Mystery still surrounds a car accident, which resulted in the killing of a Coptic priest and three of his relatives in El Menya governorat. This morning, March 5/ 2001, a car accident caused the death of Father Antonios Zaki Ghobrial and three of his relatives.
ASHGABAD, TURKENISTAN (March 4, 2001) — The authorities of the Niyazov district of the Turkmen capital Ashgabad broke their own seals on the doors of the city’s Baptist church on 2 March and confiscated everything inside. The move was timed on the last working day before nearly a week of public holidays in the country.
The authorities of the Niyazov district of the Turkmen capital Ashgabad broke their own seals on the doors of the city’s Baptist church on 2 March and confiscated everything inside. The move was timed on the last working day before nearly a week of public holidays in the country. Keston News Service has been able to find no Turkmen local or national government official prepared to discuss why the contents of the country’s last Baptist church have been carted away in several lorry loads, despite repeated telephone calls.
Sharply different perspectives on religious persecution in Indonesia have been laid before the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
ABUJA, Nigeria, March 2 (Compass) — In a nationwide broadcast Wednesday night, March 1, Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo called for reconciliation between Christians and Muslims following two weeks of bloody clashes that have left hundreds dead.
At least five churches were destroyed during February in northern Nigeria as the controversial implementation of Islamic law continued in several states.
Dozens of Nigerian Christian families have fled to Nigeria’s neighbor, Cameroon, because of mounting pressure resulting from the implementation of the Islamic legal system, or “sharia,” by the Borno state government.
Five of seven Christians arrested in December and January for alleged “cult” activities and detained under Brunei’s Internal Security Act have been released. It was not known if any conditions were attached to their release, which occurred during the week of February 12, but they were reportedly told not to leave the country or talk about their detention, according to a source who did not want to be identified.
MANADO, Indonesia (BP)–A Christian human rights leader from the United States and a five-member delegation he was leading were detained for a day and a half by security forces in Indonesia’s strife-ravaged Malukan island chain before being released Feb. 24.
Armed men have captured a prominent Colombian pastor who operates a string of Christian radio stations around Colombia.
On February 14, unidentified armed men kidnapped Pastor Jorge Enrique Gomez outside of Bogota, Columbia. Pastor Jorge Gomez is well known in Columbia. He is the pastor of the largest evangelical church in the country, with more than 20,000 members with a chain of eight radio stations located in different cities.
Muslim extremists have been deliberately targeting Christian women for rape in northern Nigeria’s Sokoto state since the introduction of the Islamic legal code, or “sharia,” Christian leaders there say.
ISTANBUL, February 15 (Compass) — Saudi Arabia released four Filipino Christians in Riyadh yesterday, 40 days after their arrest by the country’s strict Islamic police for conducting Christian worship services in a private home.
Three Christians arrested in December and four Christians arrested in January for alleged “cult” activities are being detained under Brunei’s Internal Security Act, which allows them to be held 60 days before they are officially charged.
The case against four Christians detained since October 29 on trumped-up proselytism charges was dismissed February 11 in Rajbiraj, Nepal, after prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court. The judge ordered the four — three Nepali nationals and one Norwegian — to be released on February 15.
Instead of convicting the Muslim murder suspects accused of killing 21 Christians in last year’s El-Kosheh massacre, a judge in southern Egypt has accused the local Coptic clergy of responsibility for the three-day rampage.
MORULAND, SUDAN (February 5, 2001) — A Sudanese pastor has appealed to US President George W. Bush to intervene against Sudanese government bombing of churches, hospitals and schools by declaring Southern Sudan a no-fly zone for military aircraft.
A Sudanese pastor has appealed to US President George W. Bush to intervene against Sudanese government bombing of churches, hospitals and schools by declaring Southern Sudan a no-fly zone for military aircraft.
AUSTIN, Texas, June 2 (Compass) — Two New Tribes Mission workers kidnapped with 18 others from a southern Philippines resort are unharmed, but the Islamic rebels that snatched them are still holding them captive, confirmed NTM ministry spokesman Scott Ross.
CHIAPAS, MEXICO (January 30, 2001) — Chiapas evangelicals accused of taking part in the Acteal Massacre are dismayed that after almost three years in prison, many among them have not received justice. But they remain hopeful that the state’s new governor will see that justice is done.