Foto: Imago (Msn).

"Police and domestic intelligence agencies are now investigating in both the city-state of Hamburg and the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after CDU officials said their party sites were paralysed overnight when hackers replaced their homepages with a black background featuring a Turkish crest and critical comments.

Hackers “GHoST61” and “Emre Y” had left their mark claiming responsibility for sabotaging the site, with the comment, “Hi Hamburg: We are from Turkey.”

In Hamburg the CDU took its website offline by mid-morning on Tuesday, spokesperson Anna Christina Hinze said.

The Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian arm of the CDU had a similar experience, discovering that their website had been replaced with an Ottoman Empire crest and some pointed questions about the party’s immigration policies. Their site was repaired by afternoon.

The hackers left a message asking: “Where is the money for integration? Where is the money for mosques?” and “Where is the tolerance? Where is the freedom of religion?“"

...Considering the citizenship rights Copts enjoyed in the early-to-mid-20^th century, how did things come to this pass? Much of this reversion can be traced to Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, who altered Egypt's Constitution — by adding Article 2, "sharia is the principle source of legislation" — only to be rewarded, ironically, with assassination by the Islamist "Frankenstein monster" he had empowered. Since then, there has been a tacit agreement between the government and the Islamists. As Youssef Ibrahim puts it, the agreement "turned over to Islamists control in media, education, and government administrations in return for allowing Mr. Mubarak's rule to go on unchallenged, setting the stage … for his son, Gamal, to succeed him. As part of the deal, [Mubarak] agreed to feed Egypt's Christians to the growing Islamic beast."

The Copts now find themselves in a dire situation. Magdi Khalil, a human rights activist at the forefront of the "Coptic question," states that "Egypt is on the verge of chaos and change of regime, and there is a plan for Copts to pay the price of this predicted chaos, by directing the surplus violence, hate and barbarism towards them." This redirection onto the Copts is obvious even in subtle things: aside from the habitual anti-Copt indoctrination that goes on in mosques — all of the demonstrations occurred immediately after Friday's mosque prayers. Egypt's state-run public education system also marginalizes, if not ostracizes, the Copts (see, for example, Adel Guindy's "The Talibanization of Education in Egypt.")

More obvious proof of the government's complicity is the fact that, not only has it not prevented or dispersed the increasingly rabid demonstrations against the Copts — the way it viciously and unequivocally does whenever any protests are directed against itself — but Egyptian security, as Magdi Khalil affirmed in a phone conversation, actually facilitates, and sometimes participates, in these mass demonstrations. After all, Islamists who publicly call for the death of the Pope do so, writes Ibrahim Eissa, "knowing quite well that State Security will not touch them, since demonstrations are directed against the Pope and not the President, the Church and not the inheritance issue [Gamal Mubarak as successor of his father]. Those who go out in Jihad against 'inheritance,' democracy and election fraud are beaten mercilessly by security forces, but those who go out to incite sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians believe …that they are the friends and 'buddies' of the police and the State Security."

"The wife of a prominent evangelical pastor in Iran was free Monday, October 18, after four months of detention, but her husband still faced the death penalty for abandoning Islam, the Church of Iran said.

Fatemeh Passandideh, the wife of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, was released October 11 by a court in Gilan province, in northern Iran, an official linked to the Church of Iran told Worthy News and its news partner BosNewsLife.

'The release of Fatemeh Passandideh comes ten days after the announcement of the death sentence for her husband Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani,' he said, speaking on earlier agreed conditions of anonymity, amid security concerns.

Pastor Nadarkhani was convicted of 'apostasy', or leaving Islam, last month by the 11th Chamber of the Assize Court of the province of Gilan. The pastor's attorney is expected to file an appeal against the ruling after he reportedly found 'serious procedural flaws' in the case."

• First One here.
• Second One here.

A Christian in Ethiopia’s southern town of Moyale has been languishing in jail for two months after his Muslim business partner accused him of writing “Jesus is Lord” in a copy of the Quran, local church leaders said.

Compass Direct News (CDN) reports that Tamirat Woldegorgis, a member of the Full Gospel Church in his early 30s, was arrested in early August after the Muslim co-worker in the clothes-making business the two operated out of a rented home discovered Woldegorgis had inscribed “Jesus is Lord” on some cloth, area Christians said.

Compass says the Muslim associate, whose name has not been established, went to a nearby mosque with the accusation that Woldegorgis had written “Jesus is Lord” in the Quran itself, sources said.

Compass reports that angry sheikhs at the mosque subsequently had Woldegorgis arrested for desecrating the book sacred to Islam, they said. Other sources said, however, that Muslims accused Woldegorgis of writing “Jesus is Lord” on a piece of wood, on a minibus and then on the wall of a house.

A church leader who requested anonymity told Compass that two days after Woldegorgis was arrested, two friends inquired about him at the Moyale police station; authorities responded by jailing them for two weeks.

Compass explained that in Ethiopia’s federal state system, each state is autonomous in its administration, and most of those holding government positions in Somali Region Zone Five are Muslims.

Who is Behind the Resolution?

