General

Nigeria – twin suicide attacks on Kaduna church, after future Archbishop of Canterbury visits

November 27, 2012 Nigeria Abuja, Boko Haram, Borno, Christian Association of Nigeria, Church of Christ in Nigeria, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Nigeria, Sultan of Sokoto, Taraba

Amidst continuing attacks on Churches and Christian communities in northern Nigeria, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair has launched a faith-based programme to promote religious tolerance in the country. Eleven people were killed and thirty others injured in two successive suicide attacks on Sunday, November 25 at . . . Read More

Pakistan court clears Rimsha; location remains secret as risk remains

November 20, 2012 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamabad, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan, Paul Bhatti, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Quran, Rawalpindi, Rimsha Masih, Salmaan Taseer

The case against Rimsha Masih, the teenage Pakistani Christian girl, has today been dropped by the court in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Rimsha, who was arrested in August on suspicion of desecrating Islamic texts, was originally charged in an adult court with blasphemy; there the penalty was life imprisonment. The . . . Read More

Sudan border dispute brings destitution to thousands

November 19, 2012 Sudan Abyei, African Union, Dinka, Episcopal Church of Sudan, IDPs, Khartoum, Sharia, South Sudan, Sudan, Trauma

As politicians wrangle ahead of an early December deadline over the still-disputed status of the oil-rich region of Abyei, straddling the border of Sudan and South Sudan, local church leaders appeal for help in the face of a potential humanitarian crisis. Both governments have been asked to approve an African . . . Read More

Christians consider China’s leadership change: Q&A with Brent Fulton

November 16, 2012 China Beijing, China, Communism, Mao Zedong, Shouwang Church, Sichuan, Xi Jinping

China introduced its new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party to its people and the world Thursday. The seven-man team sits at the very top of the government that will run the world’s most populous country for the next 10 years. The team is the . . . Read More

India: Recent incidents of persecution

November 13, 2012 India Bangalore, Baptism, Converts, Hindu nationalism, India, Karnataka, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Vishva Hindu Parishad

India is No. 32 on the World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to live as a Christian. “While most Indian Christians are relatively free, many parts of the country remain key battlegrounds between Hindu extremists and Christians,” according to the list. “Violence against pastors . . . Read More

Brief Salafi occupation of Coptic land part of larger problem, Copts say

November 11, 2012 Egypt Al-Nour Party, Copts, Maspero

It was a quick skirmish and no one was hurt, but it was typical of what Egypt’s Coptic leaders say are increasing attempts to harass Christians since the country’s 2011 revolution. The latest incident occurred Monday, Nov. 5 in the Shoubra el Kheima district of northern Cairo, where a Coptic . . . Read More

Egypt’s Copts can’t rely on new pope to secure their rights

November 5, 2012 Egypt Copts, Divorce, Hosni Mubarak, Pope Tawadros II

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church found its 118th pope on Sunday. During a televised mass rich in tradition and drama at Cairo’s St. Mark Cathedral, the fingers of a blindfolded boy reached into a crystal chalice, wrapped around one of three transparent spheres, and pulled it out. The small, clear globe . . . Read More

Uzbekistan increases charges against church leader in Kazakhstan jail

November 2, 2012 Kazakhstan Almaty, Kazakhstan, Makset Djabbarbergenov, Uzbekistan

The legal ground continues to shift underneath Makset Djabbarbergenov, a house-church leader being held in a Kazakhstan jail at the request of his native Uzbekistan. Djabbarbergenov was arrested Sept. 5 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan wants him back to face charges that he practiced religion outside state regulation. His fate could . . . Read More

Indonesia – Supreme Court ‘pro’ ruling ignored by City authority, so church resists

October 30, 2012 Indonesia Bogor, GKI Yasmin

Bogor City, 60 kilometres south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, is reported to be one of the world’s most densely populated areas. And, although not an Islamic state, Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, with 86.1% of Indonesians being Muslim, according to the 2000 census. In April 2010, . . . Read More

Nigerian Christians on frontline vow to stay despite 40 ‘barbaric’ student deaths

October 17, 2012 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Christian Association of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria, Sharia, Yola

President Goodluck Jonathan’s commiseration visit to relatives on Oct 15th, two weeks after the murder of about 40 students from three higher education institutions in Mubi, in Adamawa state, northern Nigeria, has failed to elucidate further the motive behind the deaths. What has become clear, however, is that the perpetrators . . . Read More

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