Tag: Churches

Iran: Christian retreat centre ordered to close by tomorrow

March 9, 2018 Iran Assemblies of God, Ayatollah Khamenei, Churches, Converts, Iran, Karaj, Protestants, Robert Asseriyan

A Christian retreat centre in Iran will finally close tomorrow, 10 March, nearly three years after it was ordered to do so and then later accused of being funded by the USA’s “CIA spy agency”. The caretakers of the Sharon Retreat Centre in Karaj, west of Tehran, have been ordered . . . Read More

Algeria government denies church closures are discrimination

March 9, 2018 Algeria Aïn Turk, Algeria, Bejaia, Churches, Oran, Protestant Church of Algeria, Religious freedom, Tizi Ouzou

"Notre Dame d'Afrique", the Roman Catholic Basilica in Algiers, Algeria. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Algerian Minister of Religious Affairs has denied discriminating against the country’s Christian minority by ordering the closure of several churches in recent months. The latest church closures took place last week, as two churches were sealed by police in the north-western city of Oran. A week beforehand, two more churches . . . Read More

Israel: closure of Christianity’s ‘holiest site’ an ‘alarm signal’

March 9, 2018 Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Churches, Israel, Jerusalem, Orthodox Jews, Tel Aviv

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity's 'holiest site', in Jerusalem. (Photo: Larry Koester via Flickr; CC 2.0)

Last week’s closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem – Christianity’s ‘holiest site’ – was not just a protest over perceived government intervention; it was an “alarm signal” over the future of the city, according to a church spokesperson. “Can Jerusalem be a holy city for Jews, . . . Read More

Rwanda: Six pastors arrested following shutdown of 700 churches

March 8, 2018 Rwanda Churches, Kigali, Pentecostals, Rwanda

Six pastors have been arrested and accused of “masterminding” a ploy to disobey the Rwandan government’s order to shut down over 700 churches in one province. The pastors were alleged to have held “illegal meetings with bad intentions”, the BBC reported. The churches in the central province of Kigali were . . . Read More

Pakistan: Christian family attacked for helping build church wall

March 6, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Churches, Faisalabad, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Sahiwal, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, Women

Five members of a Christian family in northeast Pakistan were attacked and injured as they helped to build a boundary wall around their church on Sunday, 4 March. The pastor of the Pakistan Gospel Assemblies church in Yousufwala village, on the outskirts of the Punjabi city of Sahiwal, told World . . . Read More

Cuba: Religious-freedom advocate freed after two days’ detention

March 6, 2018 Cuba Churches, Cuba, Human rights, Religious freedom, Santa Clara

A church in Cuba. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A prominent Cuban religious-freedom advocate was released on Friday (2 March) after two days in detention, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Leonardo Rodríguez Alonso was arrested while on his way home from meetings with human-rights defenders on 28 February, and held without charge in the Provincial Unit for Investigations in the . . . Read More

Rwanda: 700 churches closed down – in just one province

March 1, 2018 Rwanda Churches, Kigali, Pentecostals, Rwanda

Sainte-Famille Church in Kigali. (Photo: Flickr/Orlando1978)

Rwanda has ordered 700 churches in Kigali Province to suspend activities from today (1 March) because of concerns over health and safety. Under a newly proposed law the churches are expected to meet “basic requirements in terms of safety, hygiene, infrastructure and legality”, Justus Kangwagye, a government official, said. The . . . Read More

Algeria: two more churches closed, others threatened

March 1, 2018 Algeria Aïn Turk, Algeria, Churches, Kabylie, North Africa, Oran, Proselytism, Protestant Church of Algeria, Religious freedom, Tizi Ouzou

Local authorities in Algeria’s north-western city of Oran have closed two more churches amidst growing pressure on Christians in the Maghreb country. The two churches – L’Oratoire (The Oratory) in Oran’s city centre, and a village church in Layayda (about 40km from Oran) – were sealed off by police on . . . Read More

Israel: Christianity’s ‘holiest site’ re-opens after tax dispute

February 28, 2018 Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Churches, Greek Orthodox, Israel, Jerusalem

View of the city of Jerusalem where radical settlers are said to try to weaken the Christians' presence. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The doors to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem were re-opened this morning (28 February) after plans to tax church property in Jerusalem were suspended. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced yesterday (27 February) that a team would be formed to “formulate a solution” with the churches’ representatives, . . . Read More

Saudi Arabia is modernising, but will this mean greater freedom for religious minorities?

February 23, 2018 Saudi Arabia Apostasy, Bibles, Churches, House churches, Houthis, Iran, Islamic extremism, King Salman, Minorities, Mohammad bin Salman, Muttawah, Religious freedom, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, Syria, Wahhabism, Yemen

The political landscape in the strict Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is changing, and quickly. A charismatic crown prince seems determined to modernise his country and even speaks of a shift towards a more “moderate” Islam. But will the changes taking place in Saudi also ease the situation for members . . . Read More

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