Tag: Elections

Chaldean Patriarch congratulates surprise Iraqi election winner

May 23, 2018 Iraq Assyrians, Dohuk, Elections, Iraq, Kirkuk, Louis Raphael I Sako, Nineveh Plains, Shia, Sunni, Syriacs

The Chaldean Patriarch, Louis Sako, has telephoned Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr to congratulate him on his unexpected victory in the country’s recent parliamentary elections. The Patriarchate also said that Sako told Sadr he hoped for a government that promotes the common good of all the Iraqi people. According to . . . Read More

India: Archbishop of Delhi calls for prayer in run-up to 2019 elections

May 22, 2018 India Bangalore, BJP, Catholics, Delhi, Elections, India, Karnataka, Narendra Modi, RSS

Preparations for an Hindu festival. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Archbishop of Delhi’s call for a ‘prayer campaign’ in India, ahead of next year’s elections has been criticised by the governing party. In a circular to all Catholic churches in the capital, dated 8 May, Archbishop Anil Couto asked for a weekly day of fasting “for the nation”, Indian . . . Read More

India: Catholics say BJP doctored letter to garner votes ahead of Karnataka elections

May 11, 2018 India BJP, Catholics, Delhi, Elections, Hindu nationalism, India, Karnataka, Narendra Modi

The Catholic Church in India has deplored a “fake” letter widely circulated in social and mainstream media alleging a Catholic conspiracy ahead of tomorrow’s elections in southern Karnataka state. “This is totally unacceptable. This is a blatant attempt to spread lies,” Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ . . . Read More

Praying for a peacemaker: What do Iraq’s elections mean for the remaining Christians?

May 9, 2018 Iraq Anbar, Chaldeans, Elections, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic State, Karamles, Kirkuk, Kurds, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh, Saddam Hussein, Shia, Sunni

A boy recently returned to his home in the Nineveh plains, looks out over the remains of Karamles (WWM May 2017)

Iraqis go the polls on Saturday (12 May) for the first time since the military defeat of Islamic State, whose campaign of terror against non-Muslims pushed thousands of the country’s last Christians to flee their homeland. Only about 200,000 to 300,000 Christians are thought to remain in Iraq now, mostly . . . Read More

Bangladesh’s religious minorities warned they may face ‘brunt’ of election violence

May 4, 2018 Bangladesh Awami League, Bangladesh, Elections, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Jamaat-ul-Mujahedin Bangladesh, Minorities

Christians protest following an attack by local thugs on a church last Saturday in which three men were injured and the building damaged. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Christians and other minorities in Bangladesh face a “daunting election” at the end of the year, warns the Bangladeshi Bureau Chief of Catholic news agency UCAN. “Elections and violence go hand-in-hand in Bangladesh and minorities often face the brunt of this amid a tug-of-war between political parties jockeying for power,” . . . Read More

Nepal ‘should practise what it preaches’ as UN member

May 1, 2018 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Burial, Churches, Elections, Human rights, Minorities, Nepal, Proselytism, Religious freedom, UN

As a newly elected member state of the UN Human Rights Council, Nepal must address its own commitment to the protection of human rights, including freedom of religion and belief, says Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The advocacy organisation highlighted Nepal’s decision in October to criminalise religious conversion and the “hurting of . . . Read More

Malaysian bishops: ‘We need leaders who truly care for the people’

April 30, 2018 Malaysia 'Allah', Catholics, Elections, Hudud, Islamic extremism, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Malaysia, Najib Razak, PAS, Proselytism, Religious freedom, Sharia, UMNO

For the first time in six decades, several high-profile Malaysian church leaders have publicly called for a change of government. On 24 April the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia issued a pastoral letter, saying: “We need to choose leaders who truly care for the rakyat [people], promote justice and equality, stand . . . Read More

Maldives to EU: ‘Islam shall be the basis of all laws’

April 23, 2018 Maldives Constitution, Elections, Europe, Islamic extremism, Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, Religious freedom

Only Muslims can be citizens of the Maldives is Muslim, and citizenship is revoked if one chooses another faith. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Maldives government has told the European Union it will not consider amending its constitution to allow for religious freedom in the country, reports Maldives-based news site Avas Online. A report by the EU’s Electoral Follow-up Mission (EFM), published last week, said the Maldives had implemented none of the 22 . . . Read More

Iran: do non-Muslims have the right to hold elected public office or not?

April 20, 2018 Iran Ayatollah Khamenei, Ayatollah Khomeini, Elections, Iran, Minorities, Sepanta Niknam, Sharia, Yazd, Zoroastrians

In Iran, which is 90-95 per cent Shia Muslim, the passing of a date set for a decision over whether a non-Muslim can hold an elected public office is significant for the country’s religious minorities and their rights. The date, April 5, passed without that decision being made for a . . . Read More

Pro-Hindu BJP wins over Christian voters in northeast India

March 16, 2018 India Beef, Bihar, BJP, Catholics, Elections, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, India, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Narendra Modi, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh

Christians gather for the general assembly of the National Council of Churches in India in Shillong, capital of the Christian-majority state of Meghalaya in the north-east. (May 2008)

India’s pro-Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now the governing party in two Christian-dominated states in the northeast, following recent election successes in Nagaland and Meghalaya. But to do so, it had to betray its core values of Hindutva, according to John Dayal, former National President of the All India . . . Read More

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