," as they comprise just 0.3 per cent of the predominantly Muslim population of over 15 million people.
A report from BosNewsLife... | more... |
25th June, 2010
NATIVE AMERICAN TELLS CHURCHES "IT'S TIME FOR A TRUTH COMMISSION"
A Native American leader has challenged a global Protestant body to create a truth and reconciliation commission to redress the injustice of church involvement in cultural assimilation against indigenous peoples.
Richard Twiss, a member of the Rosebud Lakota/Sioux Tribe, said the church had been, "a willing partner", in the oppression of Native Americans.
He spoke at the founding meeting of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Native Americans had numbered 50 million in 1,400 but by 1895 accounted for barely 230,000, as a results of war and disease, Twiss said on 22nd June.
STEPHEN BROWN, of Ecumenical News International, reports... | more... |
15th June, 2010
PRAYERS AND WORSHIP RING OUT FROM WEST HAM STADIUM
As the constant humming sound of trumpets are heard in stadiums across South Africa during the world cup, worship and fervent prayers echoed around West Ham stadium on Sunday 13th June at the Global Day of Prayer London's national day of prayer.
"We stand on turf consecrated to the beautiful game at the beginning of the World Cup and today as Christians we are celebrating the beautiful life through the power of the Holy Spirit," said the Bishop of Barking Rt Revd David Hawkins from the stage.
He added: "We want to thank you for coming together to pray in unity for the transformation of the city and our nation."
PETER WOODING reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
9th June, 2010
EVANGELICAL GROUP CONDEMNS UZBEKISTAN CRACKDOWN ON CHURCHES
An influential evangelical organisation, which claims to represent over 400 million Christians worldwide, has expressed concerns about police raids on Protestant congregations in Uzbekistan and the detention of several Christians in the former Soviet republic.
The Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) of the World Evangelical Alliance said last week it was especially concerned about a recent police raid on one of the largest Protestant churches in the capital Tashkent where police "without a warrant" detained eight church members and seized properties.
A report from Bosnewslife... | more... |
28th May, 2010
REPRESSION AND INJUSTICE 'FLOURISHING' SAYS AMNESTY IN ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
Governments are blocking advances in international justice by “standing above the law on human rights, shielding allies from criticism and acting only when politically convenient”, according to Amnesty International.
The organisation, which this week released its annual State of the World’s Human Rights report, says this power politics is widening a “global justice gap”.
"Repression and injustice are flourishing in the global justice gap, condemning millions of people to abuse, oppression and poverty," said Claudio Cordone, interim secretary general of Amnesty International, in a statement.
DAVID ADAMS reports... | more... |
21st May, 2010
NEW WAVE OF CHRISTIAN EXPULSIONS FROM MOROCCO
Twenty-three foreigners have been notified of expulsion from Morocco since 10th May, marking a second wave of Christian deportations from the country, according to International Christian Concern (ICC).
A spokesman for the US Embassy in Morocco in an interview with ICC said, "We are very concerned about this. While there were fewer Americans in this round than there were in the first round of this in early March, we're still following it very closely, and we have expressed concern, as have other diplomatic missions here, to the Moroccan authorities about this."
MICHAEL IRELAND reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
16th May, 2010
KENYAN CHURCHES LAUNCH 'NO' CAMPAIGN WITH PRAYER RALLY
Christians in Kenya have held a national prayer rally in support of their campaign for a "No" vote in a pending constitutional referendum.
At the 8th May event, organised by Protestant, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, Christians waved red cards, singing and dancing to gospel music to signal their rejection of the proposed draft constitution. The referendum is scheduled for August.
"I urge you to have a dream; to have a dream of another Kenya founded on justice and equality before the law, to have a dream where all people embrace and practice their religious beliefs without inference," said the Rev Peter Karanja, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya.
FREDRICK NZWILI reports for Ecumenical News International... | more... |
10th May, 2010
CLERICS PLEAD WITH US OFFICIALS TO PROTECT IRAQ CHRISTIANS
US National Council of Churches' officials have asked their national authorities to take steps to protect Christians in Iraq as well as members of other threatened minority groups due to continuing violence and political uncertainty.
