Tag: Central Asia

Young Kyrgyz Christian hospitalised, while his attackers go free

November 14, 2018 Kyrgyzstan Apostasy, Central Asia, Islamic extremism, Kyrgyzstan, Protestants

A young Protestant in Kyrgyzstan has been left with a fractured jaw after being attacked by three men, Forum 18 reports. Eldos Sattar uuly, 25, was attacked in his uncle’s house in the village of Tamchi, in the north-eastern Issyk-Kul region. A villager told Forum 18 that Sattar uuly had . . . Read More

Tajikistan: Christian convert’s burial delayed as relatives call for husband to return to Islam

June 20, 2018 Tajikistan Apostasy, Burial, Central Asia, Converts, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Tajikistan

When an elderly Christian woman from a Muslim background died last week in a Tajikistan hospital, her husband Mihrab* and children – all of them Christians – organised a funeral ceremony and invited people from their church. But Mihrab’s Muslim relatives also invited local Muslims, including a cleric, who demanded . . . Read More

Chechnya: Seven killed in Orthodox church attack

May 21, 2018 Russia Caucasus, Central Asia, Chechnya, Grozny, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church

The Archangel Michael Orthodox Church in the center of Grozny. (Photo: Vladimir Varfolomeev via Flickr; CC 2.0)

Seven people were killed in an attack on a church in Chechnya on Saturday (19 May) that was claimed by Islamic State, local sources told World Watch Monitor. The victims included two police officers who were guarding the church, all four militants and one churchgoer, World Watch Monitor was told. . . . Read More

Kyrgyzstan Baptists repair church after arson attack

March 7, 2018 Kyrgyzstan Baptists, Burial, Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan

An arson attack on a small Baptist church in Kyrgyzstan has not deterred the congregation from meeting. The 40 Kyrgyz and Russian members of the church feared for their safety when attackers set fire to their church on 2 January. They were told by police that the attack was “organised . . . Read More

Russia: ‘Extremist’ identified after five women killed in Dagestan church attack

February 19, 2018 Russia Caucasus, Central Asia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Islamic extremism, Patriarch Kirill, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Sufi, Women

Authorities in one of the least stable parts of Russia have identified the suspected gunman who killed five women at a church yesterday (18 February) before being shot dead by security forces. The mayoral office in Kizlyar, in the restive and ethnically diverse region of Dagestan, named the assailant as . . . Read More

Kazakhstan: Hundreds punished for practising faith in 2017

January 31, 2018 Kazakhstan Central Asia, Children, Kazakhstan, Religion Law

Kazakhstan prosecuted 283 individuals, groups and organisations last year for conducting activities related to religion, according to news agency Forum 18. The ‘offences’ included attending worship meetings, importing religious literature, telling other people about a faith, praying, allowing a parent to bring a child to a religious meeting, and inadequate . . . Read More

Kyrgyz church arson followed dispute over Christian’s burial

January 29, 2018 Kyrgyzstan Baptists, Burial, Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan

The church in Kajisay, Kyrgyzstan, was set on fire (World Watch Monitor)

Christians in Kajisay, eastern Kyrgyzstan, have said opposition to the burial of a Protestant man in a nearby village could have led to the arson attack on their church earlier this month, despite official denials of “religious discord”, reports regional news agency Forum 18. The opposition to the burial in . . . Read More

‘Unprecedented’ persecution of Egypt’s Christians heads 2018 World Watch List

January 10, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Anti-conversion law, Boko Haram, Cairo, Central Asia, Churches, Converts, Copts, Egypt, Eritrea, Fulani herdsmen, Hindu nationalism, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Jharkhand, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Marawi, Middle Belt, Middle East, Mindanao, Minorities, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Philippines, Somalia, Southeast Asia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Upper Egypt

More Christians abused in India than in all other countries combined; Nepal enters list Islamic extremists driven out of Iraq and Syria are behind a new intensity of Christian persecution in surrounding countries, says global charity Open Doors in its latest annual survey of countries where it is most difficult . . . Read More

Kazakhstan’s new restrictions to ‘flagrantly’ violate religious rights

December 1, 2017 Kazakhstan Azerbaijan, Censorship, Central Asia, Children, Education, Human rights, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Religion Law, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

At the facility of one of the presbyterian Churches in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is set to pass a new set of restrictions on freedom of religion or belief that violate international human rights obligations, according to regional news service Forum 18. The proposed amendments to Kazakhstan’s religion law are currently with the Prime Minister and are expected to be signed into law . . . Read More

Kazakhstan releases Christian imprisoned ‘as message to Muslims thinking about converting’

November 2, 2017 Kazakhstan Astana, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Yklas Kabduakasov

Kazakhstan has released a 56-year-old man imprisoned for more than two years to dissuade other Muslims from converting to Christianity, reports Christian persecution charity Voice of the Martyrs. Yklas Kabduakasov, a father of eight, was arrested in August 2015 on a charge of “inciting religious hatred”. Police confiscated Christian books . . . Read More

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