India: sharia court convicts priest, Protestant pastor on forced-conversion charges

January 16, 2012

The deputy grand mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, a largely Muslim Indian state, has announced that a sharia court has convicted an 80-year-old Dutch missionary priest and a Protestant pastor of forced-conversion charges. While sharia courts have no legal standing in India, the deputy grand mufti said that he would announce his decision about the future of Father Jim Borst and Pastor C. M. Khanna in upcoming days.

Father Borst, a Mill Hill missionary, went into hiding following a 2010 government deportation order, according to an Indian press report.

 

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Further information:

• Kashmir: Mill Hill missionary charged by Islamic Court (Vatican Radio)
• Shariah court on conversions, Christian council rejects charge (PTI)
• Jammu and Kashmir Shariat court indicts priests of conversion (DNA)
• India: pastor who baptized Muslims appears before sharia court (CWN, 12/13)
• Indian state expels Dutch missionary (CWN, 7/14/10)