Tag: Islamic State

Church names 21 Christians IS killed in Qaryatain

April 25, 2016 Syria Islamic State, Qaryatain, Raqqa, Syria

The Syriac Orthodox Church has published names of the 21 Christians it said were killed by the ‘Islamic State’ during its 8 month occupation of the Syrian town of al-Qaryatain. IS had captured the town (92 km southeast of Homs) in August 2015, before it was recaptured by the Syrian . . . Read More

Hate speech fuels violence vs. Turkish non-Muslims

April 22, 2016 Turkey Armenians, Churches, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Kurds, Minorities, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Religious freedom, Sunni, Turkey

A new report analysing freedom of religion or belief in Turkey faults both strong nationalism and the Erdogan government’s public endorsement of a Sunni Muslim identity for rising levels of hate speech against the nation’s religious minorities. According to studies cited in the April report by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, “religious . . . Read More

UK Parliament votes that Islamic State commits ‘genocide’

April 21, 2016 Europe, Genocide, Iraq, Islamic State, Syria, UK

The UK Parliament has joined US Secretary of State John Kerry, US House of Representatives, the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in describing the actions of Islamic State (or Da’esh) as genocide. A motion, passed on Wed 20 April by 280 votes to 0, . . . Read More

Islamic extremism on rise in Philippines

April 18, 2016 Philippines Abu Sayyaf, Indonesia, Islamic State, Malaysia, Mindanao, Philippines, Southeast Asia

Islamic extremism is growing in the southern Philippines, with alarming implications for the rest of Asia, reports . For more than four decades, Islamist groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the Mindanao island group of southern Philippines. Several have now , while one of . . . Read More

REPORT: The impact of Christians leaving Middle East

April 18, 2016 Iraq, Islamic State, Migrants, Refugees, Syria

War and persecution has led to a haemorrhaging of Christians from the Middle East, particularly from Syria and Iraq. A new report highlights what the region stands to lose should Christians continue to leave. The report, compiled by a trio of Christian charities and a university, argues that Christians are an . . . Read More

Patriarch in ‘freed’ Syrian town: ‘IS killed 21’

April 11, 2016 Syria Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Qaryatain, Syria

A visit by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch to the Syrian town of Qaryatain has shed light on on the town, . Twenty-one Christians were murdered and another 300 Christians remained in the town after IS over-ran it in August 2015, . The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch said some died while trying . . . Read More

Iraqi Christian militia fighting ISIS

April 11, 2016 Iraq Baghdad, Iraq, Islamic State, Nineveh Plains

A group of Christians in Iraq has formed its own militia to defend themselves against the so-called Islamic State, . The Babylon Brigade of the Iraq Christian Resistance, headquartered in Baghdad, is the only Christian militia among about 30 Shia and Sunni Muslim outfits that have sprung up over the . . . Read More

ISIS loses Syrian town with Christian legacy

April 5, 2016 Syria Homs, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Qaryatain, Syria

The Syrian government has claimed victory over the Islamic State in Qaryatain, a Syrian town with a notable Christian presence. “Army units, backed by the Syrian and Russian Air Forces, restored security to Qaryatain and the farms surrounding it in south-eastern Homs,” . Islamic State’s apparent loss of Qaryatain comes . . . Read More

Priest’s crucifixion rumours false, says India’s Foreign Minister

April 4, 2016 Yemen Aden, Islamic State, Kidnapping, Tom Uzhunnalil, Yemen

Mathew Uzhunnalil, left, the older brother of kidnapped priest Thomas Uzhunnallil, talks with their cousin, V.A. Thomas, in the family home in Kerala state, India.World Watch Monitor UPDATE (4 April) India’s government has said rumours that a kidnapped Catholic priest was crucified on Good Friday are false, and promised . . . Read More

Assyrian Christian girl released in Syria

March 29, 2016 Syria Assyrians, Hasakah, Islamic State, Khabur, Qaryatain, Syria

An Assyrian Christian girl taken hostage 13 months ago by Islamic State (IS) militants in northeast Syria‘s Hasakah province has been set free after “intense negotiations” for her release. Miriam David Talya, who had been captured with more than 250 other Khabur villagers in Feb. 2015, arrived in Tel Tamar . . . Read More

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