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Religious freedom in Iran only on paper: imprisonment for accepting Christian faith

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A court for the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced a 65-year-old convert to Christianity to a three year prison term for insulting Islamic beliefs that included forwarding a message sent to his mobile phone that made fun of the mullahs who rule over Iranians.

The religious freedom organization Article 18 reported Tuesday on its website that Ismaeil Maghrebinejad, a 65-year-old convert to Christianity, has been sentenced to three years in prison for “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs.”

Maghrebinejad was sentenced under Article 513 of the Islamic Penal Code, which metes out a punishment between one and five years in prison.
Iran’s opaque justice system sentenced Maghrebinejad on January 11. He now has 20 days to appeal his prison sentence.

Article 18 said Ismaeil, who was arrested at his home in January 2019, faced two additional charges: “propaganda against the the Islamic Republic”, “membership of a group hostile to the regime”.

A judge said at a November hearing him that criminal chargeof “propaganda against the Islamic Republic” was “applicable”, because he had created a Telegram channel in which he had “promoted evangelical Christianity,” wrote Article 18.

The January hearing dealt with “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs in the cyberspace.” Article 18 said was Maghrebinejad “was found guilty because he had forwarded a message that had been sent to his phone, which poked fun at the ruling Iranian clerics.”

Mansour Borji,Research and Advocacy Director for Article 18, told the Jerusalem Post: “These excessive sentences constitute a grave violation of Iran’s constitutional and international legal obligations to guarantee freedom of religion and belief, as well as freedom of expression. We believe these loosely defined charges are used to punish individuals for adopting a religion of their choice in accordance with article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is signatory. We call for the verdict against Mr Ismaeil Maghrebinejad to be overturned, and urge the Iranian authorities to ensure due process in this and other cases involving Christians.”

Borji also said the sentence was a “disproportionate reaction to something so ordinary.”

“The other charges that Ismaeil is facing, as well as the now-quashed charge of apostasy, related to his conversion to Christianity. This may reveal the real reason why he’s been charged for something that most ordinary Iranians do on a daily basis.”Ismaeil’s defence team had pointed out that he was not even the originator of the joke,” he added.

The US has classified the Islamic Republic as a “Country of Concern” since 1999, because its regime violates religious freedom as defined by the US International Religious Freedom Act (1998).

The section on Iran read in part: “Christians, particularly evangelicals and converts from Islam, continued to experience disproportionate levels of arrests and detention, and high levels of harassment and surveillance, according to Christian NGO reports. Numerous Christians remained imprisoned at year’s end on charges related to their religious beliefs. Prison authorities reportedly continued to withhold medical care from prisoners, including some Christians, according to human rights groups.”

Article 18 wrote that Maghrebinejad “converted to Christianity nearly 40 years ago and has since been regularly harassed by Iran’s security forces, despite Iran’s own constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran ratified in 1975, both guaranteeing freedom of religion, including the right to hold a religion of one’s choosing and to propagate that religion.”

Maghrebinejad ‘s daughter, Mahsa, told Article18 last year that ” she believed her father was being harassed in part because she and her husband, Nathan, who now live in America, continue to pastor Christians in Iran through the Internet.”

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കാത്തിരിപ്പ് സമയം വെട്ടിക്കുറയ്ക്കും; ഇന്ത്യക്കാർക്ക് ആശ്വാസമായി 2025-ൽ പുതിയ യുഎസ് വിസ നിയമനം

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യുഎസിൽ ജോലി ചെയ്യാനും യാത്ര ചെയ്യാനും ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്ന ഇന്ത്യക്കാർക്ക് പുതുവർഷം ആശ്വാസം പകരും. 2025 ജനുവരി 1 മുതൽ, ഇന്ത്യയിലെ യുഎസ് എംബസി, നോൺ-ഇമിഗ്രൻ്റ് വിസ അപ്പോയിൻ്റ്‌മെൻ്റുകൾ ഷെഡ്യൂൾ ചെയ്യുന്നതിനും റീഷെഡ്യൂൾ ചെയ്യുന്നതിനുമുള്ള പുതിയ നിയന്ത്രണങ്ങൾ അവതരിപ്പിക്കും.

ഡിപ്പാർട്ട്മെൻ്റ് ഓഫ് ഹോംലാൻഡ് സെക്യൂരിറ്റി (DHS) H-1B വിസ പ്രക്രിയ നവീകരിക്കുന്നതിനുള്ള പുതിയ നിയമങ്ങൾ വെളിപ്പെടുത്തിയതിന് തൊട്ടുപിന്നാലെയാണ് ഈ പ്രഖ്യാപനം.

