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Nigeria: Boko Haram survivor and her baby ‘shamed’

December 1, 2017 Nigeria Acid attacks, Boko Haram, Borno, Converts, Gwoza, Islamic extremism, Nigeria, Rape, Trauma, UN, West Africa, Women

Boko Haram survivor Esther*, holding her daughter Rebecca in her arms. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

As Islamic extremist group Boko Haram continues to hold young women captive in West Africa, some have been rescued only to return to their homes in shame, finding themselves labelled “Boko Haram women”. Until October 2015 Esther* lived the normal life of a 17-year-old in Gwoza, a town in southern . . . Read More

India archbishop served notice for raising human rights ahead of Gujarat elections

December 1, 2017 India Alphons Kannanthanam, BJP, Catholics, Elections, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, Hindu nationalism, Human rights, India, Narendra Modi

Christian groups and networks in India have rallied behind Archbishop Thomas Macwan of Gandhinagar, capital of Gujarat state in western India, after the federal Election Commission served a notice on the prelate for his pastoral letter ahead of state elections this month. Gujarat is the home state of Prime Minister . . . Read More

Bangladesh: Catholic priest missing as Pope Francis arrives

November 30, 2017 Bangladesh Bangladesh, Catholics, Dhaka, Education, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Pope Francis, Religious freedom

Pope Francis hold hands with President of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid (L) upon arriving at the Presidential palace in Dhaka on 30 November 2017. (Photo: VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Pope Francis has arrived in Bangladesh, where a Catholic priest disappeared three days ago, highlighting the pressure Christians and other minority groups are under in the mainly Muslim country. Father Walter William Rozario, who is also the headmaster of a high school, went missing in northern Natore district on 27 . . . Read More

Egypt: 21 churches receive long-delayed government approval to build

November 29, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Al-Azhar, Anba Macarius, Cairo, Churches, Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Islamic State, Minya, Pentecostals, Port Said, Protestants, Religious freedom, Samalut, Sinai, Sohag, Sunni, Upper Egypt, USA

Twenty-one churches in Egypt’s southern rural Minya governorate can restore, expand and rebuild their churches after receiving approval from the Minya Governor. Governor Essam al-Bedeiwi approved the 21 applications over the last six months. Some of the churches had been waiting for more than 20 years for a permit to come . . . Read More

Is Putin’s ‘education to patriotism’ bill another endorsement of Russian Orthodox Church?

November 29, 2017 Russia Churches, Communism, Patriarch Kirill, Protestants, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Putin

A new law on “education to patriotism” set to be introduced in Russia on New Year’s Day is a further sign of Russia distancing itself from the West, but is not necessarily a sign of President Vladimir Putin favouring one Church over another, according to an analyst for the Christian . . . Read More

Myanmar’s Christians hope Pope Francis will speak for them

November 27, 2017 Myanmar Bangladesh, Baptists, Cardinal Bo, Catholics, Kachin, Ma Ba Tha, Myanmar, Nay Pyi Taw, Pope Francis, Southeast Asia, Yangon

Pope Francis is greeted by a child upon arrival in Yangon, Myanmar, on 27 November. (Photo: Getty Images)

Pope Francis landed in Myanmar today (27 November) to start his six-day visit to Southeast Asia, raising the hopes of Christians there that he will address the issues they face in the majority-Buddhist nation. Among those welcoming the Pontiff in Yangon were more than 7,000 ethnic Kachin from the conflict-torn state . . . Read More

Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy protests showcase minorities’ plight

November 27, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Barelvi, Blasphemy, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Minorities, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Mumtaz Qadri, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Peshawar, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Rawalpindi, Salmaan Taseer, Sheikhupura, Sufi, Sunni, Taliban, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

In November there were widespread anti-blasphemy protests in Islamabad and other cities in reaction to proposed changes to an election law. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Anti-blasphemy protests in Pakistan have once again highlighted the fragile position of the country’s religious minorities. Life in various parts of Pakistan virtually came to a halt on Saturday (25 November) after the police, paramilitary and other law enforcement agencies clashed with rioters in the capital, Islamabad, resulting in protests . . . Read More

Turkish Protestant church vandalised a second time in Malatya

November 27, 2017 Turkey Coup, Malatya, Protestants, Turkey

Malatya’s Kurtulus (Salvation) Church posted this message on the broken glass after an attacker heaved a brick through the church’s display window on November 24, 2017: “’Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.’ – Jesus Christ.” (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A vandalism attack last week in Turkey’s south-eastern city of Malatya damaged a small Turkish Protestant church. The assault came just two days after the targeting of 13 minority Alevi families in a nearby neighbourhood. Rising sectarian tensions over the two incidents quickly prompted local police investigations, followed by a . . . Read More

Iran: Christian convert loses appeal against 10-year sentence for ‘missionary activities’

November 24, 2017 Iran Bahram Nasibov, Converts, Eldar Gurbanov, House churches, Iran, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, Religious freedom, Tehran, Yusif Farhadov

An Iranian convert to Christianity has had his 10-year prison sentence upheld after losing his appeal. Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh was sentenced in May alongside three Azerbaijanis. All four men were given 10-year sentences for “missionary activities” and “actions against national security” in Iran. However, the three Azerbaijanis – Eldar Gurbanov, . . . Read More

What makes Pakistan’s small religious minorities so significant?

November 24, 2017 Pakistan Caste, Constitution, Human rights, Lahore, Minorities, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan, Punjab

Pakistan conducted its first census in 19 years in July. All the results have now been released, except those on religious minorities. The government has provided no explanation. On 22 November a small group of protesters, mostly Christians, gathered outside the Press Club in Lahore, the major city in Pakistan’s . . . Read More

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