Standing up for Christ

Five stories about five individuals from five continents

Australian MP calls for new religious freedom law making religious belief exempt from job contracts.

Leading Australian MP Barnaby Joyce is calling for a new religious freedom law, dubbed “Folau’s Law”, that will protect freedoms and make religious belief exempt from employment contracts. The former deputy prime minister and former National Party leader said, “You can’t bring people’s faith beliefs into a contract. Your own views on who God is, where God is or whether there’s a God should remain your own personal views and not part of any contractual obligation.”

The proposed legislation has been nicknamed “Folau’s Law”, referring to Christian rugby player Israel Folau who was dismissed by Australian Rugby on 15 April after he posted an image on social media quoting Scripture and saying that “hell awaits” drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters unless they repent. The image’s caption also stated, “Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your sin and come to him.“

Joyce said of Folau’s sacking, “People were a little bit shocked that someone could lose their job because of what they believe.” The attorney-general, Christian Porter, is expected to present a Religious Discrimination Act to Parliament in July, acting on a pre-election pledge to increase protections for people of faith against discrimination and vilifcation. Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said the election marked a “new dawn” for religious freedom. Members of the ruling Liberal-National Coalition say their surprise victory in this month’s general election, which saw signifcant swings away from the Labour opposition in highly-religious seats, strengthens their case for bolder, far-reaching reforms to enshrine freedoms, other than freedom from discrimination.

Cuban home-schooler …

A Cuban pastor and his wife have been jailed for giving their children a Christian education at home, to avoid them being taught atheism at school in the communist country.

Pastor Ramón Rigal was jailed for two years and his wife, Ayda, for one-and-ahalf years on 23 April after being charged with “acting against the normal development of a minor”. The couple admitted they home-schooled, Ruth, thirteen, and Daniel, nine, because of the promotion of atheism and socialism in state-run Cuban schools. They were also concerned about the bullying that the children were experiencing at a school due to their Christian faith. Ruth and Daniel are now being looked after by their grandparents.

The decision was condemned in a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga stated, “This crackdown on Christians homeschooling their children is part of the Cuban government’s systematic assault on religion, which includes singling out religious leaders and activists for harassment and discrimination.”

She urged the Cuban government to immediately release Pastor Ramón and his wife along with others detained for home-schooling their children according to their religious beliefs. USCIRF said it was further alarmed that Roberto Jesus Quinones Haces, an independent lawyer who wanted to observe the trial, was detained and severely beaten.

Pastor Ramón was previously prosecuted and sentenced to a year of “correctional labour”, later reduced to house arrest, for home-schooling his children in 2017. The pastor was also banned from leading his church, and ordered to take up a low-paid government job checking the local water supply for disease.

Sri Lankan hero …

A worshipper who bravely tended to victims of a suicide bomb attack at a Sri Lankan church despite being severely injured himself, died on 4 June after spending 40 days in intensive care.

Arun Prashanth collapsed while helping others in the immediate aftermath of the Islamist terrorist attack on Zion Evangelical Church, Batticaloa, on Easter Sunday, an eyewitness recalled. The 30-year-old was taken to hospital where it was discovered he had a serious spinal injury. Arun’s condition deteriorated and after fighting for his life in intensive care for 40 days he passed away. Arun, the sole family breadwinner who cared for his widowed mother, was very active in Christian ministry and known as someone who was always available to help out anyone in need, said a Barnabas Fund contact.

At least 30 people including 14 children have now died as a result of the bombing of the Zion church by Islamic State terrorists. More than 250 people were killed and at least 500 injured in the coordinated bombings on 21 April that targeted three churches and three hotels where Christians gathered. Two other devices exploded later, one at a housing complex and another at a guest house.

Turkish protestor …

The Christian mother of a 13-year-old boy is fuming after a Turkish TV star tricked her son into “converting” to Islam on a live show broadcast on 11 May.

“My son did not convert to Islam. We are Armenians and Christians. If I had known [what would happen on the show], I would have been with my son,” said Alia, the boy’s furious mum. The story was a hot news item in Turkey, but the boy’s parents now plan to sue the producers of the ATV television show for tricking the child live on air. Garo Paylan, a Turkish MP, is driving the mother’s legal case.

On TV, the boy, Arthur, was told the Islamic profession of faith by popular Muslim theologian Nihat Hatiopoglu and asked to repeat it before being given a Muslim name. “Arthur is a naive 13- year-old boy,” said his mum. “A Syrian friend of his told him: ‘Come, we’ll talk on live TV. They will give us toys, and we will eat with the stars.’ And my son went with him. He’s a child, he made a mistake, but he did not convert.”

Some Muslims believe that the mere recitation of this Islamic creed is sufcient to convert a non-Muslim to Islam, even if there is no belief. And once one becomes a Muslim – no matter what the circumstances – the person is considered an apostate if they return to their original religion. According to the Hanaf school of Islamic law, which is dominant in Turkey, the punishment for a boy (child) apostate is to be imprisoned until he comes of age and then killed.

On the other hand …

A recently installed Algerian governor, Mohamed Djemaâ, is continuing to take the hard line of his predecessor against a church building operating in his province by ignoring a court order and shutting down the place of worship. Boudjima Church in Tizi Ouzou province was sealed by the authorities on 27 May. The evangelical church has been embroiled in a long-running legal battle with the authorities since 2017 when it was targeted as part of an ongoing ofensive launched against churches that saw several shut down.

Boudjima Church frst opened its doors on 11 January 2019 after a court ruled against the province’s previous governor, Abdelhakim Chater, who wanted to stop its construction. Chater has since moved on to a chief of staff role in central government. Tizi Ouzou’s head of security visited the church on 28 April with heavily-armed security forces and threatened to close it. On a subsequent visit, on 27 May, security agents sealed all the doors of the building.

The church is the fourth that has been recently closed, despite it reportedly having the correct documentation to hold services. Churches are sometimes closed down over “fre and safety” issues, or if they are not registered, but they are also sometimes allowed to reopen after protesting a closure.

Committees made up of officials of the Ministry of Religious Afairs, the Fire Brigade, the national Gendarmerie and the Intelligence Department started visiting churches in late 2017.

The declared aim of the committees was to check safety, but they also asked about permits to operate as churches obtained from the National Commission for Non-Muslim Worship. Despite numerous requests from some churches, the commission has reportedly never issued a permit.

There is growing concern in Algeria over the attempts of Islamist extremists to fll the political vacuum left by the departure of 82-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. A presidential election was set for 4 July but postponed on 2 June, after the constitutional council said only two candidates were prepared to stand and both were invalid. The postponement will likely extend the rule of interim President Abdelkader Bensalah beyond the 90-day period set for the caretaker presidency