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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Open Doors; Right To Believe Campaign; Aasia Bibi; Pakistani Christians to protest on Christmas Day to repeal blasphemy law; Asia Bibi 'can be killed at any time' says Pakistani priest; Islamic Extremists Protest Efforts to Change Blasphemy Laws and Free Christian

Right to Believe


DEFAMATION OF RELIGIONS AT THE UNITED NATIONS: a threat to religious liberty

This year in 2010 the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), linking 57 countries with majority or significant Muslim populations, once again introduced a Defamation of Religions Resolution in the United Nations.

If the Resolution became the basis for law, it would allow governments the power to determine which religious views can and can't be expressed in their country, and the right to punish those who express 'unacceptable' religious views as they see fit. So, in effect, it would makes persecution legal.

It aims to criminalise words or actions deemed to be against a particular religion, especially Islam. It has the effect of providing international legitimacy for national laws that punish blasphemy or otherwise ban criticism of a religion. It was voted on in the UN General Assembly on 21 December.

Many countries have backed this Resolution in the past, but this year some changed their minds. Although the Resolution was not defeated, it passed with the narrowest margin to date - just 9 votes. Thousands of people from the UK and Ireland and across the world helped to acieve this by their prayers and their signatures on the Open Doors' Right to Believe petition.

- Open Doors

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The 'Defamation of Religions' Resolution has been voted on by the United Nations General Assembly


The UN General Assembly in New York voted on the Defamation of Religions Resolution on 21 December. It was passed with 76 votes in favour, 67 countries voting against and 40 abstaining. In all the years of voting on this issue this is the narrowest margin to date! The trend of declining support is clearly accelerating. The gap between the YES and NO vote narrowed significantly, and the total number of NO votes, plus the abstentions, far outweighed the YES vote. We believe that every signature on the petition has played a small but significant part in this.



Further details can be found at http://www.opendoorsuk.org/campaign/RTB.php

The Defamation of Religions Resolution is not about to become law. Support for the concept is decreasing. And in 2011 the petition signatures will still be a powerful weapon as the discussions continue. Open Doors will be working to build on all that has been achieved with the support of so many around the world.


When a Christian woman such as Asia Bibi can be sentenced to death over a charge of blasphemy in Pakistan, it is vital that the United Nations should be looking for ways of further protecting the rights of all people of faith.


Open Doors will continue to campaign for the Right to Believe. In 2011 we will highlight the widespread level of concern indicated by 428,856 signatures on the global Right to Believe petition. We will continue to pray, to prompt, to campaign privately and publicly. We will do all we can to ensure that our brothers and sisters who currently face persecution for the sake of Christ will one day have the Right to Believe, in freedom and without fear.


Thank you for all you have done in campaigning action and prayer in support of persecuted Christians in 2010.


Wishing you a Christmas full of the joy and peace of Jesus Christ.


Alice J

Advocacy Manager
Open Doors UK  and Ireland

- Aasia Bibi

- Pakistani Christians to protest on Christmas Day to repeal blasphemy law

- Asia Bibi 'can be killed at any time' says Pakistani priest

- Tense Christmas Weekend Ahead in Pakistan

- Islamic Extremists Protest Efforts to Change Blasphemy Laws and Free Christian

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Aramaic; Christ's endangered language gets new lease of life in Oxford; Aramaic/Proto-Hebrew alphabet; History of Aramaic

It is the language that Christ spoke, but is regarded as "endangered" with ever fewer scattered groups of native speakers.

But in Oxford, Aramaic has been flourishing again, with a course in the ancient language drawing people from as far afield as Liverpool and London. There are now 56 people learning Aramaic at the university, including three classics professors, solemnly completing their weekly homework tasks and regularly attending the free lunchtime lessons, more than the numbers studying Greek.

Their first lesson might have surprised the writers of the books of David and Ezra in the Bible, and of the Talmud, both originally written in Aramaic: the scholars pored over a translation of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

- Christ's endangered language gets new lease of life in Oxford


- Aramaic/Proto-Hebrew alphabet

- History of Aramaic

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A.D.H.D.; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Untangling the Myths About Attention Disorder;

...“Attention is a really complex cognitive phenomenon that has a lot of pieces in it,” said Dr. David K. Urion of Harvard, who directs the learning disabilities and behavioral neurology program at Boston Children’s Hospital. “What we’re specifically talking about in kids with attention deficit is a problem compared to age- and gender-based peers in selective attention — what do you glom onto and what do you ignore?”

Moreover, the disorder occurs along a broad spectrum, from mild to extreme. Boys are more likely to be hyperactive and impulsive, girls to be inattentive. (One reason many girls don’t get an official diagnosis is that those with the inattentive form may be well behaved in school, but still unable to focus.)...

- Source

Monday, December 06, 2010

The Israeli Source of the Pathan Tribes; Lucknow Pathans have Jewish roots?; Sunni Muslims; Afridi Tribe; Dr. Zakir Hussain; Taliban may be descended from Jews;

As children, we heard from our parents, who come from Afghanistan, stories about the Ten Tribes who were lost during the destruction of the Temple, about meetings with the country people with whom they had contact in trade matters, about Jewish customs and names – and it all sounded inconceivable and fascinating. Like all children, we enjoyed hearing about tribes of Israel preserving their forefathers’ tradition, bearing arms and awaiting the day of redemption.

From Mr Yisrael Mishal, who lived in Afulah and was formerly President of the Afghanistan Jewish community, I often heard unusually fascinating quotations and stories uttered repeatedly and Mr Mishal gave live examples of his meetings with Pathans who dwell on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

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Source

- Taliban may be descended from Jews
- Lucknow Pathans have Jewish roots?

Dr. Zakir Hussain: - "I love Israel, for my forefathers were most probably Israelites"

- Medieval Persian References to the Israelite Origin of Afridi Pashtuns/Pathans

- Pakhtun, Afghan and Pathan