General

Wave of kidnappings plagues Egyptians

July 5, 2013 Egypt Asyut, Copts, Kidnapping

She was an old woman, and her leg was in pain. She held out her hand. “Please help”, she said. Magda took the woman’s hand, and led her to a waiting car. And that was the last Magda saw of her family for a week. The 19-year-old student became, on . . . Read More

The Brotherhood is down, but is it out?

July 4, 2013 Egypt Islamic extremism, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood

It’s been a heady week for opponents of Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood has withstood decades of opposition, however.Zeinab Mohamed / Flickr / Creative Commons These are dark days for the Muslim Brotherhood. But it has seen dark days before. For now, it has been shoved aside . . . Read More

Voices from the revolution

July 3, 2013 Egypt Arab Spring, Copts, Hosni Mubarak, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood

Hebatalla Safwat Ghali in Tahrir Square. “As a Coptic I present my Christian love of my country. I care about my people’s worries.”World Watch Monitor Who stole Egypt? The answer depends on who you ask among the thousands of Egyptians who have swarmed the streets across the country since . . . Read More

Rimsha, family, living in Canada

June 29, 2013 Pakistan Asylum seekers, Blasphemy, Paul Bhatti, Rimsha Masih

Rimsha Masih, the teenage Pakistani girl who once faced the possibility of the death penalty because she was accused of insulting Islam, is living in Canada with her family, a Canadian religious-rights organization says. Peter Bhatti, executive director of International Christian Voice, told World Watch Monitor on Saturday that Rimsha . . . Read More

Hindu nationalists harass villages for weeks, injure 4

June 28, 2013 India BJP, Hindu nationalism, Odisha

Three months of intimidation and assaults in two villages in eastern India has left four Christians hospitalised and others injured, two houses damaged, and the entire Christian community unable to do business or draw water from the town well, church leaders say. The boycott of the Christians of Dangarguda village, . . . Read More

Pakistan court throws out blasphemy charge against pastor

June 27, 2013 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Rimsha Masih, Sheikhupura

Aasiya Noreen, more widely known as Aasiya Bibi, with two of her daughters in a 2010 photo. As a Pakistan court threw out blasphemy charges against pastor Karma Patras, Noreen remained in prison, awaiting appeal of her conviction on blasphemy charges. She faces the death penalty.Photo courtesy Open Doors International . . . Read More

Algeria’s Protestants want their churches back

June 27, 2013 Algeria Algeria, Algiers, Arab Spring, Bejaia, Bibles, Churches, Islamic extremism, Kabylie, Mostaganem, Protestant Church of Algeria, Protestants

The Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) has reaffirmed its desire to regain control of several former churches used today for other purposes. Christians are the distinct minority in Algeria, representing less than 1% of Algeria’s 38 million inhabitants, and often face restrictions when seeking to build new churches. The presence . . . Read More

Syrian Christians caught in crossfire

June 25, 2013 Syria Bashar al-Assad, Free Syrian Army, Islamic extremism

Syria has been torn apart by a conflict lasting more than two years.flickr.com/freedomhouse Syrian Christians are the victims of disproportionate violence and abuse as sectarian violence continues to engulf Syria, says a new report. Christian women are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse, while Christian men are facing pressure from both . . . Read More

Is conflict in Nigeria really about persecution of Christians by radical Muslims?

June 24, 2013 Nigeria Boko Haram, Christian Association of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan

St Rita’s Catholic Church in Kaduna, north-central Nigeria, after a suicide bomb attack in October 2012.World Watch Monitor Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan was reported last week to have said that statistics show that more Muslims than Christians have been killed by Boko Haram. Speaking at his Presidential villa in . . . Read More

C. African Republic religious leaders consider plan for country otherwise ‘likely to explode’

June 21, 2013 Central African Republic African Union, Bria, Michel Djotodia, Oumar Kobine Layama, Seleka

The aftermath of a Séléka attack in Dekoa village.CECA As a significant risk of interfaith conflict looms over the Central African Republic (CAR), the leaders of the two main religions in the country – Christianity and Islam – have decided to speak with one voice. The CAR was plunged . . . Read More

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