Some Prisoners Released, but Iran Continues Crack-Down on Christians

After brief lull, converts still targeted.

(Morning Star News) – The COVID-19 crisis in Iran has resulted in freedom for several Christians among the roughly 85,000 people released from prison, but convictions have continued in spite of a short-lived lull in actions against converts to Christianity, sources said. The release of imprisoned Christians as part of the regime’s efforts to curb […]

His Exile Extended 11 Months, Christian in Iran Finds Warm Welcome

Ebrahim Firoozi’s term of forcible relocation now nearly three years.

(Morning Star News) – When a convert from Islam in Iran was sentenced to two years in exile in Sarbaz last year, the judge warned him that religious extremists in the remote desert town would treat him harshly. When Ebrahim Firoozi arrived in November to southwest Iran near the border with Pakistan, though, he discovered […]

Coptic Christian Family Attacked in Upper Egypt; Adult Son in Intensive Care

Muslim assailant told them Christians forbidden to sit outside.

CAIRO, Egypt (Morning Star News) – A Coptic Christian is in critical condition after he, his mother and brother were stabbed in Egypt on Sunday night (Nov. 17), according to media reports. The Muslim assailant in a village in Upper Egypt’s Minya Governorate first told them that Christians must not sit outside before attacking them, […]

Christian Begins Sentence of Exile in Remote, Islamist Area of Iran

Convert from Islam convicted of evangelizing.

(Morning Star News) – A Christian in Iran convicted of conducting evangelistic activities began a mandated two years in exile this month in a remote area on the border with Pakistan, sources said. As part of a larger prison sentence delivered in 2013, Ebrahim Firoozi, 33, was sentenced to two years in exile in Sarbaz, […]

Priest from Northeastern Syria Killed as Christians Suffer in Turkish Offensive

Syrian church facing violence from both Islamic State and Turkey.

(Morning Star News) – Islamic State (IS) militants claimed responsibility for killing an Armenian Catholic priest and his father on Monday (Nov. 11) in eastern Syria, where they had traveled from their home in a northeastern town hit by Turkish air strikes and terrorist bombs. In the wake of a Turkish military operation into Syrian […]

Coptic Christian Arrested for Allegedly Insulting Islam on Facebook in Egypt

Muslim extremists ransack his parents’ home.

CAIRO, Egypt (Morning Star News) – A young Coptic Christian man has been arrested near Cairo, Egypt for allegedly insulting Islam after a hacker posted material on his Facebook page, he and family members said. Fady Yousef, 25, was arrested early in the morning of June 11 in Giza, southwest of Cairo, despite having posted a […]

Muslim Clerics Threaten Sudanese Christian in Egypt

Convert from Islam fled torture in Sudan.

JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – Days after Muslim leaders in Egypt came to his apartment to warn him to return to Islam, a Sudanese Christian in Cairo received a death threat by phone last week, he said. Having fled Sudan after authorities tortured and threatened to kill him if he refused to return to […]

Church Closed in Egypt after Muslim Mob Frightens Children in Sunday School

Another worship building shuttered over ‘sectarian tensions.’

CAIRO, Egypt (Morning Star News) – A Coptic church in Upper Egypt is closed after a throng of angry Muslims attacked it this month, beating a priest and another Copt as more than 200 fearful children who had gathered for Bible lessons looked on, according to advocacy groups. One of the injured Copts, Asaad Bakheet Rezek, […]

Kidnapping, Torture in Egypt of Christian Woman from Sudan Highlights Convert Pressures

Muslim extremists also threaten to kill husband, daughter.

JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – A Christian mother from Sudan had deep cause for fear last November when her Muslim brother went to her church in Cairo, Egypt with a photo of her husband and asked members if they knew his whereabouts. Muslim extremists from Sudan had kidnapped and tortured her less than two […]

Facing Torture, Death in Sudan, Convert Flees to Egypt – and More Death Threats

Apartment broken into, passport stolen.

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Having fled Sudan after authorities tortured and threatened to kill him if he refused to return to Islam, a Sudanese Christian now faces death threats in Egypt. Unknown Muslims in Cairo began threatening him for his faith in Christ last year, 40-year-old Al Hadi Izzalden Shareef Osman said. In a […]