Tag: Islamic extremism

China passes new religious regulations ‘to prevent extremism’

September 8, 2017 China Children, China, Communism, Islamic extremism, Sinicisation, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Xi Jinping

China has passed a new set of rules regulating religious affairs, a year after the proposed amendments were released to the public for the first time. The new rules, announced yesterday, show no significant alterations to last year’s proposals, though there is noticeably less detail given regarding those who will be . . . Read More

Christian children in Iran told: ‘study Islam or leave school’

September 8, 2017 Iran Children, Church of Iran, Ebrahim Firouzi, Eskander Rezaie, Iran, Islamic extremism, Karaj, Maryam Naghash Zargaran, Mohammad Reza Omidi, Rasht, Saheb Fadaie, Shiraz, Soroush Saraei, Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Youcef Nadarkhani

Christian children in two large Iranian cities have been told to either study Shia Islam or leave school. The children are members of the non-Trinitarian ‘Church of Iran’ denomination in the northern city of Rasht, near the Caspian Sea, and the historical southern city of Shiraz, respectively. Until recently the . . . Read More

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

Central Asian mother beaten while pregnant, afraid to lose her child – for being a Christian

September 6, 2017 Central Asia, Divorce, Islamic extremism, Sharia, Women

The narrow room in the old hostel in this Central Asian city is too small for the four women who live there: 23-year-old Sameda*, her mother, sister, and little daughter. Although they are in the capital, their room has no access to water or gas, and the authorities refuse to . . . Read More

Malaysia withdraws law clause that could have ‘resolved inter-faith child custody conflicts’

August 25, 2017 Malaysia Converts, Divorce, Islamic extremism, Malaysia, Marriage, Sharia

A Muslim family in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: Open Doors International)

Malaysia’s government has removed a clause from the new Marriage and Divorce Law that would have prohibited the conversion of children to Islam with consent of just one parent after conservative Muslims protested against it, reports the Malay Mail Online. The new Article 88 (A) had stated that should a non-Muslim . . . Read More

Egypt: Copts worship in streets after clashes over church permit

August 23, 2017 Egypt Anba Macarius, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Kom El-Loufy, Samalut

Tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians in a village in Upper Egypt have reportedly softened following clashes at the weekend. Copts in the village of Ezbat Al-Forn, in the Minya governorate, were stopped from holding mass at a private home on Sunday (20 August) because they had no permit. Local . . . Read More

Kenyan Christians killed for refusing to recite Islamic Shahada

August 22, 2017 Kenya Al-Shabaab, Boni, Garissa, Islamic extremism, Kenya, Lamu, Mandera, Mpeketoni, Pandaguo, Somalia, Tana River, Uhuru Kenyatta, Westgate

Three Kenyan Christians were hacked to death by Al-Shabaab militants on Friday night (18 August) after they refused to recite the Islamic prayer of faith. A fourth Christian – the mentally challenged older brother of one of the three – was also killed. At around 9pm, Changawa Muthemba, who was . . . Read More

Iran’s clerics concerned by spread of Christianity among youth

August 22, 2017 Iran Converts, Iran, Islamic extremism, Mashhad, Qom, Youth

Despite the efforts of Iran’s government to promote Islam among young people and a crackdown on newly converted Christians, many young Iranians continue to convert, saying they are willing to face the consequences. (Photo: Open Doors International)

Christianity is spreading fast among young people in some of Iran’s most religiously conservative cities, causing concern among leading Islamic clerics, who blame foreign influence, according to Mohabat News. One high profile cleric, Ayatollah Alavi Boroujerdi, said recently that “accurate reports indicate that the youth are becoming Christians in Qom . . . Read More

Pakistan: illiterate Christian boy, 16, forced to confess ‘blasphemy’ to escape mob violence

August 21, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Bonded labourers, Gujranwala, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Nabeel Masih, Pakistan, Quran, Rimsha Masih

An angry Pakistani mob almost killed a 16-year-old Christian boy – who is completely illiterate and also slightly mentally challenged – for allegedly burning the pages of a Quran. He was then apparently forced to confess to the alleged crime, and is now in custody – despite apparent inconsistencies in . . . Read More

Egypt: ‘Copts barred from church by police’

August 21, 2017 Egypt Anba Macarius, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Kom El-Loufy, Minya, Samalut

In Minya, south of Cairo, 15 Coptic churches have been closed by security order, and some 70 villages and hamlets have no church or any place to hold Christian worship. (Photo: Open Doors International)

The 400 Coptic Christians in Ezbat Al-Forn, a village in Egypt’s Minya governorate, can no longer access their church after they were stopped from holding Sunday mass and banned from the premises by police yesterday (20 August), according to Coptic news site Watani. When the Copts started chanting “Kyrie Eleison . . . Read More

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