Hostilities

Some good news for a change:

Aid to the Church in Need reports that Christian girl Farah Shaheen, aged 12, from Pakistan, the subject of an earlier entry A slave for her faith has been joyfully reunited with her family this week following an unexpected court ruling in her favour. Farah had been abducted, forcibly married and made to clear filth in a cattle yard while shackled and attached to a chain. After being rescued, her father went to court to have the marriage rescinded. Aid to the Church in Need mounted a major media campaign in support of Farah, her family and advocates in Pakistan.

That is welcome news but the persecution of Christians around the world continues. From International Christian Concern:

Open Doors reports that "More Christians are murdered for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country. Violent attacks by Boko Haram, Hausa-Fulani Muslim militant herdsmen, ISWAP (an affiliate of the Islamic State group) and other Islamic extremist groups are common in the north and middle belt of the country, and are becoming more common farther south.

"In these attacks, Christians are often murdered or have their property and means of livelihood destroyed. Men and boys are particularly vulnerable to being killed. The women and children left behind are very vulnerable and living testimonies to the power of the attackers. Perpetrators are seldom brought to justice. Christian women are often abducted and raped by these militant groups, and sometimes forced to marry Muslims."

Meanwhile in Great Britain a BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour interview with the first woman to lead the Muslim Council of Britain has been criticised for being "strikingly hostile" with complainants calling for a greater representation of Muslims within the BBC.

The "hostility" referred to was an attempt by the interviewer to find out how many female imams there are in Britain. Either the Muslim Council's leader did not know or simply refused to say. She could have said so. Instead there are accusations of Islamophobia.

A sense of proportion is needed.