NHS in court attempting to stop staff speaking about their beliefs outside of the workplace

 Barnabas Fund 03/08/2017

This week Richard Page will challenge an NHS ruling that requires employees not to make any comments outside of the workplace contradicting the NHS’s politically correct view of “equality.”

As a magistrate during an adoption hearing, he expressed the view that it was “generally in the best interests” of a child to have both a mother and father.

A panel investigating his continuing as a trustee told him, “It was not in the interests of the health service for you to serve as a non-executive director in the NHS,” his actions “likely to have had a negative impact on the confidence of staff, patients and public in you as a local NHS leader.”

Between 1719 and 1888 the UK abolished “Test Acts” that prohibited anyone from being teachers and university professors unless they publicly subscribed to certain beliefs. This NHS Trust is seeking to turn the clock back on more than 130 years of religious freedom in the UK.

The Daily Telegraph warned that this week’s hearing could have major implications for how public bodies treat staff with religious beliefs. Mr Page will warn that “the loss of his job because of his religious beliefs signifies a worrying shift away from pluralism towards ideological dictatorship in the health service.”

Sweden to deport Christian back to Iran, in violation of UN Convention on Refugees

Barnabas Fund 10/08/2017

Sweden is about to deport back to Iran a well-known Iranian actress who has left Islam to become a Christian, despite this violating the UN Refugee Convention.  Aideen Strandsson came to faith in Christ after watching a video in Iran of a woman being stoned to death. She said, “I decided at that moment I don’t want to be a Muslim anymore.”

She explained how, shortly after this, “I had a dream about Jesus. He was sitting near me and he took my hand.”

Aideen Strandsson

When she came to Sweden in 2014 she asked for a public baptism, saying, “I am not afraid anymore.  I am free, I am Christian, I want everyone to know about that.”

But Swedish officials have told Aideen that becoming a Christian was “her decision” and “her problem”, not theirs. A Swedish official said it wouldn’t be as bad for her as she expects – it would only be 6 months in prison! 

As an apostate from Islam and a nationally known actress, she is likely to be viewed as a major embarrassment to the Iranian government. Her life will be in serious danger and she has already received threats on social media.

TURKEY – New school curriculum to teach jihad and reinforce “Turkish” identity as Islamic

Barnabas Fund 27/07/2017

The Turkish government has launched a new school curriculum which will officially teach jihad as part of religious education. Students will be taught that the “greater jihad” – usually interpreted as a personal struggle against sin – means “to serve society’s needs.” (The term “lesser jihad” is often used to mean military jihad – war against non-Muslims with the aim of spreading Islam.) The lessons will be rolled out to all students from next year.

The alterations to the Turkish school curriculum appear designed to reinforce ideas of Turkish Islamic nationalism, by indoctrinating students that adherence to Islam equates to adherence to the state. “The real meaning of jihad is loving your nation,” stated the government’s Education Minister.

Palestinian Authority creates new social media blasphemy law

Barnabas Fund 27/07/2017

President Abbas of Palestine has enacted a new Cyber Crime Law on his own initiative with penalties harsher than those for thieves and sex offenders.  Why?  The answer is almost certainly that it is part of an attempt to introduce a global Islamic blasphemy law for social media posts.

In 2016, Barnabas Fund reported concerns that Facebook were already censoring posts critical of Islam, particularly by those who had left Islam. Then on 31 May last year an agreement was signed between the EU and major social media sites.  It committed IT websites to remove, within 24 hours, content deemed “offensive” by “civil society organisations.”  The National Secular Society warned that “far from tackling online ‘cyber jihad,’ the agreement risks entrapping any critical discussion of religion under vague ‘hate speech’ rules.”

The Pakistan government called a meeting of 27 Muslim ambassadors, including that of the Palestinian Authority, at the end of March to try to create a global Islamic blasphemy law for social media.   Pakistan’s interior minister has subsequently met with Facebook’s Vice President to discuss the way forward on this.