ANGRY MOB IN PAKISTAN KILLS MAN ACCUSED OF ‘BLASPHEMY’

UZBEKISTAN GOVERNMENT CONTINUES DEFIANCE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

CANADIAN PRO-LIFE LEADER CONFIDENT GAY MARRIAGE BILL WILL DIE

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE AGENCIES GATHER TO DISCUSS TRANSLATION NEEDS

SURVEY: BELIEFS OF U.S. CHRISTIANS NEARLY UNCHANGED IN LAST 15 YEARS

* HCJB WORLD RADIO’S MINISTRIES CONTINUE IN ECUADOR AMID UPHEAVAL

Today’s News Stories:

ANGRY MOB IN PAKISTAN KILLS MAN ACCUSED OF ‘BLASPHEMY’ A mob of angry villagers in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier province has killed a man accused of blasphemy, police say. Aasheq Nabi was shot dead in the Nowshera district, 18 miles from Peshawar, after reports that he had burned a copy of the Koran. News of the alleged desecration spread rapidly, bringing people onto the streets and calls for his arrest. Correspondents say it is the first time in several years that a blasphemy case in Pakistan has involved mob violence. Police said on Wednesday they had raided Nabi’s house in the Pabbi area, but the 400-strong mob found him first. Witnesses say he was chased through fields and sought refuge up a tree before being shot dead by someone in the crowd. Police said Nabi, who was in his 40s, had been in hiding since Monday. “We registered a case against him on Tuesday, but he was shot dead today before we could arrest him,” local police official Abdul Razzaq told the Associated Press. Police have yet to make any arrests in connection with the shooting. Under Pakistani law, the death penalty is mandatory for anyone convicted of blasphemy. (WorldWide Religious News/BBC)

UZBEKISTAN GOVERNMENT CONTINUES DEFIANCE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM The Uzbekistan government continues to defy its international religious freedom commitments as all unregistered religious activity remains illegal, and believers are routinely punished even for holding religious meetings in private homes. Missionary work is banned, while religious teaching is tightly controlled. Religious literature is censored by the government’s Religious Affairs Committee. Virtually all religious communities are subject to harsh government control, including Islam. While 90 percent of the population is Muslim, authorities see Islamic radicalism as a serious threat to the country’s security. In response, the country has adopted harsh measures against “fundamentalists” that affect the followers of all faiths. In a continuing anti-Protestant Christian campaign in northwestern Uzbekistan, it is “almost impossible” for Christian churches to gain official registration and meet legally for worship. In some cases, literature, including the Bible, imported into Uzbekistan without permission from the Religious Affairs Committee has been burned following a court decision. (Forum 18 News Service)

CANADIAN PRO-LIFE LEADER CONFIDENT GAY MARRIAGE BILL WILL DIE A Canadian pro-family activist says he is optimistic that there will soon be an election in Canada that will effectively kill the homosexual marriage bill. Brian Rushfeldt, co-founder of the Canadian Family Action Coalition, has been working diligently to convince members of Parliament not to support the amendment drafted by the Liberals which is aimed at legalizing same-sex marriage. While the second reading of that motion may come by next week, Rushfeldt believes many Liberals are growing fearful of supporting homosexual marriage. He says because of the Gomery Commission and corruption among the Liberals, an election could be called soon. “Some of the Liberal [members of parliament] are beginning to be very fearful that if there is an election call, and [if] they have voted on the wrong side of this marriage issue, that may be the end of their political career,” Rushfeldt said. If an election is called, that would be bad news for supporters of the measure. “If the election was going to be in June, there would be no way this would get to third reading and get passed into legislation,” he says. “So, in effect, when the election gets called, if it’s called for June, then Bill C-38 is dead until after the next parliament is formed.” Rushfeldt is optimistic that the Conservatives will form the next government. (AgapePress)

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE AGENCIES GATHER TO DISCUSS TRANSLATION NEEDS An international gathering of Bible agencies recently met to discuss where the greatest Bible translation needs are, and what to do about it. The forum brought together more than 20 major Bible translation and distribution agencies as well as a large number of national representatives who are doing translation work in their countries around the world. More than 2600 language groups don’t have the Bible translated into their heart language. The forum focused on Indonesia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and India. The Seed Company’s Roy Peterson is excited about this partnership of agencies. “It’s strategic planning, working together, fellowship, team-building,” he said. “All of this is a way the body of Christ is working together today. How could anybody ever really know God without the Word in their language? How can they have sermons? How can they have worship songs without the Scriptures?” Peterson said the passion for spreading God’s Word is catching on. “We have tremendous response to prayer initiatives to pray for the people without Scripture in their heart language.” (Mission Network News)

