Religious freedom in Egypt unsteady despite Pence visit

U.S Vice President Mike Pence urged Egypt to remain committed to promoting religious freedom during his four-day Middle East tour last week. But religious freedom advocates say the trip could have little effect on the treatment of Chrisitans in the country.

Pence visited Egypt and Jordan before going to Israel. Following a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the vice president said they discussed efforts to combat terrorism, particularly attacks on Coptic Christians and an assault on a Sufi minority mosque. Pence said he “urged al-Sisi on his commitment to promote religious diversity and the respect for all religious viewpoints here in Egypt.”

Religious persecution in Egypt increased over the past year: Open Doors International said in its 2018 report that 128 Christians were killed in Egypt in 2017 and more than 200 others were driven out of their homes. The group’s World Watch List ranks Egypt as the 18th worst country for Christians to live in. In the highest casualty attacks, two church bombings last Easter killed 49 people. Another 29 people died in a bus attack as they traveled to a monastery in Upper Egypt. Former traffickers revealed some Muslim men run a network that kidnaps Coptic girls and marries them off to convert them to Islam. More than 15 girls suffered that fate last year, according to Open Doors.

About 10 percent of the Egyptian population is Christian, and a majority of them identify as orthodox Coptic Christians. Christians also complained of discriminatory laws that hinder their rights to apply for government jobs and build or renovate their churches.

Pence’s visit came amid frustration within the Middle East over the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Following the U.S. declaration in December, the Egyptian Coptic church canceled its meeting with Pence during his scheduled visit. Coptic Pope Tawadros II said Pence’s arrival came “at an unsuitable time and without consideration for the feelings of millions of people.” The top Egyptian Muslim cleric, Ahmed al-Tayeb, also declined to meet with Pence.

Samuel Tadros, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, said the Jerusalem ordeal allowed Egypt to shift the focus from religious freedom and clamp down on dissent ahead of Pence’s visit. “The pope’s decision was ordered by the regime,” Tadros said. “Television presenters were openly saying we don’t want anyone saying anything bad about the country.”

Tadros called for continued international pressure on Egypt to ensure religious freedom. “There are very few channels in the country for Christians to improve their conditions,” he said. “The international concern helps because whether we like it or not, the regime sees the Christian issue as a problem.”

China sentences Protestants for belonging to ‘evil cult’

Authorities in Yunnan province, China, handed down prison sentences of up to 13 years to several Protestant Christians this month, claiming they were involved in an “evil cult.”

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that all six Christians denied any involvement in the Three Grades of Servants group, a dangerous cult according to the Chinese Communist Party. Despite the denials, Yun County People’s Court near Lincang city sentenced Ju Dianhong, Liang Qin, Yang Shunxiang, Zhang Hongyan, Zi Huimei, and Zhang Shaocai to prison.

“I am a Protestant Christian believer, and I believe in Jesus,” Ju, who received the longest sentence, told the court. “None of my evangelism has contravened any of the principles in the Bible, and my beliefs do not constitute an evil cult.”

Defense attorney Xiao Yungyan called the judges “really evil” and told RFA, “They didn’t pay any attention to the arguments that no illegal acts had been committed and that there was no harm of any kind to society.”

The defendants plan to appeal. Authorities previously revoked the right to practice law from attorneys defending Christians in similar cases, RFA reported.

According to China Aid, a 2016 crackdown on the Three Grades of Servants sect included falsely accusing and arresting close to 200 Christians. Those Christians await prosecution, are in custody, or have been sentenced to prison. —Julia A. Seymour

Bolivian president orders changes to anti-evangelism law

An ambiguity in the new criminal code adopted by Bolivian legislators in December prompted fears it would criminalize evangelism.

The National Association of Evangelicals in Bolivia, the Baptist World Alliance, and other Christian groups criticized the potential for “unintended restrictions on religious freedom” that could result from parts of the code.

The ambiguous provision stated, “Whoever recruits, transports, deprives of freedom or hosts people with the aim of recruiting them to take part in armed conflicts or religious or worship organizations will be penalized [with] 7 to 12 years of imprisonment.”

Protests followed, and Bolivian Christians united in prayer and fasting on Jan. 21. That same day, socialist President Evo Morales said the laws would be repealed “to avoid confusion,” and to prevent “the Right” from conspiring and destabilizing the country, according to World Watch Monitor.

But uncertainty remains. Dennis Petri of the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Latin America said Morales’ order means the legislature will discuss the laws in another year, and contradictory government remarks caused uncertainty about whether the changes will resolve all the problems with the law. In addition to Christians, journalists and doctors were concerned by various sections of the criminal code. —J.A.S.

Libyan video shows live killings

International rights groups condemned a live video that showed the shooting of 10 people at close range near the site of last week’s twin bombing in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. In the video, a man in a military uniform stands before 10 blindfolded people on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs and shoots each person in the head. Advocacy groups said the shooter appeared to be Libyan commander Mahmoud al-Warfalli, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) since August 2017. On Jan. 24, at least 33 people died and more than 40 others sustained injuries when two car bombs exploded in Benghazi.

Amnesty International said the video shows “the horrifying consequences of the rampant impunity that exists in Libya.” The United Nations commission in Libya said the ICC has “documented at least five similar cases, in 2017 alone, carried out or ordered by al-Warfalli.” ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she was appalled by the video and renewed calls for Libyan authorities to arrest al-Warfalli. Since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has lacked any central government, and different armed militia groups govern its regions. —O.O.

Parental rights in Malaysia

A Malaysian federal court in a landmark decision ruled both parents must consent to any changes in their children’s religion. The ruling brings to an end a nine-year case in which Muhammad Riduan, who became a Muslim in 2009, converted his three children to Islam without the consent of his former wife, M. Indira Gandh. The five judges on the court upheld a lower court’s ruling that it is unlawful for only one parent to consent to the conversion of his or her children. Muslims make up about 60 percent of Malaysia’s 30 million people, and Sharia courts in the country handle their grievances. One-sided conversions have left many women without any recourse since they had no right to make claims in Sharia courts. “It’s a great victory for many because, finally, these unilateral conversions will stop,” said Kulasegaran Murugeson, Gandh’s lead lawyer. —O.O.