News

Gender-based violence ‘wielded mercilessly’ in Muslim countries

  June 13, 2013 Angela Merkel, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sharia

Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaWorld Watch Monitor   The conclusion of a new report by the US Hudson Institute researcher Lela Gilbert is clear and unequivocal:  gender-based violence plays a key strategic role in the plans of those who wish to eradicate Christians and Christian belief from Muslim lands. Gender-Based Violence as . . . Read More

President Morsi for first time approves construction of new church in Egypt

  June 11, 2013 Egypt Beheira, Copts, Hosni Mubarak, Mohamed Morsi

The architectural drawing of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church in Nubaria received a stamp of approval.Watani   Seventeen years have elapsed since the Coptic Church first requested permission to build a church in the town of Nubaria, Northern Egypt. On Friday (June 7) their wish was granted. But not . . . Read More

The rise of Islamic extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus

  June 6, 2013 Afghanistan, Arab Spring, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Caucasus, Central Asia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Georgia, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Islamic extremism, Kazakhstan, Muslim Brotherhood, Russia, Soviet Union, Uzbekistan

Islamic extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus will further increase in the next few years, predicts a new report by Anna Münster, a Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House. US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014, and expected regime changes in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan threaten to . . . Read More

Christians watchful as Sharif returns to power

  June 6, 2013 Pakistan Blasphemy, Elections, Gojra, Jamaat-e-Islami, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League, PTI, Taliban

Pakistan’s Christians appear to have thrown some of their political support to Nawaz Sharif in the May 11 national election, even as they have reason to be wary of his return to power. Sharif’s party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PMLN, won 124 of the 272 directly elected seats in the . . . Read More

‘Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians’

  June 5, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Algeria, Arab Spring, Armenia, Asia Bibi, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Central Asia, China, Communism, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Middle East, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Russia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

This is a book designed to show that “Christians are the single most widely persecuted religious group in the world today” (p4). With that aim, three authors well known in the field of religious advocacy give the reader the ultimate global briefing on the causes, patterns and trends in the persecution . . . Read More

Tehran church faces closure after pastor’s arrest

  May 30, 2013 Iran Ahwaz, Assemblies of God, Evin Prison, Robert Asseriyan

The sign on the church in Tehran: ‘This church is closed due to major repairs. Please do not return!Article 18   The future of the central Assemblies of God church in Tehran hangs in the balance, following the arrest of one of its pastors last week. Iranian authorities continue to . . . Read More

In Eritrea, ‘persecution greater than ever and getting worse’

  May 30, 2013 Eritrea Asmara, Pentecostals

An Eritrean home.World Watch Monitor   Religious persecution in Eritrea is at its “highest level ever and getting worse”, an Eritrean Christian leader, who cannot be named for security reasons, has told the Christian charity Open Doors International. Thirty-seven Christian students from the College of Arts and Social Sciences in . . . Read More

Unemployed and Christian in Egypt

  May 28, 2013 Egypt Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Islamic extremism, Muslim Brotherhood

It’s harder than ever to find a job in Egypt, where the unemployment rate has risen to a record 13 per cent. For young Egyptians, the jobless rate is much higher. For out-of-work Christians, finding a job can be especially tough. They are 10 to 12 per cent of a . . . Read More

Sabra now says he doesn’t know bishops’ whereabouts

  May 24, 2013 Syria Bashar al-Assad, Boulos Yazigi, George Sabra, Greek Orthodox, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Refugees, Syria, Turkey, Yohanna Ibrahim

The leader of the Syrian opposition coalition is backing away from previous reports that he is certain of the location and condition of two Syrian Orthodox bishops kidnapped April 22. George Sabra, president of the Syrian National Coalition, told World Watch Monitor on May 21 he is not informed of . . . Read More

Egypt is at a crossroads, says Coptic Bishop

  May 23, 2013 Egypt Copts, Hosni Mubarak, Islamic extremism, Upper Egypt

Bishop Thomas of the El-Qussia and Mair Diocese in Upper Egypt.Stefanus Alliance International/Wegge   A “big force” is pushing Egypt towards greater conservatism and religious extremism, according to Bishop Thomas of the El-Qussia and Mair Diocese in Upper Egypt. However, he said he still believes Egypt can enjoy transformation of . . . Read More