Panel examining Indonesian persecution hears Christian prof, Muslim leader
Sharply different perspectives on religious persecution in Indonesia have been laid before the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Christian
Egypt Acquits All Muslim Murder Suspects
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.
Persecution of Christians Growing in the United States
More Christians died for their faith in the twentieth century than at any other time in history, says Christian Solidarity International. Global reports indicate that over 150,000 Christians were martyred last year, chiefly outside of the United States. However, statistics are changing: persecution of Christians is on the increase in the United States. What’s happening to bring about this change?
Pakistani Court Aquits Three Christians of Blasphemy
A Pakistani high court acquitted three Christians of blasphemy, calling for an investigation as to whether their Muslim accuser had fabricated a false case against them two years ago.
Another Church Bomb Attempt Confirmed in Tajikistan
A third New Year’s Eve attack against a Christian church in the Central Asian state of Tajikistan has been confirmed this past week by Korean Christians linked with Grace Sonmin Church in Dushanbe.
Jailed Pakistani Christian Evangelists Freed on Bail
After eight days in jail, two Pakistani evangelists arrested in Jacobabad for distributing Christian literature and tapes of the documentary “Jesus” film were released on bail January 19.
Four Christians Still Languishing in Napali Jail
Amid fears that Hindu extremists are persecuting Christians in greater numbers, Nepali church leaders launched the Forum for Human Concern in Nepal in January to safeguard religious freedom and garner international support for the release of four Christians jailed since October 29 on charges of proselytizing.
Forced Conversions To Islam Continue in Indonesia
A growing body of evidence confirms reports that Christians in Indonesia’s Maluku Islands have been forced to convert to Islam under threat of death, although Muslim clerics deny the claims.
Christians among ethnic minorities facing ‘genocide’ in former Burma
A sizeable Christian community is among the Karen people group in Myanmar (formerly Burma) facing abuse at the hands of the country’s military regime, according to Newsroom-Online, an Internet news service based in London.
Christian Workers Beaten For Showing ‘Jesus’ Film in India
Members of the radical Hindu group the Bajrang Dal beat two Christian workers, David Massey and Simon Sakria, for more than two hours on January 4 for showing a “Jesus” film in Jehra, a remote village on the Rajasthan-Gujarat border in western India. Church leaders said the two Christians had gone to visit the house of a local pastor when they were attacked.
Indian Church Leader Warns of More Violence to Come
A prominent Indian church leader is warning of a possible bloodbath against Christians by Hindu fundamentalists.
Christmas Church Bombings in Indonesia Meant to Provoke War
Indonesia’s Christian and political leaders are convinced that the widespread Christmas Eve church bombings were meant to provoke all-out war between the Muslim and Christian communities in the country.
Fears Grow That China Will Class House Churches as Cults
Authorities Urged to Determine Whether Cults are ‘Harmful to Society’ by Alex Buchan LONDON (Compass) — The Chinese government sponsored an International Symposium on Evil Cults in Beijing November 8-10 that urged local authorities not to inquire too closely into the beliefs of accused cults. Instead, authorities were encouraged to assess whether they are “harmful to society” — a catch-all criterion that some house church leaders fear could lead to their own movements being classed as cults. Nearly 60 academics from all over the world attended the Beijing Symposium, and it was full of predictable denunciation of the Chinese folk … Read more
Turkmen Pastor and Family Evicted from their Home
Turkmenistan’s political police evicted a Protestant Christian pastor with his wife and two children from their home near Ashgabad on December 9, confiscating their personal deed of ownership and sealing the gate to prevent their return.
Massacres Continue in Eastern Indonesia
Maluku’s head of police admitted that authorities cannot dislodge the hundreds of Muslim jihad fighters scattered throughout eastern Indonesia’s Maluku province and who have escalated the inter-religious conflict as Christmas approaches. More than 100 Christians were reported killed in November fighting.
Ready for Reconciliation in Indonesia?
“It is disappointing that the suffering of the Christians due to the conflict in the Malukus has been insufficiently exposed in various reports on a national and international level,” stated the U.S. Consul General Robert Pollard.
Vietnam Undground Church Leader Wins 30 Vietnamese to Christ in .. America
Dr. Paul Tran-Dinh-Ai, also known as Paul Ai, a leader of the Underground Church in Vietnam, has won some 30 Vietnamese to Christ is his new hometown of Hampton, Virginia. The much-persecuted leader has now urged American Christians to “wake up and see the mission field in their own back yard” and has shared lessons he has learned under persecution.
Indonesia Pastor Speaks about Survival of Attempt on his Life
Dr. Benjamin Munthe, an Indonesian pastor who was involved in a September 17 brutal attempt on his life in which his driver Caleb was killed, has spoken about that fateful day.
Drive to stamp out Christianity in Laos having opposite effect
If you become an evangelical Christian in Laos, the communist neighbor of Vietnam and Cambodia, you likely will be “asked” to sign a fill-in-the-blank form.
Commissioner of Corrections Praises Prison Fellowship encourages involvement
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA (October 30, 2000) — Sheryl Ramstad Hvass, the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, recently praised “faith-based” organizations, such as Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship, in helping to reduce recidivism rates among the inmate population in the nation’s prisons.