International Religious Freedom News

glasses off:

1. Egypt’s High Court Accepts Appeal of Copts (Jul. 2)

Cairo, Egypt
The Associated Press reports that Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court has accepted the appeal of a group of forty-five Coptic Christians over the matter of their religious designations on their identity cards. The members of the group, who had converted to Islam but later decided to return to Christianity, were initially denied permission to change their religious affiliation after they had converted. The initial ruling, which was handed down in April, followed the principles of Shari’a law, which forbids conversion away from Islam. Lawyers for the government planned to challenge the Coptic appeal, though human rights activists are hopeful that the Supreme Administrative Court will uphold “principles of religious freedom and non-discrimination.”

2. Uzbekistan Detains Three Found in Possession of Religious Literature (Jul. 4)
3. Two Conscientious Objectors Imprisoned in Turkmenistan (Jul. 4)
4. Belarus Detains Petitioners Hoping to Change Religion Law (Jul. 5)
5. Malaysia: Hindu Woman Released from Religious Detention Center (Jul. 6)
6. Officials Arrest Pastors in Central and Eastern China (Jul. 9)

Features:

A brief look at the state of religious freedom across the Middle East and Asia, from Asia News

The text of Pakistan’s apostasy bill, courtesy of ThePersecution.org

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