Da Vinci Code film banned in Solomons

Solomon Islands is the second country in the Pacific to ban the Da Vinci Code film. The first being Samoa. The report says that Solomon Islands professes to be a Christian country (wow! didn't know that) and the Da Vinci Code film undermines the very roots of Christianity. It adds that the government will be failing in its duty if it allows such a film to destroy the moral fabric of society.

The ban in Samoa also applies to the hiring of videos and DVDs of the film! Well if you are going to ban the film, you might as well do it properly right?

Feel like supporting them by going there for a holiday!

Indian State Bans the Da Vinci Code

Report from the Guardian Unlimited website reports that a north-east Indian state Nagaland which is predominantly Christian has banned the Da Vinci Code novel based on blamsphemy grounds.

It also reports that India will show the Da Vinci Code film despite the protests all because the distributors agreed in showing a 15 seconds censor statement before and after the film. The statement reads - "The characters and incidents portrayed and the names herein are fictitious, and any similarity to the name, character or history of any person is entirely coincidental and unintentional."

Honestly, I can't stop laughing because of the statement. Well you have to see the funny side of it. Homer Simpson comes to mind exclaiming his infamous "D'Oh!!!"

On the other hand, if they can do that, does that mean in the name of fiction you can slander anyone you want? I wonder who will be the next victim of fictional defamation. Food for thought: Maybe the opposition parties here should consider writing stories in their party newsletters and put up the same statement.

Belarus stops screening Da Vinci Code after protest

MINSK (Reuters) - "The Da Vinci Code" has been pulled from cinemas in the Belarus capital after only four days because Christian groups in the ex-Soviet state complained the film was offensive, the state film distributor said on Tuesday.

Christian groups have also protested in India, Thailand and South Korea about the film, an adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel which suggests that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and had a child by her and that elements of the Catholic Church plotted to suppress all knowledge of this.

Leaders of Belarus's majority Orthodox Church and large Catholic community launched a campaign in the local media to have the film banned, saying it was offensive and could undermine Christian beliefs.

"We showed the film for four days in Minsk's largest cinemas to give everyone a chance to go to see it," an official from the state company Kinovideoprokat told Reuters. "We have decided to alter cinema programs due to the protests."

Cinemas in the capital Minsk replaced "The Da Vinci Code" with "Memoirs of a Geisha".

President Alexander Lukashenko, accused in the West of crushing fundamental rights and harassing independent cultural institutions, reveres Soviet traditions but enjoys close ties with Belarus's Orthodox Church. He has repeatedly urged Belarus's 10 million people to be wary of Western culture.

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Islamists get ready to bash ‘Da Vinci Code’

KARACHI: Islamist parties will hold nationwide demonstrations against ‘The Da Vinci Code’ later this week, to protest the film’s “offensive” alternative take on the story of Jesus Christ, an opposition lawmaker said.

The adaptation of Dan Brown’s best-selling novel, the story of a Vatican cover-up involving Christ and his supposed offspring, has recorded a $224 million global opening.

“The film is offensive towards a holy figure dear to all religions,” Deputy Secretary General of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Liaquat Baloch told Reuters. The MMA is the main Islamist political alliance in Pakistan.

Muslims regard Christ as an important prophet, but not as great as Islam’s Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Films or cartoons that hurt the sentiments of any religion in the name of culture should be rejected by the people, Baloch said, adding that rallies against the film would be held after Friday prayers.

No Pakistani film exhibitor has planned to screen the movie, but dealers of pirated DVDs and VCDs were expecting to offer it for sale by the end of the day.

“There is a huge demand for ‘The Da Vinci Code’,” Salman Shakir, a shopkeeper in Karachi. “We already have several orders lined up even though the initial prints are poor quality,” he said.

Christians, who make up less then 10 percent of predominantly Muslim Pakistan, fear the film could spread misunderstanding about their faith.

“We want people of other religions to also protest against the film,” said Javed Williams of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference. “It has caused disappointment in the Pakistani Catholic community,” he said.

