News

Amidst political turmoil, continuing blasphemy charges for Pakistani Christians

  October 2, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Converts, Faisalabad, Islamic extremism, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Punjab, Sweepers, Taliban

Naja Maish his wife and family with TVS TeamCourtesy of The Voice Society   Christians have continued to be accused of blasphemy against Islam, in three separate recent cases in Pakistan. In one, a group of 35 was briefly accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammed before the charge was quickly . . . Read More

Arab churches’ key contribution to Iraqi relief

  October 1, 2014 Iraq Ankawa, Erbil, Islamic State, Trauma, UN, Yazidis

Members of Kasr el-Dobara church in Egypt, shown in 2012, have given generously to support refugees in Iraq.World Watch Monitor   As a coalition of Western and Arab countries continues military action to try to defeat Islamic State (IS), it’s timely to hear how the region’s largest Christian minority – . . . Read More

Algerian Christians: ‘We must not yield to fear’

  October 1, 2014 Algeria Algeria, Bejaia, Kabylie, Oran, Tizi Ouzou

Notre Dame d’Afrique basilica in AlgiersWorld Watch Monitor   The assassination of a French tourist by militants in Algeria has raised the fear of new terrorist attacks in the country. Hervé Gourdel, 55, was beheaded on September 24 by a radical Islamist group, ‘Soldiers of the Caliphate’ linked to Islamic . . . Read More

Turkey closes down Protestant church

  September 30, 2014 Turkey Gaziantep, Protestants

Turkish authorities have sealed a Protestant church in Southeast Turkey and ordered its American pastor fined and deported on charges of “working illegally.” Lawyers filed a court appeal Sept. 26 to postpone the deportation, protesting what Turkey’s Association of Protestant Churches called an “absolutely arbitrary” ruling against the Gaziantep congregation . . . Read More

New modern Persian Bible launched in UK and Turkey

  September 29, 2014 Iran Ayatollah Khamenei, Bibles

A major new translation of the whole Bible into modern Persian was launched in London and Istanbul last week (September 22- 24). The project was especially significant as some of its’ earliest contributors were martyred for their faith. Its publishers are Elam Ministries, founded in 1990 by senior Iranian church . . . Read More

What’s the threat of Islamic State to the Church worldwide?

  September 25, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Al-Qaeda, Bartella, Dohuk, Erbil, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Israel, Jizya, Jordan, Kurds, Lebanon, Muslim Brotherhood, Qaraqosh, Quran, Salafism, Sharia, Sunni, Syria

While Islamic State is wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria, its ambitions do not stop there. Moreover, several world leaders are saying it is one of the biggest threats they are facing. But exactly how does Islamic State fit into the global picture of Christians under pressure for their faith . . . Read More

UN urged to protect Syria’s civilians

  September 25, 2014 Syria Bashar al-Assad, Islamic State, Syria, Trauma, UN

Open Doors International, a global charity serving Christians who are under pressure because of their faith, has joined 38 non-governmental organizations in a campaign demanding diplomatic action to protect civilians amid Syria’s civil war. The campaign, called ‘With Syria,’ intends to redouble pressure on United Nations members to live up . . . Read More

Nigerian Bishops: ‘Stop playing politics, protect innocent citizens’

  September 24, 2014 Nigeria Boko Haram, Catholics, Delta State, Islamic extremism, Maiduguri, Nigeria

Most Rev Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.World Watch Monitor   Catholic Bishops in Nigeria have called on the government to protect the lives and property of its people, as militants intensified their killing spree across the country. In a statement ”While Nigeria bleeds and . . . Read More

New urgency for an old idea: Nineveh

  September 17, 2014 Iraq Assyrians, Baghdad, Basra, Fallujah, Islamic State, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Peshmerga, Saddam Hussein, Tel Kaif

An ancient Nineveh gate, east of Mosul.James Gordon / Flickr / Creative Commons   The militant Islamist rampage across Iraq has intensified calls for a Christian “safe zone,” even as it has made the task of achieving it more difficult. The jihadists, who call their movement the “Islamic State,” have . . . Read More

Two pastors among 100s killed as UN takes over peacekeeping in CAR

  September 17, 2014 Central African Republic African Union, Bambari, Bossangoa

Emergency food distribution to displaced people in Bangui; CAR. June 2014Courtesy of Open Doors International   The UN has taken over peacekeeping in CAR amidst an upsurge of violence which has left scores dead, including two pastors. Pastors Thomas Ouanam, 60, and Pierre Bapteme, 46, were killed in two separate . . . Read More