Indonesia Pledges To Facilitate Church After Outcry
Indonesia’s government says it will facilitate a place of worship for Protestant Christians in West Java after the forced closure of their church by authorities provoked an international outcry.
Christian Persecution – Asia
Indonesia: Government authorities continue to shut down churches
Amid an ongoing spate of government-sponsored church closures in Indonesia, the Purwakarta Simalungun Protestant Christian Church (GKPS) was forced to give up worshiping and building a sanctuary in Cigelam Village because the Purwakarta Regency Government in West Java refused to issue the requisite permit and de facto shut the church down, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
US must stand with India’s persecuted Christians, says former Ambassador- at-Large for International Religious Freedom
The former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, has issued an urgent appeal for the international community, and the US in particular, to stand with India’s persecuted Christians by pressuring their government to protect them.
India: Christians face ongoing intense persecution, “Please pray for their protection, provision, and peace”
Many Christians in India face intense persecution from both their neighbors and communities and from government officials; ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014, India ranks 11th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
Indonesia: Christians continually face opposition in building churches
Despite their constitutional right to freedom of religion, Christians in Muslim-majority Indonesia face an uphill struggle in obtaining the required permits to build churches: both the government and local Muslims oppose them.
India: Hindu nationalists vandalize Gideon Bible stall at fair, accuse Christians of entrapment
A group of Hindu nationalists vandalized a Gideons Bible stall set up at the New Delhi World Book Fair in India last week, accusing the volunteers running it of “trapping” Hindus into Christianity, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
Indonesia: Church allowed to reopen after local Muslims shut it down
In a remarkable piece of good news for persecuted Indonesian Christians, a church in Bandar Lampung has been allowed to reopen after local Muslim village authorities and residents interrupted a worship service and forced it to close down last month, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. The Kemah Daud Christian Church had been in the middle of a Sunday service on February 19 when the disruption and subsequent closure occurred.
India: Pastor and his wife arrested/imprisoned under Uttar Pradesh anti-conversion laws
A pastor and his wife in India’s Uttar Pradesh state have been criminally charged and imprisoned under harsh local anti-conversion laws for allegedly luring Hindus into becoming Christians, Scroll reports. Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014, India ranks 11th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
Pakistan Christian Family Faces Deportation Despite Death Threats (Worthy News In-Depth)
A Christian family who fled Pakistan after angry Muslim crowds torched their home and one of them was nearly beaten to death, face forced deportation from Thailand, Worthy News established.
Pakistan: Two Christian farmers murdered by Islamists, “there are almost constant attacks against individuals”
Two Christian farmers in Pakistan were recently murdered by Islamists who attacked them in separate incidents in January and February, respectively, Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) reports.
India Police Stop Church Burning
Police in central India have detained three suspected Hindu militants to end the burning of several church buildings in the region, Christians said Thursday.
Laos: Families driven out of their Buddhist village for conversion to Christianity
Over a dozen families and their pastor have been driven from their homes in a majority-Buddhist village in Laos because they have converted to Christianity, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Pakistan: Christian girl abducted into forced marriage with Muslim employer, lawyer demands police action
The chairman of the Minorities Alliance Pakistan has pressured Pakistani police to find and rescue a 15-year-old local Christian girl who was abducted and forced into marriage with her Muslim employer: officers had ignored earlier pleas for help from the girl’s impoverished father, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Pakistan Man Lynched For Blasphemy; Christians Fearful (Worthy News In-Depth)
Pakistani police on Monday had detained dozens of suspects in the weekend lynching of a man accused of blasphemy against Islam, but a Christian rights activist warned of more violence.
Afghan Christian families seeking refuge in hostile Pakistan
The International Christian Concern (ICC) aid organization has found 60 Christian families that escaped Afghanistan to seek refuge in next-door Pakistan, even though Pakistan has a notoriously bad record on its treatment of Christians. Indeed, ICC found at least three of these families have returned to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan after suffering the dreadful conditions for refugees in Pakistan.
India: Evangelical Pastor jailed under Uttar Pradesh anti-conversion law
An evangelical Christian pastor in India’s Uttar Pradesh state has been in jail for three months awaiting trial on trumped-up charges of violating local anti-religious conversion legislation and other laws, Morning Star News reports.
India: 10 Christian families denied essential rations for their faith, “we did not worry, we are ready to pay any cost”
Ten Christian families in India’s Madhya Pradesh state have been barred on account of their faith from receiving essential provisions the government gives to the needy, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Pakistan: Muslim extremist throws acid in the face of young Christian woman
A 19-year-old Christian woman in Karachi, Pakistan, was severely burned last week when a Muslim extremist threw acid in her face because she refused to renounce her faith and enter an Islamic relationship with him, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Nepal Releases Jailed Pastor On Bail
A pastor who served a one-year jail sentence in Nepal on charges linked to evangelizing has been released on bail, Worthy News established Monday.
Myanmar: Christian persecution has increased “exponentially” since military coup
The Free Burma Rangers Christian aid organization is warning that the persecution of Christians in Myanmar has “grown exponentially” since the military coup of February 2021 ended the troubled country’s fragile democracy, the WNG.org news outlet reports.