Dr. Sajan George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) told ICC that Pastor Muna got into trouble when he prayed for a woman suffering from tuberculosis and kidney problems, not knowing that she was the wife of a local leader of the VHP. The lady was the wife of Jibardhana Chouhan, the Rourkela district coordinator of the VHP.

“As Pastor Muna started praying for the lady in her house, her daughters shouted that he was trying to force her to accept Christianity. Immediately, the daughters called the neighbors and made accusations of forced conversion against the pastor,” George said.

The family members promptly called the police and handed over Pastor Muna to them. The police arrested the pastor on charges of house-trespass, use of criminal force on a woman and hurting religious sentiments, under Sections 448, 354 and 295A of the Indian Penal Code. Muna was consequently produced before a court, which refused his bail application and remanded him in judicial custody.

source ICC. www.persecution.org

On September 11, the villagers drove the families from their homes. Then, after a meeting on September 14, the villagers forcibly "reconverted" the families to Hinduism and then arranged for a local criminal to murder Topno. Topno went missing from his home on September 16. His body was found in a jungle near the village of Sahoda three days later.

Thank the Lord for Ajay's life as a cross-bearing disciple of Christ. Ask God to comfort those who mourn for him. Pray that Indian Christians will be emboldened to follow in their Saviour's footsteps and remain faithful to Him at all cost (1 Corinthians 4:9-14, 16).

source: persecution.org

The prisons bureau had come under pressure from religious groups and some US lawmakers over the original measures, called the "Standardised Chapel Library Project".

This had led to works by internationally respected 20th century theologians, such as Karl Barth, being excluded from prison libraries because they were not on a list of 150 approved book titles.

In a 27 September statement, the bureau said that while it would return to the shelves materials that had been removed in recent months, it would still compile a more complete list of acceptable material.

The bureau said it expected that some "inappropriate" materials that could be deemed "radicalising", or might "incite violence" could still be removed, though the amount of such material would probably be small.

Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican and member of the House of Representatives, said he remained concerned the chapel library project had not been fully eliminated.

"It appears they've taken the car and put it in neutral, but they didn't put it in park," The Associated Press quoted Hensarling as saying.

Nonetheless, the leader of one of the religious groups that had criticised the prisons' bureau applauded the modified policy, and said the authorities had listened "to the concerns of a diversity of faith communities."

Prison Fellowship president Mark Earley commented, "By returning to the common sense approach of getting rid of only those materials that incite violence, they ensure that prisoners have access to a wide range of quality religious works that will help them become productive members of society when they are released back to our communities."

Eni news

"The flight of Christians from Iraq is a sign of the failure of policies that were purported to bring stability and peace to Iraq and even the region," said the WCC, which opposed the US-led military action that brought down Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

"Intolerance between social groups has grown markedly as an outcome of the conflict there," the Geneva-based church grouping said in a statement issued on 1 October after a meeting in Armenia of its executive committee. "Although Christians represent only four percent of Iraq's population, they make up 40 percent of its refugees," the church grouping stated.

The WCC praised Muslim clerics who are using their influence to contain violence in Iraq, and said joint Christian-Muslim advocacy outside Iraq for tolerance would send a signal to those of all faiths inside the country.

"The continuing presence of Christians in Iraq is a witness to the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity that are an essential part of Middle East," the WCC said, noting that members of all religious communities in Iraq have been displaced or have fled the country.

"The fate of Christians must not be seen in isolation from the fate of Muslims, or of other minorities such as the Yazidees and Mandeans, or used to worsen relations with Muslims or other groups," said the WCC, which gathers 347 churches, predominately Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox.

In a separate statement the church grouping warned against settling the dispute of Iran's nuclear programme by force.

"This international church position against attacking Iran seeks protection for all the populations involved, including the US and Israeli publics," the WCC stated. "Years of unilateralist military incursions in the Middle East have compromised human security and national well-being across the region and left many people vulnerable."

source: ENI news

South Korea also confirmed that 29-year-old Shim Sung Min is dead and his bullet-riddled body has been found in the Ghazi province early Tuesday, the same province from where the men and women have been kidnapped July 19.

“One of our citizens kidnapped in Afghanistan, Shim Sung Min, was confirmed July 31 to have been killed,” foreign ministry spokesman Cho Hee Yong said in Seoul.

