Call to the European Church to stand with refugees

Call to the European Church to stand with refugees
As Europe struggles to manage the migrant crisis, some church leaders in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq are saying that some refugees are ‘fed up with Islam’ because Gulf countries aren’t offering them help. These leaders’ message to the European Church is ‘be prepared’ to welcome the many Muslims who are . . . Read More

ISIL in Libya kidnaps more Christians

The Islamic State has released news that it kidnapped three African Christians in Libya, says Reuters. In a statement on social media, IS said the men are from Egypt, Nigeria and Ghana. The group published the men’s passport pictures for verification. They are believed to have been captured around 11 . . . Read More

86 Eritrean Christians kidnapped by ISIS

Islamic State has kidnapped 86 Eritrean Christians in Libya, including 12 women, according to the Stockholm-based International Commission on Eritrean Refugees (ICER). The militants ambushed a vehicle carrying Eritrean refugees to Tripoli, before separating out the Christians from the Muslims by testing their knowledge of the Quran. Meron Estefanos, a . . . Read More

EU ‘must do more’ to stop religious freedom abuses

Left to right: MEP Dennis de Jong, USCIRF’s Katrina Lantos Swett, EEAS’s Silvio Gonzato, and MEP Peter van Dalen at the report’s launch in Brussels on 3 June.Courtesy European Parliament Intergroup   The new European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, said in October 2014 that upholding the . . . Read More

Libya: ‘a country where Christians shouldn’t come’

Libya: ‘a country where Christians shouldn’t come’
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been engulfed by conflicts between various coalitions of armed groups.Photo courtesy Open Doors International Migrants and refugees in Libya are increasingly facing widespread abuse and persecution on religious grounds, a report by Amnesty International has revealed. Foreign nationals travelling irregularly . . . Read More

Another Copt beheaded in Libya

Libyan security forces have found the beheaded body of another Egyptian Coptic Christian, Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency reports. Discovered Mar. 2 on the outskirts of Mechili town in eastern Libya, the body was identified by his cousins as Mansour Saad Awad, who had been working at a poultry . . . Read More

Copts aid Egyptians’ evacuation from Libya

The Coptic Church has set up a “crisis unit” in order to facilitate rapid evacuation and repatriation of Egyptians still present in Libya – starting with those most affected by the fighting. Families of the expatriates have been urged to provide information to the Crisis Committee before Feb. 28. According . . . Read More