രണ്ട് പ്രഖ്യാപനങ്ങളും ഇന്ത്യക്കാർക്ക് അനുകൂലമാണ്, കൂടാതെ നടപടിക്രമങ്ങൾ കാര്യക്ഷമമാക്കാനും അപേക്ഷകരുടെ നീണ്ട കാത്തിരിപ്പ് സമയം കുറയ്ക്കാനും ലക്ഷ്യമിടുന്നു.
Sources:azchavattomonline.com

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ചിക്കാഗോ ലേഡീസ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പിന് പുതിയ നേതൃത്വം

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ചിക്കാഗോ: ചിക്കാഗോ ലേഡീസ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പിന്റെ രണ്ടു വര്‍ഷത്തെ കോര്‍ഡിനേറ്ററായി സിസ്റ്റര്‍ മോളി എബ്രഹാമിനേയും, ജോയിന്റ് കോര്‍ഡിനേറ്ററായി സിസ്റ്റര്‍ ഗ്രേസി തോമസിനേയും തെരഞ്ഞെടുത്തു.
സിസ്റ്റര്‍ മിനി ജോണ്‍സന്റെയും,സിസ്റ്റര്‍ റോസമ്മ തോമസിന്റെയും പ്രവര്‍ത്തന കാലാവധി പൂര്‍ത്തിയായതിനെ തുടര്‍ന്നണ് പുതിയ ഭാരവാഹികളെ തെരഞ്ഞെടുത്തത്.ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് ഓഫ് പെന്തക്കോസ്തല്‍ ചര്‍ച്ചസ് ഇന്‍ ചിക്കാഗോയുടെ കണ്‍വീനര്‍ ഡോ.വില്ലി എബ്രഹാമിന്റെ ഭാര്യയാണ് മോളി എബ്രഹാം.ഗുഡ് ഷെപ്പേര്‍ഡ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് ചര്‍ച്ചിലെ അംഗമാണ്.
ഗില്‍ഗാല്‍ പെന്തക്കോസ്തല്‍ അസംബ്ലിയിലെ സീനിയര്‍ ശുശ്രൂഷകന്‍ പാസ്റ്റര്‍ സാം തോമസിന്റെ ഭാര്യയാണ് ജോയിന്റ് കണ്‍വീനറായ ഗ്രേസി തോമസ്.
Sources:onlinegoodnews

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Biblical Archaeology From the Holy Land Revealed: ‘You’re Almost Touching…History’

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An Israeli entrepreneur on a mission to highlight biblical artifacts has brought his “treasures from the Holy Land” to America.

Oded Golan’s “Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures From the Holy Land” experience opened Dec. 3 at Atlanta’s Pullman Yards, with hundreds of ancient artifacts surrounding the New Testament on display.

“We are bringing [a] once-in-a-lifetime experience to people to look at items that they will probably not have other opportunities to see,” Golan recently told CBN News. “The 350 items that are presented here, most of them are from the time of Christ. They were all found in the Holy Land in Israel, and they are telling the stories that are mentioned in the New Testament, but in first hand.”

He added, “You’re almost touching the history.”

Golan said some of the items are related to Jesus’ family or people living during his lifetime. These elements allow people to explore life during biblical times, seeing the behaviors and practices that unfolded during the New Testament era.

Already, audiences are loving the experience, Golan said, noting that giving a lens into the past illuminates knowledge and understanding.

“It doesn’t change faith, it doesn’t change belief, but it changed, somehow, how do you feel and how do you see the stories that are mentioned in the Bible — in the New Testament,” he said.

Golan’s story is a fascinating one, as he started collecting antiquities when he was just a child.

What started as a passion project grew into something much more — a collection he calls the “biggest and largest … in the world of biblical archaeology items.”

“When I was young, even, you know, until the age of 16, 17, I had in mind that I should be an archaeologist one day,” he said. “But … in life it was changed … but I kept archaeology as a hobby.”

And that hobby grew as he traveled all over the Holy Land and collected artifacts — relics he brings to audiences in “Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures From the Holy Land.”

“In this exhibition, we present only items that came from a very short period of time,” Golan said. “We are talking about the early first century AD, the time of Jesus. A few items are from the 3rd, 4th, 5th century because this was the time when the first churches emerged — the cradle of Christianity.”

He believes audiences will be captivated regardless of their age or religious beliefs.

“It doesn’t matter what age you are, and what [religion] you are, and how strong [a] believer you are,” Golan said. “It’s fantastic.”

The entrepreneur also made international headlines in 2012 when he was on trial after being accused by the Israel Antiquities Authority of forging an inscription on the James ossuary, a stone relic believed to hold the bones of Jesus’ brother, James.

He was acquitted after a seven-year legal battle. The ossuary, which has been a source of contention, has an Aramaic line that reads, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” Proponents argue that the inscription pointed to evidence of Christ’s brother, James.

Ultimately, Golan was absolved of the most serious charges surrounding manufacturing elements of this inscription, among other serious charges. Some have since defended the authenticity of the artifact’s inscription, which would be the earliest reference to Jesus. Read more about the history of the matter.

Golan referred to this case while explaining he was in the “later stage” of his life – over the age of 50 — when he read the New Testament for the first time and started to understand it. Wanting to better comprehend the ossuary in his collection, he turned to the text for understanding.

Speaking about the James ossuary, he heralded the importance of the find, which is included in “Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures From the Holy Land.” He’s hoping the collection inspires visitors to think more deeply about the past.

“You’re touching the history — almost physically,” Golan reiterated. “And that makes … a big difference compared to any other kind of exhibition. And, as I mentioned, it’s not only the artifact exhibition. It has much more than that.”

After the Atlanta run, Golan hopes to bring “Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures From the Holy Land” to other cities across America.
Sources:faithwire

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