World in Brief

A judge in Pakistan has overturned a ruling which had prohibited a Christian from correcting his name and religion on his national identity card after he was the victim of a fake conversion to Islam.

Morning Star News reported that the original ruling had said that 24-year-old Christian Sufyan Masih could not be listed as a Christian again due to his supposed conversion to Islam. His lawyer revealed that due to an inability to read or write, he had unwittingly put his thumbprint to the fraudulent form without knowing what he was affirming.

About 100 Christians have been forced to leave their homes in India’s Chhattisgarh State following the passing of new legislation. Village councils passed a joint resolution in the Sukma District which outlaws Christians staying in any of the area’s eight villages.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the resolution states that Christians in the area would be forced to either leave or give up the faith, or all that they own would potentially be stolen from them. The chief of one village claimed that the village council’s decision overrides the Indian Constitution’s ruling which protects religious freedoms.

Three Christians have been killed in Plateau State, Nigeria by Fulani Herdsmen in two separate attacks.

A woman and her adult son in Hwollaza Village were killed during an attack on their family which left another family member in critical condition, before a 30-year-old man was shot and killed just days later while on his way to Daika from Mangu Town. The body of the second victim, Fwangshak Lesun, was found by his family next to the Mangu-Daika bridge. According to Morning Star News, authorities said they are investigating the incidents.

Several organisations have reported concern around freedom of religion in Sweden to the United Nations (UN). The statement, which has been signed by the Swedish, European and World Evangelical Alliances expressed concern regarding various issues including hate-speech laws, funding, abortion, and conversion therapy.

The statement also expressed concern regarding the way Christian asylum seekers are being treated, saying that treatment is ‘politicised’ and ‘does not comply with international law and with international standards for refugee-status determination’.

About 250 students considered how best to share the gospel with Muslims at the Italian GBU National Study Conference (NSC). The 17th conference was held under the theme ‘Living and Engaging with Islam’.

The event’s speaker, Emil Shehadeh, is an Israeli Arab who has experience of Islamic studies, and spoke in four sessions to help students understand Islam better, and then respond to accusations about Christ, reported Evangelical Focus.

Women under 30 are more likely to be atheists than men in the same age group in Finland, according to a new report. Only 11% of the women under 30 who were surveyed said they believed in the Christian God, and faith gets even weaker as the age decreases further.

The study, titled ‘Church in a Time of Uncertainty. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland 2020–2024,’ and conducted by the Church Research Institute, shows a clear religious divergence developing between men and women and suggests young Finnish women are ‘distancing themselves from Christianity,’ according to Hanna Salomaki, the Institute’s Director.

Thirty-four Christians in Sudan have been forcibly removed from their homes by Muslim fundamentalists in River Nile state. Having fled military conflict in Omdurman, they were told by their persecutors that they did not want Christians or black people to be living in their area, according to reports.

Muslims from the El Matamah area of Al-Makniya began by accusing the Christians in the region of stealing from them and disobeying Islamic custom, and eventually went to the homes of the Christians in large numbers, forcing them to leave. The police reportedly did not respond to requests for help.

Many churches in Uzbekistan are being blocked by authorities from using or repairing their buildings. Some have been forcibly closed or taken under state registration, while others have been seized without compensation.

Restrictions have been imposed on several religious groups, including Christians, and Forum 18 reports that government officials do not respond when approached for contact. Some churches have not been able to meet since mid-2021.

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ruled that religious symbols can be displayed in public buildings without violating the country’s secular principles. The ruling, which was unanimous, brought a long-running case to an end.

According to the Christian Post, judges declared that such symbols reflected Brazil’s cultural history and traditions, and that displaying them is not discriminatory and does not undermine impartiality.

A Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) missionary has been cleared of charges levelled against him as part of a terrorism investigation. Ryan Koher had been transporting supplies for an orphanage when he was informed that he was being investigated, two years ago.

Koher was accused of supporting rebel forces in northern Mozambique and spent four months in prison before being granted provisional release, Christianity Today reported. MAF always maintained his innocence.

Luke Randall