The countries supporting this resolution are, ironically, the very Islamic-majority countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) that persecute Christians and other minority faiths. Members of minority faiths such as Christians or Jews who make truth claims or even evangelize can be accused of "defamation" and can be punished under national blasphemy laws.

History of the Resolution

While Defamation of Religions Resolutions have been introduced and passed previously, it is up again this year for a vote. The resolution lost support in the UN General Assembly vote during the last couple of years and we think this year may be the tipping point.

Your voice makes a difference

We need to encourage key countries to change their vote on this resolution. These countries are not easily influenced by American citizens. But they are more receptive to pressure from our federal legislators. So ask your legislator to pressure key countries to change their vote on the Defamation of Religions Resolution today!

The Armenian Apostolic Church on Saturday condemned the holding of a Muslim prayer hundreds of Turkish nationalists organized in an old Armenian cathedral in eastern Turkey with the permission of Turkish authorities.The Nationalist Action Party (MHP opposition) had organized a Friday prayer in congregation in the Cathedral of Our Lady Ani, the ruined capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom located near Kars, near the border with Armenia to Turkey.This ceremony was widely interpreted as a response to mass history allowed for the first time in 95 years by the Turkish authorities on 19 September, the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross, Van (east). It was the first Mass ever celebrated since the massacres and deportations of the First World War.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announced earlier this week its intention to bring together supporters on Friday to a group prayer in the Cathedral of Our Lady and the party won regional authorities and the Ankara government permissions.On August 16th 1064, the Seljuk leader Alparslan Ani won the city and he dropped the cross of the cathedral and said a prayer on Friday. Aktash, who is head of the branch of the party wanted to reproduce the event in Kars after 946 years.According to a previous press release, the president of the nationalist Devlet Bahceli decided to begin the campaign for elections to the parliament with this prayer in the Cathedral on October 1.

Escuchar

Leer fonéticamente

The Cathedral of Ani is a pearl of the original architecture of the Caucasus. Ani was the capital of an Armenian kingdom in the Middle Ages, which extended largely on Armenia and eastern Turkey today.The Cathedral was founded by order of King Sembat II and was completed under the patronage of the wife of King Gagik I, Queen Katranide. The Cathedral was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was built by the talented architect Tiridates, which was said monuments of the 10th century that they prefigured the Gothic style that came to Europe several centuries later.

Libya released on Saturday two South Koreans who were arrested this summer for violating the religious law of the African country, South Korean FM said today.

The release comes two days after Lee Sang Deuk, Grand National Party MP and brother of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, met with the head of state of Libya, Muammar Al Gaddafi.

The prisoners were handed over to their families in the presence of South Korean ambassador in Libya, explained the minister, as recorded by The Korean Times newspaper.

Koo and Jeon, as identified by their relatives, were arrested in June and July, respectively, accused of having carried out religious activities in the country. In August, both were taken to prison after being interrogated by the authorities.

Muslim demonstrators sang “Pope Benedict, you will pay, Islam is on its way”, “Sharia is on its way”, “Justice is on its way” (a lot is coming our way, it seems) and threatened that Sharia would be “declared” against all who insult Muhammad. They shouted to the Pope, “Watch your back,” swore that he will “burn in hell” and claimed that he “deserves the death penalty.”

The public prosecution department announced on Tuesday it is dropping its case against a cartoonist arrested in 2008 on discrimination charges. 

The cartoonist, who operates under the pseudonym Gregorius Nekschot, published the controversial cartoons on his website. He was arrested in 2008 following a complaint made in 2005.

Although the department considers the cartoons discriminate against Muslims and 'people with dark skins', it made the decision to drop the case because the cartoons have not appeared on the website since shortly after Nekschot's arrest. In addition, the cartoonist spent 24 hours in jail following his arrest, reports the Volkskrant.

The fact that the complaint was made as far back as 2005 and there have been no further complaints also played a role, the paper says.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has called on Egypt's government to ensure the resumption of the trial of three men charged with the Christmas Eve murders of seven people in a small southern Egypt town.
Since February, court proceedings have been postponed numerous times, and USCIRF is pressing the government to ensure that Saturday's scheduled trial go on as planned.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," remarked USCIRF chair Leonard Leo, whose agency makes policy recommendations to the U.S. president, secretary of state, and congress with respect to matters involving international religious freedom.
"Is it possible for Coptic Orthodox Christians to get justice in the Egyptian court system?" he asked.
On Jan. 6, as Coptic Christians prepared to observe Christmas Day, gunmen traveling in a car opened fire in a shopping district in the town of Nagaa Hammadi and later in front of the southern Egyptian town's main church as worshipers emerged from midnight mass.
The shooting resulted in the deaths of six Christians and one Muslim security guard, who was assigned to protect the church.

Indonesian police confirmed that Muharli Barda, the notorious leader of the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) in Bekasi, has been detained for his role in an anti-Christian incident that occurred on 12 September. Police also said that nine other people were involved, but did not disclose their names.