Reference Article

Muslims in Azerbaijan protest Da Vinci Code

Muslims in Azerbaijan protest Da Vinci Code
(AFP)16 May 2006

BAKU - Muslim leaders in Azerbaijan called for protests against the film “The Da Vinci Code” on Tuesday, saying the film version of the best-selling book insulted all believers.

“The relevant Azeri authorities must ban showing this film and also end sales of the book,” Gadzhiaga Nuriyev, head of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, told AFP.

“Lack of respect for the feelings of believers, whether they are Muslims, Christians or representatives of other world religions, is inadmissable.”

Lala Abbasova, a parliamentary deputy and member of the legislature’s committee on science and education, also said: “This film should not appear on state television channels and should be listed as a banned film throughout Azerbaijani territory.”

“This film should be received negatively by society because the point of view of its authors, that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene had a child, is not credible,” said Rafik Aliyev, head of the state commission on religious education in the Central Asian country.

Many religious critics have claimed that Dan Brown’s book -- which claims that Jesus Christ had children with Mary Magdalene and that their bloodline continues -- is blasphemous.

Article Ref

INDIA: BAN DA VINCI CODE FILM, SAY KASHMIRI MUSLIMS

INDIA: BAN DA VINCI CODE FILM, SAY KASHMIRI MUSLIMS

Srinagar, 18 May (AKI/Asian Age) - The Muslim clergy in India-administered Kashmir is aghast at The Da Vinci Code film, saying that the movie's storyline, based on the bestselling book, is an insult to Islam and the belief of its followers. "It is outrageous," Kashmir's chief Muslim cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said on Wednesday. "The making of the film is shocking. And watching it is haram (forbidden) for a Muslim," said Sheikh-ul-Hadith Mufti Nazir Ahmed Qasmi, who is recognised as an authority on the Koran and the teachings of Prophet Mohammed.

For the typical Kashmiri, such as Shabir Ahmed Khan, it is yet another attempt to hurt the sentiments of believers. Endorsing him, the Grand Imam of Srinagar, Syed Ahmed Sayeed, who leads Friday prayers at the city’s Jama Masjid (Grand Mosque), charged that the film has been made with "malicious intent".

All of them, and others interviewed on Wednesday by the Indian daily, Asian Age, demanded a ban on the screening of The Da Vinci Code in India and elsewhere. Imam Hai Ahmed Sayeed urged cable TV operators to be watchful and block the beaming of any domestic or foreign channel that telecasts the film or film review programmes as and when they air.

Mufti Nazir, who teaches Hadith (the sayings and practices of the Prophet Mohammed) at one of the premier Islamic institutions of the region, Dar-ul-Aloom Rahimia, Bandipore, said that Islam demands from its followers "great and equal respect" to all the prophets. "Showing insult to any of the prophets is tantamount to insulting Islam and one who does that ceases to be a Muslim," he said, adding that the Koran is definite on the fact that Jesus Christ did not marry. "He was above these things, and Muslims as well as Christians and Jews, on the basis of their respective religious scriptures, take it as gospel," he asserted.

The film, as does Dan Brown’s bestseller also titled The Da Vinci Code, suggests that Jesus had children with Mary Magdalene. Mufti Nazir pointed out that there is no mention of such things even in the history books pertaining to the Middle East and beyond: "The Gospel and the Old Testament and the Koran negate such hypothesis."

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Calgary Muslim leader calls for boycott of Da Vinci Code

Calgary Muslim leader calls for boycott of Da Vinci Code

Canadian PressPublished: Saturday, May 13, 2006

CALGARY (CP) -- The Da Vinci Code, set to open in theatres next week, is a betrayal of Islam and should be boycotted, a Calgary Muslim leader says.

Sayed Soharwardy, president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, said the film and bestselling novel it's based on mocks his religion by questioning one of Islam's most important prophets: Jesus Christ.

"Dan Brown used the real Jesus to propagate his fabricated research," Soharwardy said. "This kind of movie is not frequent but if we don't stand up to these movies, they'll become more frequent."

The plot of the movie, which opens May 19, centres on the idea that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene and the ancient bloodline still exists, a secret fiercely protected by a sect of the Catholic Church.

