IS leaflets spread in Pakistan; 1200 Christians displaced as army attacked militants

IS leaflets spread in Pakistan; 1200 Christians displaced as army attacked militants
Qissa Khanni Bazaar in Peshawar, Pakistan. ‎November‎ ‎2008 EUPK/ Flickr / Creative Commons   In what looks like a bid to extend its influence in the South Asian region, IS militants have allegedly distributed 12-page pamphlets in the north-west of Pakistan, in Peshawar and in Afghan refugee camps based near . . . Read More

Two Finnish Christian aid workers killed in Afghanistan

Two Finnish Christian aid workers killed in Afghanistan
Two Finnish women working for a Christian aid charity have been killed by gunmen in Herat, Afghanistan; both had worked in Afghanistan for 16 years, having arrived there together in March 1997. Two men, travelling by motorcycle, shot two women, who worked for the International Assistance Mission, IAM – while . . . Read More

Pressure on Christians grew in 2013

Pressure on Christians grew in 2013
More than ever, some of the hardest places for Christians to live are fragile or failed states where militant Islamist movements flourish, according to an annual report on Christian religious freedom. Pressure on Christians intensified worldwide in 2013, according to Open Doors International, a charity that provides support to Christians . . . Read More

The rise of Islamic extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus

The rise of Islamic extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus
Islamic extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus will further increase in the next few years, predicts a new report by Anna Münster, a Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House. US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014, and expected regime changes in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan threaten to . . . Read More

‘Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians’

‘Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians’
This is a book designed to show that “Christians are the single most widely persecuted religious group in the world today” (p4). With that aim, three authors well known in the field of religious advocacy give the reader the ultimate global briefing on the causes, patterns and trends in the persecution . . . Read More

Top 10 Stories of 2011

Top 10 Stories of 2011
Unceasing, accelerating incidents of bloodshed in Nigeria topped World Watch Monitor’s top 10 news stories of 2011 as Boko Haram and other Islamic extremists lashed out at Christians. Following this top news story was the assassination of Pakistan’s only Christian cabinet member in March 2011; the upholding of the death . . . Read More

Persecution increased most in Sudan, Nigeria, report says

Persecution increased most in Sudan, Nigeria, report says
Sudan and northern Nigeria saw steeper increases in persecution against Christians than 48 other nations where Christians suffered abuse last year, according to an annual ranking by Christian support organization Open Doors. Sudan – where northern Christians experienced greater vulnerability after southern Sudan seceded in a July referendum, and where . . . Read More