The incident in question occurred last Sunday when a Protestant clergyman, Rev Afian Sihombing, was attacked. He is the head of a Christian community in East Pondonk Bekasi Regency. He is currently in hospital with multiple stab wounds to the stomach. Rev Luspida Simanjutak was also injured during the attack, with wounds to the face, head and back. She and Rev Sihombing lead the Huria Batak Kristen Protestan (HBKP).

After initially taking a guarded position, police became more involved following a statement by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who said that Christians should have justice.

“There are ten suspects,” Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri announced. He declined however to give any further comments.

"There are a lot of cases of humanitarian aid's discrimination about which Agencia Fides has been informed, against Christians, other religious minorities, dalits and weaker. "The general picture of social and religious discrimination in Pakistan is more heinous everyday and is contaminating solidarity made to the country", says a Fides' source. Among victims, rage is growing, and last Thursday, in Hyderabad, a lot of them protested in a march against the mistreatment suffered by religious minorities.

Humanitarian operators and NGOs in Pakistan have told Fides that in Thatta's district, flooded these past days, a lot of Christian families have been denied aid, even from Government's civil servants.

Zubair Masih says: "I come from Sukkur. We have lost everything. We have gone to a camp for victims near Thatta but they haven't let us enter because we are Christians".

Abid Masih, Christian, is living in a camp near Larkana, and says: "My wife is sick, but the doctor doesn't want to visit and cure here and has told us to wait for the Health World Organisation to send Christian doctors". 

Aamir Gill, a victim from Dadu, says: "I arrived with my family to a camp near Hyderabad, but the manager didn't want to register us because we are Christians and didn't give us anything. We are obliged to go".

Carl Moeller, president of the American organization "Open Doors", which publishes a report about persecuted Christians around the world, in a note sent to Fides says: "Some Christian victims have been denied aid openly, while others have been invited to go or to convert to Islam. We can imagine the terrible decision: abandoning one's faith to be able to feed your own child".

Najwa's family has announced they will appeal the decision of the Institute of forcing the schoolgirl to leave the center due to her going to class with a veil and is ready to go to court to defend her right to religious freedom, has said their lawyer, Ivan Jimenez Aybar.

The lawyer, Professor of Ecclesiastical Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, has confirmed that Najwa will resume classes tomorrow, "where she can", that is, at the Institute Gerardo Diego de Pozuelo de Alarcón.

The lawyer has indicated that Nawja has been assigned the center after the one which was closer to home, IES San Juan de la Cruz, changed the internal rules quickly to prevent the girl came to class wearing the veil.

Jiménez-Aybar has considered that the decision to "expel" Najwa IES Camilo José Cela is disproportionate and violates her "dignity" and her right to religious freedom, and stressed that from a legal standpoint, the decision is not solid, because it does not point out any fundamental right to justify the cut in the right to education of the child.

On March 30 an administrative judicial court in Egypt dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mrs. Camilia Lutfi, mother of the Coptic Christian twins boys Mario and Andrew (right), against the Interior Minister, and the director of the Civil Status Department for refusing to re-instate the Christian religion on their birth certificates, and invalidate those which were forcefully changed to "Islam" in 2005 by their father Medhat Ramsis Labib, who had converted to Islam.

After his conversion, Andrew and Mario became Muslims in what is called "Islamization by dependence," by which children follow the religion of a converted parent (to Islam only) until they reach the age of puberty (fifteen), because Islam is "the best among all religions," according to Egyptian Court rulings.

The purpose of Lutfi's litigation was to restore back to her twins their identity as Christians, before reaching the age of 16 in June, when they will have their national ID cards issued. Camilia said that because of the developments in their case, her worst nightmares would materialize, in which they would have Islam as religious affiliation on their ID cards. "If they change to Christianity after that, they will be considered apostates," she told Freecopts advocacy. She expressed her surprise at the intransigence of the judiciary in dealing with the issue of her sons, especially after they have already reached the legal age of 15-years, when they can choose their own religion. "The boys have lived this tragedy for the last ten years, through no fault of their own."

ElYoum 7 Newspaper reported that 15-years-old Mario and Andrew were extremely disappointed with the court verdict, saying "faith is not by force, we want to remain Christians and we do not wish to become Muslims." Both boys are practicing Christians and were consecrated last year as deacons in their regular church in Alexandria.

The court explained in its verdict, which was issued on April 14, that Camilia Lutfi has not presented a verdict from a relevant court (it did not say which court) proving the change of her sons' religion from Islam to Christianity. "How come that when their father changed their religion from Christianity to Islam, he required no court verdict, and now that they want to revert back to Christianity, the court requires a verdict?" she told Freecopts.

Although the mother's lawyers presented to the court a portfolio containing 15 different certificates proving they are Christians, contradicting what was written on their birth certificates, the court said in its reasoning that it does not recognize the validity of a certificate issued by the Church as a document of change of religion from Islam to Christianity, as "churches by law are not competent to issue such certificates." The courts only accept certificates of religion change from Al-Azhar (the Muslim theology school in Cairo). Moreover the Court said that there is no law to force the Interior minister and the Civil Status Department chief to change the religion of the boys on their documents without a court ruling to this effect.