Mozambique Christians Among Million Starving After Islamist Attacks
Nearly a million people, many of them Christians, face severe hunger in northern Mozambique after Islamist militants drove them from their homes, aid workers confirmed.
Christian Persecution
Uganda Mother Attacked For Faith In Christ
A mother of seven children in eastern Uganda has reportedly suffered severe wounds after her husband and other Muslim relatives attacked her on Easter Sunday for putting her faith in Christ.
China Returns Cross To Evangelical Church
An evangelical church in China says it has received back a cross and other items that were confiscated by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
‘Hungary Rescues Syrian Christians’
An archbishop in war-torn Syria has thanked Hungary for enabling hundreds of Christians to return to their homes, Hungary’s government said.
Laos authorities release Pastor jailed for holding worship services
Authorities in Laos have released a pastor who was jailed early last year for refusing to halt worship services at the church he founded in the southeast Asian country, International Christian Concern reports. Pastor Sithon Thippavong was freed on April 9 after just over a year in prison.
Canada: 1,000 people protest COVID-19 physical closure of GraceLife church
Around 1,000 people attended a demonstration outside GraceLife Church in Alberta, Canada on Sunday, to protest against the government’s physical closing of the church’s premises on the grounds it had violated COVID-19 restrictions, Christian Headlines reports. GraceLife is led by Pastor James Coates, who was arrested and detained for holding services in contravention of coronavirus regulations; Coates’ trial is set for May 3.
Nigeria persecution: Eight Christians freed after abductions
Eight Christians who were abducted by gunmen in Nigeria’s Kaduna state last month have been freed and were taken to hospital for medical evaluation, International Christian Concern reports. Nigeria currently ranks 9th on the US Open Doors Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to be Christian: believers in the northern region and in the Middle Belt are vulnerable to abduction, violence, and murder at the hands of Islamic extremist groups such as militant Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram/ISIS West Africa.
Pakistan persecution: Christian nurses jailed for violating blasphemy law
Two Christian nurses in Pakistan have been jailed for violating blasphemy laws by following a hospital supervisor’s instructions to clean up an area covered with old hangings and stickers, including a half-torn old sticker with a verse from the Koran on it, International Christian Concern reports. Rights groups have said Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws are frequently abused; Pakistan ranks 5th on the Open Doors Watch List of countries where Christians are persecuted.
Christians Hiding In Myanmar Jungles After Army Attacks; Many Killed
Tens of thousands of mainly Christian ethnic Karen people were hiding in the jungles of Myanmar on Sunday, after fresh attacks by the military that took power in a coup, aid workers told Worthy News.
Clergy Kidnapped In Haiti As Abductions Rise
Seven Catholic clergy, including two French citizens, were abducted Sunday in Haiti, where kidnappers increasingly target churches, officials said.
Somaliland Christians Face Jail After Leaving Islam
Authorities in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland seek long prison terms for at least six people who converted from Islam to Christianity, Worthy News established Thursday.
Nigeria: Pastor found dead after being abducted; ‘please pray for grieving family and all believers in danger’
A few days after being kidnapped by gunmen in Ondo state, Nigeria, fifty year-old Pastor Frederick Ojo Aramuwa was found dead in the bush near his hometown of Ifira, International Christian Concern reported Wednesday. Pastor Aramuwa was killed even though his family paid his captors $5,000 in ransom.
Malaysian government urged to release report on disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh
The Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED) organization is calling on the Malaysian government to release the results of a public inquiry into the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh, who was abducted in broad daylight in February 2017, International Christian Concern reports. It is believed the pastor was disappeared for involvement in matters against Islam.
Kidnapped Christian Girl Forced To Marry, Convert in Pakistan
A Christian girl abducted in Pakistan more than six weeks ago was forcefully converted to Islam and married to her kidnapper, Christian activists told Worthy News.
Vietnam Urged To Free Jailed Pastor and Rights Activists
Christian rights activists and other advocates urged Vietnam Tuesday to release four prisoners of conscience in Vietnam, including pastors, amid concerns about their health.
India persecution: Gujarat passes anti-conversion law
Gujarat has become the latest Indian state to pass anti-conversion legislation which primarily targets Christians and Muslims accused of forcing poor Hindus to convert to their respective faiths, International Christian Concern reports. Gujarat is currently led by the Hindu nationalist party Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP), which is also India’s governing power.
China reported to brainwash Christians held in “transformation” centers
Reports emerged last week that China is working to brainwash its Christian citizens by imprisoning them in mobile “transformation facilities,” Fox News reported. The reports came through Radio Free Asia, which has published accounts of abuse told by a man given the name Li Yuese to protect his identity.
Increased Christian persecution in Ethiopia
While Christians in Ethiopia were already subject to persecution, they have seen intensified attacks against them amid the extreme violence of the current conflict between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), International Christian Concern reports.
UK court: Franklin Graham festival was discriminated against by local authorities
A British court has ruled that the 2018 UK Lancashire Festival of Hope featuring Franklin Graham was subject to discrimination by local authorities which removed festival bus advertisements reading only “Time for Hope,” Assist News reports. The Blackpool Borough Council and Blackpool Transport Services were found to have violated the UK’s Equality Act 2010 by discriminating against the Festival specifically because of Graham’s religious views on homosexuality.
Algerian Christian becomes suicidal following persecution and imprisonment
Algerian Christian Slimane Bouhafs has struggled with suicidal thoughts after being imprisoned for violating Algeria’s blasphemy laws and then being further persecuted for his faith upon seeking refuge in Tunisia, Morning Star News reports. Algeria ranked 24th and Tunisia ranked 26th on the Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.