General

Iranians jailed for ‘house church’ attendance

October 30, 2013 Iran Hassan Rouhani, Shiraz

Four Iranian Christians jailed for attending a ‘house church’ have lost their judicial appeals. Mojtaba Seyyed Alaedin Hossein, Mohammad-Reza Partoei, Vahid Hakkani and Homayoun Shokouhi were each sentenced in June to three years and eight months in prison. Shokouhi’s wife Fariba and son Nima both received suspended sentences of two . . . Read More

Two pastors killed in Kenya

October 29, 2013 Kenya Al-Shabaab, East Africa, Mombasa, Nairobi, Pentecostals, Somalia, Uhuru Kenyatta, Westgate

Mombasa.Lauren Pressley / Flickr / Creative Commons Two pastors from southern coastal towns in Kenya were killed last weekend in separate attacks. Charles Mathole, a leader of Mombasa’s Redeemed Gospel Church in Mtopanga, was found dead in church on the morning of Sunday October 20, shot in the head . . . Read More

One third of Syrian Christians have gone, says cleric

October 23, 2013 Syria Arab Spring, Maaloula, Syria

Many Christians have fled from their homes in places such as the historic city of Maaloula.Mounir Soussi Idrissi / Flickr / Creative Commons Almost a third of Syria’s Christians have left since the start of the civil war, according to one of the country’s senior clerics. Syria’s most senior Catholic . . . Read More

Clerics call on UN military force to secure Central African Republic

October 22, 2013 Central African Republic Bangui, Chad, Seleka, Sudan, UN

Church leaders in the Central African Republic have issued a joint appeal for international action.World Watch Monitor The leaders of the Central African Republic’s 4 million Christians have issued a joint plea for military help to disarm a largely Muslim insurgency and prevent “genocidal interfaith civil war”. Meeting Oct. 3-6 . . . Read More

Northern Iraq no longer safe for Christians

October 22, 2013 Iraq Al-Qaeda, Baghdad, Erbil, Kirkuk, Kurds

The Kurdish capital of Erbil is one of a number of cities where bombings have left Christians feeling unsafe.Tom Blackwell / Flickr / Creative Commons An increase in violence against Christians in northern Iraq has increased the flow of Christians leaving the country. The north, generally considered a relatively . . . Read More

Bajrang Dal pressure villagers to leave Christianity

October 16, 2013 India Bajrang Dal, Converts, Hindu nationalism, Vishva Hindu Parishad

For much of the year, Christians in the central India village of Taragaon have been enduring pressure to abandon their religion. In April, elements of Bajrang Dal demolished the church in Taragaon, a small town in the farming- and forestry-dominated region of southern Chhattisgarh state. View Larger Map Bajrang Dal . . . Read More

Indian Christians sentenced to life terms will appeal

October 15, 2013 India Naxalites, Odisha

India’s churches are urging an appeal of the lifetime sentences handed down on Oct. 3 to seven men convicted for the 2008 murder of a prominent Hindu leader. “The seven Christians are innocent,” said Rev. Charles Irudayam, executive secretary of the Office for Justice, Peace and Development within the Catholic Bishops’ . . . Read More

Iran ‘abuses’ Christians’ national and international rights

October 14, 2013 Iran Hassan Rouhani, Robert Asseriyan

Iran’s continued mistreatment of its Christian minority was raised at a recent meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Attieh Fard, a lawyer specialising in human rights, urged President Hassan Rouhani to make good on his promises to the United Nations in New York by releasing the 42 Christians . . . Read More

Tension high as Mombasa Muslims protest cleric’s murder

October 9, 2013 Kenya East Africa, Mombasa, Nairobi, Pentecostals, Westgate

Tension remains high in Kenya’s port city of Mombasa after riots in protest at the murder of a prominent Muslim cleric on Thursday (October 3) left four dead, about eight injured and the Majengo Salvation Army Church razed on Friday. It is just over a year since the church suffered a . . . Read More

African migrants risk lives to flee war and persecution

October 8, 2013 Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europe, Italy, Lampedusa, Libya, Migrants, Mussie Zerai, Netherlands, Refugees, Somalia

The latest tragic incident of hundreds of African migrants drowning in European waters tells a wider story. Scratch beneath the surface and for many of the migrants, their stories are not only of wanting a better life. Often they will be of fleeing persecution or conflict at home, and paying . . . Read More

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