Tag: Islamic extremism

Africa rises on World Watch List of worst persecutors

January 8, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Al-Qaeda, Arab Spring, Bashar al-Assad, Boko Haram, Egypt, Eritrea, Hindu nationalism, Islamic extremism, Kenya, Mali, Mao Zedong, Niger, Nigeria, Sharia, Somalia, Syria, Tanzania, Uganda

Africa, where Christianity spread fastest during the past century, now is the region where oppression of Christians is spreading fastest, a new report says. The two-year-old Arab Spring has toppled autocrats across Northern Africa, but it also has energized militant Islamist movements that have killed hundreds of Christians and endanger . . . Read More

Book review: ‘Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack’

December 21, 2012 Global News -- No Particular Country Al-Qaeda, Arab Spring, China, Egypt, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Mao Zedong, Middle East, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Nigeria, Prophet Muhammad, Turkey

Jesus warned his followers that they would experience persecution, a prediction that was already coming true before the books of the New Testament were completed. Today, Rupert Shortt, author of Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack, argues, “the greatest curbs on religious freedoms take place in Muslim majority countries.” Take Egypt, . . . Read More

Church of Christ in Nigeria reeling from massacre

July 12, 2012 Nigeria Boko Haram, Church of Christ in Nigeria, Islamic extremism, Nigeria, Plateau

In the Plateau state of central Nigeria, tensions had run high all week between ethnic Fulani, who are mainly Muslim, and ethnic Birom, mainly Christian. It was only the latest outbreak of anger in a decade-long cycle of aggression and reprisals. But this time, anxiety ran high enough that, by . . . Read More

Christian legislator in Pakistan stuck with Muslim ID

June 26, 2012 Pakistan Converts, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Pakistan, Punjab

Pakistan’s rigid system of prohibiting Muslims from changing their religion status on their national ID cards nearly cost a Punjab politician his post – even though he has always been a Christian. Rana Asif Mahmood’s political opponents in April sought to disqualify him from the Punjab Provincial Assembly seat reserved . . . Read More

Islamists bomb three churches in Kaduna, Nigeria

June 17, 2012 Nigeria Bauchi, Boko Haram, Churches, ECWA, Islamic extremism, Jos, Kaduna, Nigeria, Pentecostals, Sabon Gari, Sharia, Zaria

Suspected Islamic extremists bombed three churches in Kaduna state this morning, the third consecutive Sunday that worship services in Nigeria have ended in lethal bloodshed. In a predominantly Christian area of Zaria known as Wusasa, a suspected Islamic extremist crashed a car into a barricade at an Evangelical Church Winning . . . Read More

Christians hail dissolution of Egyptian parliament

June 14, 2012 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Elections, Hosni Mubarak, Islamic extremism, Muslim Brotherhood

Christians in Egypt welcomed today’s court decision to dissolve the Islamist-controlled parliament due to election irregularities. The decision offered hope for Christians, many of whom were convinced the country was about to be handed over to Islamists who would stifle religious freedom and persecute non-Muslims. “Christians are happy, because they . . . Read More

Blast wreaks bloodshed on two churches in Bauchi, Nigeria

June 2, 2012 Nigeria Abuja, Bauchi, Boko Haram, Churches, Islamic extremism, Nigeria, Sharia

A suicide bomber crashed the gate of a church compound in this northern Nigerian city this morning, killing himself and at least 10 others and leaving more than 30 injured, according to eyewitnesses and officials. The Islamic extremist Boko Haram group was suspected of detonating the bomb at the gate . . . Read More

Violence continues in Nigeria as Akinola criticises President

May 29, 2012 Nigeria Islamic extremism, Nigeria, Plateau

In Nigeria’s Plateau state, Christian leaders said more Christians have died at the hands of Muslim extremists than the 35 that the military reported thus far in May. A World Watch Monitor reporter was among a group of journalists that came under attack from Islamic extremists this month. In three . . . Read More

Christian’s six-year sentence upheld

April 27, 2012 Egypt Asyut, Blasphemy, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Prophet Muhammad

A judge in Upper Egypt has upheld a six-year prison sentence for a Coptic Christian wrongly convicted of “blasphemy” against Islam and inciting sectarian strife, his lawyer said. The judge in Assuit on April 5 refused to strike down a Feb. 29 sentence delivered to Makarem Diab, 49, of the . . . Read More

Bible school, church buildings attacked in Sudan

April 26, 2012 Sudan Darfur, Episcopal Church of Sudan, Islamic extremism, Khartoum, Nyala, Omar al-Bashir, Omdurman, South Sudan, Sudan, Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church

Christians faced increased hostilities in Sudan over the past few weeks, culminating in an attack on a Christian compound in Khartoum by a throng of Muslim extremists armed with clubs, iron rods, a bulldozer and fire. Breaking down the compound wall with a bulldozer, the assailants on Saturday (April 21) . . . Read More

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