Recent News
These are the latest news stories.
UGANDA: Former Muslim Extremist Flees Wrath of Ex-Colleagues
A former member of a Muslim extremist group in Uganda who converted to Christianity is in hiding in Kenya, his movements severely restricted following threats to kill him. Hassan Sharif Lubenga, 54, was a sheikh and member of the Buk Haram, a violent group of Islamists whose name suggests that the Bible is corrupt and therefore forbidden. Originally from Chengera, seven kilometres from Kampala, the husband to four wives began his conversion process four years ago; in June 2011, he said, after dreams and visions in which Jesus appeared to him, he made a full commitment to follow Christ. In 2009, he said, a message from Jesus came to him in a vision: 'Do not hide your Christian faith.' Within a few months, a threatening letter arrived: 'If you do not join Islamic Jihad, then we shall kill you.' [more...]
IRAN: Christian Convert Sentenced to Two Years in Prison
Leila Mohammadi, a Christian convert, has been sentenced to two years’ prison after enduring 5 months of uncertainty in notorious Evin prison. Her trial was held on 18 January where she was charged with "collaboration with foreign-dependent groups, broad anti-Islamic propaganda, deceiving citizens by formation of what is called a house church, Insulting sacred figures and action against national security." She was acquitted of collaboration with foreign-dependent groups because the judge believed she had done that unintentionally. For the other charges she was sentenced to two years in prison.
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SOMALIA: Islamists Arrest a Muslim Father After His Sons Convert to Christianity
On 14 January Somali Islamists arrested a Muslim father after two of his teenage children converted to Christianity in Kismayo, Somalia. The two sons of Mo’alim Mohamud Aw-Omar converted to Christianity late last year. They fled their homes following their conversion. Members of the radical Islamic group, al-Shabaab, accused Aw-Omar of “failing to raise his sons as good Muslims” because “good Muslims cannot convert to Christianity.” Aw-Omar, who is still a Muslim, insisted that his sons have memorised the Koran, fasted and prayed regularly and therefore he should not be accused of failing his duties. [more...]
EGYPT : Mob Sets Christian Homes Alight Over 'Phone Image
A 3,000-strong mob attacked a Christian village near Alexandria, looting shops and homes and then setting them alight. The attack on Kobry-el-Sharbat on Friday 27 January followed rumours that a Christian man, Mourad Samy Guirgis, had an 'intimate' photo of a Muslim woman on his mobile phone. Two Christians and one Muslim were reported to have been hospitalised after the attack, which began mid-afternoon. [more...]
“But God is with us”
“Christians are like bed bugs, who hide under the guise of so-called missionary work and drink the blood of innocent vulnerable people, and bed bugs should be killed ...” According to World magazine, these words were spoken at a February 2011 Hindu nationalist event in India attended by an estimated two million people. Volunteers distributed literature calling on Christians to convert to Hinduism. Attacks against Christians continue in India. In 2010, more than 159 Christians were attacked in 11 Indian states. The heaviest persecution occurred in Karnataka state, which accounted for 59 of the 159 attacks, according to VOM contacts. In June 2011, there were attacks against Christians and churches in at least five Indians states. [more...]
UGANDA: Girl Tortured by Her Father for Her Faith Walks Again
A 15-year-old Christian girl in Uganda is slowly regaining the use of her legs after her father, in an attempt to make her convert back to Islam, confined her in a small room and deprived her of adequate food and water. Susan Ithungu was locked in a room for six months after accepting Christ as her Saviour in 2010. She weighed just 20 kilograms when she was finally rescued after her brother informed neighbours of his sister’s life-threatening condition. [more...]
PAKISTAN: Two Imprisoned Christians Released
Blasphemy charges against 74-year-old Rehmat Masih have been dropped while a Christian woman who was brutally beaten by police while pregnant has been released on bail due to lack of evidence. The elderly believer arrested in June 2010 under Pakistan’s contentious blasphemy law, which is often used to persecute Christians in the predominantly Muslim nation, was released after 18 months in prison. [more...]
SUDAN: Church Leaders May Face Arrest
Sharing Christ could land pastors in prison as Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments has threatened to arrest church leaders if they carry out evangelistic activities and fail to provide their names and contact information.
The threats were sent by letter to church leaders of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) shortly after the New Year. It arrived just a few days after Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in Darfur, told cheering crowds that following the secession of the largely non-Islamic south Sudan last July, the country’s constitution will be more deeply entrenched in Shariah, or Islamic, law. [more...]
