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Today’s News Headlines:

REPRESSIVE RELIGION LAW IN BELARUS GETS PRESIDENT’S SIGNATURE 40 BELIEVERS IN BHUTAN ARRESTED, TORTURED FOR THEIR FAITH ‘DAY OF THE DEAD’ CELEBRATION COULD CULMINATE WITH COURT CASE OUTREACH CONTINUES IN DEM. REP. OF CONGO DESPITE RENEWED FIGHTING GOSPEL SPREADS IN PHILIPPINES AMIDST BOMB BLASTS AUTHOR DEFENDS NEW BOOK ON ISLAM DEFINING ROOTS OF EXTREMISM

Today’s News Stories:

REPRESSIVE RELIGION LAW IN BELARUS GETS PRESIDENT’S SIGNATURE Belarus’ new religion law, considered the most restrictive in Europe, was signed by President Aleksandr Lukashenko the morning of Thursday, Oct. 31. It will come into force 10 days after its official publication. The new law outlaws unregistered religious activity, requires compulsory prior censorship for all religious literature, bans foreign citizens from leading religious organizations, restricts religious education to faiths that have at least 10 registered communities, and bans all but occasional small religious meetings in private homes. The new law was approved by the lower house of parliament on June 27 and by the upper house on Oct. 2. The president signed the law immediately after returning from a visit to the Gulf states. It remains unclear why it took him so long to decide to sign it or whether he signed it within the period specified by Belarus’ constitution. (Keston News Service)

40 BELIEVERS IN BHUTAN ARRESTED, TORTURED FOR THEIR FAITH Forty believers who were arrested in the Himalayan country of Bhutan on Sept. 24 have been tortured for their faith, reported Gospel for Asia. The report received this week indicated that one of the authorities told church members, “I will persecute the Christians and put an end to them in Bhutan.” Authorities also told one pastor to stop evangelizing or they would cut off electricity and water to his home. Recently two evangelists in the Bhutan also faced prison and torture for their faith in Christ. (Voice of the Martyrs)

‘DAY OF THE DEAD’ CELEBRATION COULD CULMINATE WITH COURT CASE The U.S. Justice Foundation, a pro-family law firm, is taking legal action against a California public school after district officials refused to cancel a controversial celebration marking the Day of the Dead, an event that actually spans three days (Oct. 31-Nov. 2). The 4th-grade event included pagan rituals and a sexually explicit video. “What they had the kids doing was literally building altars and bringing in pictures of dead relatives and dead pets to be placed on the altar for very specific remembrance,” said lawyer Richard Ackerman. “I’m not disputing that the celebration fits within a curriculum designed to give a historical perspective of Latino culture. That’s not the issue. It’s when you step over the line and have students actually engage in the practices.” The school superintendent argued that no specific religion was being taught by commemorating the Day of the Dead, and that within the curriculum it is appropriate to teach about cultural events. (Religion Today)

OUTREACH CONTINUES IN DEM. REP. OF CONGO DESPITE RENEWED FIGHTING In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a much-touted peace treaty is crumbling. Renewed fighting is creating rifts among the Congolese, threatening any hope of a long-lasting accord, says Grace Ministries International’s Sam Vinton. “The situation is such that there is fighting between the Congolese themselves now. In the city of Bukavu, where my son works, the Rwandis have come back in. They’re saying that since the Congolese themselves are not respecting the agreement, that they would come back in. So the situation is quite confused.” Meanwhile, Christian outreach continues among starving people caught in the crossfire. “We have made two air-freight shipments of food from Goma to Kindu to help the people,” Vinton says. “My son is working on a third shipment. The unrest is affecting our work in the sense that people cannot travel. We’re thankful that the gospel is still being preached and the churches are still going.” (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio works with local partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo to broadcast the gospel on FM stations in Boma, Bukavu and Kinshasa. Programs go out in English, French, Kikongo Fioti, Lingala, Luba and Swahili. Weekly programs in the Songe and Kikongo San Salvador languages also air from local FM stations in the country. In addition, HCJB World Radio airs Kikongo Fioti programs to the country via shortwave from Ecuador.

GOSPEL SPREADS IN PHILIPPINES AMIDST BOMB BLASTS An indigenous Philippine mission agency is reporting evangelistic progress in the midst of terrorist attacks and other hardships. The leader of a mission located on Mindanao Island said that its gospel workers reached 1,374 houses in three months (July-September), resulting in 4,766 decisions for Christ. One of the missionaries was appointed community chaplain and regularly conducts Bible classes for government officials and public school teachers. “Many got saved,” the mission leader said. Missionaries also are conducting Bible lessons in 81 public school classes. All this is carried on in the midst of terrorist attacks from communist and Muslim separatists. New People’s Army communist rebels recently clashed with a civilian defense force in a mountainous area where one of the mission’s tribal outreaches is located. The husband of one of the women attending the weekly Bible study was killed, and two other attendees are missing. One of the group’s missionaries escaped harm when a bomb went off on the bus he was riding. Also, a young woman was kidnapped and molested by a Muslim separatist, but was rescued. She and her sister are now under government custody for protection. And for two Sundays in a row, students working at the retreat center had their cottage ransacked and their food and clothing stolen. (Christian Aid Mission)

AUTHOR DEFENDS NEW BOOK ON ISLAM DEFINING ROOTS OF EXTREMISM Robert Spencer, an adjunct fellow at the Free Congress Foundation and author of a new book on Islam, says he is not being a “hatemonger” by pointing out the violent nature of that religion. The book quotes passages from the Koran that clearly show what the religion actually teaches. Spencer says he wanted to point out that he is only quoting verses from the Koran and is not trying to convince anyone of any particular interpretation of those verses or of the Koran in general. He said his intent is only to point out there are many millions of Muslims in the world who read certain verses and take them at face value — and who are interpreting them in a bellicose and violent way. “I don’t think in any sense,” Spencer says, “that this makes me a hatemonger.” Spencer says he wanted to debunk the one-sided discussion in the media that claims Islam is a “peaceful” religion. (Religion Today)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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