General

Bishop’s wife saved husband from Iranian extremists, but lost her only son

November 11, 2016 Iran Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran, Isfahan, Mehdi Dibaj, Tehran

Margaret and her husband, the Bishop of Iran, lost their son in 1980 during the anti-Christian hostility of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.Dehqani-Tafti family A woman has just been buried by her husband in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral; famous figures such as Jane Austen lie inside it. Margaret Dehqani-Tafti, who . . . Read More

6 steps to being a ‘refugee’ in your own country

November 11, 2016 Iraq Erbil, IDPs, Iraq, Nineveh Plains, Refugees

Tens of thousands of Christian families were chased from their homes in north-eastern Iraq when Islamic State jihadists invaded the Nineveh Plains in summer 2014. At first they expected to return within a few days. But the days became weeks, the weeks months, and the months years. World Watch Monitor traces . . . Read More

‘Worship in the woods’ a year after Islamic extremists destroy Aceh churches

November 10, 2016 Indonesia Aceh, Churches, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Sharia

Churches destroyed a year ago by Islamic extremists and police in Aceh Singkil – a rural ‘regency’ in Indonesia’s only Sharia-ruled province – have still not been rebuilt because of discrimination against Christians by local authorities, say church leaders. However, despite the troubles, church membership is climbing. Hardliners started destroying . . . Read More

Syrian Christian pastor -“I don’t feel ‘seduced’ to leave Aleppo”

November 9, 2016 Syria Aleppo

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city before the country’s raging war, is in the grip of continuous violence. East Aleppo is bombed almost daily by Syrian and Russian air forces; its west is frequently shelled by the rebels from the east. Only a small number of the more than 200,000 ‘pre-war’ Christians . . . Read More

Syrian Christian spearheads ‘one million voices’ petition to support Church to stay in Middle East

November 8, 2016 Aleppo, Iraq, Middle East, Refugees, Syria

A Syrian Christian now living in the UK is helping to bring hope for the future to his native land as part of a worldwide advocacy campaign. Rami (who can’t use his real name for security) co-ordinates ‘Hope for the Middle East’, a seven-year advocacy campaign from charity Open Doors . . . Read More

UPDATE: Iran allows Azerbaijani Christians home on ‘conditional’ release

November 8, 2016 Iran Azerbaijan, Bahram Nasibov, Eldar Gurbanov, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, Yusif Farhadov

Three Azerbaijani Christians, accused by Iran of “missionary activities”, were allowed to go home on Sunday (6 Nov.), after more than four months in prison, Middle East Concern (MEC) said. Eldar Gurbanov, 48, Yusif Farhadov, 51, Bahram Nasibov, 37, and an Iranian, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, have been released from prison, . . . Read More

UPDATE: Another Chibok schoolgirl escapes with baby

November 7, 2016 Nigeria Boko Haram, Borno, Chibok girls, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Trauma

The released 21 Chibok girls met President Buhari – seen here with Vice President Osinbajo – at his villa in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, 19 Oct.The Office of the President A Nigerian Government spokesman, Sani Usman, told media another girl, believed to be one of the nearly 300 Chibok school . . . Read More

UPDATE: Nigeria: suspects in blasphemy case released

November 4, 2016 Blasphemy, Boko Haram, Hisbah, Imo, Jama'atu Nasril Islam, Kano, Muhammadu Buhari, Niger, Nigeria, Ramadan, Sabon Gari, Sharia, Sultan of Sokoto

Christian Center in Abuja, Nigeria, Feb. 2016 (World Watch Monitor) A court in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano has freed five people detained in relation with the killing of a pastor’s wife who had been accused of blasphemy. Bridget Agbahime, 74, wife of Mike Agbahime, pastor of Deeper Life Bible . . . Read More

Algerian converts denied Christian funerals

November 4, 2016 Algeria Burial, Kabylie, Protestant Church of Algeria, Tizi Ouzou

Christian cemetery in Algiers.Joseph McGonagle / Flickr / Creative Commons When someone close to us dies, emotions are difficult enough…imagine if then, on top, you couldn’t ‘say goodbye’ in the way that would honour them and bring comfort to the grieving. That is the situation for many Christians when . . . Read More

UPDATE: Protests in Algeria for release of sick Christian

November 4, 2016 Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Berbers, Blasphemy, Constantine, Kabylie, MAK, Setif, Slimane Bouhafs

Bouhafs’ family said seeking a presidential pardon is a ‘last resort and the only possible solution to set him free’.World Watch Monitor Protesters in Algeria have called for the release of Slimane Bouhafs, an evangelical Christian jailed for three years in September for “insulting Islam and the prophet Mohammed” in . . . Read More

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