Year: 2018

Palestinian father who lost daughter: ‘Don’t be pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel, be pro-justice’

April 5, 2018 Palestinian Territories Beit Sahour, Bethlehem, Education, Egypt, Gaza, Greek Orthodox, Iraq, Israel, Middle East, Minorities, Palestinian Territories, Syria, West Bank, Youth

George Saadeh is headmaster of a school where children are taught to "have respect for those who think differently than you". (Photo: Open Doors International)

A Palestinian Christian father whose 12-year-old daughter was killed by Israeli soldiers has spoken about the ongoing conflict and his decision to forgive the soldiers who shot her, just over 15 years ago. Violence erupted once again at the weekend along the Israeli border with Gaza, leaving at least 16 . . . Read More

Iraq’s Assyrian Christians: persecution and resurgence

April 4, 2018 Iraq Ankawa, Assyrians, Bartella, Chaldeans, Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Karamles, Kurds, Migrants, Nineveh Plains, Peshmerga, Qaraqosh, Refugees, Saddam Hussein, Syria, Women, Yazidis

Samir Gedhya never wanted to leave his home in Qaraqosh for the unknown, even when the Islamic State group was almost at his doorstep, sweeping through the towns of Iraq. As the menace to Qaraqosh loomed, his eldest son Faraj, then 16, decided to flee to France, entering by a . . . Read More

Five years on, Central African Republic crisis deepens

April 4, 2018 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bambari, Catherine Samba-Panza, Central African Republic, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Oumar Kobine Layama, Seleka, UN, UPC

A UN official has called for a new approach to end the still-deepening crisis in the Central African Republic. The situation in CAR has been deteriorating for five years now, and in the next six months may grow even worse, according to the head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination . . . Read More

Easter in Qaraqosh – for many their first since returning home

April 3, 2018 Iraq Assyrians, Easter, Iraq, Islamic State, Qaraqosh

On Sunday, many of Iraq’s Christians celebrated their first Easter since returning to their homes. With the help of local churches and other organisations, people in the country’s largest Christian city, Qaraqosh (also known as Baghdida), have restored their homes and are now attempting to recover the lives they lost . . . Read More

Persecuted Christians celebrate Easter with mixed emotions

April 3, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Aleppo, Bashar Warda, Catholics, Easter, Erbil, Gaza, Hanoi, Hmong, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Israel, Jakarta, Jerusalem, Ludhiana, Maluku, Marawi, Middle East, Mindanao, Minorities, Philippines, Pope Francis, Prince Charles, Southeast Asia, Syria, Vietnam

Flag of Syria is waving as sign of victory over the destroyed heavily damaged city of Aleppo. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Easter this year was a time of mixed emotions for the Christians who live under pressure for their faith. While political and religious leaders called for peace, reconciliation and brotherhood, Christians in countries like Syria and the Philippines continued to face violence and its consequences. Below, World Watch Monitor gives . . . Read More

‘Finally my father is home’ – Slimane Bouhafs released after 18 months in jail

April 3, 2018 Algeria Algeria, Bejaia, Blasphemy, Constantine, Jijel, Kabylie, MAK, Religious freedom, Setif, Slimane Bouhafs, Tizi Ouzou

Slimane Bouhafs has been released after 18 months in prison for alleged blasphemy on Facebook. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The daughter of Slimane Bouhafs, an Algerian Christian who has spent the last 18 months in prison for insulting Islam and its prophet, has announced her father’s release. “Finally my father … has been allowed back to us,” his daughter, Tilelli, wrote on her Facebook page on Easter Saturday. “Thank . . . Read More

India: Baptism service violently halted by Hindu mob claiming ‘forced conversions’

March 29, 2018 India Baptism, Converts, Hindu nationalism, India, Uttar Pradesh

Around 20 Hindu extremists in saffron-coloured clothes barged inside a church in eastern India’s Uttar Pradesh state yesterday (28 March), violently assaulting the pastor and two church members. Shouting in extremely offensive language, they entered the Evangelical Churches of India (ECI) building in the Fatehpur district of the city, and . . . Read More

Nigerian Christian who lost husband in Fulani attack: ‘I returned to encourage other women to do the same’

March 29, 2018 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

Shaforon village in north-east Nigeria’s Adamawa state is all but deserted. Residents fled to the bigger cities of Numan and the state capital, Yola, when the village was attacked by Fulani herdsmen in December. Hanatu Solomon, whose husband died during the attack, is one of the few to have returned. . . . Read More

Indonesia church bomb attack victim Trinity, 5, healing well, father says

March 29, 2018 Indonesia Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Kalimantan, Samarinda

Five-year-old Indonesian Christian girl Trinity, who was badly injured in a bomb attack on a church yard in November 2016, is healing well, her father told World Watch Monitor. After completing the first phase of treatment in China last month, she is soon to return for a second phase. Trinity . . . Read More

Good Friday holiday reinstated in Christian-majority Indian state after protests

March 29, 2018 India BJP, Christmas, Digital India Day, Good Governance Day, Gujarat, Hindu nationalism, India, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Narendra Modi, Religious freedom

Widespread protests have forced the government in Christian-majority Meghalaya State in north-east India to restore the Good Friday holiday. The coalition government, to which the Hindu nationalist BJP is a partner, had declared in a circular that Good Friday would be a normal “working day”, but the move was withdrawn . . . Read More

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