News

British PM Theresa May hears about plight of Christians in Middle East

  December 14, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Karamles, Middle East, Mike Pence, New York, Nineveh Plains, Theresa May, UK

The British Prime Minister Theresa May was briefed on the plight of Christians and minorities in the Middle East in a meeting yesterday (13 December) with an Iraqi priest who has been looking after refugees who fled IS violence. Father Daniel Alkory highlighted the plight of Christians and minorities in . . . Read More

Iraq bishop recalls his abduction from Baghdad in new book

  December 13, 2017 Iraq Baghdad, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Kidnapping, Kurds, Middle East, Saddam Hussein, Sunni, Torture

It was 2001 and Saad Hanna watched in horror as his TV showed the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center smouldering and collapsing. Then a trainee priest studying in Italy, he said to fellow seminarians, “The world is turning upside down. The Americans will not let this be.” . . . Read More

Over 800,000 call on UN to protect Christians in Middle East

  December 12, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Bartella, Bashar Warda, Brazil, India, Iraq, Islamic State, Karamles, Middle East, Mike Pence, New York, Qaraqosh, Syria, UN, USA

A petition signed by more than 800,000 people will be presented at the United Nations in New York today (12 December), calling for the protection of Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria, and recognition of the key role faith leaders can play in rebuilding efforts post-Islamic State. The . . . Read More

Nigeria: Plateau attackers arrested, as Christians call for grazing ban

  December 12, 2017 Nigeria Church of Christ in Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen, Jos, Nigeria, Plateau

Many experts now report that ongoing violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where mainly Muslim Fulani herdsmen have attacked predominantly Christian farmers, has killed more people than Boko Haram. Now, after a period of relative calm, that violence has resumed in Plateau state, which has also witnessed the deadliest sectarian violence . . . Read More

Nigeria: Government failure and the spread of Fulani herdsmen attacks in Adamawa state

  December 11, 2017 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, Nigeria, Sultan of Sokoto

”I watched helplessly as the Fulani herdsmen killed people and burnt houses. They did this with glee on their faces. Numan [Local Government Area] and its environs belong to us. If the government cannot protect us, then we have no choice but to protect our land, our heritage and the . . . Read More

Mali: ‘Christians can simply be slaughtered’

  December 11, 2017 Mali Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Islamic extremism, Mali, Missionaries, Tuareg

Sory* was threatened by Islamists when they heard about his work at a church in Djalloube, central Mali, and fled, leaving his family traumatised. “I started to face serious problems when the Islamists heard about me and the conversion of some of the people [from Islam to Christianity],” Sory says. . . . Read More

CAR Christians and Muslims risk crossing ‘red line’ to establish peace

  December 7, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Central African Republic, Religious freedom, Seleka, UN

At the market in Boda, a mining town in the southwest of the Central African Republic, Christians and Muslims come together to purchase goods set on wooden tables along the dusty roadside. It’s a picture of peaceful coexistence that would be unthinkable in some parts of a country that has . . . Read More

Nigeria: Northern Christian leaders claim government lacks political will to stop Fulani herdsmen’s impunity

  December 5, 2017 Nigeria Christian Association of Nigeria, Church of Christ in Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen, Jos, Nigeria, Plateau

Christian leaders in northern Nigeria have continued to lament the impunity with which Fulani herdsmen are attacking Christians in the region, especially in Plateau state, and the lack of political will by the federal government to stop it – in spite of their repeated calls. Last Thursday (30 November), at . . . Read More

Syria: Homs Christians return to rebuild homes and lives

  December 5, 2017 Syria Homs, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Syria

Syrians who fled the city of Homs five years ago are slowly returning to rebuild their homes and lives. Much of Syria’s third largest city has been destroyed, but Maha says she is just “so happy” to be back. With her husband and her sister, she recently returned to live . . . Read More

CAR: ‘They wanted to silence the preacher who converts Muslims to Christianity’

  December 5, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Central African Republic, PK5, Seleka

Four years ago today, an eruption of violence in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, left dozens dead and shattered the lives of many others. An attempt by Anti-Balaka (“anti-machete”) vigilantes to oust rebel leader Michel Djotodia, who had swept across the country into the capital to proclaim . . . Read More