Soharwardy said because the film taints the notion of Jesus -- the most oft-mentioned prophet in the Qur'an -- as pure and sinless, it could convince people the story is real.

Article Ref

Muslims join Da Vinci criticism

Muslims join Da Vinci criticism

Roman Catholics in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) have received Muslim support in protests against the release of the movie, The Da Vinci Code.

Film censors have cleared the movie for release in India on 19 May.

An umbrella organisation of Islamic clerics in Mumbai have labelled the film as "blasphemous" because it spreads "lies" about Jesus Christ.

One Roman Catholic activist has gone on what he says is a "hunger strike until death" unless the film is banned.

'Violent protests'

"The Holy Koran recognises Jesus as a prophet. What the book says is an insult to both Christians and Muslims," Maulana Mansoor Ali Khan, general secretary of the All-India Sunni Jamiyat-ul-Ulema, told the Reuters news agency.

"Muslims in India will help their Christian brothers protest this attack on our common religious belief," he said.

His stance was supported by Syed Noori, president of Mumbai-based Raza Academy, a Muslim cultural organisation that organises protests on issues concerning Islam.

"If the government doesn't do anything, we will try our own ways of stopping the film from being shown," he said. "We are prepared for violent protests in India if needed."

A Roman Catholic activist, Joseph Dias, began a hunger strike on Tuesday which he said would be continued until the film is banned.
Earlier this month hundreds of Catholic demonstrators gathered outside a convent school in Mumbai in protest over the film's release.

Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown explores the premise that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and produced children, whose descendants are alive today.

The Catholic Secular Forum has described the film as "offensive" because hits "certain basic foundations of the religion".

India's Central Board of Film Certification said Tuesday it would give the movie an adult rating if the film-makers agreed to a disclaimer at the start of the movie saying it was a work of fiction.

"There is a visual of self-flagellation and limited amount of nudity in (one) particular scene," board member Vinayak Azad told the AFP news agency. "It has got adult content."

One of the three Catholic representatives of the five-member board, the Rev Myron Pereira, said that it was cleared because the contention that Christ married was "fictional".

"But it does not portray anything in an obscene fashion," he said. "People can protest about anything since we live in a democracy."

It is estimated that there are about 18m Roman Catholics in India, with 500,000 living in Mumbai. The Christian community comprises about 2% of India's population of over one billion.

Article from BBC News

Muslim Writer Perspective: The Followers

The Followers

MUSINGS By MARINA MAHATHIR

A FRIEND was relating how after her daughter had read the Da Vinci Code, she had wanted to read the Bible. Which is not in itself a bad thing except that she was concerned that an impressionable young mind would not be able to differentiate fact from fiction. Also it seemed that perhaps what was needed is a Da Vinci Code-type book for Muslims to spark off the same level of interest in young people in their own religion.

Except that if anyone tried to write a similar thriller based around Islam, they’d be hounded and pilloried and threatened with death, thousands would riot in protest and people who would never have been able to read the book either because they are illiterate or can’t afford it would have died.

Such is the difference between our religions. While there are many Christians who are upset about the book and movie, they are countering it with seminars and other educational events to balance what is being said in the book, even if the book is only fiction. There have not been Da Vinci Code-related riots or deaths thus far. Which speaks volumes for the adherents of the faith.

It would be nice if everyone could brush off similar challenges and say “we are strong enough to withstand any attack”. Even if a book or a movie becomes a runaway hit, compared to the total number of any faith’s followers, the numbers sold can never match it. Books are by nature, in a world where illiteracy is still common, a luxury item. As are American movies, no matter what arguments people make about cultural imperialism.

I remember when there were riots over Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses, President Benazir Bhutto commented wryly that the people who were dying over the book were those who would never have read it, or possibly even heard of it if someone hadn’t whipped them into a frenzy. A similar situation arose with the cartoons. As insensitive as they were, they were still not worth dying over.

Courtesy of The Star Malaysia: Read full article

Da Vinci Code is Hooey!

(CBS/AP) Actor Tom Hanks has a message to critics of his latest film, "The Da Vinci Code": Relax.

