Palestinian Christians Fear New Hamas Government
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, February 18, asked the militant group Hamas to form the next Palestinian government but warned he would not accept attacks against the Christian minority.
Christian Persecution – Middle East
Lebanon Christians Attacked, Church Stoned, By Angry Muslims
Lebanon’s Interior Minister resigned late Sunday, February 5, after an estimated 20,000 angry Muslims not only torched the Danish Embassy but also attacked the Christian community in the capital Beirut over published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad.
Egyptian Sisters Win Christian Identity
Two young Coptic Christian women whose father had converted to Islam when they were infants have won a court battle in Egypt to retain their official religious identity as Christians.
Palestinian Militants Threaten Churches and Close EU Office Over Cartoons
Armed Islamic groups angered by cartoon drawings depicting the Prophet Muhammad in European media, threatened to attack churches and closed down the European Union Commission office in Gaza Thursday, February 2, as anger over the published caricatures spread across the Muslim world.
Iraq Christians Urge Western Caution After Bombs Destroy Churches, Killing 3
Iraqi Christians have urged Westerners to be carefull with public comments on Iraq after three people were killed in apparently coordinated bomb attacks against churches over the weekend, a major religious rights group said Tuesday, January 31.
Egypt Rocked By Religious Violence, One Christian Killed, 12 Injured
Funeral preparations were underway Friday, January 20, where at least one Christian and a dozen others were injured when Muslim militants set fire to a Christian community center in Upper Egypt, church sources and news reports said.
Iranian Christians Mourn Martyred Convert
Iranian Christians are mourning the death of Ghorban Dordi Tourani, an Iranian believer assassinated two weeks ago by an unnamed group of fanatical Muslims and the first Turkmen in Iran known to have been martyred for his Christian faith.
Protestant Pastor Killed In Egypt after Threats
Egypt’s Protestant Christian community remained on edge Sunday, December 4, amid reports that one of its pastors, Ezzat Habib, was killed after he was run down by a taxi in Cairo following threats from the country’s feared security police.
Egypt Slaps Jail Term on U.S. Citizen
A U.S. Christian faces one year in prison after a trial in which he was accused of raping and beating Magda Refaat Gayed at his Cairo shelter for troubled women.
Anglican Church Leadership “Killed” in Iraq
The entire lay leadership of Iraq’s main Anglican Church was presumed dead Thursday, September 29, amid reports they were attacked while returning from a conference in neighboring Jordan.
Messianic Jews Fight Public Slurs in Israel
The Israeli High Court on September 12 heard a petition by ultra-orthodox Jews to hold a 700-person demonstration in front of the house of a family of Messianic Jews. In the past, the group’s smaller protests consisted of shouting obscenities and slurs at the Christians.
Messianic Jews Harassed in Israel
Messianic Jews have called for international protests against violations of religious freedom in Israel. Orthodox Jews have harassed a congregation in the desert town of Arad in Southern Israel for more than 18 months.
Jailed Iranian Christian Pressured to Return to Islam
Eleven months after Iranian police arrested Hamid Pourmand for converting to Christianity, authorities at Tehran’s Evin Prison continue to pressure the former Muslim to return to Islam.
Iraq Evangelical Churches Grow between Death and Destruction, report
Evangelical churches are experiencing an unprecedented revival between death and destruction in Iraq, a Christian news agency reported following an investigation in the area. Compass Direct, which was monitored by BosNewsLife Monday, July 11, said especially Iraqi Kurdistan is becoming increasingly a haven for Christian activity as the two rival Kurdish governments grow in their toleration of Muslims becoming Christians. In the south, the evangelical church is growing rapidly.
Missionary Tortured and Sentenced in Saudi Arabia amid Crack Down
A young Indian missionary has been sentenced to one year in prison and beaten hundreds of times in Saudi Arabia, where up to 100 foreign Christians have been detained in recent weeks, a mission organization said Thursday, June 30.
Egyptian Convert Released from Mental Hospital
Five months after he was forcibly committed to a mental hospital for converting from Islam to Christianity, Gasir Mohammed Mahmoud has been discharged from his locked psychiatric ward in Cairo and set free.
Saudi Arabia Releases Five Christian Prisoners
Five East Africans arrested and detained for a month for leading a private Christian worship service in Riyadh have been released and allowed to return to their jobs in the Saudi Arabian capital.
Russia Jails Three Pentecostals Amid Crackdown Against Christian Activities
Three Pentecostals have been jailed and nine fined for “illegally” demonstrating against Moscow’s refusal to allow them to acquire a building, amid fears of a new crackdown on religious groups in Russia, church sources said Monday, June 13.
Massive Arrests of Foreign Christians in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s security forces have arrested at least almost 100 foreign Christians, including Indians, in an apparent violent crackdown against non Muslims, BosNewsLife learned Wednesday, June 1.
Iran Islamic Court Spares Life Of Protestant Pastor
Amid mounting international pressure, an Islamic court in southern Iran acquitted Christian lay pastor Hamid Pourmand on apostasy and proselytizing charges which carried the death penalty, BosNewsLife learned Tuesday, May 31.