General

No protection for Christian village during deadly attack

February 24, 2014 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Borno, Goodluck Jonathan, Gwoza

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Nigeria’s worst affected northern states in May 2013, deploying the army to the region, but without significant impact.Commonwealth Secretariat / Flickr / Creative Commons In the days before a vicious wave of attacks on Feb. 15 that killed hundreds in . . . Read More

Knife attack kills Christian woman in southern Egypt

February 21, 2014 Egypt Copts, Muslim Brotherhood

An Egyptian pharmacist has been arrested in connection with the stabbing death of a Christian woman earlier this month. In a country where anti-Christian violence is a daily occurrence, the death of Madeleine Wagih on Feb. 8 was not widely reported. It received brief mention in one of the more . . . Read More

Murdered MP’s brother threatened 3 years after death

February 20, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Paul Bhatti, Shahbaz Bhatti

Almost three years have passed since the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti, a Pakistani MP who lobbied against the country’s controversial blasphemy laws. Now, his elder brother’s life is under threat. Paul Bhatti was living in Italy when his brother was murdered on March 2, 2011, but he soon returned to . . . Read More

Kenyan bishops protest against pay-to-preach law

February 18, 2014 Kenya Nairobi

Three hundred bishops in Central Kenya confronted a county governor last week to protest against a new bill that could see clergy charged for preaching outside of their churches. The bishops, who say they represent as many as 1,200 churches within Nyeri County, marched to the governor’s office on Feb. . . . Read More

Retired Kazakh pastor given suspended jail sentence

February 18, 2014 Kazakhstan Almaty, Astana, Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev

The protracted trial of a retired Kazakh pastor ended yesterday (Feb. 17), as 67-year-old Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev was handed a suspended four-year prison sentence and a fine. Kashkumbayev, former pastor of Grace Church in the Kazakh capital Astana, was ordered to pay 2 million Tenge (€7,900) in damages to Lyazzat Almenova, . . . Read More

CAR Church leaders call again for aid

February 18, 2014 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Catherine Samba-Panza, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Michel Djotodia, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Oumar Kobine Layama, Seleka, UN

More than 1 million people have been displaced and nearly 2 million require urgent humanitarian assistance, according to aid organisations.UNHCR, S. Phelps / Flickr / Creative Commons Church leaders in the Central African Republic have reiterated their opposition to the ongoing violence in the country and demanded more troops on . . . Read More

Nigeria’s deadly winter

February 14, 2014 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Borno, Christian Association of Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen, Kaduna, West Africa

Attackers stormed this Catholic church during mass, blocked the main door, detonated homemade bombs, and opened fire.Twitter / @ChristianPost The new year has begun in exceptionally violent fashion in north-eastern Nigeria, prompting Christian organisations to renew their pleas for better government security. Boko Haram, the militant group that wants . . . Read More

Pastor killed, church torched in Nigeria

February 14, 2014 Nigeria Ansaru, Christian Association of Nigeria, ECWA, Katsina

The charred remains of Evangelical Church Winning All in Kankia.World Watch Monitor A pastor has been killed and a church set on fire in Nigeria after the body of a six-year-old girl was discovered near his home. Dike Ocha, 50, pastor of the Assemblies of God Church in Kankia, . . . Read More

Freedom of religion an issue ‘whose time has come’

February 13, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Arab Spring, Barack Obama, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Europe, India, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Middle East, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Sharia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, UN, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Freedom of religion and belief is an issue “whose time has come”, the vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said yesterday. During the presentation of two reports on religious freedom at the European Parliament in Brussels on Feb. 12, commission Vice Chairwoman Katrina Lantos Swett said . . . Read More

‘Ugly’ charges against Turkish pastor dropped

February 13, 2014 Turkey Orhan Picaklar

Protestant Pastor Orhan Picaklar was informed last week that what he called “ugly slanders” against his character and conduct have been officially dropped by the Turkish prosecutor investigating his case. Picaklar was detained on Nov. 11, 2013 and held for two days in the Black Sea coastal city of Samsun . . . Read More

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