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Two Pakistani Christian families escape blasphemy accusations

November 3, 2016 Pakistan Balochistan, Blasphemy, Bonded labourers, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Quetta, Sheikhupura, Sweepers

Two blasphemy cases lodged against Pakistani Christians accused of desecrating Islamic scriptures have been dropped in the past week. The cases related to alleged offences under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws and were registered in separate incidents, hundreds of miles apart. In both cases Christians were initially suspected of the crime . . . Read More

Alqosh, the last Christian town in Iraq, is here to stay

November 3, 2016 Iraq Alqosh, Nineveh Plains, Peshmerga

A view from the Christian town of Alqosh in the Nineveh Plain.World Watch Monitor For more than two years it lasted, just minutes away from Islamic State-held territory. The Iraqi town of Alqosh (50km north of Mosul) is the only Christian stronghold in the country that survived IS. Looking . . . Read More

Aleppo churches open doors to displaced Muslim families

November 2, 2016 Syria Aleppo, Lebanon, Migrants, Refugees

Life hasn’t been easy for 28-year-old Syrian mother Kristina, a Christian of Armenian descent, who lived with her husband in Aleppo long before the civil war started in 2011. It was in that besieged city that Kristina gave birth to her firstborn daughter, 18 months ago. She’s brought the little . . . Read More

Christian convert in French refugee camp told: ‘We will kill you’

November 2, 2016 Austria, Calais, Croatia, Dunkirk, Grande-Synthe, Greece, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Jacques Hamel, Kurds, Migrants, Refugees

A Kurdish church leader smuggled to Britain says he received death threats – for having left Islam for Christianity – while living in makeshift camps in northern France. The church leader, who did not wish to be identified, spent nine months living in camps outside the French cities of Calais . . . Read More

The Cross, deemed illegal by IS, returns to Iraq’s Nineveh Plain

November 1, 2016 Iraq Karamles, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh

There were tears, soldiers praying, priests singing. This was the moment thousands of Iraqi Christians had been waiting for: the Cross, symbol of Christ’s victory over evil, deemed illegal by IS, had returned to the Christian villages in Iraq’s Nineveh Plain. This came as news continues to emerge of more . . . Read More

Christian children ‘singled out for bullying’ in Egyptian classrooms

November 1, 2016 Egypt Copts, Hijab, Islamic extremism, Samalut, Sharqia

A girl shows ‘unacceptable’ (left) vs. ‘acceptable’ school dress code.Watani When 12-year-old Rahma Salem refused to wear a hijab to school in the Delta in northern Egypt, teachers ordered her to leave lesson after lesson and would not let her take part in any activity. “I was made to . . . Read More

Pakistani church leader and family hospitalised over house dispute

October 28, 2016 Pakistan Farooqabad, Lahore, Seventh-day Adventists, Sheikhupura

A Seventh-day Adventist church leader and his family were attacked over a dispute about the ownership of their property. Pictured is the church leader’s father, Robert Hussain, in hospital.World Watch Monitor A Pakistani church leader has described how his family were hospitalised by a mob of more than 50 . . . Read More

UK Foreign Office hosts global summit on freedom of religion or belief

October 27, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Bangladesh, China, Eritrea, Iran, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Kazakhstan, London, Lord Alton, Myanmar, North Korea, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates

“Religious freedom can counter violent extremism” was the key message at a two-day global conference held at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) last week. The conference explored ways to build resilience against extremism and identified opportunities for collaboration. More than 50 expert speakers and over 170 participants from . . . Read More

Aleppo: ‘Monsters devour one another in city of death and destruction’

October 26, 2016 Syria Aleppo, Migrants, Refugees

An Aleppo nun has described the psychological damage of living in the city as “a pain greater than physical pain”. “Aleppo is a city broken by death, destruction and violence,” said Sister Annie Demerjian, during a visit to the UK to raise awareness of the desperate conditions for many living . . . Read More

Christianity once considered a ‘disease’, but now ‘tolerated’ in Cuba

October 26, 2016 Cuba Censorship, Churches, Communism, Fidel Castro, Havana, Raúl Castro

The ruins of a church in the town of Trinidad, in the central Cuban province of Sancti Spíritus.Cristian Viarisio / Flickr / CC Christians in Cuba used to face constant pressure from the authorities for being thought “anti-revolutionaries”. It was said that being Christian was a “disease”. They were . . . Read More

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