General

Pakistani Christians ensure police arrest key murder suspect

August 12, 2013 Pakistan Police, Punjab

Hundreds of Pakistani Christians braved scorching summer heat for three days and two nights in agricultural fields to ensure that police would register the alleged murder of a Punjabi agricultural smallholder in front of his two children. 45-year-old Ishaq Masih, a resident of a village in the Okara district, near . . . Read More

Top pastor’s arrest adds to Christians’ concerns in Central African Republic

August 9, 2013 Central African Republic Michel Djotodia, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Protestants

The order for Rev. Nicolas Guerékoyamé’s arrest seems to have come straight from the very top. President Michel Djotodia, pictured, seized power in a coup in March.Crispin for World Watch Monitor The already fragile situation for Christians in the Central African Republic (CAR) may be worsening. On Tuesday (August . . . Read More

Boko Haram under investigation for crimes against humanity

August 8, 2013 Nigeria Boko Haram, Christian Association of Nigeria, International Criminal Court, Sabon Gari

At least 1,200 people have been killed in the last four years in Northern Nigeria by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, according to a preliminary investigation by the International Criminal Court. The Court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said on Monday (August 5) the ICC is investigating Boko Haram for . . . Read More

Algerians stage picnics in protest against ‘forced’ fasting

August 6, 2013 Algeria Algeria, Bejaia, Islamic extremism, Kabylie, Ramadan

A march of protest followed the the picnic in Aokas, near Béjaïa. The sign translates: ‘Stop Salafists and Wahabites’, two Islamist groups.World Watch Monitor Around 200 people ate together at a public lunch in the city of Tizi Ouzou on Saturday (Aug 3) to protest against the “persecution of . . . Read More

Beyond count

August 6, 2013 Arab Spring, Copts, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, London, Middle East, Netherlands, Syria, Turkey

This much seems certain: Christians are leaving the birthplace of Christianity in large numbers. Just how large those numbers are, however, is a matter of educated conjecture, according to a new report on Christian migration from the Middle East. A precise accounting is impossible, but report author Markus Tozman says . . . Read More

Chinese house church leader Samuel Lamb dies

August 5, 2013 China Guangzhou, Mao Zedong, Three-Self Patriotic Movement

One of the most well-known Christian leaders in China, Pastor Samuel Lamb, died on Saturday (Aug 3) in Guangzhou, aged 88. He had been arrested during one of the first big waves of persecution in Mao’s China and was first imprisoned from 1955 to 1957, when estimates put the number . . . Read More

Madhya Pradesh awaits decision on stricter ‘anti-conversion law’

August 1, 2013 India Anti-conversion law, Bhopal, BJP, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Hindutva, Madhya Pradesh

Protesters gather in Jhabua, a town in the west of Madhya Pradesh, on July 24.World Watch Monitor Madhya Pradesh state in central India awaits the outcome of proposed amendments to its ‘anti-conversion law’, which would lengthen prison time and fines for anyone convicted of forcing someone to change their . . . Read More

Sectarian violence spirals in Guinea’s volatile southeast

July 31, 2013 Guinea Beyla, Guinea, Koulé, Nzérékoré

Judicial authorities in Guinea are investigating an outburst of deadly violence two weeks ago that left 95 people dead and 130 wounded. The murder of a suspected thief on July 14 in Koulé, a city 40 kilometres from Nzérékoré, the regional capital of Forested Guinea, has led to acts of . . . Read More

Bombs in Nigerian Christian district kill at least 12

July 31, 2013 Nigeria Boko Haram, Jama'atu Nasril Islam, Kano, Nigeria, Pentecostals, Sabon Gari

Police say 12 people are dead after multiple explosions on Monday night that rocked the Christian Sabon Gari area of Kano State in northern Nigeria, despite continuing government efforts to restore peace. No group has claimed responsibility for the July 29 blasts, but it is widely believed that the outlawed violent . . . Read More

In India, a familiar pattern of pressure on Christians

July 29, 2013 India Andhra Pradesh, Anti-conversion law, BJP, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Hindutva, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Pentecostals, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh

In vast and diverse India, Christians often live freely. Yet India ranks among the 50 countries where life as a Christian is most difficult, according to Open Doors International, a global ministry that serves Christians who are pressured because of their faith. The country is No. 31 on Open Doors’ . . . Read More

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