News

Former Nigerian Governor allows ‘under-age’ marriage loophole into Constitution

  July 23, 2013 Nigeria Christian Association of Nigeria, Constitution, Gombe, Lagos, Sharia, Zamfara

The first Governor to introduce sharia law into a Nigerian State (Zamfara, in 2000), now a Senator, has succeeded in stopping the removal of a clause from Nigeria’s Constitution, which critics say remains a loophole through which marriage of under-age girls remains possible under sharia law. It happened during the . . . Read More

World abandons C. African Republic in hour of need, MSF says

  July 19, 2013 Central African Republic Seleka

International health NGO Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) says the population of the Central African Republic has been “abandoned” to a humanitarian emergency “just when they most need help”, and that the country’s healthcare system has collapsed. With most NGOs and aid agencies withdrawing to the capital, Bangui, citing . . . Read More

Pro-Morsi backlash turns deadly for some Christian communities

  July 18, 2013 Egypt Arab Spring, Copts, Luxor, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Pope Tawadros II, Port Said

Violence in the town of al-Dabayia on July 5 claimed the lives of Rasim Taodharos Ocaldius, 56; Mharib Noshi Habib,38; Romany Noshi Habib, 33; and Emile Naseem Sarofim, 41.Special to World Watch Monitor   Violence across Egypt following the July 3 ouster of Mohamed Morsi has claimed the lives of . . . Read More

Mali’s state of emergency lifted ahead of election

  July 12, 2013 Mali Bamako, Dioncounda Traoré, Gao, Kidal, Mali, Timbuktu, Tuareg, UN

The political situation of Mali has been changed by Sunday’s launch of the campaign for its Presidential election (due on July 28th) in which 28 candidates are competing to succeed the current interim President Dioncounda Traoré, who is not taking part. Mr Traoré, who was the head of Parliament, became . . . Read More

Archbishop of Canterbury and UK Foreign Office Minister alerted to need of Syrian Christians

  July 10, 2013 Aleppo, Armenians, Bashar al-Assad, Damascus, Homs, Islamic extremism, Justin Welby, London, Middle East, Minorities, North Africa, Refugees, Religious freedom, Shia, Sunni, Syria, Syriacs, UK

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the UK Foreign Office Minister responsible for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), have both acknowledged the findings of a report which says that Christians in Syria are increasingly targeted and vulnerable to persecution, amidst the on-going conflict there. Syria: Church on . . . Read More

All change again in the Middle East

  July 7, 2013 Andrew Bennett, Baghdad, Bishop Angaelos, Cairo, Canada, Copts, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, London, Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood, Religious freedom, Saddam Hussein, Syria

Middle Eastern Christians are experiencing one of the most significant periods in their history, according to religious and political leaders meeting in London last week. Regime changes in Egypt and Iran, and sectarian violence in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, have presented an opportunity for the Christian minority to speak out, . . . Read More

Wave of kidnappings plagues Egyptians

  July 5, 2013 Egypt Asyut, Copts, Kidnapping

She was an old woman, and her leg was in pain. She held out her hand. “Please help”, she said. Magda took the woman’s hand, and led her to a waiting car. And that was the last Magda saw of her family for a week. The 19-year-old student became, on . . . Read More

The Brotherhood is down, but is it out?

  July 4, 2013 Egypt Islamic extremism, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood

It’s been a heady week for opponents of Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood has withstood decades of opposition, however.Zeinab Mohamed / Flickr / Creative Commons These are dark days for the Muslim Brotherhood. But it has seen dark days before. For now, it has been shoved aside . . . Read More

Voices from the revolution

  July 3, 2013 Egypt Arab Spring, Copts, Hosni Mubarak, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood

Hebatalla Safwat Ghali in Tahrir Square. “As a Coptic I present my Christian love of my country. I care about my people’s worries.”World Watch Monitor   Who stole Egypt? The answer depends on who you ask among the thousands of Egyptians who have swarmed the streets across the country since . . . Read More

Rimsha, family, living in Canada

  June 29, 2013 Pakistan Asylum seekers, Blasphemy, Paul Bhatti, Rimsha Masih

Rimsha Masih, the teenage Pakistani girl who once faced the possibility of the death penalty because she was accused of insulting Islam, is living in Canada with her family, a Canadian religious-rights organization says. Peter Bhatti, executive director of International Christian Voice, told World Watch Monitor on Saturday that Rimsha . . . Read More