Tag: Churches

Muslim asylum seekers find shelter in Germany’s churches

September 7, 2017 Afghanistan, Aideen Strandsson, Asylum seekers, Berlin, Churches, Converts, Europe, Germany, Iran, Islamic extremism, Migrants, Refugees, Sweden

A church in Germany. (Photo: Paul Frankenstein via Flickr; CC 2.0).

Refugees at risk of deportation from Germany are finding shelter in Germany’s churches, and many are becoming Christians in the process, reports The Washington Post. More than a million refugees travelled to Germany in 2015, in the midst of Europe’s so-called “migrant crisis”, because it was known for its open . . . Read More

German ambassador makes rare criticism of China over religious freedom

June 28, 2017 China Beijing, Catholics, China, Churches, Crosses, Education, House churches, Peter Shao Zhumin, Religious freedom, Wenzhou, Zhejiang

The German ambassador to China has made an official request that the Beijing government release Peter Shao Zhumin, the bishop of Wenzhou, reports Asia News. It is thought to be the first request of this kind made to China in 10 years. In his official statement on his embassy’s website . . . Read More

UPDATE: Two Sudanese convicted of aiding Czech Christian ‘spy’ released

May 11, 2017 Sudan Abdulmonem Abdumawla, Churches, Hassan Taour, Sudan, Sudanese Church of Christ

UPDATE [11 May 2017] – The two Sudanese men who were jailed with the Czech aid worker, Petr Jasek, were released from prison in Khartoum this afternoon after a presidential pardon. Abdumonem Abdumawla and Revd Hassan Abduraheem Taour were arrested in December 2015 for “aiding and abetting” Jasek in his alleged ‘spying’. In January this . . . Read More

Sudanese government destroys another church

May 10, 2017 Sudan Churches, Khartoum, Pentecostals, Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, Sudanese Church of Christ

Sudanese government officials demolished the Sudan Church of Christ (SCOC) building in the Soba region, 20km south of the capital Khartoum, on Sunday. Two church members were detained and interrogated but later released. The two men were arrested by Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) because they had refused . . . Read More

Death threat note left in Tanzanian coast Catholic Church

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

Neighbours are checking out the damaged church. Photo: Clement Simba

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

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

Unidentified men torched the Sudanese Lutheran church in the town of Gadaref situated in the east of the country late night Oct 17, 2015 when no one was around to douse the flames. Local Christians suspect this to be the handiwork of Muslim extremists who want to eradicate Christianity from the region.

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

Turkish court halts expropriation of Armenian cathedral

April 11, 2017 Turkey Churches, Diyarbakir, Kurds, Middle East, PKK, Surp Giragos, Turkey

The Turkish government’s expropriation a year ago of the largest Armenian cathedral in the Middle East has been halted by a Council of State court decision, the Armenian weekly Agos reports. Located in the historic heart of Diyarbakir, the largest city in southeast Turkey, the Surp (Saint) Giragos Apostolic Armenian . . . Read More

Concerns about tolerant Indonesia: 3 more churches closed

March 22, 2017 Indonesia Ahok, Bandung, Bekasi, Bogor, Churches, GKI Yasmin, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, JAD, Java, Joko Widodo, Santa Clara, Saudi Arabia

Church members of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) of Yasmin Bogor and the Batak Christian Church (HKBP) of Filadelfia Bekasi, along with inter-faith human rights activists and students of the Jakarta Art Institute, held the 100th open-air Sunday Service in front of State Palace in September 2015 after their church buildings were sealed in 2010. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Indonesian authorities in Bogor, West Java, have banned three churches from holding religious activities. According to UCANews the Methodist Church Indonesia, Huria Batak Protestant Church and a house used by Catholics for catechism classes were ordered to close their doors. Local authorities said they could not guarantee the safety of the . . . Read More

Church demolition appeal due in Khartoum

March 3, 2017 Sudan Churches, Khartoum, Petr Jašek, Sudan

The Bahri Court of Appeal in Khartoum was due to hear on 1 March the case relating to a government order to demolish 27 Christian places of worship, reports Radio Dabanga. An appeal lodged on 27 February succeeded in delaying the demolition of the churches, located north and east of . . . Read More

Indonesia President blames democracy for ills

March 2, 2017 Indonesia Churches, Indonesia, Joko Widodo, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Indonesia’s President has blamed rising religious intolerance in the country on democracy. Joko Widodo said democracy has “gone too far” and that “political freedom paved the way for extreme political practices”. Human Rights Watch’s Deputy Director for the Asia region, Phelim Kine, wrote that while Indonesia “unquestionably has a problem . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye