Pakistan ‘Quran plot’ imam remanded in blasphemy case of Rimsha Masih

She ‘should be acquitted immediately’ says her lawyer

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- In an extraordinary development in the case of Rimsha Masih, a young Pakistani Christian girl accused of blasphemy, a Pakistani imam has been remanded in custody, accused of planting pages of the Quran among burnt pages in her bag.

1) There was a heavy police presence as Khalid Chishti was lead into court (Photo: Reuters)

The case, which has sparked international condemnation, relates to the girl, who is said to be about 14 years old and has learning difficulties, who was detained two weeks ago near the capital Islamabad after an angry mob demanded she be punished.

Now, comes an incredible twist in the case as, according to the BBC, prosecutors say Imam Khalid Chishti will himself face charges of blasphemy.

Imam Khalid Chishti allegedly told a witness, after tampering with the girl's bag, that this was a “way of getting rid of Christians”, a prosecutor said.

Earlier this week, a court extended Rimsha's detention at a maximum-security prison by a further two weeks.

“Her father has said he fears for his daughter's life and for the safety of his family. He has called on Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to pardon her,” said the BBC.

Rimsha Masih

“Rimsha's parents have been taken into protective custody following threats, and many other Christian families have fled the neighborhood.

“Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws are often used to settle personal vendettas, correspondents say. Last year two leading politicians were assassinated after speaking out against the legislation.”

“Proven conspiracy”

Imam Chishti appeared in the Islamabad court with a white blindfold and shackled hands.

There was a large police presence as he was ushered into the building.

“The imam was arrested after his deputy Maulvi Zubair and two others told a magistrate he added pages from the Quran to the burnt pages brought to him by a witness,” an investigator Munir Hussain Jaffri said.

He said Mr. Zubair and some others had told the imam not to interfere, urging him to “give the evidence to the police as he got it”.

According to Mr. Jaffri, Imam Chishti had told them: “You know this is the only way to expel the Christians from this area.”

The investigator said the cleric had been arrested at his home on Saturday under Pakistan's blasphemy law.

“By putting these pages in the ashes he also committed desecration of the Holy Quran and he is being charged with blasphemy,” he said.

The girl's lawyer told AFP news agency that Rimsha “should be acquitted immediately”, as it had been “fully proven that it was a conspiracy”.

If this charge against the imam is proven true and he did plant evidence that could have Rimsha sentenced to death, it is absolutely shocking that this so-called religious leader would pick on this simple girl who couldn’t fight for herself.

We now hope that Rimsha will be immediately released and Pakistan will make sure that she and her family are given full protection. However, with the country's abysmal  record in protecting people speaking out against the blasphemy law (or having been charged with it), I have grave doubts about what will happen to this poor girl and her family.

North Korean leaders shaping new leader's image

(Images courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs USA)

North Korea (MNN) ― North Korea's new leader has been photographed smiling. He has a wife. He even rode a roller coaster. Don't be fooled, says Voice of the Martyrs USA spokesman Todd Nettleton. 

"Photographically, he is drawing comparisons--not to his father, Kim Jong Il, but to his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea."

What's happening in North Korea is cultivation of an image. "He's doing that in his hair style, he's doing that in his clothing. For us, looking on from the outside, we don't necessarily think that immediately; but to the people of North Korea who ultimately are his audience, they would see that instantly."

A modern face to go with modern ideas? According to contacts working with the Voice of the Martyrs, it's pretty much the opposite. Nettleton explains the connection being made. "This is Kim Il Sung's grandson. This is the founder of our country coming back and taking control and leading us to prosperity and greatness."

The reality is: North Korea faces even more than usual food shortages when drought was followed by devastating floods. Without China's help, mass starvation is likely. Yet, that has done little to challenge the ideology that has shrouded North Korea in secrecy. Nettleton explains "The government is built on the idea of 'juche,' which is their word for 'self-reliance' and really, it is a religious system that is designed to deify the leaders."

The other thing to remember is that the people behind the scenes have not changed. The generals who installed Kim Jong Un as leader are still controlling the strings. Promises of reform are misleading, at best.

Nettleton doesn't think much will change for Christians, either. "When you say 'I'm a Christian,' it's not just the wrong religion: you're really undermining the government. It's really a treasonous thing to say 'I'm not following juche. I'm not worshiping our leaders. I'm following Jesus Christ.'"