In an interview with a London newspaper, Hanks said, "We always knew there would be a segment of society that would not want this movie to be shown. "But the story we tell is loaded with all sorts of hooey and fun kind of scavenger-hunt-type nonsense," Hanks told London's Evening Standard.

Religious leaders across the world, mostly Catholic, have objected to the film and the book because of its allegations that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and has descendants. "If you are going to take any sort of movie at face value, particularly a huge-budget motion picture like this, you'd be making a very big mistake. "It's a damn good story and a lot of fun... all it is, is dialogue. That never hurts," Hanks said. Full Article.

For your benefit, hooey means nonsense. Actually in a way Tom Hanks has hit the nail on the head. The Da Vinci Code has always been a fictional book and the film stays true to the book - fiction. It is probably just a minority of people who believe the story to be true. So what if the author believes what he wrote is true, doesn't mean that it is true. He is just one of the minority of people who are bonkers. And it is probably a waste of time trying to persuade them otherwise.

This reminds me of a case in UK, when there were attacks on paedophiles after their names and addresses were published in a tabloid newspaper. One particular group vandalised this house and it was later reported on the news that this house belonged to a paediatrician. A classic case of the media influencing the public. And the damaged caused by the minority of people who are bonkers or dare I say just blatantly stupid.

With the Da Vinci Code, true we can just forget about these people who are gullible enough to believe in what everybody else know is fiction. But I wonder what kind of damage these people will cause?

The Truth About Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code just represents a modern day rejection of the real truth. In the old testament, there are numerous examples of God's people rejecting God and creating their own truths to worship and believe in. When Moses rescued the Israelites, even after God parted the Red Sea to save them, the Israelites created an idol for themselves to worship.

It is then no surprise or wonder that we are still doing it today. The real truth is just too hard to accept even when documented in a book called the Bible. Will you believe in God if He stood next to you right now? Probably not. Even if He performed miracles some will still reject Him. But God being God still loves us, gave us his covenant and will give His promised land to His people. As with the Israelites, maybe not this generation, but the next generation who will walk into the promised land.

Sadly there will be more 'Da Vinci Codes' to come....

But for those who have come to know the real truth, see you in Heaven dude!

Philippines: Palace won't lift finger to stop 'Da Vinci Code'

Palace won't lift finger to stop 'Da Vinci Code'
First posted 09:54pm (Mla time) May 10, 2006
By Christine O. AvendaoInquirer

A TOP AIDE to President Macapagal-Arroyo said yesterday the Palace will not lift a finger to stop the showing of the controversial movie "The Da Vinci Code," but if he had his way the movie would not be played in Philippine theaters because it is "blasphemous."

"I don't see how we, as a Catholic nation or as practicing Catholics, would ever tolerate such a plot to be propagated in the name of freedom of expression," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told reporters at his weekly briefing.

Ermita said that while he has not read the best-selling book by Dan Brown, he found the storyline "blasphemous" as told to him by people who have read it.

"All I know it's something (about) our Lord Jesus and Mary Magdalene... Oh my gosh!" Ermita said, stopping in mid-sentence.

"Do you think that's something we should talk about? We might get struck by lightning," he added in Filipino and English.

Full Article

Christian Foes of 'Da Vinci Code' Mull Tactics

Christian Foes of 'Da Vinci Code' Mull Tactics

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: May 11, 2006

Many Christian leaders across the country are girding themselves for battle with "The Da Vinci Code," the movie based on the blockbuster novel by Dan Brown that opens on May 19. Whether Roman Catholic or Protestant, Orthodox or evangelical, they agree that the book attacks the pillars of Christianity by raising doubts about the divinity of Jesus and the origins of the Bible.

But they are not at all in agreement on how to best respond to a movie that one leader called "blasphemy on steroids." Some will boycott it. Others will use it as a "teaching moment." Still others will lodge a protest by seeing another movie.

Until recently, the prevailing strategy was to hitch on to the Da Vinci steamroller and use it as an opportunity for evangelism. For months, clergy have been giving their flocks books and DVD's debunking the novel, and some have even encouraged their congregants to see the movie with a nonbeliever.

