Church Closures, Demolition Spark Protest in Indonesia

Pressured by Islamists, officials crack down on Christians in West Java.

Demolished Batak Protestant Christian Church (HKBP) building in Bekasi, outside Jakarta.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Hundreds of Christians hit the streets of Indonesia’s capital this week to urge government action after local officials demolished a church building and threatened to close others at the behest of Islamist forces. Christian protestors, joined by minority Ahmadiyya and Shia Muslims, held a shared prayer service and sang the [...]

Officials in Vietnam Claim Christian Who Died in Police Custody Committed Suicide

Stunned family refutes declaration, citing signs of savage beating.

Hoang Van Ngai was remembered as a kind, generous man who helped the poor.

LOS ANGELES (Morning Star News) – Vietnamese officials are calling the death of a Christian in police custody a suicide – a claim family members of the severely beaten Christian strongly refute. Hoang Van Ngai, previously identified by his Hmong name of Vam Ngaij Vaj, died on March 17 in custody in Gia Nghia, Dak Nong [...]

Hmong Christian Leader in Vietnam Beaten to Death in Police Custody, Sources Say

Electrical shock torture suspected; autopsy report claims he stuck hand in electrical outlet.

The body of Vam Ngaij Vaj, who died in police custody in Vietnam’s Central Highlands after suspected torture by the communist regime.

LOS ANGELES (Morning Star News) – A Hmong church leader in Vietnam has been beaten to death in police custody, area sources said. Police beat Vam Ngaij Vaj around his neck and shoulders and likely used electric shock on him, resulting in his death on March 17, said a church leader who spoke with those who [...]

Amid Reforms in Burma, Killing of Christian Civilians Continues

Report documents rapes, destruction of church buildings and homes.

Internally Displaced People camp in northern Burma. (UNHCR photo by A. Kirchof)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand (Morning Star News) – Days before Burmese President Thein Sein was reportedly nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize last week, a report revealed his government troops had killed and raped dozens of civilians and burned hundreds of churches and homes.   At war with rebels in predominantly Christian Kachin state, government troops killed [...]

Ethnic Families in Vietnam Ransacked, Beaten for their New Faith

Recently converted Christians in Central Highlands suffer nights of terror, beating by day.

Damage to Christian home in Ngoc La village, in northwestern Kontum Province, Vietnam.

DANANG, Vietnam (Morning Star News) – Newly converted Christians of the Sedang ethnic minority in Vietnam’s Central Highlands were terrorized last week – their homes and personal property badly damaged or destroyed in four consecutive night raids, and some of the faithful seriously injured from beatings in broad daylight, sources said.   Since becoming Christians in [...]

Persecution Rises in China as Plan Begins to End House Churches

Communist government starts eradication of ‘unofficial’ Christian congregations.

Outdoor site where Shouwang Church, an unregistered church persecuted by the Communist government of China, meets in Beijing.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – China’s Christians felt a noticeable rise in persecution in 2012 as the Communist government began the first of a three-phase plan to eradicate unregistered house churches, a new report says. Cases of persecution of Christians rose by about 42 percent last year compared with 2011, according to the report by [...]

Vietnam’s New Religion Decree Termed a Step Backward

Legal recognition will now take at least 23 years; decree aims to end house churches.

On the street in Ho Chi Minh City, where church leaders lamented Vietnam's new religion decree. (International Ministries photo)

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (Morning Star News) – Protestant Christians and leaders of other faiths in Vietnam are criticizing a new decree on religion that went into effect this year as a significant step backward, with one Christian activist saying it could put an end to the house-church movement.   In a Jan. 18 [...]

Will We Be Their Voice?

Bill would create special envoy for religious minorities in the Middle East/South Central Asia.

Egyptian clergyman amid church building damaged in Islamist attack. (Morning Star News photo)

(Morning Star News) – Christians worldwide just celebrated the birth of Jesus. For many in the West this was a festive season marked by worship services, gift-giving and time with family and friends. But for the church in the Middle East, fear of persecution cast a long, dark shadow over the Christmas holiday.   Oppression [...]

Ordinary Muslims in Indonesia Violating Rights, Study Finds

Most religious rights violations were directed at Christians in 2012.

GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadefia churches protest Islamic extremist and official abuses in front of Presidential Palace on June 24 2012.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Concerns are growing over at least 50 cases of religious freedom violations against Christians in Indonesia last year, as not only extremists but ordinary Muslims were responsible for many of the acts of intolerance and violence, according to a recent study. “Cases of intolerance against Christians remained high in the [...]

Christians in Laos Resist Severe Pressures to Recant Faith

Communist authorities threaten expulsion from villages.

Village in Laos, where communist officials persecute Christians for their faith,

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – In Lao villages far from the international community’s eye, Christians who refuse to take part in traditions involving worship of ancestral spirits face severe pressures.   Authorities in southern Laos recently tried to force more than 200 Christians in six villages in Savannakhet Province to convert back to traditional, ethnic [...]