Leaders from the biggest ecumenical agency in the United Sates sent a letter on 26th April to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and to the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
The NCC officials asked Clinton and Gates to urge Iraqi authorities and commanders of US-led forces in Iraq to take steps to minimise violence affecting the beleaguered Iraqi Christian community and others who continue to face threats and acts of violence.
CHRIS HERLINGER reports for Ecumenical News International... | more... |
4th May, 2010
NEPAL'S CHRISTIANS HOLD VIGIL FOR NEW SECULAR CONSTITUTION
Hundreds of Christians have held their first public vigil in the Nepalese capital to pressure the government into implementing a new, secular constitution within a stipulated deadline.
Their vigil comes during a period of growing anxiety that the country's political parties may bungle their task on the basic law of the country and that Nepal could become a Hindu State again.
SUDESHNA SARKAR reports for Ecumenical News International... | more... |
24th April, 2010
BACKGROUNDER SPECIAL: WATCHING KYRGYZSTAN - AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY BUT THREATS ABOUND
In the late 1980s, President Mikhail Gorbachev introduced social and political reform to the Union of Soviet Social Republics (USSR) through perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). By 1990, Communism had fallen and the Cold War had ended. At that point, various megalomaniacs - that is, men who wanted to be presidents rather than prime ministers, governors or generals - set about exploiting ethnic nationalism in order to tear the centuries-old Russian Federation apart.
By the end of 1991, Kyrgyzstan was independent under the leadership of Askar Akayev, an intellectual and scientist appointed by Gorbachev. Kyrgyzstan was unique amongst its neighbours in that it was the only Central Asian former Soviet Republic not under the control of a former Soviet apparatchik (that is, not a professional functionary of the Communist Party).
ELIZABETH KENDAL explains the background to recent events in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan... | more... |
17th April, 2010
POLISH CHURCHES UNITE IN GRIEF OVER PRESIDENT AND DISASTER VICTIMS
The death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and an entourage in a plane crash in western Russia has united Poles as well as Christian leaders from the country who lost nine clergy in the accident.
"Poland is experiencing its greatest tragedy of post-War times," bishops from the minority Evangelical Augsburg (Lutheran) church said in a pastoral letter dated 10th April.
"The post-Easter Annunciation gains a profound character in the context of this experience. For we are forced to contemplate the joyful Easter message which, in the face of death, allows us through our faith to look beyond the grave towards eternity," the bishops stated.
JONATHAN LUXMOORE reports for Ecumenical News International... | more... |
30th March, 2010
AFRICAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS CALL FOR STRONG ARMS TRADE TREATY
African religious leaders meeting in the Rwandan capital of Kigali have called on their governments to support calls for a strong and comprehensive treaty against arms trading so that funds can be redirected into development.
After their 23rd to 25th March meeting, Christian, Hindu and Muslim leaders said such an agreement would reduce the human cost associated with the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and control illegal dealing.
"When you manufacture guns, you have to find a market. When you find a market, you cause trouble, you cause conflict, so it becomes an endless cycle. We shall never stop it until we say enough is enough of killing ourselves," Anglican Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda told Ecumenical News International in Kigali on 24th March. "But now that has to stop, so that we can build a peaceful Africa."
FREDRICK NZWILI reports for Ecumenical News International... | more... |
24th March, 2010
CHRISTIANS URGED TO JOIN GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR SUDAN AHEAD OF DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS
The people of Sudan will participate in the country's first democratic elections in 24 years this April.
According to international Christian relief organisation Samaritan's Purse, it is an historic time for a nation that has endured decades of civil war, and also a time of fear and anxiety.
Free and fair elections could help lay a foundation for lasting peace, but if violence erupts, it could rekindle a civil war that has already claimed the lives of millions.
MICHAEL IRELAND reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
10th March, 2010
SALVATION ARMY CHAMPIONS MORAL CASE FOR "ROBIN HOOD TAX"
The poor are becoming poorer and the rich need to step in and redress the balance, the Salvation Army said this week, during a debate in London.
The comments came as a representative spoke up for the Robin Hood Tax campaign during a discussion at the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).