Already the most hostile country in which to live and practice the Christian faith, there are still reports of Christians being arrested. According to Open Doors, it's thought that at least a quarter of the nation's believers are languishing in labor camps for their refusal to worship founder Kim Il-Sung's cult.

Anyone with "another god" is automatically persecuted, which is why the 200,000-400,000 Christians in this country must remain deeply underground. Traditional discipleship and evangelism methods do not exist in the totalitarian regime.

However, Nettleton says they've found other creative ways to float the Gospel into North Korea...literally. "We have been sending balloons into North Korea for decades. It's based on some of the technology developed for weather balloons. We can now actually attach a full New Testament to a balloon to float it across into North Korea."

Although many crews pick up the balloons and dispose of the literature, Nettleton says it's still working. "We are hearing stories of these balloons and these New Testaments reaching people and changing lives." Keep praying that the seeds of God's Word will be planted deeply and take root. 

8 in 10 missing persons sucked into India's human trafficking problem

(Image courtesy Bright Hope International)

India (MNN) ― A newly-released report from Gujarat state in India reveals that 8 out of 10 missing persons are sold to brothels.

The statistics defy belief. Three years ago, human rights watchers said more than 1.2 million children in India were sold into prostitution, and as many as 100 million people in India are involved in trafficking-related activities. That number has only gone up.

The most likely victims of human trafficking are those living on less than a $1 a day. C.H. Dyer with Bright Hope International notes that, "People that are in extreme poverty will go to great measure to find security, food, just the basics of life."

Desperation drove local churches to Bright Hope to ask for help. "'We know there's a lot of prostitution and a lot of young girls that are forcibly put into prostitution in our community. What can we do to make a difference?'"

Bright Hope developed a network of churches in India to raise awareness and build strategic partnerships to be a part of the solution. The three-pronged approach included awareness, rescue, and rehabilitation. 

An anti-trafficking program developed that included training for those who were involved in the rescues and rehabilitation programs for the rescued. The program hasn't been without its challenges. Building trust takes time. "Getting them out of the situation, working with the local authorities, working with the police to gain their confidence and the ability to go into these brothels and pull out the minors and offer the older women the chance to come out: this is all new in this rescue area."

It's a responsibility they don't take lightly with so much at stake, says Dyer. "You take your time, you pray, and you get the advice of those who have gone before you."

A proven track record...what does that mean for a rescue program? Dyer explains, "You'll see the people start to say, 'This works for people. Education, the Scriptures, a strong local church, job training."

In fact, the success rate has been encouraging. "The agencies we're working with have documented lower rates of prostitution in those communities where they have done this with good planning, and that's what we're bringing to this: proven solutions and a proven God who changes lives."

However, a successful rescue means there's an angry pimp or gang lord. "Certain pastors and leaders that are involved with our team have gotten death threats already and threats of violence against them."

Taking on human trafficking means a church is entering the spiritual fray. Dyer says often, there are drugs or idolatry involved. "It is dangerous. It is the front lines against evil. We need to partner with them in prayer specifically, that the power of the Lord would come upon them and protect them and lead them as they do these good works in His name."

Then, there's the question of whether slave rescues actually perpetuate the cycle of slavery. In cases where people were rescued from slavery in Ghana, it was found that many of them found their way back in later, or new slaves were taken. Dyer says that was the first question they asked themselves before embarking on this path: "Are you going to stir the pot and make things worse, or are you really going to get to some of the solutions that can change lives?"

Rehabilitation is focused on healing through professional Biblical counseling to regain strength, hope, and faith in God and His ability to restore them. Opportunities to earn a liveable wage must be given. Through job skills training, girls can have well-paying jobs as they rebuild their lives. Dyer goes on to explain that "These kinds of programs really can help people rise above their economic and spiritual situation. So we can create a pathway where some more will follow."

That being said, the team is gearing up for another major foray. "In just a few weeks, we're going to see this all ramp up to take even more girls out. My real desire today is that everybody who hears our voices would pray for the churches involved in human trafficking around the world."

Imam Reportedly Fabricated Evidence against Rimsha

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

LAHORE (ANS) -- There's an encouraging development likely to end the ordeal of a 14-year-old Christian girl charged under the blasphemy law and allow her to be released from jail on bail.

