General

Indonesian clerics dispute president’s ‘world statesman’ award

May 10, 2013 Indonesia Aceh, Banten, Bekasi, Bogor, GKI Yasmin, HKBP Filadelfia, Jakarta, Java, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

According to the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a world statesman who promotes religious tolerance. According to the Clergy Forum of Jakarta, Banten and West Java in Indonesia, Yudhoyono turns a blind eye to oppression of minority religions in his own country. The forum on . . . Read More

Tanzania – bomb outside new Catholic church one of worst ‘terrorist’ incidents in years

May 10, 2013 Tanzania Arusha, Butchers, Dar es Salaam, East Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar

Mwananchi Tanzania, once celebrated as a role model for peace in Africa, is no longer being considered ‘safe’ after an increase in inter-faith violence, with little evidence so far of perpetrators brought to justice. Last Sunday’s blast outside St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Arusha, a town popular with tourists . . . Read More

The Camp

May 5, 2013 Syria Assyrians, Free Syrian Army, Refugees, Syria, Syriacs, Turkey

Earthwork at the site of a planned refugee camp for Syrian Christians at Midyat, Turkey. The Mor Abrohom Monastery is in the background, right.Saima Altunkaya for World Watch Monitor Hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the violence in Syria live in camps just inside Turkey. So the April 10 . . . Read More

Churches campaign ahead of Malaysia elections

May 3, 2013 Malaysia Bibles, Elections, Islamic extremism, Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak, UMNO

On Sunday, May 5, Malaysians head to the polls for what could be the most critical general elections in the country’s history. The ruling coalition, dominated by Umno (the United Malays National Organisation), has been raising issues of religion and race in an effort to win the support of the . . . Read More

Zahle dispatch: Life among Syria’s Christian refugees

May 1, 2013 Syria Arab Spring, Hijab, Lebanon, Refugees, Syria

Lisa Pearce is deputy CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland, which works with partners worldwide to support Christians who are under pressure for their faith. She traveled to Lebanon in April to meet with Syrian Christians who have fled the violence in their homeland. Here are some of her . . . Read More

Kidnapped archbishop urges Christians to stay in Syria

April 26, 2013 Syria Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi, Greek Orthodox, Kidnapping, Syria, Yohanna Ibrahim

The nephew of Yohanna Ibrahim, one of the two archbishops kidnapped in Syria on Monday, said he hopes Syrian Christians will not use the incident as an incentive to flee the country. Jamil Diarbakerli, who represents the Assyrian Democratic Organisation (which petitions for the rights of the Assyrian minority) said . . . Read More

My cousins in Qamishly

April 25, 2013 Syria Al-Qaeda, Free Syrian Army, PKK, Qamishli, Turkey

Correspondent Nuri Kino lives in Sweden. Parts of his family remain in Syria. He writes: It’s mid-April, Friday, almost 9pm. I’ve showered, had a bite to eat and sat down in front of the TV. After a long day of work, I want to relax in front of a good . . . Read More

Goodluck Jonathan’s amnesty gamble

April 23, 2013 Nigeria Abuja, Adamawa, Bauchi, Boko Haram, Borno, Christian Association of Nigeria, Gombe, Goodluck Jonathan, Jama'atu Nasril Islam, Kano, Lagos, Niger Delta, Nigeria, Pentecostals, Sultan of Sokoto, West Africa, Women, Yobe

A month ago, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said he would not negotiate with the militant Islamic sect Boko Haram because they were “ghosts,” faceless adversaries who would not step forward. That was then. This Wednesday, the President is scheduled to formally inaugurate a committee to explore amnesty for Boko Haram . . . Read More

Brazilians’ ordeal in Senegal prison over, but legal challenges remain

April 16, 2013 Senegal Dakar, Missionaries, Senegal, West Africa

Two Brazilian missionaries held in a Senegal jail without charge for five months were released on bail this month, yet still face accusations they operated youth programs without permits. Jose Dilson Da Silva is a missionary with the Brazilian Presbyterian Church in the Senegalese capital Dakar. Zeneide Moreira Novais, who . . . Read More

Church shelled, seven Christians killed in Central African Republic

April 16, 2013 Central African Republic Michel Djotodia, Seleka

A weekend of violence in the Central African Republic included three artillery shells that crashed into a church and killed seven people, according to a pastor. At least 20 people were reported dead after gun battles in sectors of Bangui, capital of the republic, where an alliance of rebel groups . . . Read More

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