Four terrified Christian women, including one suffering from AIDS, remained inside a besieged evangelical church in an Ethiopian city Thursday, April 13, which has been attacked by militants fearing its growing influence in the region, investigators said.
Extremists attacked two Christian schools and a private Christian gathering last week in Madhya Pradesh state and accused several Christians of carrying out “illegal conversions.”
Hindu leaders attending a centenary celebration of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) last weekend converted at least 344 tribal Christians to Hinduism. Although police were present, they took no action to enforce Orissa state anti-conversion laws that require official permission for such events.
Christian villagers in a remote area of Bangladesh tried to rebuild their lives Tuesday, April 11, after an angry mob reportedly burned down their church to protest against their decision to abandon Buddhism and convert to Christianity.
There was concern Saturday, April 8, over the future of Christian radio in Russia after the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications refused to renew the radio license of a key evangelical radio station, an official said.
Pastor Paul Ciniraj Mohammed, a Christian convert from Islam, is still recovering from what he believes was a murder attempt in Kottayam district, in the southern state of Kerala, on March 16.
Voice of the Martyrs’ contacts in Pakistan reported on April 8th that Pakistani Christian, Parvez Masih, who was arrested and jailed under false blasphemy charges five years ago in April 2001, was released. After years of inhumane treatment, threats, beatings and trials, the headmaster of a private Christian middle school was found not guilty of violating Law 295C (blaspheming the prophet Mohammed).
Two female Christian students remained missing Monday, April 10, after hard-line Muslims attacked them last month in a case that has underscored concern over violence against young Christian women in the African nation, news reports said.
Chinese house churches on Friday, April 7, were anxiously awaiting answers from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which has been asked to help free an influential ailing, and allegedly tortured, pastor from prison.
Nepali evangelist Kumar was making plans to travel from his village to the capital city of Kathmandu for a worship conference in early March, when three Mao insurgents paid him a visit. They approached Kumar, and demanded a 5000 rupee “donation,” (about seventy US dollars) to support their cause. When Kumar couldn’t pay, they kidnapped him.
An influential Chinese house church leader was to appear Thursday, April 6, for a potentially decisive court hearing after over 16 months in police custody, a Christian news agency reported.
After three months, an Egyptian Christian has reportedly discovered his “kidnapped” sister living with a Muslim family near her hometown and professing faith in Islam, BosNewsLife monitored Wednesday, April 5.
The Supreme Court last Tuesday (March 28) quietly ruled that conversion of tribal people to Christianity could disqualify them from running for some elective offices if the posts involve religious functions.
Documents and information released for first time today by Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom show that, despite its claims of liberalization, the Government of Vietnam is continuing its repression of Hmong Christians in the northwest provinces of Vietnam.
“If you are forcing me to marry a man who is a Muslim simply because of my decision to become a Christian, then I will rather have you kill me than accept to marry this man.”
Colombia’s main evangelical churches have urged the government and rebel groups to end an armed struggle, after the killings of over 130 evangelical pastors and “countless” other civilians, Christian activists said Tuesday April 4.
Evangelical Christians in Algeria faced another tense day Friday, March 31, after the Algerian parliament approved a law banning the promotion of other religions than Islam, BosNewsLife learned.
Less than a year after believers in Vietnam’s central Quang Ngai province saw some of their dwellings destroyed, a mob burned down five homes of other Hre minority Christians in the legally-recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South).
An influential evangelical mission group in the former Soviet Union expressed concern Wednesday, March 29, over a “crackdown” on Christian believers in Belarus following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Religious rights investigators warned Thursday, March 30, that thousands of people in Afghanistan could face execution for converting from Islam to Christianity, a day after Italy granted asylum to a Christian convert.