(The Guardian) — A church in northern China was demolished this week, the second in less than a month, sparking fears of a wider campaign against Christians as authorities prepare to enforce new laws on religion. Police cordoned off the area around the Golden Lampstand Church church in Linfen, Shanxi province, on Sunday before construction […]
(World Watch Monitor) — The European Court of Human Rights ruled last month that an Iranian who sought asylum in Switzerland based on religious grounds could be deported to his home country because his life was not in danger, despite various reports detailing how Iran persecutes religious minorities and converts to Christianity. Human Rights advocate […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of State has announced its annual designation of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) based on observance of ongoing violations of religious freedom. “In far too many places around the globe, people continue to be persecuted, unjustly prosecuted or imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief,” spokesperson Heather […]
KANO, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – A Christian woman and her adult daughter face kidnapping charges filed to pressure them into following the family patriarch’s conversion to Islam, sources said. Amina Isa, 40, of Kano state’s Gidan Kuran village in Tudun Wada Local Government Area, told Morning Star News that her husband left Christianity to […]
(Middle East Concern) — Algerian Christians request prayer following several incidents in which churches and individual Christians have faced increased restrictions, raising concerns that these pressures signal a coordinated campaign of intensified action against churches by the governing authorities. Three believers were arrested in Chlef, 200 km north-west of Algiers, during the third week of […]
EZHOU, Hubei (China Aid) — A persecuted church in China’s central Hubei province is meeting on the streets and meeting in church members’ homes after their landlord refused to renew their lease. Earlier this year, Yanji Christian Church began meeting outside when government officials prohibited them from entering their building. On several occasions, people hired by […]
LONDON — Prosecutors have decided to drop a criminal charge against a Nigerian pastor and missionary who was to have been put on trial for violating the UK Public Order Act in upsetting hearers by preaching against Islam. “I was interviewed, charged and [set to be] put on trial for being a hate preacher. I have […]
(World Watch Monitor) — Three-year-old Anita Sihotang is still too scared to leave her house. It has been just over a year since a terrorist threw a Molotov cocktail into the grounds of the church yard where she was playing in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province. The explosion killed one of her friends, two-year-old Intan Banjarnahor, […]
Myanmar (Mission Network News) – Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is facing harsh international criticism for its persecution of the Muslim Rohingya people. But what’s less known is the fierce persecution that Christians also suffer in Myanmar. Greg Kelley with World Mission explains, “The persecution that [Christians] face there is different. It’s in the form […]
(Morning Star News) – A former sheikh (Islamic teacher) in eastern Uganda has been in hiding since he lost his family for putting his faith in Christ two years ago, but last month he was tricked into a life-threatening encounter. Mulangira Ibrahim, 27, was on his way to his pastor’s house after a church service […]