General

Christians in Nigeria’s Jigawa State cry out as authorities begin church demolition

January 23, 2017 Nigeria Christian Association of Nigeria, Dutse, ECWA, Jigawa, Katsina, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Sharia

Anxiety is high among Christian communities in Nigeria’s northern state of Jigawa after authorities began demolishing church buildings in Dutse, the state capital. On 11 January, bulldozers, escorted by security forces, reduced to rubble the Redeem Christian Church of God and the Lord Chosen Church. They arrived at the Redeem . . . Read More

‘90,000 Christian martyrs annually’ claim disputed

January 20, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Boko Haram, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Islamic State, Nigeria, Syria

Global charity Open Doors has disputed the way in which statistics on Christian “martyrs” are collected, arguing that an annual figure of 90,000, recently reported widely, is significantly higher than the accurately verifiable number. The figure, reported by some media and cited by an Italian academic on Vatican Radio, was . . . Read More

Women ‘central’ to spread of Christianity in Iran

January 20, 2017 Iran Maryam Naghash Zargaran, Maryam Rostampour, Marziyeh Amirizadeh, Women

Women are playing a central role in the underground churches of Iran despite the risk of rejection by their families and imprisonment by police, research by the global charity Open Doors has found. An Iranian woman lights a candle during the Christmas Eve mass at the St. Gregor Armenian Catholic . . . Read More

‘Like a jail without bars’: what it’s like working in China with women refugees from North Korea

January 19, 2017 China, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, Refugees, Women

Hwa-Young* works in China with women who fled North Korea or were abducted by people traffickers and taken across the border. Many of the women are tempted to leave behind a miserable life when they are told there are jobs waiting for them in China. But often they are sold . . . Read More

Iraqi Christian: ‘IS made me spit on a Cross and convert to Islam’

January 18, 2017 Iraq Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Karamles, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh

One of the major themes explored in Martin Scorsese’s film, Silence, is the question of how to respond when faced with a choice between denying one’s faith or facing death. Christians in 17th century Japan were given this choice, and it’s the same for Christians in many parts of the . . . Read More

Fourth Coptic Christian murdered in 10 days

January 18, 2017 Egypt Asyut, Copts, Upper Egypt

Dr. Bassam Safwat Atta, 35, was found dead in his flat on 13 Jan.World Watch Monitor A Coptic surgeon was found murdered in his flat on Friday (13 Jan) in Upper Egypt, making him the fourth Coptic Christian murder victim in 10 days. Married father-of-two Bassam Safwat Atta, 35, . . . Read More

Expelled Mexican Christians forced to live in wine cellar

January 17, 2017 Mexico Coahuila, Colotlán, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Latin America, Organised crime, Tuxpan de Bolaños

Following their eviction on 26 January 2016, the seven families have been surviving in various temporary shelters provided for them by the state government.World Watch Monitor A year after seven Christian families were forced from their homes in a village in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, the 30 . . . Read More

Iranian and Afghan Christian converts face deportation from Germany after ‘clueless’ questioning

January 16, 2017 Afghanistan, Apostasy, Asylum seekers, Baptism, Berlin, Converts, Denmark, Germany, Iran, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Protestants, Refugees, UK

An Iranian convert to Christianity attends a course in Berlin preparing him for baptism. Germany’s Ministry for Immigration and Refugees (BAMF) is rejecting many applications for asylum from Iranian and Afghan converts from Islam to Christianity, following “kangaroo court”-style hearings, according to a Berlin pastor. Rev. Gottfried Martens, who has . . . Read More

Sri Lankan church lives on, despite destroyed building and death threats from Buddhist monk

January 16, 2017 Sri Lanka Buddhist nationalism, Converts

The leader of a Sri Lankan church destroyed by a mob earlier this month has vowed that the church will continue to meet. Kamal Wasantha, leader of the Kithu Sevana prayer centre, told Asia News, “No attack can stop us. We shall continue to meet and pray under a tree”. . . . Read More

UN report highlights Islamists’ role in DRC violence

January 13, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Beni, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eringeti, Islamic extremism, North Kivu, Sharia, UN

Over the Christmas weekend, more than 40 people were killed in the city of Beni and neighbouring communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Now a new report by the UN Panel of Experts on the DRC sheds new light on the presence of Islamist militants, which has caused . . . Read More

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