General

Sudan detains 6 Christians, threatens to demolish 5 churches

October 12, 2016 Sudan African Union, Churches, Episcopal Church of Sudan, Gadaref, Hassan Taour, Kadugli, Khartoum, Kuwa Shamal, Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, Sudan

Sudan has detained three church leaders and three church members, meanwhile warning five churches of impending demolition. The six, from the Evangelical Church in Wad Medani (200km southeast of the capital, Khartoum), were briefly arrested on Sunday (9 Oct.) after refusing an order to hand over to the government a . . . Read More

Lawyers ‘threatened’ in boy’s Kaaba ‘blasphemy’ case

October 11, 2016 Pakistan Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Nabeel Masih, Nadeem Masih, Sweepers

Nabeel Masih, 16, is alleged to have “defamed” the Kaaba in Mecca, the building at the centre of Islam’s most sacred mosque.Amalia Sari / Flickr / CC Lawyers representing a 16-year-old Pakistani Christian boy accused of blasphemy for ‘liking’ a photo posted on Facebook have reported being intimidated by . . . Read More

Pakistan: Christian boy, 14, raped and hung from tree, but police say death ‘natural’

October 11, 2016 Pakistan Faisalabad, Islamic extremism, Police

Police in a village in Pakistan have denied knowledge of the existence of a post-mortem which shows that a 14-year-old Christian boy was raped, then strangled. Instead, they say he died of “natural causes” by drinking a sugary drink after eating fruit. Zeeshan Masih, a resident of Ghos Nagar, Chak . . . Read More

Nigerian Fulani herdsmen’s attacks continue amidst government inaction

October 11, 2016 Nigeria Agatu, Benue, Enugu, Fulani herdsmen, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

In Waku, Benue State, one of the numerous villages in Nigeria’s ‘Middle Belt’ displaced by Hausa-Fulani Muslim herdsmen, on 18 August a small frightened calf was tied to a stake by a group of Christian villagers. The angry mob was waiting for the arrival of its owners, herdsmen who’d destroyed . . . Read More

‘Peaceful’ Buddhism’s violent face in Sri Lanka

October 10, 2016 Sri Lanka Bodu Bala Sena, Buddhist nationalism, Maithripala Sirisena

Image, ‘Buddha in front of wood fence,’ by Harminder Dhesi, 2010 CC License Thanks to its promotion by figures from Hollywood (Richard Gere) and Silicon Valley (Steve Jobs), Buddhism in the West presents a ‘peaceful’ face. Yet Christians in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka, as well as other minority religions, see things . . . Read More

Iranian converts appeal against lashes for ‘illegal’ Communion wine

October 10, 2016 Iran Maryam Naghash Zargaran, Mohammad Reza Omidi, Rasht, Saeed Abedini, Saheb Fadaie, Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Youcef Nadarkhani

UPDATE (10 Oct.) Three Iranian Christian converts are appealing after they were sentenced to 80 lashes each for drinking alcohol during Holy Communion. (Non-Muslims are permitted to drink alcohol in Iran, but leaving Islam is forbidden, so any such conversions are not recognised.) Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Saheb Fadaie and Mohammad Reza . . . Read More

5 years since Maspero, Egypt’s Copts denied permit to remember 27 dead

October 7, 2016 Egypt Copts, Hosni Mubarak, Luxor, Maspero

Coptic organisations outside Egypt commemorate this weekend the 5th anniversary of an attack by the Egyptian Army against a peaceful Christian protest march, which resulted in 27 Copts killed and scores of others injured. Known as the “Maspero massacre” it mainly took place (on 9 Oct. 2011) outside the huge . . . Read More

Al-Shabaab claims killing of 6 Christians in northeast Kenya raid

October 6, 2016 Kenya Al-Shabaab, Garissa, Kenya, Mandera

The six people killed in this morning’s attack in north-east Kenya by Al-Shabaab were Christians, according to the militant group’s own radio station, Radio Andalus. The militia attacked at about 2:45am this morning, 6 October. It reports that the grenade and gun attack on a residential compound in Mandera, on . . . Read More

Azerbaijan registers Bible Society after 20 years, but will it be able to print Bibles?

October 3, 2016 Azerbaijan Central Asia, Exile, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Rasim Khalilov (left), Chairman of the Bible Committee, and Pastor Elchin Pashaev, one of the founders of the new Bible Society, holding the certificate of registration.United Bible Societies The recent registration of a Bible Society in Azerbaijan, after a 20-year fight, has brought fresh optimism to the country’s minority . . . Read More

Arab and Jew ‘cross the divide’ through shared faith

October 3, 2016 Israel Arabs, Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, Palestinian Territories

Hisham*, an Arab, and Miriam*, a Jew, are both 16. They grew up in Israel in a climate where suspicion, even full-blown hate, has set the tone of each towards the other. The boy and girl are friends now – their friendship has this one thing in common: a faith . . . Read More

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