News

Death threat note left in Tanzanian coast Catholic Church

  May 8, 2017 Tanzania Catholics, Churches, Islamic extremism, Tanzania

A Catholic Church in one of Tanzania’s coastal regions has been broken into and four priests’ robes set on fire. The arsonists also left a note behind, warning that one day they would return to kill 12 people. The incident, which took place Sunday evening 30 April, was first noticed . . . Read More

Kazakh Baptists raided, fined on Easter Sunday as ‘illegal’

  May 4, 2017 Kazakhstan Almaty, Astana, Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Russia, Uyghurs

Tammar leads a church of young Uyghurs in Kazakhstan. On Easter Sunday, as 20 of them gathered, there was a sudden police raid, including members of the anti-terrorist team. All 20 had to sign a form saying they were at this ‘illegal’ meeting, and Tammar was fined $900. At first, he wouldn’t . . . Read More

CAR: ‘Simple survival rule in IDP camp: if you walk out, you might be killed’

  May 4, 2017 Central African Republic Bangui, Central African Republic, IDPs, Kaga Bandoro, Seleka

Last month, April, saw the worst violence for years in the Central African Republic, said Medecins sans Frontieres. The UN, which has a 13,000 safe-keeping mission (MINUSCA) in the former French colony, has sought to disperse fighters, while the United States has imposed sanctions on CAR militia leaders. Despite the . . . Read More

Ethiopians don’t have to pay for church they didn’t destroy

  May 3, 2017 Ethiopia Addis Ababa, Amhara, Bahir Dar, Ethiopian Orthodox Church

UPDATE [3 May 2017] – Three Ethiopians do not now have to pay compensation for a church which, in January, they were acquitted of charges of destroying. Tibebu Mekuria, Dawit Jemberu, and Belete Tilahun were freed on 18 January after a Supreme Court judge acquitted them on 13 January. The three had . . . Read More

Part of church compound in Sudan illegally occupied

  May 2, 2017 Sudan Bahri, Churches, Khartoum, Lutheran Church of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, Omdurman, Pentecostals, Sharia, Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, Younan Abdulla

Police and an armed mob occupied part of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) compound last Wednesday (26 April), reports Middle East Concern (MEC). It is the same location where, earlier this month, two church members were stabbed during a protest against appropriation of a school there. The compound in . . . Read More

Pope Francis in Egypt: ‘Violence is the denial of every true religion’

  May 2, 2017 Egypt Al-Azhar, Cairo, Copts, Islamic extremism, Pope Francis, Tanta

Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, went to Cairo with a message of unity and peace. On his first day, speaking at an International Peace Conference held at the al-Azhar conference centre, he said that “violence is the denial of every true religion” and called on religious leaders to . . . Read More

Weary Copts urge Pope Francis to challenge Sisi over attacks and chronic discrimination

  April 27, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Al-Azhar, Copts, Egypt, Palm Sunday, Pope Francis, Pope Tawadros II, Tanta

Egyptian Copts have welcomed Pope Francis’ “insistence” that his visit to Cairo this week go ahead despite the recent attacks on two churches that killed 45 worshippers. The head of the Catholic Church will arrive in Cairo on Friday and visit President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar . . . Read More

US watchdog adds Russia to its list of worst oppressors of religion

  April 27, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Bahrain, Religious freedom, Russia, Taliban, USA

Religious freedom is in retreat worldwide, and for the first time Russia is among the world’s worst oppressors, according to America’s most prominent and influential scorecard on the issue. The annual report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, released 26 April, puts its case plainly in its opening . . . Read More

How do Christians respond to persecution?

  April 26, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Iraq, Islamic State, Pakistan, Syria, USA

A report looking into the ways Christians respond to persecution has found that their “survival strategies” require a lot of “creativity, determination and courage”, while violence is seldom used. “Christians are the most widely targeted religious community, suffering terrible persecution globally,” according to the University of Notre Dame’s report, In . . . Read More

Displaced Iraqi Christians open sweet factory in Erbil

  April 25, 2017 Iraq Ankawa, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh

In his new factory, surrounded by sesame seeds, pistachios and sugar, Rabeea dips his spatula into a large vat of honey-coloured syrup. He’s checking its consistency to see if it’s ready for the next step in the production of traditional Iraqi sweets, like sorjuq or halqoum. “We deliver our products . . . Read More