General

Copts tired of ‘sacrificing willingly’ for Egypt’s unity

July 7, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Copts, El-Arish, Ismailia, Minya, Pope Tawadros II

“Fifty-three per cent of ISIS attacks against the public in 2017 were aimed at the Coptic community." (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Coptic Orthodox Church held a memorial service on Monday (3 July), commemorating 40 days since the bus attack in Minya that killed 29 Copts on Ascension Day. Egypt’s Copts, who make up around 10 per cent of the population, have suffered countless deadly attacks this year and say they . . . Read More

Four more Copts killed in ‘most aggressive campaign in history of modern Egypt’

July 7, 2017 Egypt Copts, Hosni Mubarak, Islamic State, Minya, Tala

Coptic Christians in Egypt are reeling from a fresh spate of murders, which they fear are part of a jihadist campaign against them. Three Coptic men were found dead in the space of eight days from the last week of June to the first week of July. A fourth was . . . Read More

Third Iranian convert given lengthy sentence alongside pastor

July 7, 2017 Iran Amin Afshar Naderi, Evin Prison, Hadi Asgari, Iran, Kaviyan Fallah-Mohammadi, Ramil Bet-Tamraz, Victor Bet-Tamraz

More details have emerged about the sentencing of four Iranian Christians earlier this week. On Wednesday (5 July)*, World Watch Monitor reported that three Christians – a pastor and two converts to Christianity – had been given lengthy jail terms, but now it emerges that a fourth man, another convert, . . . Read More

Iran sentences four more Christians to 10 years in jail for ‘missionary activities’

July 6, 2017 Iran Amin Afshar Naderi, Azerbaijan, Bahram Nasibov, Converts, Eldar Gurbanov, Hadi Asgari, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, Tehran, Victor Bet-Tamraz, Yusif Farhadov

One Iranian and three Azerbaijani Christians have been found guilty of “missionary activities” and “actions against national security” in Iran and sentenced to 10 years in prison. World Watch Monitor understands that the three Azerbaijanis – Eldar Gurbanov, Yusif Farhadov and Bahram Nasibov – are unlikely to serve their sentences . . . Read More

Church leader seriously injured in Fulani attack in Nigeria’s Nasarawa state

July 6, 2017 Nigeria Benue, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Joseph Kurah, Middle Belt, Nasarawa, West Africa

When Ibrahim Maisaje, a pastor of an ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All) church in Panwasa Mada village, went to his farm with his family on 26 June, he was full of joy and expectation. It was mid-season, the crops had grown well and the harvest season was looking promising. But . . . Read More

Security not only concern for Syrians returning home

July 4, 2017 Syria Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, IDPs, Islamic State, Maaloula, Migrants, Refugees, Trauma, UN

As Islamic State forces are pushed back and more areas declared “safe”, Syrians are starting to return to their homes. According to the UN’s Refugee Agency (the UNHCR), nearly half a million have gone back since January. Around 440,000 internally displaced people, and more than 31,000 refugees who had fled . . . Read More

Kidnapped missionaries appear in video posted by jihadist groups in Africa’s Sahel

July 3, 2017 Mali Al-Mourabitoun, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine, Beatrice Stockly, France, Gao, Gloria Argoti, Ken Elliott, Sahel, Timbuktu

A coalition of jihadist groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda released a video showing six foreign hostages, including three missionaries, just hours before France president Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Mali, where France agreed to help support anti-terrorist efforts in the Sahel. According to the US-based monitoring group SITE, the undated 16’50” footage . . . Read More

As ‘Free Iran’ movement gathers in Paris, young Iranian Christians share challenges

June 30, 2017 Iran Hassan Rouhani, Youth

The Central Assemblies of God Church in Tehran was closed in 2013.

Over 90 European and US faith leaders have signed a petition urging Western governments to make the plight of religious minorities central to any deal with Iran. The letter comes ahead of the annual Iranian opposition rally in Paris tomorrow (1 July), where tens of thousands of Iranians are expected . . . Read More

Divorce law for Pakistani Christians ‘modernised’

June 30, 2017 Pakistan Divorce, Imran Khan, Lahore, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, PTI, Punjab

Pakistan’s High Court in Lahore has struck out an amendment in its Christian Divorce Act (1869), meaning Christians will now be able to divorce in a dignified way, without needing to resort to false accusations of adultery. Pakistan’s existing family laws – which are applicable to Christians only – are close . . . Read More

Central African Republic – the world’s most neglected conflict

June 29, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, Seleka, UPC

In a report on 5 June, Human Rights Watch noted that “violence in the Central African Republic has fallen from the world’s radar, but that does not mean the killings have let up. Over a dozen armed groups now roam the country, committing a range of abuses. Violence is on . . . Read More

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