SURVEY: BELIEFS OF U.S. CHRISTIANS NEARLY UNCHANGED IN LAST 15 YEARS An annual survey from the Barna Group finds little change in faith-related beliefs, behaviors and perspectives among U.S. Christians in the last 15 years. Lead researcher George Barna says this indicates there are many challenges facing pastors and church leaders. “The State of the Church: 2005” survey examined nearly 50 religious measures including church attendance, the percentage of unchurched people, prayer, donating to churches, and core beliefs. The findings indicated a small increase in Bible reading, while the percentage of evangelical Christians in the U.S. remains at just 7 percent of the population. That number has not changed since the Barna Group began measuring the size of the evangelical public more than a decade ago. In addition, the survey indicates decreased church attendance, Sunday school involvement and the number of people who have a biblical view of God’s character. Overall, the survey discovered that more than nine out of 10 American adults take part in some sort of “faith-related practice” during a typical week. The survey also found increases in the number of born-again Christians who share their faith with non-Christians. Data reported in the summary was based on phone interviews with a nationwide, random sample of more than 1,000 adults. (Religion Today/Agape Press)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO’S MINISTRIES CONTINUE IN ECUADOR AMID UPHEAVAL All operations at HCJB World Radio in Quito, Ecuador, have continued as normal amid a series of escalating street protests in the last week that culminated with the ouster of President Lucio Guti ©rrez on Wednesday, April 20. All staff members in Ecuador are safe and in no imminent danger as the mission continues to monitor the situation.

The U.S. Embassy in Quito issued the following warden message on Thursday, April 21: “The protests, centered in Quito, may abate, but the possibility exists that they may continue. American citizens should avoid large crowds and demonstrations and minimize travel in the city. There are no disruptions in the rest of the country. The U.S. Consulate in Guayaquil is open for business as usual.”

Listeners to Radio Station HCJB in Quito have tuned in to the broadcasts as a reliable source of objective, accurate news throughout the political crisis. “The Spanish Department covered the story not only from a news angle the day of the president’s removal, but also with a spiritual angle that looks beyond the immediate political situation,” said English programmer Ralph Kurtenbach in Quito. The station has been broadcasting locally in Ecuador and internationally via shortwave since 1931.

Ecuadorian program host Tony Tamayo prayed on the air after the president’s removal, “Lord tonight we repent. Forgive us. We humble ourselves tonight. We haven’t sought your face Lord. Clean us up from evil. Cleanse us. We’ve been negligent in interceding for our nation. The blood of Jesus Christ is the only blood that cleanses. Cleanse our land. We (Christians) are the cause of this crisis because we didn’t pray. The problem’s solution is not in the change, but in the change within a person. The change must take place within a person’s heart.”

Brazil granted Guti ©rrez political asylum on Thursday, the day after Ecuador’s Congress removed him from office and installed Alfredo Palacio, the former vice president, as the country’s new head of state. Congress voted 60-0 with two abstentions on Wednesday to remove Guti ©rrez, a former army colonel, from office over the violent crackdown on demonstrations in the city. Initially, Ecuador’s government resisted the popular protests, but the military then removed its support of Guti ©rrez, hastening his ouster.

Guti ©rrez remains inside the Brazilian Embassy complex, which was surrounded by military guards, waiting to learn whether he would be flown to Brazil. A spokesman for Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said the embassy is expected to reach an agreement with Palacio’s government to allow Guti ©rrez to fly to Brasilia, the Brazilian capital. “An airplane has already flown to the Amazon region where it will wait for authorization to fly to Quito and collect” Guti ©rrez, said spokesman Glaucio Jos © Noguera Veloso in a telephone interview. Meanwhile, Palacio presided over a swearing-in ceremony for members of his new cabinet.

Guti ©rrez came to power as a populist left-winger in 2002, but lost the backing of many supporters by implementing free-market policies. Palacio began by saying analysis of the Free Trade Agreement will top his agenda and that the matter of “intellectual property” will not be negotiated. Regarding Ecuador’s Supreme Court — which Guti ©rrez dissolved last Friday — Palacio said he’ll revise proposals that within Congress, a consensus can be reached. Granting of petroleum contracts will be stopped.

Palacio is a 66-year-old cardiologist. Until Wednesday, Palacio maintained a low profile in the government but was becoming increasingly critical of the president’s policies. Since the presidential race second-round runoff more than two years ago, the distance between Palacio and Guti ©rrez was evident after the ex-president backed off from his offer to let Palacio administer social programs if they won the election.

Palacio has said politics didn’t interest him, but as the daily Quito newspaper Hoy puts it, “Each time he’s had the opportunity to give a speech, he’s done so.” The newspaper reported that he is adept at establishing positions that favor the downtrodden, and according to his own words, “is in the current of change.” Palacio has not allowed himself to be labeled as a rightist or a leftist, but has said he doesn’t fear the word “left.” He said it’s “understood that such a person wants change that the people are asking for.”

Palacio said that’s why he accepted Guti ©rrez’s offer, in alliance with the Indian group, Pachakutik, to run for vice president in 2003. During the four-year government of Sixto Dur ¡n Ball ©n (1992-1996), Palacio directed the Social Security Institute and the Health Ministry.

Sources: HCJB World Radio/Washington Post/AFP/Hoy/U.S. Embassy in Quito

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