| 14/08/2012 NEPAL Nepal, terroristi indù minacciano nuovi attacchi contro i cristiani e musulmani di Kalpit Parajuli Il nuovo capo del Nepal Defense Army pronto a compiere attentati contro chiese cattoliche ed edifici di culto. Minacce al parroco della cattedrale dell'Assunzione e un a leader protestante.  _0814_-_Cattolici.jpg) Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - Gli estremisti indù del Nepal Defense Army (Nda) minacciano attentati contro le chiese cattoliche e ordinano a cristiani e musulmani di lasciare il Paese. È quanto emerge da una serie di telefonate ricevute... |
| 13/08/2012 PAKISTAN Islamabad, leader cristiano incriminato per blasfemia con false accuse di Jibran Khan  Secondo la denuncia egli avrebbe inviato messaggi telefonici offensivi sulla madre di Maometto. Esperti di legge parlano di errori procedurali nel capo di accusa. Attivisti per i diritti umani promettono battaglia in tribunale. Mons. Rufin Anthony: è un caso di “inimicizia personale”. | 13/08/2012 GRAN BRETAGNA – ASIA Londra 2012, gli Stati Uniti superano la Cina e tornano in vetta al medagliere olimpico  Cala il sipario sulla XXX edizione dei Giochi. Passaggio di consegne a Rio de Janeiro, per l’anno 2016. Dopo il trionfo di Pechino 2008, il Dragone torna sul secondo gradino del podio, ma i media patriottici denunciano “ingiustizie”. Fra gare e record, la vittoria della fede (Bolt e Farah) sul relativismo britannico. |
13/08/2012 INDIA Nuovo superiore della Società del Pilar: Le urgenze della missione ad gentes e della nuova evangelizzazionedi Nirmala Carvalho P.Francis Carvalho, 65 anni, è stato eletto superiore lo scorso 11 agosto. Le priorità del suo istituto sono portare il Vangelo in luoghi non ancora raggiunti da Cristo, come l'Asia e l'Africa. Ma anche impegnarsi per rafforzare la fede degli indifferenti, soprattutto in occidente. Essere sempre a servizio del papa. L'amicizia con i missionari del PIME. | 11/08/2012 PAKISTAN Ricordando Shahbaz Bhatti e Benazir Bhutto, il Pakistan celebra le minoranzeL'11 agosto, nel 65mo anniversario dello storico discorso di Ali Jinnah all'Assemblea, è la giornata dedicata ai non musulmani. Il ministro Paul Bhatti sottolinea che "siamo parte di un'unica nazione" e l'obiettivo è creare "un Pakistan prospero e unito". Inserire le minoranze nel panorama politico e sociale del Paese. |
11/08/2012 INDIA  Migliaia di fedeli salutano mons. Mallavarapu, neo arcivescovo di Vishakapatnamdi Sr. Benigna Menezes* Il prelato ha guidato per 10 anni la diocesi di Vijayawada, nell'Andhra Pradesh. Alla messa di commiato egli ha invitato i fedeli a ringraziare Dio per il decennio di pace e crescita. Fra i suoi meriti l'aver promosso l'armonia interconfessionale e favorito l'istruzione dei giovani cattolici, con particolare attenzione ai poveri. | 10/08/2012 INDIA _0810_-_Dalit.jpg) Dalit cristiani e musulmani celebrano il giorno di lutto contro la discriminazionedi Nirmala Carvalho Le manifestazioni hanno coinvolto migliaia di persone in tutto il Paese. Il 10 agosto 1950 sono state approvate le norme che discriminano i Dalit di religione diversa da indù e buddismo. Dopo 62 anni nulla è cambiato. L'appello al nuovo presidente Mukherjee e a Sonia Gandhi per una rapida revisione delle leggi. |
10/08/2012 NEPAL_0810_-_Donne_Paesi_arabi.jpg) Nepal, il governo blocca l'emigrazione delle donne nei Paesi del Golfodi Kalpit Parajuli Il divieto riguarda le lavoratrici con meno di 30 anni. Il bando avviene in seguito ai continui casi di abusi sessuali e maltrattamenti subiti dalle donne in Arabia Saudita, Qatar e Kuwait. | 10/08/2012 INDONESIA – AUSTRALIA  Canberra soccorre oltre 200 profughi salpati dalle coste indonesiane Tutti cercano asilo politico in territorio australiano. A bordo dell’imbarcazione, intercettata al largo dell’isola di Natale, cittadini provenienti da Sri Lanka, Iran, Afghanistan e Pakistan. Polemiche in Australia sulle condizioni dei mezzi usati per il pattugliamento. Nel 2012 accolti più di 7mila rifugiati. |
