Iran

Study Queries Protestant Clergy About Religious Persecution

Protestant ministers in the United States generally believe that religious persecution is a major problem in today’s world, and they believe the U.S. should impose sanctions against countries where this is occurring. These findings have just been released from a research study conducted among Protestant clergy in America.

Iranian Police Arrest Christian Pastor

Iranian police arrested a Protestant Christian pastor in northern Iran three days ago, jailing him along with his wife and two teenage children.

Turkish Pastor Acquitted of Criminal Charges

In what the mass-circulation Hurriyet newspaper called a “jet acquittal,” a criminal court in southeastern Turkey dropped all charges yesterday against a Protestant pastor accused of opening an “illegal” church.

Christians in Iran Encounter “Miracle Rescues”

BAM, IRAN (ANS) — Praying Iranian Christians and believers from around the world continued humanitarian efforts in Bam Saturday, January 3, as relief workers reported “miracle rescues” more than eighth days after an earth quake reduced this city to ruins.

Turkish Court Releases Alleged Attacker

Nearly a month after three suspects were jailed for severely injuring a Turkish Christian distributing so-called “missionary propaganda,” a court in northwest Turkey has ordered one of the alleged attackers released.

Attackers Critically Injure Turkish Christian

A Turkish convert to Christianity who was severely beaten for distributing New Testaments last week in his hometown of Orhangazi in northwestern Turkey has slipped into a coma in critical condition.

Iraq’s Revival: Christians Risk Their Lives for Church

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (ANS) — Iraqi Christians who have become targets of attacks by Muslim extremists and bandits are risking their lives to attend church services, ASSIST News Service (ANS) has established.

Muslim Convert Butchered in the Holy Land

The body of a Muslim convert to Christianity who went missing in mid-July, has been returned to his family, slaughtered and cut into four pieces by Islamic extremists, according to a report from the Barnabas Fund which monitored the incident.

Turkmenistan Atakov Freed from Prison, but Pressure Continues

Turkmenistan’s most prominent religious prisoner, the Baptist Shageldy Atakov, has been freed before the end of his four-year sentence, Keston News Service has learnt. The US-based Russian Evangelistic Ministries and the German-based Friedensstimme Mission, which maintain close ties with Baptists in the former Soviet republics, have both confirmed that Atakov was released from prison in the Caspian port city of Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk) early on 8 January and has now been reunited with his wife Artygul and five children in the town of Kaakhka close to Turkmenistan’s southern border with Iran. “Jesus has given me a Christmas gift,” Atakov was quoted as saying (many Christians in the region celebrate Christmas on 7 January).

International Church Attakecked in Pakistan

ISTANBUL, March 18 (Compass) — Unidentified terrorists hurled grenades into a Protestant worship service in the diplomatic quarter of Pakistan’s capital city yesterday, killing five worshippers and wounding another 40 members of the congregation.

International Church Attacked in Pakistan

Unidentified terrorists hurled grenades into a Protestant worship service in the diplomatic quarter of Pakistan’s capital city yesterday, killing five worshippers and wounding another 40 members of the congregation.

Iran Utters Peculiar Warning to Israel

Adopting unusual language, Iran has issued a warning that if Israel were to attack Syria or Lebanon in reaction to Hizb’Allah cross-border actions, Tehran would retaliate in an “astounding and unexpected” way.

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.

Who is the Enemy?

Listening via television to evangelist Billy Graham’s stirring words of spiritual comfort and encouragement at the national prayer and memorial service in Washington DC on Friday, I recalled that the last time I saw the towering World Trade Center was the same day I spoke at his ministry headquarters in Minneapolis. It was a great honor to address his staff of over 300 dedicated workers last August 6 just before boarding a plane to Newark airport on my way back to my home at the center of the world, Jerusalem Israel.

Turkish Court Releases Jailed Christian in Southeast

An Assyrian Christian arrested a month ago for taking home videos in an ancient churchyard in Turkey’s heavily militarized Southeast was ordered released today by Diyarbakir’s State Security Court.

Baptist prisoner’s family pressured to convert to Islam in Turkmenistan

The wife and children of Baptist prisoner Shageldy Atakov in Turkmenistan have been told by the local mullah, administration officials and officers of the country’s political police, the KNB (former KGB), that they may not believe in Jesus Christ and must convert to Islam. According to a statement from local Baptists — passed on to Keston News Service by the German-based Friedensstimme mission — officials in the town of Kaakhka, close to Turkmenistan’s southern border with Iran, also warned Atakov’s wife, Artygyul, that the family home would be confiscated if Christians continue to meet there.

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