A Christian woman is on trial for blasphemy after forwarding a WhatsApp message. Her actions sparked Muslim riots in northeast Nigeria.
Rhoda Ya'u Jatau, a 45 years old Christian health worker, was arrested on May 20 in Bauchi state. Her crime was receiving and forwarding a WhatsApp message from Ghana denouncing the horrible murder of a university student from the Sokoto state, Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, who was also wrongly accused of blasphemy.
On September 17, a pastor and dozens from his congregation were kidnapped from a Christian church in northwest Nigeria. Less than a week before, fifty-seven Christians were kidnapped at another church in a north-central state. In fact, the last few years have shown a marked increase in attacks and abductions in the country of both Christian church members and their clergy.
In mid-September, The European Court of Human Rights ordered Polish authorities to pay pop star Dorota Rabczewska damages in the amount of $9,300 for a ruling they overturned.
The case goes back to a 2009 television interview where “Doda” said that she was more convinced by dinosaurs than the bible, adding that “it’s hard to believe in something written by people who drank too much wine and smoked weed.”
In Morocco, an internet user was sentenced to two years in prison for the charges of undermining and “attacking” the Islamic religion.
On September 13, a Moroccan woman, blogger Fatima Karim, was sentenced to two years in prison by the Court of Appeal of Khouribga for "undermining the Islamic religion" after she posted “offensive” writings on Facebook.
A self-proclaimed member of the Islamic State has been arrested in Russia for planning a terrorist attack in India. The Russian Federal Security Service released information regarding the would-be attacker’s plan to kill a leader of India's ruling government in a suicide bombing. The attack was planned as retaliation for the insults aimed at the Prophet by the now ex-BJP spokesperson, Nupur Sharma.
A member of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was arrested on August 23rd. Police arrested the politician under the Preventive Detention Act and charged him with "habitually delivering provocative and inflammatory speeches."
On August 17, a Nigerian federal appeals court ruled that Islamic Sharia (law) does not violate the country’s secular constitution in a two-to-one decision. It was also decided that Sharia courts have jurisdiction over blasphemy cases.
UPDATE: The case of Maldivian human rights activist and free-thinker Mohamed Rusthum Mujuthaba, convicted and charged with "Blasphemy," has finally reached a conclusion. Although he was set free, Mujuthaba and many who support him are still concerned for his life and well-being.
Tiktok celebrity and model Addison Rae is at the center of controversy after sharing a photo on Instagram of herself wearing a swimsuit that many believe to be blasphemous against the Christian faith. Rae has since deleted the post, but the picture has been downloaded by many and has become a viral sensation.
In Karnataka, India, a Hindu youth pretending to be Muslim posted a series of obscene posts on a fake social media profile insulting the Goddess Cauvery and the women of Kodagu. The police officials have arrested the suspect.