A leading atheist and human rights activist from the Maldives, Mohamed Rushtum Mujuthaba, fears imprisonment on charges of blasphemy at an upcoming court hearing on June 23rd, 2022. Mujuthaba was accused of making posts on social media that were critical of Islam.
A Muslim mob burned a 30-year-old Nigerian man to death in the capital of Abuja on June 4.
The murder of Ahman Usman, a security officer in The Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Abuja's Lugbe area, was allegedly accused of blasphemy. This sensitive issue recently resulted in violent incidents in the country. The Vigilante Group assists the local police in community matters.
Back in April, Humanists International wrote an online open letter to Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje regarding the unjust conviction and sentencing of Atheist activist Mubarak Bala. The open letter still welcomes signatures to show support and gather more attention.
Pakistan’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, has been charged with blasphemy along with 150 others, including Khan’s top allies. The police confirmed the First Incident Report (FIR) on Sunday, May 1, 2022.
For the third year, the United States panel on international religious affairs recommended labeling India as one of the "countries of particular concern." The report accuses India and other countries of engaging or tolerating "systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations" of religious rights.
A Polish conservative party proposed a three-year jail sentence for anyone who insults the church or religious sentiments. The proposed law will strengthen Poland’s current blasphemy laws, increasing its scope to anyone who “publicly insults the church or interrupts mass.”
On Monday, April 18, Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court in Lahore sentenced six men to death, while nine people were handed life imprisonment sentences. The court also gave a 5-year imprisonment sentence to one individual, while 72 individuals were given a 2-year jail sentence.
On April 6, a Christian Youtuber in Indonesia was sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly posting offensive videos. According to the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News), prosecutors insisted on the 10-year jail sentence.
The 56-year-old Muhammad Kace, a former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity, has uploaded at least 450 videos on his Youtube channel. AS of the writing of this article, Kace’s videos are still available.
On March 22, a high school teacher in Bangladesh was arrested by authorities for allegedly hurting religious sentiment. Hriday Chandra Mondal, a teacher at the Binodpur Ram Kumar High School in Munshiganj district, was arrested for telling students that "religion is a matter of faith."
Mondal followed up on his statement by comparing religion to science. "Science looks at the evidence," he said.
