News

Muslim extremists in Uganda throw acid on bishop

  December 28, 2011 Uganda Acid attacks, East Africa, Jinja, Kadhi courts, Kampala, Sharia, Uganda

Islamic extremists threw acid on a church leader on Christmas Eve shortly after a seven-day revival at his church, leaving him with severe burns that have blinded one eye and threaten sight in the other. Bishop Umar Mulinde, 37, a sheikh (Islamic teacher) before his conversion to Christianity, was attacked . . . Read More

Christian in Pakistan charged with ‘blasphemy’ after argument

  December 26, 2011 Pakistan Blasphemy, Lahore, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Quran

A young man has been charged with desecrating the Quran under Pakistan’s controversial “blasphemy” laws after the Christian had an argument over rent with his Muslim landlord, his attorneys said. Police in Shahdara Town, near Lahore, arrested Khuram Masih, 23, on Dec. 5 and charged him under Section 295-B after . . . Read More

Church in China to end outdoor services; Gao Zhisheng alive

  December 23, 2011 China Beijing, China, Gao Zhisheng, Shouwang Church

Key issues in Chinese religious rights are taking a pivotal turn at year’s end as the beleaguered Shouwang house church in Beijing will celebrate its last outdoor service on Christmas Day, and “disappeared” human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has ostensibly resurfaced – in an undisclosed prison. Denied access to a . . . Read More

Lao officials: give up your Christian faith or face eviction

  December 23, 2011 Laos Laos, Savannakhet

Nearly 50 Christians await their fate today after officials in Natoo village, southern Laos, on Wednesday (Dec. 21) summoned four of their leaders and warned that they would evict the entire church “within 24 hours” if they refused to give up their faith. Officials told the Christians they had forfeited . . . Read More

Five Christians slain in another assault in Kaduna, Nigeria

  December 23, 2011 Nigeria Christian Association of Nigeria, ECWA, Kaduna, Nigeria

Local Islamists and Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacked a Christian community in Kaduna state on Monday (Dec. 19), killing five people and wounding six, area sources said, just nine days after a deadly attack on a Christian community in Kukum Gida in the same local government area. The Muslim assailants, brandishing . . . Read More

Decision stalled on Iranian pastor sentenced to death

  December 21, 2011 Iran Ahwaz, Baptism, Farshid Fathi, Iran, Rasht, Youcef Nadarkhani

A pastor in Iran sentenced to death for refusing to recant his faith may have to wait another year for a ruling on whether the sentence will be upheld, according to sources. Yousef (also spelled Youcef) Nadarkhani, sentenced to death after a court of appeals in Rasht, Iran, found him . . . Read More

Christian woman killed in Nigeria’s Kaduna state

  December 20, 2011 Nigeria ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Kaduna, Nigeria

A Muslim villager in Kaduna state allegedly helped Fulani herdsmen and other Muslims from nearby Kafanchan to ambush a Christian settlement, resulting in the death of one woman and gunshot wounds to two other Christians on Dec. 10, area sources said. Musa Blak, 60, told World Watch Monitor how gunmen . . . Read More

Indonesian mayor’s defiance ‘shows government’s weakness’

  December 19, 2011 Indonesia Bogor, Churches, GKI Yasmin, Indonesia, Java, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

The Bogor mayor’s refusal to obey a Supreme Court order to restore a congregation’s permit casts doubt on the ability of the Indonesian government to enforce the rule of law, according to a leading rights group. Muslim demonstrators and area police have continued to obstruct the services of the Indonesian . . . Read More

Lao officials arrest eight Christian leaders

  December 19, 2011 Laos Laos, Savannakhet

Police early this morning traveled to Boukham village in Laos’ Savannakhet Province to meet with officials about the arrest on Friday (Dec. 16) of eight Christian leaders who had gathered some 200 church members for a Christmas celebration, an advocacy group reported today. Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom . . . Read More

Algeria stalls appeal of convicted Christian

  December 15, 2011 Algeria Algeria, Oran, Protestant Church of Algeria

A judge’s decision this month to indefinitely postpone the appeal of a Christian sentenced under Algeria’s defamation and anti-proselytizing laws shows how the judicial system keeps Christians in limbo without officially punishing or acquitting them, according to sources. In May a judge in Oran, 470 kilometers (292 miles) west of . . . Read More