General

Indian Catholic bishops vow to end marginalisation of Dalits in Church

December 20, 2016 India Catholics, Dalits, Manipur

People threshing in a Dalit village near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 2006Creative Commons Christian Dalits, who make up two-thirds of India’s Christians, are discriminated against twice over in India – firstly for being from the caste known as ‘untouchable’, and secondly for not being Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist. Christian and . . . Read More

‘No Christmas or carol singing’ orders in Santa Claus’ homeland Turkey

December 20, 2016 Turkey Christmas, Coup, Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Istanbul Erkek Lisesi, also known as Istanbul High School, Istanbul 2011© Guillaume Piolle / CC “No more Christmas celebration and/or lessons on Christmas including carol singing is permitted, effective immediately”. An email on 13 December sent to about 35 German-funded teachers at Istanbul Erkek Lisesi (also known as Istanbul High . . . Read More

6 years on: what has the Arab Spring meant for Christians?

December 20, 2016 Arab Spring, Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Iraq, Libya, Middle East, Muammar Gaddafi, Syria, Tunisia

Demonstrators on the streets of Cairo, Egypt in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, November 2012. World Watch Monitor The Arab Spring, which began 17 December, 2010, started with a wave of protests in Tunisia, followed by other Arab countries. It was positively acclaimed as a social movement demanding an . . . Read More

UPDATE: Five months after killing of female Nigerian preacher, suspects yet to be named

December 20, 2016 Nigeria Abuja, Agatu, Bauchi, Boko Haram, Church of Christ in Nigeria, ECWA, Eunice Elisha, Fulani herdsmen, Gombe, Joseph Kurah, Nasarawa, Pentecostals

Mother of seven, Eunice Elisha, was murdered close to Nigeria’s capital, AbujaWorld Watch Monitor Five months after the brutal murder of a 42-year-old female preacher in Kubwa, a suburb of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, the police are yet to name the perpetrators. Eunice Elisha, an indigene of Nigeria’s southern State . . . Read More

India: Kerala chief minister calls for fresh probe into Kandhamal deaths

December 16, 2016 India Dalits, Hindu nationalism, Kandhamal, Odisha

The chief minister of the south Indian state of Kerala has called for a fresh probe into the 2008 murder of a Hindu leader, which sparked months of rioting, in which almost 100 Christians were killed. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was speaking on Tuesday (13 Dec.) at the launch of . . . Read More

Murder of Fulani Christian mayor in Mali increases concerns over creeping Islamic extremism

December 16, 2016 Mali Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine, Bamako, Beatrice Stockly, Islamic extremism, Sahel, Timbuktu, Tuareg

The motive behind the murder of a Fulani Christian politician in Mali last month remains unknown, but locals suspect an Islamist agenda. Moussa Issah Bary, the 47-year-old deputy mayor of Kerana (near the Burkina Faso border), was shot dead by six unidentified men on motorbikes on 16 November. He is . . . Read More

Sudanese pastors pressured to ‘inform’ or stand trial

December 16, 2016 Sudan Abdulmonem Abdumawla, Apostasy, Blue Nile, Darfur, Hassan Taour, Islamic extremism, Khartoum, Kuwa Shamal, Nuba Mountains, Omar al-Bashir, Petr Jašek, Refugees, Sharia

Forty-eight-year-old father of three Rev. Yamane Abraha received an ultimatum in Khartoum following a trip to Ethiopia in the autumn of 2015. “[Sudanese government] security threatened me, saying I would have to appear in court either as a witness, or an accused,” the Evangelical Baptist Church of Khartoum pastor told . . . Read More

Sisi under fire after Coptic church attack

December 15, 2016 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Bishop Angaelos, Cairo, Copts, Islamic State, Muslim Brotherhood

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (R) attends the funeral ceremony for the victims of the 11 December bomb attack on St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Church. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi faced sharp criticism following Sunday’s (11 Dec.) bomb attack on a Coptic church in Cairo, in which . . . Read More

Devastation of liberated Iraqi Christian towns makes return home seem further away than ever

December 15, 2016 Iraq Bartella, Erbil, IDPs, Islamic State, Karamles, Kurds, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh, Refugees

Now the smoke has gone from the Nineveh Plain, it is clear that Islamic State fighters dealt one final, vicious blow to the Christian population before surrendering its occupied towns: by systematically setting fire to their homes, thousands have become practically uninhabitable. Suddenly, for many Christians, the prospect of returning . . . Read More

Another court hearing, but no end in sight for Iranian Christian converts

December 14, 2016 Iran Amir Saman Dashti, Apostasy, Converts, Islamic extremism, Maryam Naghash Zargaran, Mohammad Dehnavi, Mohammad Reza Omidi, Saheb Fadaie, Tehran, Victor Bet-Tamraz, Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Youcef Nadarkhani

Youcef Nadarkhani is greeted by his wife, Tina, after his release from prison in September 2012.The Nadarkhani family A second court hearing took place today (14 Dec.) for four Iranian converts to Christianity charged with “acting against national security”. Youcef Nadarkhani, Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Saheb Fadaie and Mohammad Reza Omidi . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye