Non-Muslims in northern Pakistan fear the "Talibanization" of the region after the provincial cabinet unanimously adopted the Islamic Sharia Act. If enacted by the Provincial Assembly, the law would give sharia (Islamic law) supremacy in the province while the Koran and Sunnah (sayings of the prophet Mohammed) would dictate all future legislation and legal reforms. Since the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, Pakistan's radical Islamic opposition party, supports the legislation and holds a two-thirds majority in the Provincial Assembly, the new legislation is expected to be implemented with minimal opposition. The legislation will require strict adherence to Muslim practices while excluding the political, civil, cultural, economic and social rights of non-Muslims in the province. Already in most of the province, music programs and cinemas have been banned. The wearing of the national dress will become compulsory while alcohol, dancing and other forms of entertainment will be prohibited. The act will also curtail the freedom of women and require them to wear veils. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

AFTER 31 YEARS, PAKISTAN RETURNS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TO PRESBYTERIANS

Forman Christian College, founded by the Presbyterian educational mission in Lahore, Pakistan, is back in the hands of the Christian community after 31 years of government control. After intensive negotiations with four different governments in nine years, the formal papers were signed on March 18, officially returning the college to the management of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Peter Armacost, president emeritus of Eckerd College in Florida, assumed the office of principal of Forman Christian College on March 20. He and his wife, Mary, have been living on the campus since January. Armacost and the college's board of governors have been working on a management plan for months. Their vision is to have Forman Christian College "become one of the leading colleges on the subcontinent and to be widely recognized as such." Armacost is working on revamping the method of instruction on campus and developing a four-year degree program that meets U.S. accreditation standards. (PCUSA News)

IRAQ WAR DETRACTS FROM ATROCITIES IN SUDAN, EXPERTS CHARGE

With the Bush administration's promise to free the Iraqi people from the evils of Saddam Hussein, and the U.N. Security Council's recent agreement to start massive humanitarian aid in Iraq, human rights violations in Sudan are being overlooked, experts charge. "The war in Iraq has sidetracked everyone away from Sudan, the place of the worst human rights nightmare on the planet," said Dr. Charles Jacobs, president of the American Anti-Slavery Group. "Taking advantage of this situation, the Khartoum regime has stepped up its genocidal warfare against its own people. Saddam has been responsible for the deaths of a great many of his own countrymen -- especially non-Arabic Kurds. But whatever the numbers may be, it is dwarfed by the numbers in Sudan." More than 2 million people have been killed in the war in the past 20 years, mostly non-Arabic civilians in the south. Sudan expert Dr. Eric Reeves of Smith College adds that while many people have been displaced at various times in Iraq, Sudan has the world's greatest population of refugees with more than 4 million. However, New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi says the war in Iraq will ultimately help human rights efforts in other countries, including Sudan. "The more countries in which human rights are established, the stronger the fight for human rights everywhere else," he said. (Freedom Now News)

PASTOR IN AZERBAIJAN ORDERED TO STOP HOLDING HOME MEETINGS

Anzor Katsiashvili, a Baptist pastor in Belokani in northwestern Azerbaijan, was summoned by the local procurator on March 13-14 and warned not to hold religious meetings in his home. "He told me I don't have the right to preach as I'm not an Azerbaijani citizen," Katsiashvili said. "At the same time, I've been denied citizenship for the past few years because I preach. It's a vicious circle." However, Ilham Babayev, head of the local passport department, denied that his office had obstructed Katsiashvili's application for Azerbaijani citizenship and local registration. Katsiashvili rejects the procurator's claim that he cannot gather fellow believers for religious meetings. "I believe I have the right to preach God's Word in my own home," he said. (Forum 18 News Service)

* HCJB World Radio, in partnership with Hosanna and local partners in Baku, Azerbaijan, has recorded the dramatized Azeri New Testament as part of the Faith Comes by Hearing project. The recordings, completed in 1998, have been made into a series of radio programs.

U.S. HOUSE JOINS CALL FOR NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER AND FASTING

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Thursday, March 27, urging a national day of prayer and fasting as the nation leads the battle against Iraq and the threat of terrorism. The resolution, which passed 346-49, urges President George W. Bush to "proclaim a day for humility, prayer and fasting" for all Americans. A similar bill was passed March 17 by the Senate. The bill recognized the "public need for fasting and prayer in order to secure the blessings and protection of Providence for the people of the U.S. and our armed forces." Prayer and fasting will help produce "unity and solidarity among all the diverse people of this nation as well as procuring the enduring grace and benevolence of God" and help the nation "better recognize our faults and shortcomings and submit to the wisdom and love of God." White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan told the Associated Press that the president has not considered the resolution but "believes that faith and prayer are important and frequently references the importance of praying for American troops and for freedom around the world." (Religion Today)

THOUSANDS GATHER TO PROTEST DECLINING MORALS IN CARIBBEAN NATION

Thousands of evangelical Christians converged on Victoria's Park in Kingstown Sunday, March 30, to fast and intercede for the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The event was organized by the Evangelical Association of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to address the "degenerating moral, economic, and spiritual climate" in this tiny Caribbean nation of 113,000 people. Association President Rev. Verrol Blake commended the efforts that have been made in addressing the issue of violence and crime, especially those made by the Media Association. "However, physical weapons cannot defeat spiritual forces," he said. "It takes an army far greater and mightier and armed not with carnal weapons but with divine anointing through the mighty power of prayer, and that army is the Church or the people of God." Blake pointed to an escalation in violent crime, the spiraling rate of sexually transmitted diseases, scant regard for law and order, and the lack of respect for human dignity as "symptoms of a sick land that needs cleansing." (Worldwide Photos)

© Copyright 2003 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA - btc@hcjb.org