Apostasy : An Overview - The Maranatha Community

A 16-year-old Ahmadi boy from Sanghar district, Sindh province, was charged with blasphemy for reciting Muslim words of
belief. He was also charged with possessing a gun, and consequently his case was to be tried by a special anti-terrorist court.
He went into hiding before he could be arrested.
The trial of Ayub Masih, a Christian, on blasphemy charges was continuing at the end of the year. He escaped unhurt when
attackers shot at him in Sahiwal court in November. 86
• The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office recently assembled a human rights programme to raise awareness of the
misuse of the blasphemy laws, including a “rescue” package to help the wrongfully accused to find refuge. “We are concerned
about the treatment of Christians in Pakistan and the misuse of the blasphemy laws,” said a British official. “The EU raised
specific cases with the Pakistani authorities in 2003.” 87
• According to Nasir Saeed, the author of a report on the persecution of Pakistan’s religious minorities, fundamentalist Islam is on
the rise in Pakistan: the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a hardline Islamic coalition party with links to al-Qaeda, won the
federal elections in Pakistan’s North-West Province and introduced Shariah (Islamic law). “The majority of Pakistanis are
worried about the MMA, not just Christians,” a spokesman for the Pakistan High Commission in London says. “We have taken
many steps to protect Christians but we do not always know where the terrorists will strike.” President Musharraf, has pledged
to crack down on fundamentalists, but he has limited control over them, according to Saeed.
Nasir Saeed believes that the British Government should automatically grant asylum to all Pakistani Christians seeking refuge
here. He points out that last year the Home Office granted asylum to three former Taliban fighters who claimed that they had
been forcibly recruited and had never engaged in fighting against the allies. Why, asks Saeed, does the Government reject
Christians seeking asylum who face genuine danger? He cites the case of Frederick D’Costa, a minister in the United Church of
Pakistan who has been refused asylum. D’Costa believes that his work – converting Muslims to Christianity – automatically
renders him a target for the Taliban. “In Pakistan the Taleban say ‘Go and hide yourself. We’ll give you a week and then we’ll
find you and kill you.’ And they do,” he says. “I explained this to the Home Office but they don’t understand. They accepted my
story was genuine. But they said that if I go back to Pakistan as a minister the Government there has to give me protection. I
am 100 per cent sure I will be killed if I return.” 88
SAUDI ARABIA
• According to the Foreign Office, there remain serious concerns about human rights in Saudi Arabia. These include the
implementation of basic international human rights norms; aspects of the judicial system; corporal and capital punishment;
torture; discrimination against women and non-Muslims; and restrictions on freedom of movement, expression, assembly and
worship. 89
• Islam is the official religion, all citizens must be Muslims, and the public practice of any other religion is forbidden. Religious
freedom is not recognised and basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version
of Sunni Islam. The Government’s official policy is to permit non-Muslims to practise their religions freely at home and in private;
however, the Government does not always respect this right in practice. Citizens are denied the freedom to choose or change
their religion. Members of the Shi’a minority are subject to officially sanctioned political and economic discrimination, including
limited employment opportunities, little representation in official institutions, and restrictions on the practice of their faith and the
building of mosques and community centres. The Government prohibits the public practice of other religions; non-Muslim
worshippers risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation, and torture for engaging in religious activity that attracts official
attention, especially that of the Mutawwa’in (religious police). While there has been an improvement in press freedom, open
discussion of religious issues is limited. 90
• A Report by Amnesty International91 expresses serious concerns about religious freedom of non-Muslims and Shi’a Muslims in
Saudi Arabia: “The judicial punishments embodied in the Hanbali interpretation of the Sharia are formally enforced in Saudi
Arabia. Public flogging, amputation and beheading are prescribed by the Saudi Arabian legal system as punishments for a
variety of crimes. These rulings are applicable to both Muslims and non-Muslims resident in the Kingdom. For example,
Muslims convicted of apostasy, ie those deemed to have renounced Islam, may be sentenced to death. Other methods used to
punish religious minorities in Saudi Arabia include the arrest and detention, often without charge or trial, of prisoners of
conscience; the torture or flogging of detainees and, in the case of expatriates, deportation.”
• There are no public places of worship for non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia, and foreign nationals must practice their religion in
private. The Christian community has tended to form private Bible study and prayer groups based on country or region of origin,
although there are some racially-mixed groups. The size of these groups ranges from a handful of individuals to several
hundred people. Most of these groups are to be found in the major cities, including Riyadh, Jeddah, Jubail and al-Dammam.
Since the building of churches in Saudi Arabia is illegal, the groups often meet in private homes or in rooms adjoining private
homes which are constructed for the purpose of worship. Others, however, meet in the embassy compounds of their country of
origin.
• The Christians who participate in these groups or fellowships claim that they must always be on their guard and must be
secretive about holding meetings. The possession of non-Islamic religious material, such as rosary beads, crosses, pictures of
Jesus Christ and the Bible, have in numerous instances led to arrest. Furthermore, the publication and distribution of literature
favourable to religious beliefs which are deemed incompatible with the Wahabi interpretation of Islam, are strictly forbidden.
• In November 1989, a prayer meeting of the “Christ Liveth In Me Fellowship”, a Pentecostal group and one of the larger
fellowships in Riyadh, with an estimated 300 members, was broken up by the shurta and members of the CPVPV. The pastor of
the group, Renee Murphy, was arrested and subsequently deported. Three months later, the acting pastor, Morgan Gonzales,
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