New Delhi's Jains have petitioned the government to add their community to a list of "notified minority groups", a status held by other religious minorities in the area such as Sikhs, Muslims and Christians. Without formal minority status, the Jain community, which runs eight schools around New Delhi, is not allowed to hold any religion classes. IANS carries more details of the story.

JAKARTA - A panel of prosecutors, religious scholars, and government officials has recommended that the Indonesian government ban the Ahmadi Muslim community, which they say has "deviated from Islamic principles" the Associated Press reported on April 17. The panel also encouraged the government to charge members of the Ahmadi community with "insulting a religion", a crime which carries a sentence of up to five years in jail. Indonesia's Ahmadi community currently numbers about 200,000.

SINGAPORE - Two Singaporeans, Dorothy Chan Hien Leng and Ong Kian Cheong, have been charged under the Sedition Act and the Undesirable Publications Act after giving an Evangelical Christian publication to two people last year Agence France-Presse reported on April 16. Specific details of the publication are unknown, though it allegedly contained a negative portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed. Singapore is known to take severe action against anyone who is thought to have increased tensions in the community, previously jailing two men for anti-Muslim blogs and warning another for posting cartoons online which mocked Jesus Christ.

ASHGABAD - Officers from the Department of Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and members of Turkmenistan's secret police raided a Bible class held by the Greater Grace Protestant church in Ashgabad on April 11, saying it was their duty to check-up on religious organizations Forum 18 reported on April 18. Local officials explained that the raid was a necessary procedure to determine the identities of those attending the Bible study, and to ascertain how many people the class drew. Officials warned the pastor, Vladimir Tolmachev, that he was not allowed to teach members of his own church without express government permission, and that repeated warnings would result in his church losing its legal status, a decision which would render all of the church's activities illegal.

JEDDAH - Officials in Saudi Arabia have sentenced a Turkish citizen to death for blasphemy, after the man was accused of using "obscene language" to refer to God Today's Zaman reported on April 19. Sabri Boğday, a Turk who has resided in the Saudi Arabian province of Jeddah for the past ten years, allegedly used the offending terms in the course of an argument with his neighbor. Turkish officials fear that Boğday has been falsely accused, according to Today's Zaman, and worry that because he is a foreigner, he will be dealt with in a particularly harsh manner. Immigrants are said to be at greater risk for convictions in Saudi Arabia; in the last year alone, 76 foreigners were executed in the country.

IRELAND - The EU Commission has decided not to pursue a case against Ireland over the country's religious organizations, The Independent reported on April 20. The case centered on an exemption under Irish law, which did not compel religious entities to hire employees who contradicted their ethos. The exemption was originally upheld by the European Commission, but last February, after a reassessment, the Commission decided that the exemption was "too broad" and as a result, Ireland's religious entities were in danger of being slapped with multi-million euro fines if they did not comply with EU regulations.

JAKARTA - Indonesian authorities sentenced a man to four years in prison for claiming he was a prophet, Agence France-Presse reported on April 23. By claiming to be a prophet, Ahmad Mushaddeq, 63, the leader of the Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah sect, was "guilty of showing contempt in public against a religion recognized by the state". As Islam teaches that the Prophet Mohammed will not be followed by any other prophets, Mushaddeq was pronounced "deviant" by Indonesia's clerics. Members of Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah have filed for police protection in the wake of the sentence, and Mushaddeq himself has since retracted his claim.

IRFN (April 17-23): Indonesian Government Panel Recommends Banning Ahmadi Community