09/08/2012 INDIA _0809_-_Centrale_nucleare.jpg){kind=spacer} Vescovo di Tuticurin: Stop alla centrale nucleare pericolosa per la popolazionedi Santosh Digal Mons. Yvon Ambroise critica la precarietà dell'impianto di Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu) e l'indifferenza del governo. Da circa un anno 50mila persone digiunano a turno per la chiusura della centrale. La Chiesa li sostiene e assicura loro preghiere. La crescita e lo sviluppo necessarie, ma non a costo della vita umana. | 09/08/2012 SRI LANKA Colombo: pace e stabilità al centro del Seminario internazionale sulla difesa di Melani Manel Perera La tre giorni in svolgimento nella capitale dall’8 al 10 agosto. È la seconda rassegna promossa dall’esercito ed è incentrata sulle “5 R”: ricostruzione, risistemazione, riabilitazione, reintegrazione e riconciliazione. Ministro della Difesa: sconfitti i ribelli Tamil, lo Sri Lanka nazione “fra le più stabili e pacifiche” al mondo. |
ISLAM - CHRISTIANITY
A Muslim convert talks about Christ
by Bernardo Cervellera
By coming out openly on TV, with the danger of recognition and persecution for 'apostasy,' Mohammed Christophe reasserted the importance of conversion and baptism. In Muslim nations, various bishops and priests refuse to baptise Muslims who want to become Christian. Yet, conversion means a revolution in the relationship with God, the father, and Jesus, who gave his life, for one gives up everything putting one's life at risk.
Rome (AsiaNews) - A few days ago, the website of Notre Dame de Kabylie posted a tape in which a former Muslim, Mohammed Christophe Bilek, talked about his conversion to Christianity. The original broadcast, which focused on the persecution of Christians, first appeared in 'Dieu Merci' (Thank God), a show that deals with religion on Direct 8, a French TV channel.
Mohammed Christophe Bilek was born in Algeria in 1950 and has lived in France since 1961. He is the author of two books: Un algérien pas très catholique (A not very Catholic Algerian), published by Cerf (1999) and Saint Augustin raconté à ma fille (Saint Augustine as told to my daughter), published by Éditions Qabel (2011). In the 1990s, he founded the Notre Dame de Kabylie (in French), a website devoted to evangelisation among Muslims and Muslim-Christian dialogue.
In the video, Bilek highlights the risk Muslim converts face when accused of apostasy, an offence that can be punished by death. Nevertheless, he insists on the importance of baptism, the encounter with Jesus Christ and affiliation with the Church.
His views go against those of priests and bishops in Muslim countries, who prefer to dissuade or even deny baptism to Muslims who want to convert out of fear for the consequences they and Christian communities might face.
Is baptising banned?
A few weeks ago, a bishop in an Arab country in the Middle East told me that police threatened to close one of his communities because members had advertised a Christian-Muslim meeting on dialogue. Police were concerned that this might be the first step towards so-called proselytising and apostasy. "If this is the reaction to a meeting on dialogue, imagine what it would be if we had a conversion," an embittered bishop said.
It is no wonder then that the prelate is against conversions and baptisms for only this seems to be the way to preserve the little freedom of worship that exists in the country in question.
In places like Morocco, and until recently Algeria, the situation is such that dioceses were instructed not to baptise Muslims who want to convert to Catholicism because "local laws ban it."
Fr Samir Khalil remembers that a few years ago, he met a Muslim whose request for baptism was rejected for 13 years. Baptism, he was told, would bring him a lot of trouble, force him to emigrate to avoid being executed for apostasy, and endanger the priest performing the baptism. And yet, for all this time, the would-be convert studied the Gospels and the catechism on his own and led a life of prayers.
