News

Sort By date

Filter by Tag

Select Country

Category

Burned church is latest in string of Tanzanian attacks

February 25, 2013 Tanzania Butchers, Dar es Salaam, East Africa, Seventh-day Adventists, Zanzibar

Arsonists burned a Tanzania church Feb. 19 in the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, two days after gunmen killed a Catholic priest there. The Evangelical Church of Siloam was set afire early Feb. 19 by an as-yet-unidentified group of people, police spokesman Mohamed Mhina said. No one was hurt and the . . . Read More

Pakistani judge throws out blasphemy charge

February 20, 2013 Pakistan Blasphemy, Minorities, Pakistan, Punjab, Rimsha Masih

A Pakistan court last month surprised all involved when it dismissed charges of blasphemy against a Christian man accused of insulting Islam. The 28 January ruling by a trial court in Punjab province surprised defendant Barkat Masih, his attorney and religious-rights advocates. It came two months after a different judge . . . Read More

No prison, but a bigger fine, for Algerian Christian

February 18, 2013 Algeria

A court in Algeria has thrown out a prison sentence, but has increased a fine, on a man convicted of trying to convert a Muslim to Christianity. Ibouène Mohamed was sentenced in July 2012 to one year in prison and a fine of 50,000 Algerian dinars after he was accused . . . Read More

For a church leader in Mali, relief and anxiety

February 12, 2013 Mali Burkina Faso, Islamic extremism, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Timbuktu, Tuareg

The liberation of the main cities of Northern Mali has created a great sense of relief and joy in the country, but the task of reconstruction and reconciliation is huge. A month after the French offensive, the Malian and African troops have regained control of the main cities in the . . . Read More

2 attacks prompt Christians to stop meeting at Indian church

January 31, 2013 India Hindu nationalism, India, Maharashtra, Mumbai

An uneasy calm prevails 20 miles east of India’s largest city, in a rural village where Hindus recently have twice attacked Christians, who in turn have agreed to stop holding meetings in a prayer hall. The first attack came Dec. 30, when Adivasi tribal Christians living in the village of . . . Read More

Wife worries she won’t hear husband’s voice for 8 years

January 29, 2013 Iran Evin Prison, House churches, Iran, Saeed Abedini, Tehran, USA

The wife of an American citizen sentenced to an Iranian prison for eight years expects she won’t hear from her husband until 2021, unless U.S. pressure is able to pry him free. Naghmeh Shariat Panahi told World Watch Monitor that the last time she heard Saeed Abedini’s voice was Jan. . . . Read More

90 days to freedom

January 28, 2013 Kazakhstan Almaty, Astana, Kazakhstan, Makset Djabbarbergenov, UN, Uzbekistan

For 90 days last autumn, Makset Djabbarbergenov lived in a Kazakh prison cell, under threat of deportation to his native Uzbekistan to face almost-certain years of harsh jail time. His alleged crime: Leading small Christian communities in house churches without official registration. By 2007, this had made “Pastor Makset” a . . . Read More

Threat to burn Bibles in wake of Sultan’s ban on word ‘Allah’

January 24, 2013 Malaysia 'Allah', Apostasy, Bibles, Converts, Islamic extremism, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, The Herald, UMNO

A threat this week to burn Bibles in the Malay language is the latest in a series of attacks on the Christian faith in Malaysia. A note sent to a Christian priest in Butterworth on Tuesday, 22nd January 2013 said a Bible-burning pesta or festival would take place in the . . . Read More

US demands release of American pastor from Iranian prison

January 18, 2013 Iran Ayatollah Khamenei, Evin Prison, House churches, Iran, Religious freedom, Saeed Abedini, USA

Stepping up the urgency of American response, the White House on Friday called on Iran to release a jailed American pastor facing a trial that could send him to the gallows. Saeed Abedini, a native of Iran and a naturalized American citizen, is expected to enter one of Iran’s revolutionary . . . Read More

Police break up plot to assassinate Turkish pastor

January 18, 2013 Turkey Converts, Diyarbakir, Izmit, Malatya, Turkey

Police in Turkey say they thwarted an assassination plot against a Christian pastor Tuesday when they arrested 14 suspects, two of whom had been part of his congregation for more than a year. Emre Karaali, pastor of Izmit Protestant Church and the target of the alleged plot, said two of . . . Read More

Newer Articles 1 … 171 172 173 174 175 … 191 Older Articles

Catching Our Eye