General

Isolated, female and vulnerable to abuse: Christian nannies in the Gulf

March 8, 2017 India, Nepal, Philippines, Trauma, Women

Locked up in the palaces of rich families, abused and treated as slaves by their “owners”, sexually exploited, or almost starved to death. Such is the plight of many foreign Christian nannies and housemaids from Asian countries working for families in the Arabian Peninsula – and almost nobody knows about . . . Read More

UPDATE: Missing Egyptian woman, 18, given new Muslim identity by security services

March 8, 2017 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Kidnapping, Luxor, Upper Egypt, Women

UPDATE (8 March) The brother of 18-year-old Hanan Girgis, an Egyptian Christian woman missing since 26 January, says he has been told she has a new Muslim identity and is being held by the security services. Rezeiky Girgis heard from the Civil Status Authority at Esna Police Station that Hanan . . . Read More

‘Double suffering’ when women targeted not only for gender, but also religion

March 8, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Boko Haram, Central African Republic, Islamic State, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trauma, Women

On International Women’s Day, one statistic you may not hear much is that 83% of global women identify with a religious faith. Pew Research asked people in 84 countries how often they pray; in half of them, substantially more women than men say they pray on a daily basis. And . . . Read More

‘Secret’ church leader about witnessing his faith to people who might kill him

March 6, 2017 Converts, Islamic extremism, Refugees, Religious freedom

Hameedullah* works as a church leader in a country known for intense persecution of Christians. When he was young, he lived illegally as a refugee in a Muslim country that didn’t want him or his religion, whose people are always looking out for non-Islamic activity. He even faced scrutiny from . . . Read More

Six years on, justice thwarted in case of Pakistan’s murdered Shahbaz Bhatti

March 3, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Pakistan Peoples Party, Paul Bhatti, Rawalpindi, Shahbaz Bhatti, Taliban

The memorial to Shahbaz Bhatti, which marks the location of his assassination. Islamabad, Pakistan.

Six years on, justice for the murdered Pakistani Christian federal cabinet member Shahbaz Bhatti remains elusive, as does the social equality for which he gave his life. The Christian community says the Pakistani political leadership is not doing enough to ask the police and the judiciary to ensure his killers . . . Read More

Iraqi families urged to return and rebuild homes in Nineveh Plains

March 3, 2017 Iraq Alqosh, Batnaya, Dohuk, IDPs, Islamic State, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Tel Skuf

The families of Nidal (left) and Janan (centre) recently returned home to the Christian town of Telskuf.Open Doors International As the offensive against IS in western Mosul drives civilians out of the jihadists’ last Iraqi stronghold, residents of towns already liberated are returning home with their expectations high – . . . Read More

UPDATE: Son of abducted Malaysian pastor suspects he may have been murdered

March 2, 2017 Malaysia Converts, Hudud, Kuala Lumpur, PAS, Petaling Jaya, Raymond Koh, Selangor

Pastor Koh, still missing after being abducted on 13 February, is now feared dead.Change.org More than two weeks since the abduction of Malaysian Christian pastor, Raymond Koh, his son has filed a second police report on suspicion that his father has been murdered, reports Free Malaysia Today. Jonathan Koh . . . Read More

Egyptian Copt widow: ‘Gunmen who killed my husband and son then ticked them off their IS hit-list’

March 2, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Bishop Angaelos, Cairo, Copts, El-Arish, Islamic State, Ismailia, Sinai, Suez

A Coptic Christian mother in North Sinai who saw her son and husband killed in front of her in their home says she then saw the gunman calmly tick off her loved ones from a hit-list he carried. In an exclusive interview with World Watch Monitor, Nabila Fawzi Hanna, 65, . . . Read More

As Nigerian government resorts to curfew in S. Kaduna, locals blame ‘years of impunity’

February 28, 2017 Nigeria Fulani herdsmen, Kaduna, Kafanchan

In northern Nigeria, a 24-hour curfew has been reinstated in parts of southern Kaduna, following the deadly attacks a week ago, carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen. However, locals say security measures such as this have already proved ineffective, as recent attacks have happened despite them. The attacks on 19 . . . Read More

Islamic extremism causing fresh concerns in the Philippines

February 27, 2017 Philippines Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Islamic State, Manila, Mindanao, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Rodrigo Duterte, Seventh-day Adventists, Southeast Asia

Christians in the Philippines are concerned at a rise in Islamic extremism in the country. A local church leader, who wished to remain anonymous, told World Watch Monitor about a recent meeting of around 3,000 Islamists on one island – the name of which he wouldn’t say, for fear of . . . Read More

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