General

Iranian pastor released after 5 years in jail

December 22, 2015 Iran Ayatollah Khamenei, Church of Iran, Farshid Fathi, Hassan Rouhani

An Iranian pastor has been released early from prison, just six months after he failed to appeal a sentence to an extra year in jail and 74 lashes for allegedly possessing two litres of alcohol in his prison cell. Farshid Fathi was serving a six-year prison sentence – extended to . . . Read More

Christian women in Baghdad face intimidation to veil

December 18, 2015 Iraq Baghdad, Basra, Hijab, Women

The offensive poster is aimed squarely at Christian women The few Christians still holding out in Baghdad have found themselves on the receiving end of another barrage of intimidation. Posters appeared on the morning of 13 Dec. – a Sunday – near Christian places of worship with a message . . . Read More

Three killed outside ‘Christian’ radio station in Mali

December 18, 2015 Mali Bamako, Gao, Timbuktu, Tuareg

The main entrance to Tahanint radio station in Timbuktu, Mali.World Watch Monitor Three men were killed when an unidentified gunman opened fire outside a Christian radio station in Mali last night (17 December). Hamar Oumar Dicko and Samuel Dicko worked for the station; Abdal Malick Ag Alher was a . . . Read More

5 years on: what has the Arab Spring meant for Christians?

December 17, 2015 Arab Spring, Copts, Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Iraq, Islamic State, Libya, Middle East, Muammar Gaddafi, Muslim Brotherhood, North Africa, Ramadan, Syria, Tunisia

The Arab Spring, which began five years ago today (17th December) started with a wave of protests in Tunisia followed by other Arab countries. It was positively acclaimed as a social movement demanding an end to human rights violations, government corruption and poverty. Yet, so far, the outcome is largely contrary to . . . Read More

Egyptian brothers add to tally of Christians killed in Libya

December 16, 2015 Egypt Ansar al-Sharia, Copts, Egypt, Islamic State, Libya, Sohag

Today, 16 December, is the date set for the signing of a UN-facilitated agreement on forming a new national unity government in Libya. Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been engulfed by conflicts between various coalitions of armed groups. The country is split between an . . . Read More

After Aung San Suu Kyi’s election win, Myanmar’s displaced Kachin are hopeful they can go home for Christmas

December 16, 2015 Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, Baptists, Christmas, Churches, Elections, Kachin, Refugees

As democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi prepares to assume power in Myanmar, two Baptist leaders among the country’s ethnic Kachin refugees are cautiously expecting more freedom to live their Christian faith, perhaps as soon as this Christmas. More than 100,000 ethnic Kachin, displaced due to civil war that broke . . . Read More

18 Chibok parents have died as wait for girls goes on

December 15, 2015 Nigeria Boko Haram, Chibok girls

As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas with close friends and family members, the Christians in Chibok prepare for another Christmas without their girls. Below, World Watch Monitor speaks to Yakubu Nkiki Maina, the chairman of the Chibok Abducted School Girls’ Parents’ Association. His 18-year-old daughter, Maimuna, was . . . Read More

Erbil airport closure delays Christians leaving Iraq for Europe

December 7, 2015 Iraq Ankawa, Erbil, Islamic State, Kurds

Fr Douglas reveals news that a flight taking displaced Christians from Iraq to Slovakia is delayed, Dec 2015World Watch Monitor We know that some Eastern European countries have been specifying that they are happy to take Christians direct from Iraqi IDP camps, and months of work had started to . . . Read More

Indian nationalists blame other faiths as census shows Hindus in decline

December 6, 2015 India Arunachal Pradesh, BJP, Hindu nationalism, Kerala, RSS, Vishva Hindu Parishad

John Dayal speaks at a protest marking 300 days of Narendra Modi’s government in March, 2015Photo: Anto Akkara Hindu nationalists have hit out at Christians and Muslims in India, after the number of adherents to “Bharatiya” (traditionally Indian) faiths fell, according to the recently released results of the 2011 . . . Read More

Woman who survived 5 weeks in Boko Haram camp speaks for first time

December 3, 2015 Nigeria Boko Haram, Borno, Gwoza

Mercy, a 22-year-old woman from Borno State in north-east Nigeria, was abducted in June 2014 when Boko Haram overran the small town of Gwoza where she lived. She speaks here for the first time about her five weeks in captivity, where she was forced into a marriage, made to watch . . . Read More

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