The Jerusalem Post has reported that six Bahá’ís in Yemen have been arrested.Says the Post:
Though not officially banned in Yemen, the Bahá’í religion is considered by some Muslims as heresy.
These arrests come on top of the detention of nine people for converting from Islam to Christianity. Conversion from Islam to any other religion is illegal in Yemen.
This is a very worrying development and another sign of extent to which the human right of freedom of religion or belief is being flouted in various countries across the world.
From Fox News
This Fox News story has more details about the arrests of the converts to Christianity and a little bit more about the Bahá’í Faith.
The Baha’i faith was founded by the Persian nobleman Baha’u'llah, who claimed to be a new prophet in the series that included Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Islam considers Muhammad to be the last of the prophets.
Mansour Hayel, vice president of the Omar al-Gawi Political Forum that advocates for human rights and civil liberties in Yemen, blamed the arrests on the growing influence of extremist Muslim groups in Yemen.
Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Islam, Christianity, Yemen, arrest, religious freedom, human rights
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Concerning Religious Freedom in Yemen you may want to read this report by the US State Department:
International Religious Freedom Report 2007 – Yemen
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90224.htm
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