AZERBAIJAN: New laws Attempt to Repress the Gospel
Believers in Azerbaijan who distribute religious material that hasn’t been through compulsory state censorship will now face prison terms of two to five years or fines equivalent to nine years’ minimum wage salary. The punishments were included in proposed amendments to the Criminal and Administrative Codes, which were prepared by the powerful Presidential Administration. [more...]
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INDIA: Karnataka Most Dangerous State for Christians
Christmas and New Year’s holidays in the south Indian state of Karnataka brought a dramatic increase in attacks on believers, and the state was identified as the most unsafe place for Christians for the third consecutive year. There were 49 cases of violence and hostility against Christians in the state last year, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s annual report. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported there were at least six anti-Christian attacks between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day alone. [more...]
CHINA: New Year Brings Renewed Efforts to Prevent Worship at Shouwang Church
Christian believers at Beijing Shouwang Church, who had arranged an outdoor worship service after the government continued to thwart their efforts to rent premises to worship indoors, were harassed, detained and prevented from worshipping together on 1 January. The church has long been a target for the oppressive government. Believers report that at least 49 Christians were taken into custody either before they were able to depart for the outdoor service or as they made their way there. Most believers were sent to 13 local police stations. Many were released home late that night and all were released by 3 January. [more...]
IRAN: Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani refuses to Compromise Faith for Release
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani recently refused to state that the Muslim prophet Muhammad was a messenger sent by God despite the fact that it would have secured his release. On 30 December, local authorities said they would release the pastor if he agreed to make the statement, but the pastor rejected the offer and remains in prison awaiting a final decision on his case. The request violates article 23 of the Iranian Constitution, which states that no one should be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief. [more...]
YEMEN: Pray for Missing Christians
December 2011, marked two-and-a-half years since the kidnapping of nine foreigners in Saada, north-west Yemen, three of whom were murdered shortly afterwards. There continues to be no news of Johannes and Sabine (a German couple), Simon (their son, age 3) or of Tony (a British man). Lydia and Anna (7 and 5, daughters of Johannes and Sabine) who were freed in May 2010 are with relatives in Germany and are reported to be in good health. It is reportedly a challenge for these relatives to function as Lydia and Anna's parents in light of their unique needs and in the context of the other children in their home. [more...]
PAKISTAN: Christian Sentenced to Death Fasting, Praying and Forgiving
Asia Bibi, a Christian wife and mother sentenced to die for allegedly committing blasphemy against Islam, says she has forgiven those who are persecuting her. She recently told a Pakistani journalist, who asked her a list of questions prepared by an American journalist, that she spends her time praying and fasting for her family and other persecuted Christians. [more...]
SOMALIA: Convert from Islam Whipped in Public
A Somali convert from Islam was paraded before a cheering crowd last month and publicly flogged as a punishment for embracing a “foreign religion,” sources said. Sofia Osman, a 28-year-old Christian from Janale city in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region, had been taken into custody by Islamic extremist al Shabaab militants in November; the public whipping was meant to mark her release. She received 40 lashes on 22 December while jeered by spectators. [more...]
NIGERIA: Radical Muslims Kill 29 Christians in Two Days
Members of the radical Islamic group, Boko Haram, have killed a further 29 Christians in two days. Twenty Christians were gunned down on 6 January while holding a meeting to discuss ways to transport a body of a fellow Christian who was killed in an attack a day earlier. The martyrs in the 5 January attack were attending a worship service at Deeper Life Church in Gombe when the attack took place. The wife of the church’s pastor was among the martyrs. [more...]
INDONESIA: Anti-Christian Incidents Nearly Doubled in 2011
Acts of violence and intolerance against Christians in Indonesia almost doubled in 2011, with an Islamist campaign to close down churches symbolising the plight of the religious minority. The Indonesian Protestant Church Union, locally known as PGI, counted 54 acts of violence and other violations against Christians in 2011, up from 30 in 2010. The number of such incidents against religious minorities in general also grew, from 198 in 2010 to 276 in 2011, but the worst is perhaps yet to come if authorities continue to overlook the threat of extremism, said a representative from the Jakarta-based Wahid Institute, a Muslim organisation that promotes tolerance. [more...]
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A former member of a Muslim extremist group in Uganda who converted to Christianity is in hiding
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