According to a story by Pakistan Today, a witness has claimed that the cleric who played a major role in framing charges of burning pages of the Holy Quran on the girl fabricated the evidence by placing Quranic pages in the ash brought to him by the complainant.

imam Khalid Jadoon

Recording his statement before a magistrate in Islamabad on Saturday, Hafiz Zubair said he and two other people were present in the mosque for Aitekaf. That was when Malik Ammad, the complainant in the case, came to the mosque's imam Khalid Jadoon with a plastic bag that he claimed contained the ashes of a Noorani Qaida allegedly burnt by Rimsha.

Zubair said Jadoon brought some pages of the Holy Quran from inside the mosque and mixed them with the ash.

"I asked Jadoon why he was fabricating the evidence. He said that this would ensure a strong case against the girl and would ultimately help them in evicting the Christians from the locality," said Azhar.

Pakistan Today said he added that the other two people present in the mosque at that time had also asked the imam not to place false evidence against the girl.

Commenting on the development, Rimsha's lawyer Tahir Naveed Chaudhry told Pakistan Today that Azhar's statement proved that the case against the minor girl was fabricated.

"Jadoon and Ammad concocted the evidence and they should be booked on the same charge that they had leveled against the girl," he said.

Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi also condemned the imam for implicating a minor girl in a false case.

"The revelation proves our stance that the case against the girl was fabricated. The government should take immediate notice of this revelation and should give exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of the crime to ensure that the law is not misused against any person," Pakistan Today reported he said.

Earlier in the day, Judge Muhammad Azam Khan adjourned the hearing of the case until Monday. He asked police to investigate a bail application made on Rimsha's behalf after prosecutors claimed paperwork had not been signed by the girl or her mother.

Pakistan Today said speaking to reporters outside the court, Rimsha's lawyer Tahir Naveed Chaudhry accused prosecutors and lawyers of using delaying tactics.

Islamists Demand Placing Coptic Church Funds Under Egyptian State Control

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

Muslim Brotherhood to Church: “All your money are belong to us!”

EGYPT (ANS) -- Demands raised this week by Islamists in the Constituent Assembly, which is drafting the new Egyptian constitution, for placing the Church's funds under state financial control were categorically rejected by church leaders and Copts at large.

According to a story by Mary Abdelmassih for the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), Anba Pakhomious, Acting Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, condemned the action of Salafist groups.

He said, "The mere submission of such a proposal is totally unacceptable, and if it is approved, this proposal has only one meaning, that Copts are clearly persecuted."

AINA said he added that the church will not accept the monitoring of its money or donations by any entity, and should not pay taxes to the state because all its activities fall within the provision of the needs of orphans and needy Copts. As a result, the state cannot claim taxes because they are not investment projects.

Counselor Edward Ghaleb, one of the three Coptic Orthodox Church representatives in the Constituent Assembly, said that if the government does not fund the church in any way, how can it demand monitoring its resources.

AINA reported he said that it was illogical to seek permission from the Central Auditing Authority to budget for the food for the monks in monasteries, and in the ordination of priests, as well as the numerous services provided by the Coptic Church, which are completely funded by collections from Copts.

Father Matthias Nasr, priest of the Church of the Virgin Ezbet el Nakhl, said the state has never funded churches, unlike mosques, which get funding from the taxpayer money paid by Muslims and Christians. AINA reported he said this new Salafist proposal is aimed at allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to dominate all institutions and exercise control on churches and Christians.

According to AINA, Khaled Saeed, spokesman for the Salafist Front, said the proposal of state monitoring of church funds came after the "insistence by some people" to monitor funds of the Muslim Brotherhood, stressing that the Salafist front does not interfere in the religious beliefs.

"There should be control over church funds," AINA reported he said during a debate over the issue with Ramses El-Naggar, legal adviser to the Coptic Church, which was aired on the Egyptian independent TV Channel Al Hayat on Aug. 28.

Saeed said the smallest monastery in Egypt is larger than the Vatican or Al-Azhar Mosque, which leads to concerns over the presence of a "church state within the Egyptian civil state."

AINA reported although assuring all Copts not to fear state control over the church, as the Copts are "part of the Egyptian people," he said that "still it is necessary to know where does its money go and if it is on the right track or not." He pointed out that the new constitution will put rules governing all state institutions.

For his part, Ramses Naggar said that comparing the Church with the Muslim Brotherhood is an error, because the MB has a political aim while the church is a spiritual institution.

AINA said he added that church charities like orphanages or senior citizen homes are subject to state control and he saw no harm in having limited control over churches. However, he said, church donations cannot be monitored, pointing out that mosques and churches are not monitored unless they disturb public order and morality.

