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Today’s Headlines:

PAKISTANI GOVERNMENT DRAFTS BILL TO REVISE ‘BLASPHEMY’ LAWS VIETNAM’S MONTAGNARD REFUGEES FACE NEW DANGERS IN CAMBODIA HINDU EXTREMISTS IN INDIA CONTINUE TO HOLD PASTOR’S WIFE CAPTIVE MINISTRIES TO SEND 54,000 BIBLES TO PERSECUTED COLOMBIAN BELIEVERS MULTINATIONAL MISSION TEAMS FIND SUCCESS REACHING MUSLIMS

Today’s News Stories:

PAKISTANI GOVERNMENT DRAFTS BILL TO REVISE ‘BLASPHEMY’ LAWS In the face of a growing international campaign for the repeal of the blasphemy laws and the Hudood ordinances, the Pakistani government announced last week that it would introduce a new bill to revise these laws. The amendments would also criminalize so-called “honor” killings. The news was announced Thursday, July 8, by Pakistani Justice Minister Raza Hayat Hiraj who said the draft would be presented to the country’s cabinet for approval. It was subsequently tabled in the National Assembly, and is being studied by the Council of Islamic Ideology. The bill was drafted with input from the Supreme Court which has already ruled that “honor killings” should be considered murder. The government’s move to reform these laws comes after the killings of several Christians in recent months, including Samuel Masih, accused of blasphemy, and Javed Anjum, murdered by mullahs at a madrassah (Islamic school). International pressure has mounted against the Pakistani authorities to take action to curb religious intolerance, and last month Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf called for “scrutiny” of the blasphemy laws and Hudood ordinances and an end to “honor killings.” The Hudood ordinances, introduced in 1979, deal with Islamic laws relating to criminal acts. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

VIETNAM’S MONTAGNARD REFUGEES FACE NEW DANGERS IN CAMBODIA Christian Montagnards who recently fled repression in Vietnam are now facing a hostile backlash on Cambodian soil. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is considering sending troops into his country’s forested northeast to root out more than 200 Montagnards who fled Vietnam’s central highlands after a police crackdown on protesters last April. The protesters were seeking land and religious rights. The refugees have been living off tubers and rainwater in Cambodia’s malaria-ridden jungles for months. Local hill tribe sources told the Cambodia Daily that up to 250 Montagnards may be hiding in the border region, and some have fallen seriously ill. Groups of the Montagnards have been photographed and interviewed by local newspaper reporters. The Cambodian government has alternately denied the refugees’ existence, called them illegal immigrants, or accused them of plotting a separatist movement, AsiaNews reported. Local and international human rights groups have criticized the Cambodian government’s handling of the situation. Only the Cambodian Red Cross, headed by Hun Sen’s wife, Bun Rany, says that aiding the refugees falls outside its mandate of helping natural disaster victims. The Vietnamese government has denied the existence of Montagnard refugees and barred international agencies and reporters from entering the central highlands at the time of the protests. (WorldWide Religious News)

HINDU EXTREMISTS IN INDIA CONTINUE TO HOLD PASTOR’S WIFE CAPTIVE Hindu extremists who kidnapped the wife of a Christian pastor in India six weeks ago are still holding her captive. Local police officers have refused to make any attempt to find Manulaben Dinana, 23. They have also refused to question the kidnappers who were identified by eyewitnesses as members of a local group of Hindu extremists. Dinana is the wife of pastor Dharmesh Ninama, who himself has been assaulted twice by the same group — once in 2002 and again last year. Despite ongoing appeals to the director general of police, the State Human Rights Commission and State Women’s Commission, officials have taken no action. Meanwhile, Dinana remains in captivity and her husband fears for her life. (Religion Today/Compass)

* “The Voice of the Great Southland,” the shortwave station operated by HCJB World Radio-Australia since January 2003, airs more than 59 hours of weekly Christian programming across South Asia. Programs go out in nine languages: English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali, Tamil, Chattisgarhi, Hmar and Meeitei. Most of the programming in the Indian languages is produced at HCJB World Radio’s studio in New Delhi. Additional releases from Australia, primarily in English, reach the South Pacific, Southeast Asia and East Asia.

MINISTRIES TO SEND 54,000 BIBLES TO PERSECUTED COLOMBIAN BELIEVERS A pair of Christian ministries have joined forces to bring hope and encouragement to thousands of Colombian believers who face persecution from FARC guerrillas. Bibles for the World (BFTW) is working in conjunction with Voice of the Martyrs to distribute 54,000 Bibles in the hill country of Colombia, says BFTW spokesman Eric Foley. “The guerrillas become very threatened anytime that anyone accepts Jesus Christ, because when they accept Christ they drop out of the guerrilla army and instead serve a different master. In order to make an example of people who have become Christians, they literally will go and slaughter Christians — either torturing them, or simply shooting them and killing them for making a profession of Jesus Christ.” Foley says time is crucial. “These are Christians whose lives are in danger from the moment they make a profession. And we want to get them Bibles as quickly as possible so that they can grow in Christ and share their faith with others.” Colombia is BFTW’s July project in its “Billion Bible Campaign.” (Mission Network News)

* Together with local partners, HCJB World Radio broadcasts the gospel on FM stations in four Colombian cities. The ministry also continues to air Spanish programs across the country and all of Latin America via shortwave from Quito.

MULTINATIONAL MISSION TEAMS FIND SUCCESS REACHING MUSLIMS As the war on terror continues around the world, Muslim outreach has been a challenge for missionaries. They’re required to make security a top priority, forcing Westerners to stress their citizenship in Christ, says Steve Strauss of SIM, a ministry that works with Muslims worldwide. “It’s important to distinguish who we are as believers in Jesus Christ and disciples from who we may be in our earthly citizenship,” he says. “In many Muslims’ minds there is no difference between a Christian and a Westerner, and many of our missionaries are going through great pains to show that there is a difference.” Strauss says many Muslims are coming to Christ through SIM’s multinational teams. “In one country where we’re doing a lot of work with Muslims, our team consists of Westerners, Koreans and other Asians, Latin Americans and some Africans. That kind of multinational approach destroys any accusation that the gospel is a Western creation.” (Mission Network News) * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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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