Keynote speaker Professor Jeffrey Sachs international economist and author of The End of Poverty, actor Bill Nighy, fellow campaigner and screenwriter Richard Curtis, and Dr Clare Melamed, head of policy co-ordination Action Aid were joined by Major Ivor Telfer, The Salvation Army’s secretary for programme for the UK and Ireland territory. Alan Beattie, World Trade editor at the Financial Times, chaired the event.
A report from Ekklesia... | more... |
7th March, 2010
ZIMBABWE TRADE UNION LEADER FORCED TO FLEE, SAY CHRISTIAN STUDENTS
The World Student Christian Federation and its Zimbabwe Advocacy Office say they are shocked at recent attacks on trade union leaders by police and security forces in Zimbabwe during a period when the southern African country is trying to reconcile bitter divides.
In a statement sent to Ecumenical News International on 4th March, the general secretary of the student federation, the Rev Michael Wallace, and the coordinator of the Zimbabwe office in Geneva, Marlon Zakeyo, said that three days earlier, police raided and ransacked offices of the General Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union of Zimbabwe in Harare.
PETER KENNY reports for Ecumenical News International... | more... |
21st February, 2010
NEW COUNCIL OF CHRISTIAN CHURCH LEADERS ESTABLISHED IN IRAQ
The leadership of the World Council of Churches has welcomed "with great hope and deep satisfaction" the news that a Council of Christian Church Leaders of Iraq has been established.
"In our view, it is a development that augurs as much for the future of the churches in Iraq as it does for Iraq as a nation," the WCC General Secretary, the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, wrote in an 18th February, 2010, congratulatory message to the members of the new body.
The council includes all patriarchs, archbishops, bishops and heads of churches in Iraq from the 14 Christian communities registered in Iraq since 1982, belonging to the Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox as well as Protestant traditions.
A report from Ekklesia... | more... |
7th February, 2010
BIBLEFRESH CAMPAIGN TO ENCOURAGE CONFIDENCE IN THE SCRIPTURES LAUNCHES WITH UK TOUR
Biblefresh, a movement to help the church gain appetite and confidence in God's word last week launched a 13 city tour in cities across the UK, including Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool, Bournemouth, London and Exeter.
The tour will be exploring the theme of "The Bible: Tedious, Taboo and Toxic, or Transforming, Treasured and True?" and sharing the vision for practical ways churches can re-engage with the Bible.
The Biblefresh partnership of over 50 agencies, festivals, colleges and denominations have joined forces to see churches grow their confidence in the scriptures during 2011, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of the King James version of the Bible.
PETER WOODING reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
27th January, 2010
2009 "WORST YEAR" FOR PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS
Last year was the worst period of persecution against Christians in Pakistan in the last decade, with attacks, arrests and detentions that reportedly killed some 130 Christians across the Islamic country, an advocacy group has claimed.
In one of the bloodiest single incidents, in August, eight Christians were shot or burnt alive in the town of Gojrain Punjab province when he Christian community was attacked by a mob of 3,000 Muslims over alleged blasphemy ofIslam, said the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).
A report from BosNewsLife.com... | more... |
13th January, 2010
POLICE IDENTIFY SUSPECT IN MALAYSIAN CHURCH ATTACKS
Malaysian police said Tuesday, 12th January, they have identified their first suspect in attacks on some 10 churches and Christian buildings amid a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.
Deputy Inspector-General Ismail Omar told reporters in the capital Kuala Lumpur that police received information "from a photograph", without providing details, citing the ongoing investigation.
Anti-Christian violence began last Friday, 8th January, after a court ruled that Catholic newspaper The Herald could use the word Allah, in reference to God, in its Malay-language editions.
A report from BosNewsLife.com... | more... |
5th January, 2010
TAJIKSTAN CHURCHES FACE CLOSURES AND AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Devoted Christians in several areas of Tajikistan faced uncertainty over the future of their churches after the former Soviet republic introduced a new religion law that the United States has criticised as highly restrictive.
The Religion Law, which came into forces on New Year's Day, empowers the government to impose stricter control of religious groups in the former Soviet republic that tolerates only the state-approved version of Islam.