“We cannot but feel rage at the kidnappers’ merciless killing in the midst of our utmost effort to free the hostages, and we denounce their actions,” he said.

“We again urge the kidnappers to stop these atrocities and return our citizens.”

A Taliban spokesman said the South Korean has been killed late Monday, threatening that this executions will continue until their demands are met.

The Afghan government didn’t release any of the suspected Taliban militants in custody, sparking the anger of the group holding the South Korean citizens, who said they will begin killing all the men and then the women if their comrades aren’t freed by 4 pm (1130 GMT).

Eighteen women and five men have been abducted while they were travelling towards Kandahar almost two weeks ago. The South Koreans were members of the Saemmul Community Church and were training Afghans in using computers, along with other peaceful missions.

The group’s leader, pastor Bae Hyung Kyu was the first member executed, authorities discovering his body on July 25.

eFluxMedia

"Unbalanced behaviour varies according to individuals and circumstances, and may include impoliteness, rude gestures, cursing, blasphemy, loss of sense of responsibility, or deliberate infringement of the Highway Code," says the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in a 19 June document entitled "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road".

"For some drivers, the unbalanced behaviour is expressed in insignificant ways, whilst in others it may produce serious excesses that depend on character, level of education, an incapacity for self-control and the lack of a sense of responsibility," the guidelines note.

The document also records that during the 20th century approximately 35 million people lost their lives in road accidents, whilst around one and a half billion were injured. In 2000, there were 1 260 000 road deaths, the guidelines explain, while about 90 per cent of accidents were due to human error.

The exercise of charity by drivers has a "dual" dimension, says the pontifical council: "The first regards looking after one's vehicle, which means making sure that it is safe from a technical point of view, so as not to knowingly put one's own or other people's lives at risk."

The second dimension is about the "love of travellers whose lives should not be endangered by incorrect and careless manoeuvres that may cause harm to both passengers and pedestrians".

Good drivers, the guidelines say, "courteously give way to pedestrians, are not offended when overtaken, allow someone who wishes to drive faster to pass and do not seek revenge".

The Vatican's "Ten Commandments" for motorists are:

I. You shall not kill.

II. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

III Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

IV. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents.

V. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

VI. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

VII. Support the families of accident victims.

VIII. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

IX. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

X. Feel responsible towards others.

ENI

"Rapid urbanisation was expected to mean the triumph of rationality, secular values and the demystification of the world, as well as the relegation of religion to a secondary role. Instead, there has been a renewal in religious interest in many countries," the United Nations Population Fund says in its report, "The State of World Population 2007".

The growth of new religious movements is primarily an urban phenomenon, the report notes.

The report points to "radical Islam in the Arab region, Pentecostal Christianity in Latin America and parts of Africa, and the cult of Shivaji in parts of India". In China, where cities are growing at a breakneck pace, religious movements are fast gaining adherents, the report adds.

By 2008, more than half the world's current 6.7 billion people will live in cities, the report states. It says that by then, though mega-cities - urban areas with more than 10 million inhabitants - will continue to grow, most people will be living in cities of 500 000 or fewer.

Globally, all future population growth will take place in cities, nearly all of it in Asia, Africa and Latin America, says the report launched on 27 June. It explains that in Asia and Africa this will mark a decisive shift from rural to urban growth, and will involve changing a balance that has lasted for millennia.

"The urbanisation is jolting mentalities and subjecting them to new influences," the report's main author, George Martine, is quoted as saying by the London-based Independent newspaper. "And now one of the ways for people to reorganise themselves in this urban world is to associate themselves with new or strong, fundamentalist religion," Martine said.

Still, the report also cautions against a tendency to focus on extreme religious responses and "to lump them all under the rubric of 'fundamentalism'."

While such extreme responses have gained numerous followers, "religious revivalism has varied forms with different impacts, ranging from detached 'new age' philosophy to immersion in the political process," states the UN report.

"Increased urbanisation, coupled with slow economic development and globalisation, has helped to increase religious diversity," the report notes. "Rather than revivals of a tradition, the new religious movements can be seen as adaptations of religion to new circumstances."

ENI Stephen Brown

It was held at Jantar Mantar near Parliament, and included many Christian leaders, including All India Christian Council (AICC) president Joseph D’souza, AICC secretary general Dr. John Dayal, Bishop Karam Masih of the Church of North India, and principal of Mount Carmel School in Delhi V.K. Williams. They warned Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh that his silence could lead to killing of innocent people at the hands of Hindu extremists.

