General

Interfaith conflict threatens to engulf Central African Republic

September 18, 2013 Central African Republic Bossangoa, Michel Djotodia, Seleka

Red Cross workers bury a corpse near Bossangoa on Sept 16.World Watch Monitor Clashes between Christians and Muslims in the northwest of the Central African Republic (CAR) have increased fears of a prolonged interfaith divide in the country. The CAR, which borders Chad, Sudan and the Congos, was one of . . . Read More

Catholic priest victim of latest Zanzibar acid attack

September 17, 2013 Tanzania Acid attacks, Amselmo Mwangamba, Catholics, Islamic extremism, Stone Town, Tanzania, Zanzibar

An elderly Catholic priest has been the victim of an acid attack in Zanzibar. Amselmo Mwangamba was attacked on Friday (September 13) and is now in hospital receiving treatment to burns on his face, chest and arms. This is the fifth acid attack on the island since November, according to . . . Read More

Egyptian army breaks Islamist grip on Delga

September 15, 2013 Egypt Copts, Minya, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood

Since the Aug. 14 wave of anti-Christian violence that swept over Egypt, the Christians of Delga have complained they had been abandoned by government security forces. Many of their churches and businesses burned, and their houses marked with red “X”s, Delga Christians either fled or hunkered down in their homes, . . . Read More

Vietnamese police crush protests against Catholics’ imprisonment

September 13, 2013 Vietnam Catholics, Vietnam

Around 40 people have been injured in Vietnam during a protest against the 3-month detention of two Catholics on minor charges. The protest on September 4 in Nghi Phuong, south of Hanoi, was a response to the police refusal to release Nguyen Van Hai, 43, and Ngo Van Khoi, 53, . . . Read More

Christians flee Pakistani village after pastor accused of blasphemy

September 12, 2013 Pakistan Blasphemy, Lahore

Dozens of Christian families have fled from their homes in a village near Lahore after a pastor was accused of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad. In a discussion with a Muslim man on August 24, Pastor Sattar Masih, 37, was accused of saying that Muhammad was a brutal man who . . . Read More

Christian woman raped and murdered in Madhya Pradesh

September 10, 2013 India Hindutva, Madhya Pradesh

Four men were today convicted of the fatal gang rape of a medical student in Delhi – a story that has grabbed the world’s attention. Meanwhile, a little further south, the case of a Christian woman who suffered the same fate has gone relatively unnoticed. The 30-year-old was raped and killed . . . Read More

Pastor taken hostage in Philippines rebel attack

September 9, 2013 Philippines Bangsamoro, Mindanao, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Philippines, Zamboanga

A pastor has been taken hostage and several Christians are among the many injured in an attack by a rebel group in the Philippines. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is suspected of carrying out the attack this morning (September 9) in Zamboanga, Mindanao province, which left at least six . . . Read More

Moroccan Christian jailed for evangelising

September 9, 2013 Morocco Aïn Aïcha, Mohamed el Baldi, Morocco, Proselytism, Rabat

A Moroccan Christian man has been jailed for two-and-a-half years and fined for evangelising. Mohamed el Baldi, 34, from the town of Ain Aicha, near Fes, was ordered to pay 5000 dirhams ($600) for “shaking the faith of a Muslim”, at a court hearing on September 3. He was arrested . . . Read More

Maldives elections unlikely to improve religious freedom

September 6, 2013 Maldives Abdulla Yameen, Elections, Islamic extremism, Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, Quran, Religious freedom

Known for its golden sands and crystal waters, the Maldives is perhaps not the first country that springs to mind when one considers locations lacking in religious freedom. However, for more than 10 years the island chain in the Indian Ocean, south-west of Sri Lanka, has been in the top . . . Read More

Renewed day by day

September 4, 2013 Egypt Copts, Minya, Muslim Brotherhood, Protestants

On Aug. 14, the Egyptian Army moved against large groups of protesters who had set up camp in Cairo. They had been in the streets since July 3, when the military removed Mohamed Morsi from the presidency and the Muslim Brotherhood from power. Using helicopters, tanks, tear gas and live ammunition — . . . Read More

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