Under the legislation groups that choose not to register with authorities or fail to gain re-registration will become illegal. All Christian and other “religious organisations” need to provide the national government with written confirmation of their existence from their local administration.
A report from BosNewsLife.com... | more... |
9th December, 2009
AUDIO BIBLES SOWING GOD'S WORD IN ETHIOPIA
Faith Comes By Hearing Audio Bible ministry has a goal of implementing two million Bible listening groups, and recording the New Testament in 2,000 languages by 2016.
This international Audio Bible ministry is teaming up with like-minded organisations to reach and disciple the world’s poor and illiterate people with the Word of God.
According to a news release from Faith Comes by Hearing (FCBH),among the Bench people in southwest Ethiopia, there are more than 580 groups regularly gathering for a time of Bible listening and discussion. Local leaders say God’s Word has been a transforming factor: bringing understanding, instruction and hope.
JEREMY REYNALDS reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
30th November, 2009
UK'S BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY SEES 82,000 PEOPLE RETURN
Church of England churches welcomed back 53,000 people on Back to Church Sunday 2009, a 71 per cent increase on 2008, as part of a growing initiative that saw more than 80,000 people come back to church across the UK on one Sunday in September.
Statistical returns from participating churches suggest that an average of 19 people returned to each church after receiving a personal invitation.
They were greeted with an especially welcoming Sunday service on the day, fuelled by resources such as red 'welcome' T-shirts and subsidised 'party packs' of fairly-traded catering products, produced in partnership with Traidcraft.
PETER WOODING reports for Assist News Service... | more... |
18th November, 2009
IRISH PRIEST WHO WAS KIDNAPPED IN THE PHILIPPINES WANTS TO STAY
A 79-year old Irish priest, who was released unharmed one month after being kidnapped in the Philippines by a militant Islamic group, says he wants to continue serving as a missionary.
The Rev Michael Sinnott, a Roman Catholic priest, was abducted outside his home in Pagadian on 11th October and was freed on 11th November by a group called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
"In the immediate future I hope to stay on here in the Philippines, to go back to do my work. I don’t know what the superiors are going to say about that, but that is my own wish," he told the Irish national broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, on 12th November.
RAY McMENAMIN reports for ENI... | more... |
9th November, 2009
COLOMBIANS WIN RIGHT TO OBJECT TO MILITARY SERVICE ON RELIGIOUS GROUNDS
Christians are celebrating after the Colombian Supreme Court ruled its citizens can opt out of obligatory military religious service because of religious, moral or philosophical objections.
Prior to the decision, which was handed down on 16th October, only young men studying to be Catholic priests were guaranteed the right to conscientious exemption.
The Colombian Mennonite Church - which maintains a pacifist tradition - is among religious and human rights groups which have been advocating for the right to be guaranteed by the courts.
DAVID ADAMS reports... | more... |
31st October, 2009
FAITH LEADERS CONDEMN FORCED LABOUR AND TRAFFICKING
Representatives of international and faith-based relief organizations are emphasising that widespread public awareness is necessary in order to tackle the problems of forced labour and human trafficking.
The comments came from those attending the Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
‘Upholding Human Dignity: Confronting Human Trafficking,’ has been the theme of the October meeting of the LWF governing body, attended by around 165 participants at Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva, Switzerland.
Roger Plant, head of the Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour at the International Labour Organization (ILO), called for concrete legislative measures and stricter enforcement of the existing laws of individual countries.
A report from Ekklesia... | more... |
25th October, 2009
RUSSIAN MINISTRIES LAUNCHES AMBITIOUS 'PROJECT HOPE' CHRISTMAS APPEAL
Russian Ministries is appealing for Western Christians to help provide a message of hope to needy children across Russia this Christmas from war-ravaged South Ossetia to the remote far north to the crowded streets of Moscow.
The charity’s senior vice-president Sergey Rakhuba launched this year’s Project Hope appeal by setting an ambitious target: “Last year we distributed 30,000 gift-filled boxes, which include children’s Bibles. This year we’re planning to deliver 50,000 that we can make available together with the evangelical churches to at risk children throughout Russia."
