An unexpected twist in the Rimsha Masih blasphemy case appears to have paved the way for her freedom from apparently false charges of desecrating the Quran.
In the meantime, the case has triggered a debate on how Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws are being used to settle personal scores and vendettas.
Among the items in today’s edition of Religion News Briefs: ‘Come to church and give us your money: We’re buying a mall.’
Plus: the Muslim cleric at the foreground of the campaign to prosecute a young Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy may have planted the evidence — burned pages from the Koran — himself.
From the religion beat: the popular Faith & Reason column at USA TODAY is closing down.
In today’s edition of Religion News Briefs: Appeals court orders punitive damages against jailed cult leader Tony Alamo reduced from $60M to $24M. Also: cult expert Stephen Kent addresses the decline of Scientology. And the Raelian Movement — a UFO cult — really knows how to latch onto free publicity.
Plus some surprising news in the blasphemy case against a young Pakistani Christian girl. And more…
Police in Chichawatni, Sahiwal district have charged a mentally ill Christian with “injuring religious feelings” under Pakistan’s widely condemned blasphemy laws.
Three families related to 25-year-old Babar Masih — the only other Christian families in the area — have fled their homes after a Muslim mob threatened to harm them, relatives of the accused told Compass.
Pakistan must immediately drop blasphemy charges against a teenager and let him out of jail, Human Rights Watch said.