News

Court case hangs over Indonesian pastor

  August 26, 2013 Indonesia HKBP Filadelfia

An Indonesian pastor remains in a tortured psychological state as a legal case against him lingers on. Palti Panjaitan, who runs the HKBP Filadelfia church in the village of Jejalen Jaya, east of Bekasi, was accused by an Islamic leader of assaulting him on Christmas Eve of last year. The . . . Read More

Italian priest still unaccounted for in Syria

  August 22, 2013 Syria Aleppo, Bashar al-Assad, Boulos Yazigi, Islamic State, Kidnapping, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Raqqa, Syria, Yohanna Ibrahim

Conflicting reports are emerging about the whereabouts and welfare of an Italian Jesuit priest who went missing almost one month ago. Reuters reported on July 29 that Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio had been abducted by Islamists with links to Al-Qaeda in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, but the Vatican would . . . Read More

Rimsha accused goes free

  August 21, 2013 Pakistan Blasphemy, Islamabad, Pakistan Ulema Council, Rimsha Masih

The Muslim cleric suspected of framing Pakistani Christian girl Rimsha Masih has been acquitted. The district court found there was insufficient evidence to convict Imam Khalid Jadoon Chishti, who was suspected of planting the burnt pages of some Islamic texts into the teenager’s bag. Rights activist Basharat Khokhar, left; Mizrak . . . Read More

What caused Syria’s civil war?

  August 16, 2013 Syria Bashar al-Assad, Civil War, Hezbollah, Sunni

Throughout its history, ancient and modern, Syria has played host to ethnic and religious minorities living together very much in harmony. Syria, in the original sense of what is now known as “Greater Syria”, encompassed much of the Levant – today’s states of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, plus a . . . Read More

Churches across Egypt attacked

  August 14, 2013 Egypt Copts, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood

World Watch Monitor is curating news coverage of the anti-Christian violence that swept Egypt on Aug. 14 after the military used force to break up camps of protesters who have been demanding the reinstatement of former president Mohamed Morsi. Scores of the protesters were killed, leading to violence in cities across the country. The protesters . . . Read More

In Egypt, Christian anxieties mount as Islamist hostility increases

  August 13, 2013 Egypt Bishop Angaelos, Copts, Luxor, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Pope Tawadros II

A burned truck is part of the damage caused Aug. 3 by a 4,000-person anti-Christian mob in Bani Ahmed, Egypt.World Watch Monitor   Mass no longer is being celebrated at The Church of St. Mary. Police officers guard the entrance. Throughout the Egyptian town of Eastern Bani Ahmed south of . . . Read More

Pakistani Christians ensure police arrest key murder suspect

  August 12, 2013 Pakistan Police, Punjab

Hundreds of Pakistani Christians braved scorching summer heat for three days and two nights in agricultural fields to ensure that police would register the alleged murder of a Punjabi agricultural smallholder in front of his two children. 45-year-old Ishaq Masih, a resident of a village in the Okara district, near . . . Read More

Top pastor’s arrest adds to Christians’ concerns in Central African Republic

  August 9, 2013 Central African Republic Michel Djotodia, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Protestants

The order for Rev. Nicolas Guerékoyamé’s arrest seems to have come straight from the very top. President Michel Djotodia, pictured, seized power in a coup in March.Crispin for World Watch Monitor   The already fragile situation for Christians in the Central African Republic (CAR) may be worsening. On Tuesday (August . . . Read More

Boko Haram under investigation for crimes against humanity

  August 8, 2013 Nigeria Boko Haram, Christian Association of Nigeria, International Criminal Court, Sabon Gari

At least 1,200 people have been killed in the last four years in Northern Nigeria by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, according to a preliminary investigation by the International Criminal Court. The Court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said on Monday (August 5) the ICC is investigating Boko Haram for . . . Read More

Algerians stage picnics in protest against ‘forced’ fasting

  August 6, 2013 Algeria Algeria, Bejaia, Islamic extremism, Kabylie, Ramadan

A march of protest followed the the picnic in Aokas, near Béjaïa. The sign translates: ‘Stop Salafists and Wahabites’, two Islamist groups.World Watch Monitor   Around 200 people ate together at a public lunch in the city of Tizi Ouzou on Saturday (Aug 3) to protest against the “persecution of . . . Read More