A new report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom says Nigeria’s blasphemy laws have to go. USCIRF recommendations help guide the U.S. State Department in matters of foreign policy.
“I remember when some of the northern states in Nigeria were putting these Sharia laws in place,” The Voice of the Martyrs USA spokesman Todd Nettleton says.
“The claim at the time was, ‘Well, hey, you don’t need to worry about this because it’s only going to apply to Muslims anyway.’ Now, 12 years down the road, that certainly is not how the laws are being enforced.”
Nigeria’s constitution protects religious freedom. However, northern states embrace and enforce Islamic codes, including blasphemy laws. In August, the high court in Nigeria’s Kano state ruled that Sharia law does not violate the constitution.
“Can you enforce a blasphemy law and also have religious freedom? It depends on how you define ‘blasphemy’; you can define it very broadly. [For example,] a Muslim who leaves Islam: are they committing blasphemy by saying, ‘Hey, I don’t follow Muhammad any longer. I follow Jesus’?” Nettleton asks.
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth
CALL TO ACTION
- Pray Christ-followers in northern Nigeria will have courage and strength.
- Pray that blasphemy laws will be overturned and religious freedom will flourish.
When you purchase a book below it supports the Number #1 Black Christian Newspaper BLACK CHRISTIAN NEWS NETWORK ONE (BCNN1.com) and it also allows us to spread the Gospel around the world.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
