Date: 28 Jan 2012
Now comment needed from Indian Media on Farooq's statement on conversion.Now whole issue of conversion should be discussed once again. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ THREAT TO CHRISTIANS IN KASHMIR \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ http://www.ucanindia.in/news/conversions-are-anti-secular-farooq-abdullah/16667/daily A Sharia court had last week asked three Christian priests to leave the state for “luring Muslims in the valley toward Christianity.” Posted on January 25, 2012, 5:00 PM New Delhi: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Amidst the ongoing controversy of a sharia court asking Christian priests to leave Jammu and Kashmir, Minister for Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah slammed religious conversions as “anti-secular”.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ “Those who aid conversions through allurement should be punished,” Abdullah, who himself is a Kashmiri, said.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ A Sharia court had last week asked three Christian priests to leave the state for “luring Muslims in the valley toward Christianity.” \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\The court found Church of North India (CNI) pastor Reverend C. M. Khanna and his associate Gayoor Masih guilty of “luring” and “forcing” Muslims to Christianity, and ordered their expulsion. It also ordered the wives of the two Protestant pastors to leave.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ A similar conversion charge has been laid against Catholic missioner Mill Hill Father Jim Borst. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Although it has no jurisdiction under the Indian Constitution, the Shariah court, a 200-year-old body, administers and advises the government on applicability of Islamic laws in the state, which has a Muslim majority. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\“We respect Christianity. The trials were held under cordial circumstances and videotaped. The pastors were duly heard,” said Mufti Nasir-ul Islam, a top Sharia court official. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, said, “There is no immediate threat but surely a great deal of insecurity.” -- 000000000