General

Iraqi Archbishop calls on West to ‘open eyes’ to Christians’ Middle East exodus

December 18, 2013 Iraq Islamic extremism, Louis Raphael I Sako, Middle East, Syria

Louis Raphael I Sako.Lee Stranahan / Flickr / Creative Commons The Archbishop of Baghdad, Louis Raphael I Sako, has called on the West to help put an end to the “mortal exodus” of Christians from the Middle East. Sako, who is also Patriarch of Babylon, told a conference in . . . Read More

Turkey blacklists foreign evangelist without explanation

December 17, 2013 Turkey Bibles, David Byle, Jerry Mattix

A Canadian-American street evangelist left Istanbul on Saturday (Dec. 14) after Turkey’s Ministry of Interior repeatedly denied him a residence permit with no explanation. David Byle, Chairman of the Bible Correspondence Course (BCC), has opened a court case against Turkey’s Ministry of Interior in an effort to remove his name . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian on blasphemy charge speaks out from jail

December 16, 2013 Pakistan Adnan Prince, Blasphemy, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Lahore, Lashkar-e-Taiba

A Christian held in a Pakistani prison has told World Watch Monitor about the events surrounding his arrest and current detention. In October 26-year-old Adnan Prince (also known as Adnan Masih) was accused by a work colleague of insulting Islam, the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad. A conviction of blasphemy . . . Read More

Egyptian convert arrested for ‘inciting sectarian strife’

December 13, 2013 Egypt Apostasy, Mohammed Hegazy

An Egyptian Christian has been arrested, purportedly for his work with a US-based Arabic language Christian satellite television channel which is shown in Egypt, as well as across the Middle East, North Africa, America and Canada. Bishoy Armeya was the first Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity who then sought official . . . Read More

Three pastors among dead in Central African Republic

December 13, 2013 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Michel Djotodia, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Seleka, UN

More than 400 people died in three days of violence, according to the Red Cross.World Watch Monitor Three pastors were among those killed in the recent interfaith violence in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. Pastors Raymond Doui, 46, Elisha Zama, 33, and Jean-Louis Makamba, 48, were killed . . . Read More

A postcard from ‘Little Baghdad’

December 12, 2013 Assyrians, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Refugees, Sweden, Syria, Syriacs, Turkey

Nuri Kino Södertälje, Sweden, is also known as Mesopotälje – “Little Baghdad”. One in four people in Södertälje is a Christian from Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq or Egypt. Most are Assyrian/Syriacs. The city was once home to more Iraqi refugees than the United States and Canada combined. Every week, 30 . . . Read More

Malaysia’s ‘Allah’ ruling widely criticised

December 11, 2013 Malaysia 'Allah', Islamic extremism, Kuching, Lawrence Andrew, Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, The Herald, UMNO

Christians in Sarawak attend Mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Kuching. The service is held in the Malay language, which uses the word ‘Allah’ for God.The Malaysian Insider Malaysia’s escalating dispute over who has the right to use the word ‘Allah’ to describe God continues unabated. The country’s Court . . . Read More

Scores killed in Central African Republic

December 11, 2013 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Bocaranga, Bossangoa, Bozoum, Michel Djotodia, Seleka, UN

Dozens of people are being treated in the corridors of overcrowded hospitals.World Watch Monitor Three days of sectarian violence have left hundreds dead in the Central African Republic capital. An offensive in Bangui by Christian-dominated anti-Balaka militias on Dec. 5 sparked fierce reprisals from mainly Muslim Séléka rebel forces. In . . . Read More

Report claims 30,000 Eritreans kidnapped in 5 years

December 10, 2013 Eritrea Europe, Human rights, Kidnapping, Mussie Zerai

A report presented to the European Parliament shows that around 30,000 Eritreans have been kidnapped since 2007 and taken to the Sinai while ransom payments are demanded. The report, conducted by an Eritrean human rights activist and professors from a Dutch University, says that a total of around $600 million . . . Read More

Rumour of tryst triggers anti-Christian violence in Egypt village

December 9, 2013 Egypt Copts, Minya

The way Christians in the Egyptian town of Nazlet El-Badraman describe it, the deadly rampage that engulfed their village grew out of an unfounded rumour. When it finally blew over, one person was dead, nine were wounded, nearly 20 houses had been burned, and a teen-aged girl had been hurled . . . Read More

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