Christians Attacked in Borno, Nigeria
DAMBOA, Nigeria (Compass) — A Christian-Muslim conflict in Damboa in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state resulted in the deaths of 15 Christians, and four churches were burned.
Christian Persecution
Egyptian Security Police Threaten, Torture Local Christian
ISTANBUL, July 6 (Compass) — Officials from Egypt’s powerful State Security Intelligence (SSI) agency detained a Coptic Orthodox Christian for the fourth time in early June, interrogating him under torture on accusations of preaching Christianity to Muslims.
Christian Community Center Burned in Malaysia
LOS ANGELES, August 23 (Compass) — A Christian community center in Malaysia was set ablaze on July 21 by suspected Muslim extremists. The building was unoccupied during the alleged arson attack, reported local fire and rescue officials.
Taliban Vow To Execute Afghans Who Convert
ISTANBUL (Compass) — The supreme leader of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia warned on January 8 that his regime will apply the death penalty to any Muslim who converts to another faith.
Church Harassment in Eastern China Worsens
BEIJING (Compass) — Christian leaders in both the unofficial house churches and the registered “Three Self” churches in eastern China confirmed in June that their situation has become more difficult.
Courageous Christians Imprisoned for 15 Days (China)
The Voice of the Martyrs rejoiced to learn yesterday that Chinese Christian “Sister Tong†has been released from prison following a 15 day prison sentence. A VOM worker in the area was able to pass financial support and encouragement to her.
Groups Say China Trade, Human Rights Should Be Concern of New Administration
(AgapePress) – A coalition opposed to the special trade privileges for Communist China is urging the new administration to reverse the Clinton-Gore policy mistakes of the past eight years.
Christian Youth Work Under Attack in China
LONDON (Compass) — Last July, authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui moved to discourage Christian work with young people through an article that appeared in the local Anhui “Xinan Evening News.”
Saudi Arabia Is Again The World’s Worst Persecutor of Christians
SANTA ANA, CA (ANS) – Turkmenistan has moved to fifth place on the Open Doors World Watch List of worst persecutors of Christians, behind Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Laos and China, causing “great concern” to persecution watchers around the world.
Police Arrest Two Christians in Azerbaijan
ISTANBUL, April 11 (Compass) — Two Christians were sent to jail yesterday for seven days on charges of “disobeying the police” in the town of Ismailly, 120 miles west of the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.
Christians among ethnic minorities facing ‘genocide’ in former Burma
LONDON (BP)–A sizeable Christian community is among the Karen people group in Myanmar (formerly Burma) facing abuse at the hands of the country’s military regime, according to Newsroom-Online, an Internet news service based in London.
Sixteen Arrested for Possessing Christian Literature (Algeria)
Sixteen young people were arrested recently in Algeria for possessing Bibles and other Christian literature, according to a report by ZENIT (August 3, 2001). Ranging in age from 20 to 31 and members of a Christian denomination from central Algeria, the 16 were arrested on July 26 in Cap Falcon, 450 kilometers (280 miles) west of Algiers.
Colombian Pastor Reads Bible to Kidnappers
Last May, evangelical pastor Juan Carlos Villegas was kidnapped and held for 12 days by the National Liberation Army in war-torn Colombia. They forced him to walk for many hours each day so that neither the Colombian Army nor the paramilitaries could find them. Several times they threatened him with death.
Hostage Pastor Released Unharmed in Colombia
AUSTIN, Texas, August 16 (Compass) — Colombian pastor Enrique Gómez was released unharmed on August 11 after being held hostage for six months by Colombian guerrillas.
What’s Really Happening In Indonesia?
A militant fundamentalist group from Idaho is spreading terror across the Midwest-and federal troops are siding with the attackers.
Afghanistan Executions Raise New Fears About Arrested Aid Workers
KABUL/BUDAPEST (ANS) — Four executions on Wednesday in Afghanistan have speed up diplomatic efforts to free 24 aid workers, including eight foreigners, who were arrested by the country’s Islamic “Taleban” rulers, on charges of spreading Christianity.
Xu Yongze Released from Labor Camp in China
LONDON, August 7 (Compass) — China’s most famous house church prisoner, Mr. Xu Yongze, is free. The 58-year-old founder of the Born Again movement was released on May 16, after serving a three-year “re-education through labor” sentence for establishing an illegal organization in China.
Canada Starts Application Process For Stranded Iranian Christians
ISTANBUL, August 7 (Compass) — Canadian authorities issued written verification yesterday that its embassy in the Turkish capital of Ankara has begun the immigration application process for an Iranian Christian family stranded in eastern Turkey for more than two years.
Mobile Clinic Planned for the Victims of the “Holocaust” in Southern Sudan
GARFIELD, NJ (ANS) — The indiscriminate slaughter of more than two million people, mostly black Christians, but also Muslims and animists, in southern Sudan, has been brought about by the National Islamic Front (NIF) who long ago declared a jihad (holy war) on the south. Human rights observers say that NIF violates almost every provision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Taleban Takes Hard Line With Arrested Aid Workers (Afghanistan)
Afghanistan’s ruling Taleban authorities have ruled out pardons for eight foreign aid workers detained for allegedly spreading the Christian faith, declaring that they and their 16 Afghan colleagues must stand trial on charges of promoting Christianity. Western diplomats have been unable to meet with the prisoners. Fifty-nine Afghan school children who were also taken into custody on the belief that they had been influenced by Christian teaching have been released, but their fathers were jailed for several days for failing to supervise their children.