(Morning Star News) – Men running, women pleading for God’s mercy, children screaming out of fear, older women trapped under rubble and thick dust rising in the air. This has been a recurring scene in Iraqi cities for close to a decade. Since June 26, 2004, Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac) churches have […]
Iraq: When the Lights Go Off and the Dust Settles
You may not hear much about it, but ethno-religious cleansing in Iraq has not ceased.
March 25, 2013 By - 1 Comment
Amid Reforms in Burma, Killing of Christian Civilians Continues
Report documents rapes, destruction of church buildings and homes.
March 14, 2013 By - Leave a Comment
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 […]
Inquiry into Death of Pakistani Christian in Custody Faces a World of Obstacles
Political, religious and societal dynamics favor the murderers of 65-year-old tortured to death.
February 26, 2013 By - Leave a Comment
LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – The murderers of a 65-year-old Christian in Pakistan are not likely to face justice in this world. A miasma of political and religious dynamics makes it unlikely. A Pakistani court has ordered a judicial inquiry into the death of Niyamat Masih, who died in police custody from torture. Officers tortured […]
Persecution Rises in China as Plan Begins to End House Churches
Communist government starts eradication of ‘unofficial’ Christian congregations.
February 16, 2013 By - Leave a Comment
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 […]
Under-Reporting Obscures Martyrdom of Christians in India
Anti-Christian hostility disputed in three of four deaths.
January 28, 2013 By - Leave a Comment
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Four Christians in India died for their faith last year, but incomplete information obscured the anti-Christian hostility in three of the deaths, sources said. In Tamil Nadu and West Bengal states where the killings took place, area Christians assert that the murders were rooted in opposition to Christianity; specifically, […]
Will We Be Their Voice?
Bill would create special envoy for religious minorities in the Middle East/South Central Asia.
January 17, 2013 By - Leave a Comment
(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 […]
Religious ‘Cleansing’ in the Middle East a Growing Threat
Christian communities under attack in the region.
January 1, 2013 By - 1 Comment
(Morning Star News) When Iran’s holocaust-denying President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proclaims, “Israel must be wiped off the map,” the United States rightly takes the threat of genocide seriously. President Obama, like his predecessor, is committed to preventing the eradication of the people of Israel. Conservative U.S. Christian leadership, as reflected by Christians United for Israel, has […]
Saudi Textbooks Retain Hateful Refrains
Schoolchildren primed with pre-persecution slurs against ‘infidels.’
December 10, 2012 By - Leave a Comment
I have researched and written about the toxic content of school textbooks published by the Saudi Ministry of Education for almost a decade and have found that little has changed in them over this period. Last year, I had the opportunity as a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to travel to […]
Oppressive Powers in Pakistan Threaten Christian Lives
Simmering social, economic, religious pressures can explode at any time.
December 5, 2012 By - Leave a Comment
The author is the director of the Center for Law and Justice in Lahore, Pakistan. In a land where “Christian” is synonymous with lowest-caste “untouchable,” many Muslims here believe Parvaiz Masih deserved the series of attacks he and his wife suffered for asking a Muslim to allow him and his donkey cart to pass. […]
Pakistani Boy Accused of ‘Blasphemy’ Relates Ordeal
Cell phone mishap results in mob attacking home of Ryan Stanton, 16.
October 17, 2012 By - Leave a Comment
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – When 16-year-old Ryan Stanton and his father returned to their home in the middle-class area of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi, the night of Oct. 8, they were stunned to see the local mosque leader and about a dozen other furious Muslims waiting for them. “We saw about 10-15 locals led by Khursheed […]