"I think we really have to see it, at least some of us," said Richard J. Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, a prominent evangelical school. "It's very important for some Christians at least to be able to engage in an intelligent discussion."

But in recent weeks, calls for boycotts and protests have grown louder, from the Vatican to conservative Christian groups in the United States. They acknowledge that a boycott is not likely to make a dent at the box office, but say the co-optation strategy promoted by others will not adequately convey how offensive "The Da Vinci Code" is to their faith.

Full Article

Cracking the Da Vinci Code

The film Da Vinci Code will soon be shown island-wide in Singapore.

Unarguably, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (published 2003) is one of the most successful novels in recent decades. It is without doubt a great page turner. Every one of its 105 chapters ends on a cliff hanger. It is simply impossible to put down!

Yet it is not without controversy. Various characters within the novel make big and sometimes very damaging claims about Jesus, Christianity and the early church.

Do you think you know what is fact and what is fiction? Take an online fun quiz about 10 claims from the book and see if you can really 'Crack the Da Vinci Code'! Have fun!

Scratch the Da Vinci Code and reveal the truth

Quite a creative and fun way in telling people the facts.

Scratch the Da Vinci Code and reveal the truth
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
(Filed: 12/05/2006)

Scratchcards, usually associated with National Lottery games offering "instant cash prizes", are to be put to a more elevated use - debunking The Da Vinci Code.
The Christian Enquiry Centre is distributing 270,000 specially designed cards today to every cinema screening the Hollywood version of the Dan Brown bestseller when it is released next week.

The film is expected to be one of the biggest hits of the year despite being denounced as "stridently anti-Christian" by Vatican officials.

The cards feature 10 claims made in the book. Cinema goers are asked to judge whether they are fact or fiction by scratching the appropriate box.

For example, the cards state that "the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is a matter of historical record". If the box marked "fact" is scratched off, it will reveal a cross, while the box for "fiction" will show a tick.

The cards, which will be placed in racks in cinema foyers, will also encourage film goers to apply for a free booklet called Cracking the Da Vinci Code by Mark Stibbe, which examines the claims in more detail.

Full Article

Da Vinci Code: Calls for fatal hunger strikes in India

A Catholic group on Tuesday called on Christians to starve themselves to death in protest at the release of The Da Vinci Code at cinemas in India, as others burned copies of the novel.

The Catholic Secular Forum said it hoped thousand of people would attend a protest on Wednesday in Mumbai to burn effigies of Dan Brown, the author of the best-selling novel.

"It's to show the extent that our feelings have been hurt," said the group's general secretary, Joseph Dias, speaking of the "fast-unto-death" call if the government fails to take action.

He denied the hunger strike was irresponsible. "It's a more Christian way of doing things, rather than pulling down things and tearing them up," he said.

Full Article

Sad to hear that they are protesting in this manner which does not reflect the loving and peaceful nature of Christians. Suicidal behaviour has never been condoned by Christians or the Bible in which ever way.

Boils back to the basic question? Why are they protesting? Seems that 'feelings have been hurt'. Thats no reason at all. Should just go home cool down and pray. I am objecting because the Da Vinci Code is presenting fiction as fact and even the author believes it is true. I am objecting because "Content that denigrates any race or religion should continue to be disallowed" as recommended by the Singapore Censorship Review Committee. I am objecting because harmony and respect must prevail when we live in a multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious society. If that is expected of us then authorities who lay down these rules should uphold it too.

Singapore: Board of Film Censors gives 'The Da Vinci Code' a rating of NC16

Channel NewsAsia reported that the Singapore Board of Film Censors has rated 'Da Vinci Code' NC16.

BFC says that, in deciding on the rating, it sought the views of the Film Consultative Panel which comprises a cross section of society, representing different professions, age groups, races and religions.

The majority of members came to the conclusion that the film should be viewed as a thriller and a piece of fiction.

Members agreed that the film can be shown, but at a higher rating as only a mature audience will be able to discern and differentiate between fact and fiction. Full Article

Doesn't this decision contradicts their own Censorship Review Commitee report as it clearly says that "Content that denigrates any race or religion should continue to be disallowed"?

