Ignoring calls to stop its attacks on houses of worship, the Burmese Army (Tatmadaw) in late November burned down a Baptist church and a Catholic church as part of an ongoing effort to destroy the Christian-majority town of Thantlang in Myanmar’s Chin state, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Fulani jihadist herdsmen murdered 10 more Christians in Nigeria’s Plateau state at one o’clock in the morning on Friday, during an attack on Ta’agbe village, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. In its annual report this year, the US Commission on Religious Freedom (USCRF) warned that Nigeria is becoming a “killing field for Christians” at the hands of jihadist militants.
ixteen Christian leaders in India’s Karnataka state were themselves falsely accused of disturbing the peace after they attended a magistrate’s office on November 13 to support a fellow pastor whose church was attacked by Hindu radicals and who was then charged with disturbing the peace for holding worship services, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Persecution against Christians in India has intensified since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.
Just days after the United States removed Nigeria’s designation as engaging in or tolerating violations of religious rights, several Christians were killed by Islamic fighters, Christians said.
As Europe’s winter sets in, Pope Francis urged prayers for migrants fleeing war, persecution, and poverty as the European Union braced for a new influx of desperate people through Belarus and other routes. The Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko, offered humanitarian aid to refugees who opted to stay at the Belarusian-Polish border.
Christians in Afghanistan have reportedly turned off their phones and moved to undisclosed locations amid an ongoing crackdown by the ruling Islamist Taliban group.
A top Iranian court has ordered a review of five-year prison terms given to nine Christian converts who left Islam, according to sources familiar with the court’s thinking.
Christian and government organizations have expressed fury at last week’s decision by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to remove Nigeria from a US list of countries identified as allowing or engaging in violent persecution of minority faith groups, Politico reports. Outrage at Blinken’s decision follows the bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 2021 report in which Nigeria is described as a “killing field for Christians.”
As Afghanistan descends further into chronic economic and political catastrophe, the nation’s Christians are facing hunger and even more severe employment discrimination than they were before the US withdrawal and the Taliban takeover in August, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Afghanistan ranked two on the US Open Doors Watch List 2021 of top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted – even before the Taliban took power this summer.
As the suppression of Christianity in India continues, earlier this month local authorities in Madhya Pradesh state imposed a ban on Christian religious gatherings in the Jhabua district, effectively shutting down over 50 house churches, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
In honor of National Bible Week, the Museum of the Bible Christian organization will be giving away copies of its unique “Global Impact Bible” at David’s Tent on the Washington D.C National Mall this weekend, CBN reports. Focussing on the influence Scripture has had around the world, the Global Impact Bible is an English Standard Version containing within it “900 beautifully illustrated articles.”
Christian villages in Iraqi Kurdistan have been “emptied” in the last year as Turkey’s air force continues to bomb Kurdish forces connected to the PKK movement, Asia News reports. Christians have also fled from the cities of Zakho, Dohuk, Erbil, only to return because of airstrikes on the areas they escaped to.
Aid workers have condemned the detention of a Nigerian Christian journalist after he covered attacks against mainly Christian communities in Nigeria.
A Christian who faced the death penalty in Pakistan for “blasphemy against Islam” was acquitted and quietly released after nearly 10 years in prison, Christian sources say.
South Korea turned down asylum requests from dozens of Chinese Christians despite fears their deportation to China could mean imprisonment, “forced disappearances and torture,” Christians said.
A court in Pakistan has released on bail two Christian nurses charged with “defiling the Koran,” deemed a holy book by Muslims, Christians confirmed.
The headmaster and other teachers at the Al-Thawra school in Upper Egypt’s Minya Governorate earlier this month ordered their Coptic Christian students to remove any jewelry with a cross, and then beat them, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
As Hindu nationalist persecution of Christians in India continues to intensify, on November 14 a mob of Hindu radicals stormed the Mercy Divine Church in Bangalor, Karnataka state, throwing stones and chairs at congregants, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Christian persecution in India has increased dramatically since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party took power in 2014.
It was only recently reported that Islamic radicals in East Java, Indonesia, attacked and extensively damaged the home of a Protestant Christian man at the end of last month, apparently believing the house to be a church, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has reportedly launched an investigation into the attack.
The wife of Jeff Woodke, an American missionary who has been held hostage in Niger for five years, on Wednesday appealed to the US government to honor its promise to keep all options on the table in seeking her husband’s release, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Making her appeal at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Els Woodke also called on the international church for help to finance the rescue effort.