News

Indian Christians faced almost as many attacks in first half of 2017 as all of 2016

  August 8, 2017 India BJP, Chhattisgarh, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, India, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Narendra Modi, RSS

In the first six months of 2017, Indian Christians were harassed, threatened or attacked for their faith in 410 reported incidents (248 in the first quarter) – almost as many as the total for the whole of 2016 (441). This is according to figures compiled by partners of Open Doors, . . . Read More

Coastal and north-east Kenyans have more to fear than most, as Al-Shabaab threatens elections

  August 7, 2017 Kenya Al-Shabaab, Boni, East Africa, Garissa, Kenya, Lamu, Mandera, Mombasa, Mpeketoni, Pandaguo, Somalia, Tana River, Uhuru Kenyatta, Westgate

Attacks by suspected Al-Shabaab militants in the Kenyan coastal region of Lamu are raising concerns that the Islamist group is attempting to disrupt the election tomorrow (8 August), as international observers warn of chaos if the result is perceived as rigged. The election, between current President Uhuru Kenyatta and his . . . Read More

Sudan demolishes another church, but MPs block school on Sundays

  August 4, 2017 Sudan Donald Trump, Education, Justin Welby, Khartoum, Omdurman, Religious freedom, Sanctions, Sudan, Sudanese Church of Christ, USA

The Sudanese government demolished another church on Wednesday (2 August), the day after Members of the Khartoum state parliament rejected an order by the Minister of Education for all Christian schools in the capital to open on a Sunday. The Baptist Church in Omdurman, across the Nile, just west from . . . Read More

Displaced by Boko Haram’s violence, Nigerians finally get food to prevent famine

  August 4, 2017 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Borno, Christian Association of Nigeria, IDPs, Nigeria, UN, Yobe

The current crisis in northeast Nigeria has been called the “greatest crisis on the African continent“. More than five million Nigerians live in famine-like conditions in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, the epicentre of the eight years-long Boko Haram insurgency. According to the World Food Programme, the ongoing insecurity has . . . Read More

Iranian Christian Maryam Naghash Zargaran released after four years in prison

  August 2, 2017 Iran Amin Afshar Naderi, Converts, Evin Prison, Iran, Islamic extremism, Maryam Naghash Zargaran, Saeed Abedini, Tehran

After four years’ imprisonment for “violating national security”, Iranian Christian Maryam Naghash Zargaran was released from Tehran’s Evin prison last night (1 August). She was due to be released four days earlier, on 28 July, but, as Mohabat News reported, this was delayed without explanation. Naghash Zargaran, 39, a convert . . . Read More

Archbishop of Canterbury speaks ‘strongly’ to Sudan President of religious freedom for Christians

  July 31, 2017 Sudan Apostasy, Episcopal Church of Sudan, Islamic extremism, Justin Welby, Kadugli, Khartoum, Mariam Ibrahim, Omar al-Bashir, Pentecostals, Refugees, Sharia, South Sudan, Sudan, Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, Uganda

The advent of the world’s newest country, South Sudan, in 2011 has not been without its impact. Not only has it spawned a civil war and one of the world’s biggest current humanitarian crises, but also the need for a new Province in the global Anglican Communion. This weekend, the . . . Read More

Ethiopian Christian attacked with machetes for evangelising

  July 31, 2017 Ethiopia Converts, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Tigray

An Ethiopian Christian suffered deep wounds to the back of his head when he was attacked while alone in his home by a group of local Muslims with machetes The attack on 16 July left the 27-year-old man needing life-saving surgery. The man – who, for security reasons, cannot be . . . Read More

Copts in Kom El-Loufy still have no church in their village, and they’re not alone

  July 31, 2017 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Islamic extremism, Kom El-Loufy, Minya, Pope Tawadros II, Religious freedom, Samalut

The more than 1,600 Copts in the village of Kom El-Loufy in Minya, Upper Egypt are still waiting for a new church building, seven years after their previous building was closed the same month it was opened. Ever since the Copts started looking for a new venue, they have experienced fierce . . . Read More

First husband brutally killed a week after wedding; five years on, Kenyan re-marries

  July 29, 2017 Kenya Baptists, Kenya, Mombasa

Five years after the brutal death of her first husband, Kenyan Damaris Kioko remarried in Mombasa today (29 July). Jackson Kioko was killed in May 2012 in the Jomvu area of Mombasa, only a week after their wedding in coastal Kenya. “We had a very colourful wedding. People said that . . . Read More

Bishop in C. African Republic wants more effective UN peacekeepers after ‘failure to protect’

  July 28, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangassou, Bangui, Central African Republic, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, IDPs, Morocco, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Oumar Kobine Layama, Seleka, UN

A bishop prevented by escalating violence from returning to his Central African Republic diocese has called for UN peacekeepers there to be replaced with a more effective defence force. Bishop Juan José Aguirre Munoz of Bangassou, who was speaking from the CAR capital, Bangui, also said the Moroccan troops are . . . Read More