Tag: Islamic State

Muslims condemn killings of Copts, as more flee

February 28, 2017 Egypt Al-Nour Party, Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Ismailia, Sinai, Suez

An ultra-conservative Islamic political party in Egypt, Al-Nour, has publicly condemned the killings of Copts in northern Sinai, saying they “go against the teaching of Islam”. The House of Fatwa, chaired by the Grand Mufti of Egypt, also condemned the murders, saying they are “sabotaging” national unity. Coptic families have . . . Read More

Islamic extremism causing fresh concerns in the Philippines

February 27, 2017 Philippines Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Islamic State, Manila, Mindanao, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Rodrigo Duterte, Seventh-day Adventists, Southeast Asia

Christians in the Philippines are concerned at a rise in Islamic extremism in the country. A local church leader, who wished to remain anonymous, told World Watch Monitor about a recent meeting of around 3,000 Islamists on one island – the name of which he wouldn’t say, for fear of . . . Read More

Copts flee El-Arish after sixth murder in month

February 24, 2017 Egypt Cairo, Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Islamic State, Mohamed Morsi, Sinai, Suez

Egyptian Christians are beginning to flee Sinai’s largest city, El-Arish, after yet another Copt was killed there, reports Watani. Kamel Youssef, a 40 year old plumber, yesterday (23 Feb) became the latest victim, according to AP, which said militants stormed his home and shot him dead in front of his . . . Read More

Iraqi Christian homes ‘looted after IS left’

February 23, 2017 Iraq Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh

Armed forces fighting Islamic State (IS) near Mosul “looted, damaged and destroyed homes” belonging to displaced Iraqis, including Christians, Human Rights Watch said this week. The New York-based agency used satellite imagery and took witness statements, and concluded that looting and destruction took place in the weeks after IS militants had . . . Read More

Trump travel ban dints Iraqi Christians’ support

February 23, 2017 Iraq Assyrians, Dohuk, Donald Trump, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Kurds, USA

Iraqi Christians who backed the candidacy of Donald Trump have become disillusioned with his presidency since his executive order barred Iraqis, along with citizens of six other Muslim-majority countries, from entering the US. Many Iraqi minorities supported Trump because of his anti-Islamic State rhetoric. The Assyrian Church of the East’s . . . Read More

‘IS’ kills Coptic father and son in Sinai

February 22, 2017 Egypt Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Islamic State, Sinai

Two more Coptic Christians have been killed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Egyptian security officials said suspected militants were responsible, as AP reports. This comes days after the Islamic State threatened to wipe out Christians from Egypt and following the murder of two other Copts in Sinai. Saad Hana, 65, was . . . Read More

IS to cast long shadow over Iraqi civilians

February 17, 2017 Iraq Anbar, Fallujah, Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul

Violence and deep division will continue to imperil Iraqi civilians long after Islamic State (IS) is driven out from the territory it captured, according to a lengthy dispatch from the devastated Iraqi city of Fallujah. After The Caliphate, published on BuzzFeed, quotes a senior official in Fallujah, Taleb al-Hosnawi, warning that . . . Read More

Another Copt killed ‘by Islamic State’ in Sinai

February 16, 2017 Egypt Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Sinai

A Coptic Christian teacher has been killed in the city of El-Arish in Egypt’s North Sinai province, four days after the murder of a Coptic vet. Gamal Tawfiq, 50, was gunned down on his way to school this morning (16 Feb), reports AP. His murder follows that of Bahgat Zakhar . . . Read More

Iraqi Christian refugees protest against UNHCR resettlement delays

February 15, 2017 Iraq IDPs, Islamic State, Lebanon, Refugees, UN

Dozens of Iraqi Christians in Lebanon protested in central Beirut this week, demanding the UN to grant them quicker resettlement abroad. Between 150 and 200 demonstrators gathered outside a UN building, carrying placards that read: “the future of our children is wasted” and “our only demand is to [go] . . . Read More

‘UN failing religious minorities and Christian converts’

February 15, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Blasphemy, China, Genocide, Indonesia, Islamic State, Myanmar, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, UN

The suffering of persecuted Christians around the world is exacerbated by the failure of UN bodies to fulfil their obligations to uphold religious freedom, a damning report has claimed. The 27-page report, starkly entitled The UN’s Failure to Promote and Protect Religious Freedom, argues that concerns about the protection of . . . Read More

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