This news was only published on Channel NewsAsia website. Not mentioned in The Strait Times or TODAY newspapers. No explanation available from the Media Development Authority of Singapore on the decision and why the film does not denigrate Christianity as clearly objected by the National Council of Churches Singapore.

Double-standards? The Satanic Verses was a piece of fiction. It did not purport itself to be based on facts, but was banned in Singapore even before the CRC reviewed its censorship guidelines on religion. The religious cartoons published by the Danish media is a piece of fiction. This wasn't published here either. Judge for yourself.

This decision comes to no surprise. Nothing was done by the media to inform the public about the world-wide protests. They continued their promotions as though no objection was raised. Imagine if this film was banned. What would have been the implications, with the promotions and the competition? How much profit would have been lost from the box office, the advertising, collaterals and monies from the sponsors?

"What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.

Arts Central: Da Vinci Code Special Documentaries

Singapore Arts Central is running a series of Da Vinci Code documentaries starting from this Wednesday 10th May, every Wednesday till 7th June. Click here for the schedule.

In view of Mediacorp continual promotion of the Da Vinci Code film despite knowing that NCCS has sent a letter to MICA to ban the film, I certainly hope that these documentaries have been reviewed by the CRC.

Also why can't Mediacorp produce a short documentary themselves, to get the views and opinions of MICA, CRC, religious leaders (not only Christians), literary critics, local university professors and the public relation executives from companies (who are involved in the sponsoring of the film and "Be Part of the Phenomenon" competition). This is more important as it provides views in local context governed by Singapore Acts and Regulations.

Singapore: CRCs view on Race and Religion content. MICAs response.

In July 2003, the Censorship Review Committee (CRC) submitted its report to MICA, recommending changes to existing censorship policies and guidelines for the different media in view of the social and technological changes that have taken place since the last review in 1992. MICA agrees with the thrust of report and has accepted most of the recommendations for implementation over time. See (Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts MICA's full response

For convenience I have extracted the relevant parts regarding religious content.

(Extract from CRC Report)
5.3 RACE AND RELIGION
5.3.1 Content that denigrates any race or religion should continue to be disallowed. However, as a long-term strategy, there is a need to gradually enlarge the common space for discussion of these sensitive issues through the various mediums to help promote greater understanding, tolerance and harmony among the different segments of our society.
5.3.2 Disagreements on the appropriate line to draw cannot be totally avoided. Such matters should continue to be resolved through the existing consultation process led by the advisory and the appeal committees representing various segments of society. Members of these committees should function in their individual capacity, in order to maintain objectivity and to serve the common good of ordinary Singaporeans. Where necessary, there should be consultation with the relevant religious groups.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
■ Continue to disallow content that denigrates any race or religion.
■ Gradually enlarge common space for discussion of racial and religious issues through the various mediums, as a long-term approach in fostering racial and religious understanding and harmony.

(MICAs Response)
Agreed. In addition,MITA will continue to consider exempting arts groups who have demonstrated social responsibility in their handling of sensitive issues from script pre-vetting. MDA will work out the exemption guidelines for script pre-vetting.

Cardinal urges legal action against Da Vinci Code

Reuter News

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - In the latest Vatican broadside against "The Da Vinci Code", a leading cardinal says Christians should respond to the book and film with legal action because both offend Christ and the Church he founded.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Nigerian who was considered a candidate for pope last year, made his strong comments in a documentary called "The Da Vinci Code-A Masterful Deception."
Arinze's appeal came some 10 days after another Vatican cardinal called for a boycott of the film. Both cardinals asserted that other religions would never stand for offences against their beliefs and that Christians should get tough.

"Christians must not just sit back and say it is enough for us to forgive and to forget," Arinze said in the documentary made by Rome film maker Mario Biasetti for Rome Reports, a Catholic film agency specializing in religious affairs.

"Sometimes it is our duty to do something practical. So it is not I who will tell all Christians what to do but some know legal means which can be taken in order to get the other person to respect the rights of others," Arinze said.

"This is one of the fundamental human rights: that we should be respected, our religious beliefs respected, and our founder Jesus Christ respected," he said, without elaborating on what legal means he had in mind.

Read full article