Tag: Libya

6 years on: what has the Arab Spring meant for Christians?

December 20, 2016 Arab Spring, Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Iraq, Libya, Middle East, Muammar Gaddafi, Syria, Tunisia

Demonstrators on the streets of Cairo, Egypt in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, November 2012. World Watch Monitor The Arab Spring, which began 17 December, 2010, started with a wave of protests in Tunisia, followed by other Arab countries. It was positively acclaimed as a social movement demanding an . . . Read More

Libyan Christian arrested for proselytising

November 8, 2016 Libya Benghazi, Blasphemy, Converts, Islamic extremism, Libya, Sharia

A Libyan man who converted to Christianity has been arrested in the eastern city of Benghazi, local sources have confirmed to World Watch Monitor. The man is accused of “proselytising on social media and denigrating Islam”. His arrest was announced on the Facebook page of a branch of Libya’s General . . . Read More

Rising Islamist militancy across Sahel belt threatens African Christianity

September 8, 2016 Agadez, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine, Beatrice Stockly, Islamic extremism, Ivory Coast, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Muammar Gaddafi, Niger, Sahel, Timbuktu, Tuareg, West Africa

More than 70 churches, as well as Christian homes, schools and orphanages,were burned down by Islamists in Niger in January 2015.World Watch Monitor As the world focusses on potential military advances against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, it risks overlooking another vast region where militant Islam is . . . Read More

Freedom of religion or belief ‘undermined’ in corrupt countries

June 2, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Asia-Pacific, Central Asia, Colombia, Corruption, David Cameron, Eastern Europe, Europe, G20, Libya, London, Mexico, Middle East, Nigeria, North Africa, Religious freedom, Somalia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan, Yemen

Corruption is increasingly seen as a factor behind the persecution of minority Christians around the world, and the world leaders who gathered at an Anti-Corruption Summit in London in May showed they are beginning to pay more attention to the effects of corruption on freedom of religion or belief. Evidence . . . Read More

EU alliance with ‘unsavoury’ African leaders

May 18, 2016 Africa, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Europe, Khartoum, Libya, Migrants, Omar al-Bashir, Refugees, Sudan

European politicians, under pressure to reduce the exodus of African refugees, have now begun providing equipment and training to the security forces of Sudan, whose President is wanted for war crimes, says . The magazine says it has seen leaked documents from talks that took place on 23 March between . . . Read More

Year since Libya, Christians move closer to unity

February 15, 2016 Egypt Bishop Angaelos, Copts, Egypt, Libya, Middle East, North Africa, Pope Tawadros II

A year ago today (15 Feb.), 20 Coptic Christians and one Ghanaian killed by Islamic jihadists in Libya were announced as martyred saints by the Coptic Pope, Tawadros III of Egypt. The head of the ancient Church, the largest in the Middle East and key within its branch of Oriental Orthodoxy, said . . . Read More

2016 World Watch List drawn from world headlines

January 13, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Bibles, BJP, Boko Haram, Central Asia, Charlie Hebdo, Churches, Egypt, Hindu nationalism, India, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Kenya, Libya, Middle East, Mosul, Niger, Nigeria, Nineveh Plains, North Korea, Paris, Sub-Saharan Africa

Some of the most urgent headlines of the past 12 months, from the global spread of jihadist violence to North Korea’s test of a putative atomic weapon, intersect with an updated list of the most difficult places to live as a Christian. For the 14th straight year, North Korea is . . . Read More

5 years on: what has the Arab Spring meant for Christians?

December 17, 2015 Arab Spring, Copts, Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Iraq, Islamic State, Libya, Middle East, Muammar Gaddafi, Muslim Brotherhood, North Africa, Ramadan, Syria, Tunisia

The Arab Spring, which began five years ago today (17th December) started with a wave of protests in Tunisia followed by other Arab countries. It was positively acclaimed as a social movement demanding an end to human rights violations, government corruption and poverty. Yet, so far, the outcome is largely contrary to . . . Read More

Egyptian brothers add to tally of Christians killed in Libya

December 16, 2015 Egypt Ansar al-Sharia, Copts, Egypt, Islamic State, Libya, Sohag

Today, 16 December, is the date set for the signing of a UN-facilitated agreement on forming a new national unity government in Libya. Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been engulfed by conflicts between various coalitions of armed groups. The country is split between an . . . Read More

Egypt church goes ahead despite opposition

October 6, 2015 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Copts, Egypt, Islamic State, Libya

A church commemorating the beheading of 20 Coptic Christians and one Ghanaian by the Islamic State in Libya has finally received the go-ahead by government authorities, seven months after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi ordered its construction. Coptic newspaper Watani quoted local priest Fr. Maqar Eissa saying that all building and . . . Read More

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