December 18th, 2009 by Jason

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has released a new report on the “Global Restrictions on Religion.” The report concludes that “among all regions, the Middle East-North Africa has the highest government and societal restrictions on religion.” Concerning governmental restrictions, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Egypt are among the worst offenders. For societal restrictions, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia rank among the worst. Overall, the report identifies Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and India as the most restrictive countries.

Meanwhile, Babylon and Beyond reports that Al Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy has stopped the presses on a book criticized as discriminatory towards Christians. The book, “The Scientific Report,” contends Christianity is a form of paganism. Coptic officials had filed a report to the attorney general accusing the book’s author Mohamed Emara of blasphemy, but they have now expressed their relief at Al Azhar’s decision to cancel the publication.

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