UN Report on Arab countries
A recent UN report by Arab scholars links a lack of basic freedoms with social underdevelopment in the Arab League’s 22 nations.
Compared with other world regions, Arab countries rate lowest in individual liberties, civil participation and press freedom. More than half of Arab women are illiterate and female participation in government is the world’s lowest.
The combined GDP of all 22 countries is less than Spain’s. Labour productivity has been low and is declining; Arab countries have not developed as quickly as other comparable regions. – Pulse
Indian Government Threatens to Abolish Minority Rights
The Indian Church is being seriously threatened by government attempts to abolish minority rights and enact legislation against conversions, reported Compass. India’s federal government, led by the pro-Hindu BJP part, is opposed to the concept of minority rights and has promised to move toward eliminating them.
The government has argued before the Supreme Court that minority educational institutions could not seek aid from the government as a matter of right. Christians have seen this as an attempt to cut off aid to schools run by the church.
K.S Sudarshan, chief of the RSS Hindu fundamentalist organisation, has suggested that legislation is needed against religious conversions in order to ensure good relations among communities.
On Oct 5, the state of Tamil Nadu enacted such a law, banning conversions either "by force, allurement or fraudulent means," and levies imprisonment and a hefty fine on those found guilty.
Meanwhile, Pulse reported that militant Hindu groups have alleged that all conversion to Christianity happens by force or fraud and they reportedly influenced the ordinance's passing. So far only one other state, Orissa, has a similar ordinance in force, but Christians fear this will spread to other states.
There is a similar bill pending in the national Parliament, which even claims that provision of free education by Christians is an "inducement" to conversion and will incur heavy penalties, Compass said. Such an ordinance would make it easier for extremist groups to harass and obstruct Christians witnessing to non-Christians.
The Growth of the Pentecostal Church
A study of church growth in the U.S. has revealed Pentecostal churches to be among the fastest-growing groups, experiencing double-digit growth nationally from 1990 to 2000. According to The New York Times, "Religious Congregations and Membership: 2000" found that the Assemblies of God was the third fastest-growing denomination, increasing 18.5 percent or 2.6 million since the last survey in 1990.
Released in September by a Roman Catholic research group, the study discovered that "conservative Protestants" gained while "moderate" and "liberal" Protestants continued to suffer an exodus of membership.
Conducted every 10 years by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies and published by Glenmary Research Centre, the survey looked at more than 150 Christian and non-Christian groups.
The fastest-growing religious group in the last decade was the Mormon Church, boosting its national membership by 19.3 percent to a total of 4.2 million. Southern Baptists remained the largest Protestant denomination with 19.9 million, but registered just five percent growth nationally. – Ministries Today
More Muslims Than Evangelicals In Germany
T he number of Muslims in Germany is rising steadily due to immigration and a higher birth rate (among the Muslims). There are 3.45 million Muslims in "Luther’s country" today, compared with 3.24 million one year ago. Most of them are Turkish immigrants; only 12,000 Muslims are of German descent.
According to figures published by the Central Islam in Soest nearly 74 percent (2.55 million) take their religion seriously. This exceeds the estimated number of 1.5 million evangelicals. – idea
More Pregnant Teenagers Worldwide
Despite sex education and contraception, more and more teenagers get pregnant. According to Unicef, each year 1.25 million girls between the ages 15 and 19 are expecting a baby; one in three has an abortion.
Out of 28 industrial nations, the U.S. has the highest number of teenage abortions – 52,100 per year. The U.K. comes next with 30,800 and in third place is New Zealand with 29,800.
Austria (14,000), Germany (13,100) and Norway (12,400) rank in midfield, while Switzerland (5,500), Japan (4,500) and South Korea (2,900) are at the bottom of the list. – idea
AIDS Update
Some 40 million people are infected with HIV, the AIDS virus. Another 20 million have already died from it. About 9,000 people die of AIDS every day and 15,000 more are infected. AIDS kills mostly people in poor countries. The worst affected countries are in Africa, but serious threats are developing in China, India, Indonesia and Russia.
Meanwhile in Uganda, its abstinence education is producing significant results in reducing AIDS, according to a new Harvard University study. The HIV infection rate dropped 50 percent between 1992 and 2000.
When the programme started, 21 percent of pregnant women were HIV-positive; by 2001, the number was six percent. Education starts with an abstinence programme for youths called "True Love Waits." More than 30,000 Ugandan youths are currently involved in the programme that focuses on abstinence until marriage.
In other nations with high HIV infections, such as Zimbabwe and Botswana, condoms were promoted as the solution to the AIDS crisis. – Pulse |