The police rounded up and detained about 4,000 participants in the rally later in the day, but the crowd left the Parliament Street police station at 2:15 p.m. after an official announced that there was not enough room in the jails to keep such a huge number of people.

“This was the first time since November 1997 that such large numbers of Christians have been arrested in the Parliament Street police station. It was incredible to see Catholic nuns, Protestant pastors, civil society activists and more singing Christian songs of liberation within the police station,” said Dayal, member of the National Integration Council of the Government of India.

The rally participants, who were from several states, including Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, shouted slogans against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by the Congress party, saying, “wake up and stop atrocities on Christians”.

Rev. Madhu Chandra, regional secretary of the AICC, explained that in 2006, the AICC recorded at least one anti-Christian attack every three days, “but this rose to one attack every alternate day during the first four months of this year.”

A majority of attacks on Christians are led by groups associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Corps or RSS), which is also the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Christian organizations estimate that more than 100 anti-Christian attacks have taken place this year thus far.

Also present at the rally were victims of communal violence, including Jaipur pastor Walter Masih, who walked up to the stage limping due to an injury sustained in an attack.

“We have asked the authorities to publicly condemn the attacks on peace-loving Indian Christians. We have appealed to the chief ministers and police administration of various states besides writing open letters to the prime minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, but we have not received any response from any of these,” lamented Dayal.

International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org

The message was chalked on a wall opposite a church in Charsadda. It was signed by the “Taliban’s Detonative Department” and reiterated an ultimatum previously circulated to the Christian community in a letter. The letter warned the Christians to convert to Islam by 17 May 2007 or face “dire consequences and bomb explosions”. The Christian community in Charsadda, numbering approximately 500 people, have rejected the ultimatum.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW) sources, similar threats have been made to a Bible School in Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province.

On 18 May, a day after the deadline for conversion to Islam expired, more than 100 Christians in Charsadda signed a letter to President Pervez Musharraf and the Chief Minister of North-West Frontier Province, urging the authorities to provide proper security for the area in light of death threats made by extremists. The letter stated that some Christians have already fled the area due to lack of security.

According to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), “Islamic radicals are trying to impose Taliban-style social edicts in northwestern Pakistan”. They added that the extremists “are growing bolder, bombing audio and video shops, threatening barbers for trimming beards and warning hotels to remove televisions from guest rooms.” Last month, Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, “narrowly escaped” a suicide attack that killed 28 people in Charsadda, APMA reports.

Minorities in Charsadda are seeking ways to resolve the tension peacefully. APMA has established a Charsadda Peace Committee involving local Muslim and Christian leaders, to promote “inter-faith harmony, unity and tolerance”. APMA has also appealed to Islamic scholars and Muslim leaders to condemn the threats to Christians.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s National Director, Stuart Windsor, said: “We are deeply concerned about the situation in North-West Frontier Province, and we continue to monitor developments very closely. We urge the Pakistani authorities to do all they can to protect the Christians in Charsadda and throughout the country, and to prevent an outbreak of violence.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW)

Interactive audio-visual devices explain the history and ceremonies of the three monotheistic religions, and a programme of colourful events on the library forecourt will include gospel choirs and a performance by the whirling Dervish dancer Zia Azazi

"We hope that this exhibition can make a significant contribution towards promoting better understanding of the three faiths," exhibition curator Graham Shaw told Ecumenical News International. "We took the groundbreaking decision to display objects of the three religions side by side rather than in separate zones to show how they have interacted and influenced each other and how much they have in common."

Shaw noted: "Faith affects all our lives, believers and secular alike, and we want to demonstrate how it is still relevant to contemporary Britain."

Among the oldest documents, he cited a Dead Sea Scroll fragment from AD 50, the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest surviving complete copy of the New Testament in Greek dating from the fourth century AD and the Ma'il Qur'an from the first century of the Muslim Hijri calendar (early eighth century AD) which was penned within 100 years of the flight of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.

Another rare item is the Syraic Pentateuch, the earliest known dated Biblical manuscript written by Deacon John at Amida in Turkey in AD 463 which comprises the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Among the private loans are a gold shalwar kameez worn by Jemima Goldsmith when she married the former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan.

A leading exhibition sponsor is the Moroccan British Society, along with faith bodies and other institutions including the Coexist Foundation and the Saint Catherine Foundation.

ENI