Indonesian security forces tore down three small Christian churches in Aceh on Monday. Hardline Muslims demanded their closure, citing a lack of building permits, and following religious violence. Local government security officers used sledgehammers to raze two small Protestant churches and a Catholic church – modest buildings of wood, concrete and tin – in the Read more
Christianity is in danger of ceasing to be a truly global faith as increasing numbers of its followers flee violence and persecution across swaths of the Middle East and Africa, according to a new report. “Christians are fast disappearing from entire regions – most notably a huge chunk of the Middle East but also whole Read more
One in ten of the 2.2 billion Christians in the world face some degree of restriction, discrimination or outright persecution. British peer David Alton said this amounts to 200 million people in 60 countries. Persecution ranged from murder, rape and torture to repressive laws, discrimination and social exclusion, he said in a Guardian article. One Read more
The coastal city of Wenzhou is sometimes called China’s Jerusalem. Ringed by mountains and far from the capital, Beijing, it has long been a haven for a religion that China’s Communist leaders view with deep unease: Christianity. Most cities of its size, with about 9m people, have no more than a dozen or so visibly Read more
The persecution of Christians by radical Islamic groups in Syria over the past two years has been appalling—and largely ignored. I suppose I should wear it as a badge of honour. My first death threat over my new book, Hatred: Islam’s War on Christianity (Signal, 2014)—was sent to me a couple of weeks ago. Apparently Read more
My family name, “Maron,” is a vestige of and a testament to the human capacity to hate. My family tradition tells the story of my ancestors’ expulsion — along with hundreds of thousands of other Jews — from the Iberian Peninsula by royal Spanish decree in 1492 following an era of great success and coexistence Read more
A group of Islamic extremists in the area of Besi have attacked a meeting of Catholics in the parish of the Holy Family of Banteng , in an area north of Yogyakarta (island of Java). It has been alleged that dozens of armed people wearing robes assaulted a group while saying the rosary at a Read more
The top ten countries for persecuting Christians over the last year were ranked: North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Pakistan, Iran and Yemen, according to Open Doors USA, an organisation that monitors and exposes Christian persecution around the globe. Particularly, the “2014 World Watch List”, a rather nuanced report, has highlighted these Read more
Four Iranian men are due to get 80 lashes each for drinking communion wine during a “house church” service. House churches are a way for Iranian Christians to gather in unofficial buildings to conduct Church services. The Independent reports the four men, Behzad Taalipasand, Mehdi Reza Omidi, Mehdi Dadkakh and Amir Hatemi, were originally arrested Read more
War against Christians is being waged on a global scale, involving direct physical violence, harassment, and imprisonment, according to veteran Vatican journalist John Allen. In a new book, The Global War on Christians, he says 100,000 Christians were killed each year throughout the first decade of the 21st century — 11 new martyrs every hour. “I Read more