Tag: Assyrians

Iraqi MP: Syria collapse would endanger all Mideast Christians

June 20, 2013 Syria Assyrians, Free Syrian Army, George Sabra, Iraq, UN

The collapse of the Syrian state would be a jihadist triumph and a threat to Christians throughout the Middle East, says Yonadam Kanna, a member of the Iraqi National Assembly and Secretary General for the Assyrian Democratic Movement. Assyrians are an ancient ethnic group indigenous to the Middle East, and . . . Read More

Iranian Christians face ‘systematic persecution and prosecution’

May 20, 2013 Iran Ahmed Shaheed, Armenians, Assyrians, Behnam Irani, Converts, Farshid Fathi, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Youcef Nadarkhani

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani greets his wife Fatemah after his release from prison in September 2012.Nadarkhani family for World Watch Monitor Iran’s treatment of its Christian minority has come under fresh scrutiny in recent months with some damning verdicts on the country’s human rights record. Reports from the UK’s Foreign . . . Read More

The Camp

May 5, 2013 Syria Assyrians, Free Syrian Army, Refugees, Syria, Syriacs, Turkey

Earthwork at the site of a planned refugee camp for Syrian Christians at Midyat, Turkey. The Mor Abrohom Monastery is in the background, right.Saima Altunkaya for World Watch Monitor Hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the violence in Syria live in camps just inside Turkey. So the April 10 . . . Read More

Iranian authorities shut church in Tehran

June 8, 2012 Iran Ahwaz, Armenians, Assyrians, Behnam Irani, Churches, Farshid Fathi, Iran, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Shiraz, Tehran

Authorities in Iran this week ordered the closure of a church in the capital, Tehran, amid a government campaign to crack down on the few recognized churches offering Farsi-speaking services, according to a human rights group. The order came from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Intelligence branch on Tuesday (June 5). The . . . Read More

Iranian officials heighten control on Farsi-speaking church

May 11, 2012 Iran Armenians, Assemblies of God, Assyrians, Churches, Iran, Tehran

Leaders of the Assemblies of God’s (AOG) Central Church of Tehran told their congregation on Sunday (May 6) that authorities have demanded a list of names and identification numbers of church members, a major risk to converts from Islam. Church leaders then asked members in attendance to volunteer their information. . . . Read More

Crackdown hits official churches

March 16, 2012 Iran Ahwaz, Assemblies of God, Assyrians, Converts, Dezful, House churches, Iran, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Pentecostals, Proselytism, Shiraz

In a rare crackdown on a concentrated area, Iranian authorities have arrested Christians living in the country’s third largest city in what is seen as a tactic to discourage Muslims and converts to Christianity from attending official churches. Since last month officials have arrested about 12 Christian converts in Isfahan, . . . Read More

Churches forced to stop Farsi worship in Tehran, Iran

February 17, 2012 Iran Ahwaz, Armenians, Assemblies of God, Assyrians, Behnam Irani, Farshid Fathi, Iran, Shiraz, Tehran

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has ordered the last two officially registered churches holding Friday Farsi-language services in Tehran to discontinue them. Emmanuel Protestant Church and St. Peter’s Evangelical Church were the last two official churches offering Farsi-language services on Fridays in Tehran, according to Middle East Concern (MEC). Officials issued . . . Read More

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