PETER WOODING reports... | more... |
16th October, 2009
GLOBAL CHURCHES LEADER TO VISIT COMMUNIST-RULED NORTH KOREA
The head of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, is to lead a delegation to North Korea, in the latest of several recent visits from Christian groups to the communist-ruled state.
"We will be meeting with the churches, government officials and learning about the life and witness of churches in North Korea," said Mathews George Chunakara, director of the WCC Public Witness programme, in a 15th October statement announcing the visit.
The WCC said Kobia, a Kenyan Methodist who steps down at the end of 2009 as general secretary of the world's biggest church grouping, would preach at the Bong Soo Church in Pyongyang.
STEPHEN BROWN reports... | more... |
RAPED WOMEN IN BOSNIA CONTINUE TO BE DENIED JUSTICE, SAYS AMNESTY REPORT
Fourteen years after the end of a war in which thousands of women were raped, Amnesty International has called on the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to provide victims with access to justice and reparations.
In a report launched in Sarajevo late last month, the organisation says the human rights of survivors have been violated by authorities who have failed to comprehensively investigate and prosecute crimes of sexual violence.
In a statement, Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International's Europe programme director, says that thousands of women were raped during the 1992-1995 war, “often with extreme brutality”.
DAVID ADAMS reports... | more... |
21st September, 2009
GERMAN BISHOP URGES NORTH KOREANS TO OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MAN
Germany's senior Protestant bishop has urged Christians in officially atheist North Korea to obey God "rather than man".
Bishop Wolfgang Huber, the council chairperson of Germany's Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD), spoke during a service in the Bongsun Church in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, according to a statement made available to Ecumenical News International on 15th September.
Without alluding to Kim Jong-il, who in 1997 succeeded his father as leader of North Korea, Huber quoted from the Bible's book of Acts of the Apostles (5: 29), when he said, "We ought to obey God rather than man."
ANLI SERFONTEIN reports for Ecumenical News International... | more... |
9th September, 2009
ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP URGES MADAGASCAN LEADERS TO PUT PEOPLE FIRST
Anglican Archbishop Ian Ernest of the Indian Ocean Province, who is based in Mauritius, is calling on political leaders in Madagascar to set aside their political agendas, and put people first.
"I know it is difficult because of the delicate situation, but as a church we are calling on the leaders to see it at the level of God," Archbishop Ernest told Ecumenical News International in Nairobi on 2nd September after a meeting with regional Anglican leaders.
The world's fourth largest island, in the Indian Ocean, is trapped in a political standoff between Andre Rajoelina, the former mayor of Antananarivo, the capital city, and ousted President Marc Ravalomanana, the senior lay leader of the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM).
FREDRICK NZWILI reports... | more... |
3rd September, 2009
POLAND OBSERVES 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
European and American leaders gathered to observe the 70th anniversary of the German military invasion of Poland, which is generally regarded as the start of World War II. Tuesday's ceremonies came amid controversy between Poland and Russia over the war, in which some 50 million people died.
At a somber ceremony Polish leaders met at dawn on Gdansk's Westerplatte peninsula, where 70 years ago German forces began to attack Poland.
An honorary guard looked on as officials placed wreaths at the foot of the monument to the defenders of Westerplatte at 4:45am local time, the exact time that the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein began shelling this tiny Polish military outpost.
STEFAN J. BOS reports... | more... |
25th August, 2009
ANGOLAN WOMEN STILL FACE WAR - BY OTHER MEANS
The armed conflict in Angola ended seven years ago, but the consequences of four decades of war are felt still today. And women seem to be bearing most of the brunt.
"We do not have an open conflict right now", says Josefina Sandemba, a pastor from the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola (IECA) who was briefing a Living Letters team visiting the country on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in late July, "but guns keep taking their toll within communities still today".
JUAN MICHEL reports... | more... |
14th August, 2009
RUSSIAN AND GEORGIAN PATRIARCHS PLEA FOR PEACE ON WAR ANNIVERSARY
Orthodox church leaders from Russia and Georgia called for peace while their political counterparts lobbed charges of aggression in marking the one year anniversary of the South Ossetia war.
