Turkish public education system to offer class in Christianity for first time

Turkish public education system to offer class in Christianity for first time
The Turkish education system’s mandatory religion classes are not fair to students who do not follow the country’s majority Sunni Islam and must amend its policies, according to a recent verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). As Turkey is a signatory of the European Convention on Human . . . Read More

Killing in Kessab

Further details have emerged of what’s been happening since the invasion of Kessab by Islamist rebels, which sent thousands of Syrians fleeing the predominantly Armenian Christian town. According to a World Watch Monitor source 23-year-old Kevork Jourian was killed by members of Syrian rebel groups as they were searching for guns . . . Read More

3000 Syrian Christians flee Armenian village as Islamist rebels take control

3000 Syrian Christians flee Armenian village as Islamist rebels take control
An Armenian* Syrian pastor, whose family is from Kessab, close to Syria’s northern border with Turkey, has reported that they have fled the village after Syrian rebel jihadists took control of the area. The fighting in the predominantly Armenian Christian town started Friday March 21st. World Watch Monitor has seen . . . Read More

Archbishop of Canterbury and UK Foreign Office Minister alerted to need of Syrian Christians

Archbishop of Canterbury and UK Foreign Office Minister alerted to need of Syrian Christians
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the UK Foreign Office Minister responsible for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), have both acknowledged the findings of a report which says that Christians in Syria are increasingly targeted and vulnerable to persecution, amidst the on-going conflict there. Syria: Church on . . . Read More

Iranian Christians face ‘systematic persecution and prosecution’

Iranian Christians face ‘systematic persecution and prosecution’
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani greets his wife Fatemah after his release from prison in September 2012.Nadarkhani family for World Watch Monitor   Iran’s treatment of its Christian minority has come under fresh scrutiny in recent months with some damning verdicts on the country’s human rights record. Reports from the UK’s Foreign . . . Read More

Iranian authorities shut church in Tehran

Iranian authorities shut church in Tehran
Authorities in Iran this week ordered the closure of a church in the capital, Tehran, amid a government campaign to crack down on the few recognized churches offering Farsi-speaking services, according to a human rights group. The order came from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Intelligence branch on Tuesday (June 5). The . . . Read More

Churches forced to stop Farsi worship in Tehran, Iran

Churches forced to stop Farsi worship in Tehran, Iran
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has ordered the last two officially registered churches holding Friday Farsi-language services in Tehran to discontinue them. Emmanuel Protestant Church and St. Peter’s Evangelical Church were the last two official churches offering Farsi-language services on Fridays in Tehran, according to Middle East Concern (MEC). Officials issued . . . Read More