In Egypt, the Christian clergy also tends to avoid baptising Muslims; only a few priests have done so in secret. Speaking to AsiaNews, a religious who has been in Egypt for decades, said that baptising at any cost "is against the Second Vatican Council because the Council said that non-Christians can also find salvation outside the Church." Implicitly, this means that baptism is unnecessary and that people find salvation according to their circumstances.
This is not the place to start a theological debate about the faith in Christ and the salvation of non-Christians. Suffices it to say, that both Dominus Iesus and theDoctrinal note on some aspects of evangelization reiterate the importance of a 'visible' and socially relevant affiliation to Christ and the Church.
What is more, baptism is a life-changing experience, one that alters the convert's perception of life. Changes occur in the here and now, not in some future 'eternal' life after death. For this reason, offering others the baptism is not a superficial deed but a gift of life and hope in the present. Being baptised or not being baptised are not equivalent.
Christians' 'solar' God vs the Qur'an's 'lunar' God
Faith changes the present in a profound and meaningful way. On Notre Dame de Kabylie, Mohammed Christophe explains his conversion by stressing his new understanding of God.
"If the God of the Qur'an is the same as that of the Christians, why did I, Mohammed, become Christophe," he asked himself. "Having lived in Islam, practiced its precepts among people who are still Muslim (his family still is), I continue to be dazzled by the discovery of the Gospel," he said by way of answer.
"The light that comes from the Gospel suggests a comparison, one based on a certain premise. Anyone who wants to talk about the God of Islam must refer to Qur'an. If we replace the word 'God' with 'light', the light of the Qur'an is lunar, that of the Gospel is solar."
"Whether God is one, i.e. the creator, whatever the name we might have given him, is something I can accept. If we stuck to this premise, it would not be necessary to leave Islam and become Christian."
"Yet, Jesus came to reveal, first to the Jews, then to all men, that 'God is your Father, that God loves you and wants you with Him to give you His life!' Upon such words, I do not hesitate one moment. I accept the offer, not once, but twice. I know that the Qur'an makes an offer in which I may deserve (but that is not certain) a carnal and materialist heaven (Sura 38, 50-52) that reminds me more of ads for vacation spots to idle away the time under the tropical sun than of the certainty of 'knowing' my God and Lord."
What about the images we have of Christ and Mohammed? Two quotes say it all for Mohammed Christophe. In one case, Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep," whilst in the other, Mohammed is told "O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses" (Sura 33, 50)."
"Let us be serious. It is one thing to say 'there is but one God for all;' it is another to say that He is interested in me, insignificant worm, to the extent that he 'deifies' me in Jesus. [. . .] Such revelation was my calling."
Jesus, man's freedom without submission
Mohammed Christophe also speaks about apostasy and the possibility of death that comes from following him.
Christ says, "Are you ready to follow me and leave everything for me? When one realises what Jesus asks, out of love, we can see how difficult it is to follow him. It is also one thing to say 'yes' with one's lips; it is another to leave everything behind for Him.
"For those of us who come from Islam, this means breaking with one's past, family and community as well as one's moral or spiritual certainties."
"I say it is much easier to remain a Muslim, not take a stance (since we have the same God). There are many easy excuses not to make the break, not to accept this transformation, not to die in oneself and not to follow Christ. Conversion is demanding and cannot be done without his help."
"This is what the rich youth in the Gospel could not do, because, at least at the start, one must freely agree. Jesus does not impose on me any "submission" but only the freedom to love him."
"This is an important difference. Does God create us as free men or slaves? Depending on our answer, God is not the same. In one case, I risk the punishment reserved for apostates or unbelievers; in the other, I am the prodigal son expected by his father, who calls all his servants as soon he sees him on the horizon."
"Leaving Islam is dangerous. It is done at the risk of one's life. Thus, dear brothers and sisters in the West, welcome and help those who do it."
"I insist. I am not talking about the God of the Muslims but of the God of the Qur'an. Muslims are my brothers; perhaps one day, they may be my brothers and sisters in Christ."
"Since the 1990s, this has not only been a hope but it has also been a reality that has made me rejoice and praise the Lord. Alleluia! Jesus has come to save all men, Muslims included."
YouTube
573778iscritti
68658681visualizzazioni video
