Christian Persecution - Asia Archives

US Christian groups call on Congress to act on behalf of persecuted Myanmar Christians

September 28, 2023

US Christian groups are urgently calling for Congress to address Myanmar’s military junta’s ongoing persecution of Christians, Baptist News Global (BNG) reports. Ruled by the Buddhist extremist Tatmadaw army, which overthrew the country’s democratically elected government in a military coup in 2021, Myanmar ranks 14th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

India: More than 500 attacks Hindu nationalist attacks against Christians recorded in 2023

September 25, 2023

There have been 525 attacks by Hindu nationalists against Christians across India this year alone, Christian Today (CT) reports. Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, India ranks 11TH on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

India: Pastor kept in jail for 23 days on anti-conversion charges with no witnesses

September 25, 2023September 25, 2023

Bowing to pressure from Hindu extremists, and with no evidence or witnesses, authorities in India’s Uttar Pradesh state charged Pastor Bajarang Rawat with forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity, and jailed him for 23 days before releasing him on bail, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

Pakistan Christian Couple Longer In Jail Despite Doubts Over Blasphemy

September 21, 2023

A Christian couple remains in jail in Pakistan’s Punjab province as a judge decided to keep them behind bars for allegedly desecrating the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims, sources told Worthy News.

India: Christian orphanage denied renewed operating permit in Madhya Pradesh state

September 20, 2023

In a move perceived by local church leaders as hostility toward Christianity, authorities in India’s Madhya Pradesh state have refused to renew the permit of Christian orphanage to receive international charitable funding, the Christian Post (CP) reports.

Pakistan: Christian couple detained, charged with blasphemy in Punjab Province

September 18, 2023

A Christian couple in Punjab Province, Pakistan have been charged and detained under the country’s notoriously harsh blasphemy laws, just weeks after mobs of Islamic extremists attacked more than 80 Christian homes and churches in the region, the Christian Post (CP) reports.

Pakistan Police Detain Pastor Over Shooting

September 17, 2023

Concerns remained Sunday about a pastor in eastern Pakistan who was reportedly detained for “faking” a shooting incident, although Worthy News and others witnessed him in hospital.

Indonesia: West Sumatra church congregation threatened by neighbors

September 14, 2023

The Indonesian Bethel Church Solagracia in Padang, West Sumatra has reported that a service it held in a rented home on August 29 was disrupted by neighbors who broke a window while threatening them and demanding they stop worshiping, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

Beaten Pakistani Christian Activist Dead At 37

September 10, 2023

Pakistani Christian human rights activist Samuel Inayat, who was in urgent need of a kidney transplant after Muslim extremists beat him, has died, his family told Worthy News on Saturday.

Pakistan Christian Boy ‘Tortured’ For ‘Blasphemy’; Couple Detained

September 10, 2023

A 9-year-old Christian boy in Pakistan’s Punjab province and his family have reportedly fled their home after he was “falsely accused” of blasphemy against Islam and beaten up by his teacher and fellow students.

Nepal sees growing violent hostility toward Christians

September 7, 2023

In what appears to be a growing trend of violent hostility toward Christianity in Nepal, seven churches in Lumbini Province were attacked in the last two weeks alone, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. The population of Nepal is 80.19% Hindu and 1.76% Christian, with numerous other minority religions represented.

Four Pakistani Youth Face Death Sentence For ‘Blasphemy’

September 7, 2023

Uncertainty remained Thursday about the plight of four youths after a Pakistani court sentenced them to death for committing “blasphemy” against Islam on social media, several sources said.

Indonesia: House church threatened by Muslim extremists with machete

September 7, 2023

Members of a house church in West Sumatra Province, Indonesia, were placed in extreme danger by Muslim relatives of their landlord, who broke up their worship service by threatening to kill them with a machete last month, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

India: Deadly violence continues in Manipur despite army intervention

September 6, 2023

The tribal Christian Kuki-Zo community in India’s Manipur state continues to face deadly attacks from extremist members of the Hindu majority Meitei community, despite recent military interventions, the Christian Post (CP) reports.

Pakistan: Christians petition High Court for investigation into police misconduct during anti-Christian riots

September 5, 2023

Church leaders in Pakistan have petitioned the Lahore High Court for a “thorough and transparent” independent judicial investigation after police illegally arrested Christians instead of the Muslim perpetrators of violent anti-Christian riots which took place in Faisalabad District last month, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

Pakistan Pastor Shot After Removing Islamic Graffiti From Church

September 4, 2023

A pastor in Muslim-majority Pakistan says he has been shot and injured after Islamic graffiti was removed from his Presbyterian church in an eastern district where last month, angry Muslims destroyed scores of churches and homes.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court ‘Rekindles Hope’, Opposes Forced Marriages of Christian Girls

September 3, 2023September 3, 2023

The Supreme Court in Pakistan has ordered the government to respond to a complaint demanding lower courts stop allowing forced conversion and marriage of minority girls in the predominantly Muslim country. The decision could make way for the country to adopt laws that would protect young girls, says a new report.

Pakistan Churches Face Islamic Graffiti Attacks

August 31, 2023

Christians in several parts of Pakistan faced a new dilemma Thursday after their churches were painted with pro-Islam slogans by suspected Muslim militants, according to footage obtained by Worthy News.

Azerbaijan: 120,000 Armenian Christians facing extreme persecution in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)

August 30, 2023

Having suffered relentless genocidal persecution throughout history, Armenian Christians are again facing an existential crisis as the Muslim Azerbaijani government has imposed a military blockade on the flow of essential supplies from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, to the 120,000 Armenian Christians living in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) enclave in Azerbaijan, the Christian media outlet NRB reports. The blockade comes amid an ongoing conflict over the region involving Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the self-declared Armenian breakaway state of Artsakh.

Thousands Protest Against Christians In Pakistan

August 30, 2023August 30, 2023

Pakistani authorities have detained two Christian men for allegedly desecrating the Koran after some 2,000 Muslim extremists demanded tougher actions against Christians accused of blasphemy, Worthy News learned Tuesday.