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Pakistan Supreme Court confirms decision to drop blasphemy case

Pakistan Supreme Court confirms decision to drop blasphemy case
The Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out an appeal to reopen a blasphemy case against a Christian teen who had been accused of burning pages containing verses from the Quran. Rimsha Masih had been acquitted of the charges in November by the High Court in Islamabad.  The lower court’s decision was appealed . . . Read More

Africa rises on World Watch List of worst persecutors

Africa rises on World Watch List of worst persecutors
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

China’s Christians seize internet opportunities

China’s Christians seize internet opportunities
Chinese Christians are sharing their faith on Weibo, China’s giant, state-regulated, social network – and some are beginning to challenge the censor by speaking out against religious persecution. When Christian band Rainbow Come appeared on China’s equivalent of “The X Factor,” Christians turned to social networking to drum up votes . . . Read More

Gunmen kill 12 Nigerian Christmas-Eve worshipers

Gunmen kill 12 Nigerian Christmas-Eve worshipers
UPDATE: In two separate attacks, gunmen shot and killed 12 worshippers who had gathered for Christmas-Eve services. One attack occurred in the northeaster Nigerian state of Yobe. Among the dead was the church’s pastor, according to news reports. The second attack occurred at a Baptist church in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. . . . Read More

Book review: ‘Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack’

Book review: ‘Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack’
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

Finally, Istanbul gives Syriac Christians a place to build: a cemetery

Finally, Istanbul gives Syriac Christians a place to build: a cemetery
Three years after a Syrian Orthodox foundation applied to build a church in Istanbul, the Greater Istanbul Municipality has granted them a large plot of land and a building permit. Banner headlines in the Turkish media praised the early-December decision as “a first in the history of the Republic,” declaring . . . Read More