Coptic intellectual Kamal Zakher, founder of the Secular Front, said that church funds are already controlled by the Coptic Endowment organization and the Milli Council. He explained that the Islamist proposal is a political message to the church to force it to take certain positions or "to seize its funds to control the imbalance in the state budget," reported El-Watan newspaper.

"They are trying to divert our attention from the public demands which went out demonstrating on 24/25 August to legalize the status of the MB and expose the sources of its funding," AINA reported the Free Copts statement said. "If you want to control me then fund me from the tax payer as the mosques, then you have the right to monitor me," the statement continued.

AINA said The Copts Without Chains organization described calls made by political Islam as attempts of "cheap political blackmail and political thuggery."

The movement demanded from them to look instead for ways to investigate suspicious sources of funding of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafist groups and the Sharia societies as well as the civil mosques that receive billions of dollars from third parties, which are used in supporting extremism, terrorism and Islamization of Christian minors.

India: 5,000 Victims in Kandhamal District, Orissa, Gather To Demand Justice

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

ORISSA, INDIA (ANS) -- Around 5,000 victims and survivors of the 2008 communal violence in Kandhamal district, Orissa, attended a public rally yesterday to mark the fourth anniversary of the violence and call for justice, peace and harmony. Local authorities only granted permission on the evening before the rally, and organizers claimed they had deliberately obstructed it for as long as possible.

Bishop Sarat Nayak

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Bishop Sarat Nayak, Catholic Bishop of Berhampur, addressed the rally, saying, "Peace can come only when there is truth and justice." The Christians, some of whom covered their mouths with black ribbons, displayed banners with slogans including, "We want justice, justice, justice," "Stop politics in the name of religion," and "We demand brotherhood in Kandhamal."

The rally also included a song written by Sharada Charan, a survivor of the violence, which captured some of the collective sentiment of the victims. The lyrics are translated as, "We are the people of Kandhamal / We are searching for our lost friends / We lived blinded by unfaith / We forgot love and affection in the shadow of discrimination / There are only sorrowful tears / Smiles of happiness have faded / the sons of the land are leaving / They are thrown away on the road of progress / So let's forget the past and move forward / Singing songs of love."

One of the men who allegedly set fire to one of many homes during the violence

Fr. Ajay Singh, an Orissa-based human rights activist involved in facilitating the Kandhamal rally, said, "This rally was to pay homage to the dead, and to call for justice, security and livelihood for the victims. It was to draw the attention of the government and other stakeholders to these needs, and to encourage the victims and build up solidarity among them.

"Despite the government giving permission only at the very last moment, the people came from far-flung, remote areas serviced with little public transport, braving the rain and possible threats and intimidation from the Sangh Parivar [extremist Hindu nationalist organisations] and government officials," said a CSW spokesperson.

"That indicates their thirst for justice, which you could see written on their faces, and when they left, they had a feeling that justice would be done sooner or later. We need to see progress towards that."

A Christian protestor

CSW said that also on August 30, the Himachal Pradesh High Court delivered a judgment in a case challenging the anti-conversion law in the state, striking down two provisions but holding the other aspects of the law to be constitutional. The court ruled against section 4 of the law, which makes it mandatory for a person seeking to convert to give prior notice to the district administration (except in the case of those re-converting to their earlier religion, which typically refers to a conversion to Hinduism), and rules 3 and 5, which mandate the state to inquire into every conversion. The Evangelical Fellowship of India, a principal petitioner in the case, welcomed the striking down of two clauses but said it was "regrettable" that the rest of the law was upheld, and noted that this "inadvertently played into the hands of communal forces."

David Griffiths, South Asia Team Leader for CSW, said, "As Bishop Sarat noted at the Kandhamal rally, justice is a prerequisite for peace. It is important to remember that the 2008 violence in Orissa came only eight months after an earlier wave of violence, for which there was mass impunity. With extremists still perpetuating communal tensions and the victims remaining deeply disenfranchised, the only way to guard against further violence and to promote true peace is to secure justice. That is why the cry of the victims must be heard.

"In Himachal Pradesh, the ruling striking down two aspects of the anti-conversion law was welcome, but it is disappointing that the other provisions of the law were upheld. The very concept of anti-conversion laws has been strongly criticized both by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and during India's recent Universal Periodic Review at the UN, and we fully concur with the view that these laws are in violation of India's obligations under international law."

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.