Today’s Headlines:

BELARUS COURT AGAIN FINES CHURCH OFFICIAL FOR ORGANIZING SERVICE

SRI LANKAN PARLIAMENT TO CONSIDER MAKING BUDDHISM STATE RELIGION

HINDU EXTREMISTS ATTACK CHRISTIANS IN INDIA AFTER IDOL IS DAMAGED

PAKISTANI WOMAN SAYS MUSLIMS RAPED, TRIED TO CONVERT HER

INDONESIANS ANSWER CALL TO MISSIONS DESPITE ONGOING PERSECUTION

Today’s Top Stories:

BELARUS COURT AGAIN FINES CHURCH OFFICIAL FOR ORGANIZING SERVICE

Vasily Yurevich, administrator of New Life Church in Minsk, Belarus, was fined 4,080,000 Belarusian rubles (US$1,895) by the city’s Moscow District Court Friday, Sept. 23, for organizing a Sunday-morning service two months earlier. The fine — equivalent to 160 times the country’s official minimum monthly wage — is the second handed down to Yurevich for violating the “established procedure for holding religious events.” He was first fined on Dec. 28, 2004, for organizing a similar “illegal” worship service. Judge Natalya Kuznetsova said that Yurevich “took part in a religious gathering of prayers and preaching” the morning of Sunday, July 24, in a “building not specially designed for religious events without the permission of the district administration.” Three police officers who checked on the service testified that they saw a “man preaching on a stage decorated with religious items, urging those present in the hall to turn to God.” Kuznetsova described the church as a “sect” and suggested its members “club together” to pay the fine. Yurevich said he intends to appeal the decision and has not paid either of the fines handed down by the court. (Forum 18 News Service)

SRI LANKAN PARLIAMENT TO CONSIDER MAKING BUDDHISM STATE RELIGION

Sri Lanka’s parliament will debate a proposal next week to amend the constitution to make Buddhism the state’s official religion. The 19th amendment, which was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in December 2004, has been placed on the Parliamentary Order Paper for a second reading on Tuesday, Oct. 4. While Sri Lanka’s Constitution accords Buddhism the “foremost place,” it does not recognize any one religion as the state religion. Religious freedom is protected in the country’s constitution. The proposed amendment raises serious concerns that religious freedom could be undermined. If passed, Buddhists would be required to raise their children as Buddhists, and conversion of Buddhists to other religions would be prohibited. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

HINDU EXTREMISTS ATTACK CHRISTIANS IN INDIA AFTER IDOL IS DAMAGED

Hindu extremists attacked and threatened several Christians in the Jhabua district of India’s Madhya Pradesh state, Thursday, Sept. 22, accusing them of desecrating a Hindu idol. One Christian was admitted to a hospital with serious injuries while another was detained at the Kalyanpura police station for more than 32 hours. Prakash Ninama was working in his field when a bull strayed onto his property. He threw a stone in order to drive the animal away – but he was drunk and accidentally hit a Hindu idol at the edge of his field. Though a Hindu, Prakash Ninama had attended Christian worship services from time to time. Police interrogated him and several other Christians who were then beaten mercilessly by a Hindu group, the Vanavasi Kalyan Parishad (VKP). The victim at the hospital said about 150 VKP members had descended on the village with the police, interrogating and threatening Christians following the damage done to the idol. (Compass)

PAKISTANI WOMAN SAYS MUSLIMS RAPED, TRIED TO CONVERT HER

A Pakistani woman has charged three men with raping her earlier this month and threatening to kill her if she did not convert from Christianity to Islam. Ribqa Masih, 22, testified at a court hearing Thursday, Sept. 22, that Ghulam Abbas and Mohammad Kashif drugged and kidnapped her on Friday, Sept. 2. Masih had made the 10-mile trip from her home town of Chak to the city of Faisal Abad with a Muslim female friend who, unbeknownst to Masih, had arranged to meet Abbas and Kashif at the bus stop in Faisal Abad. The two men offered Masih a drink of water that caused her to lose consciousness, and they allegedly raped her throughout the night. They also allegedly threatened to shoot her and kill the rest of her family if she did not repeat the Islamic creed, which, if done in the presence of two Muslims, is considered a valid form of conversion to Islam. Masih refused, saying that she would rather die than change her religion. The next morning her kidnappers handed her over to another Muslim whom they said would take her home, but he raped her repeatedly in the next three days. On Tuesday, Sept. 6, the man finally returned Masih to Faisal Abad and left her at a public bus stop. Unable to walk due to her injuries, she hired a rickshaw to take her to her uncle’s house where she telephoned her parents. (Compass)

INDONESIANS ANSWER CALL TO MISSIONS DESPITE ONGOING PERSECUTION

Roy Peterson of the Seed Company, who recently returned from a trip to Indonesia, says Indonesians are willing to spread the gospel to their countrymen despite the ongoing threat of persecution. “Churches were being closed down by the majority religion [Islam] there,” he said. “There is a lack of freedom to get land to open up and build new churches. They are living with persecution. It’s very quiet . . . not well-broadcast persecution, but it is a part of everyday life.” Despite the pressures, believers are doing everything they can to encourage evangelism. At a conference where Peterson spoke, hundreds of young people responded positively to the call to get involved in missions. “Many of the people groups in Indonesia still don’t have the Scriptures in their language,” he said. “There are about 700 different languages across those 3,000 miles of islands.” The Seed Company is training Indonesians to do the work. “Across the spectrum I saw young people, I saw pastors, and I saw business people giving strategically,” said Peterson. “I just came away with a sense of God working in that country.” (Mission Network News)