The Russian and Georgian patriarchs also commemorated the victims of the short, brutal war over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox Church stressed the common spiritual heritage of the warring sides, continuing the line taken last year by Ilia and the late Patriarch Aleksei II of the Russian Orthodox Church, who had sought reconciliation as the conflict raged.
SOPHIA KISHKOVSKY reports... | more... |
11th August, 2009
NIGERIAN CHRISTIANS FEAR CRACKDOWN AMID DEADLY CLASHES
Christian leaders in northern Nigeria fear a fresh crackdown on evangelical activities after local authorities announced plans to control “religious preachers” as Islamic violence left at least a dozen Christians dead and destroyed some 20 churches.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which represents churches, criticised governors of 19 northern states for setting up a committee to regulate the activities of “religious preachers” in the mainly-Muslim region, saying it could lead to more tensions and bloodshed.
"This forum has resolved to constitute a preaching board that will screen and approve competent Muslim and Christian clergy for evangelical activities," Niger state leader Babanginda Aliyu explained after a governors' meeting in the northern city of Kaduna last week.
A report from BosNewsLife... | more... |
31st July, 2009
HYMNS BECOME LATEST REVOLT TRIGGER IN FIJI
Charles Wesley, the great Methodist hymn writer, may have penned his famous words "O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer praise" almost 270 years ago, but it seems just singing these words today in strife-torn Fiji could destabilise a whole government.
The military government of interim prime minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama has agitated the normally harmonious voice of Fijian Methodists by attempting to stop the church's conference from taking place in late August.
KIM CAIN reports for Ecumenical News International... | more... |
23rd July, 2009
DESPITE URUGUAY'S PEACEFUL IMAGE, CHURCHES STRIVE TO OVERCOME VIOLENCE
Dispelling the myth of "a little peaceful country", an international ecumenical Living Letters team visited Uruguay and discovered how violence manifests itself at the levels of family life, the state and youth, and how the churches in this South American country seek to overcome it.
"Some of the members of the Living Letters team had the idyllic vision that they had brought with them changed when they met the actual situation here," said Pastor Oscar Bolioli, President of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Uruguay, who hosted the visit.
RICARDO VERASTEGUI and JUAN MICHEL report for... | more... |
18th July, 2009
FALL OF IRON CURTAIN MEANS CHURCHES NEED 'ONE VOICE' IN NEW EUROPE
Germany's senior Protestant leader has praised the role European churches played in the 1989 political changes that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall but says they need to find new ways of making their voice heard in today's Europe.
"We can now together declare our faith and carry out our task of reconciliation, and testify to the peace of Christ that is given to us," said Bishop Wolfgang Huber, who heads the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). He was speaking on 17th July to the once-every-six-years assembly of the Conference of European Churches taking place in Lyon, France.
STEPHEN BROWN reports... | more... |
10th July, 2009
KENYAN PROTESTANTS URGE INVESTIGATION INTO POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE
Protestant churches in Kenya have dispatched one of their leaders to the International Criminal Court at The Hague to deliver a one-million signature petition urging investigations of post-election violence.
"I will execute the instructions given to me as soon as possible," said the Rev Peter Karanja, the general secretary of National Council of Churches of Kenya, on 2nd July in Limuru, near Nairobi, while receiving 500 000 of the signatures.
FREDRICK NZWILL reports for Ecumenical News International... | more... |
1st July, 2009
WORLD MEETING PLEDGES URGENT SOCIAL SUPPORT FOR HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS
The European Union and dozens of countries have pledged to speed up social support for Holocaust survivors and the search for art and other items that were stolen during World War II by the Nazis.
At a meeting in Prague, they agreed to establish a special European institute to deal with these issues and education. As the number of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust rapidly declines, there is a sense of urgency among delegates that the world must provide them with adequate social assistance and compensation for stolen goods.
The five-day meeting - attended by Holocaust survivors, members of Jewish organisations and delegates from nearly 50 nations - was a follow-up to a conference more than a decade ago in Washington that led to agreements on recovering art looted by the Nazis.
STEFAN J. BOS reports... | more... |
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