COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (Morning Star News) – Until her death last month at the age of 63, Bolivian attorney Ruth Montaño had done perhaps more than any living person to advance the rights of religious minorities in her Andean homeland. A specialist in constitutional law and permanent legal counsel to the National Association of Evangelicals of Bolivia […]
Legacy of a Hard-Working Fighter for Religious Freedom
Ruth Montaño toiled in the trenches for silenced voices in Bolivia.
Clear Vision Needed against Unchecked Violence in Nigeria
Media obfuscate religious motives while Islamists aim for civil war.
(Morning Star News) – Renowned French film-maker, journalist and philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, hardly a right-wing “Islamophobe,” is among those who have made reports that indicate funding from Islamist organizations abroad is behind the radicalization of mosques in Nigeria. Radical mosques and Islamic schools (madrassas) contribute to the kind of violence perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen, leading […]
Vietnam Denies Permission for ECVN(S) to Hold Clergy Assembly
Country’s largest evangelical body forced to ‘postpone’ conference.
(Morning Star News) – The government of Vietnam has denied the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) permission to hold its scheduled bi-annual Clergy Assembly, according to the Bureau of Religious Affairs. After the ECVN(S) announced on Nov. 25 that it was “postponing” the assembly scheduled for Feb. 1-3, 2021 because the government had denied permission, […]
Church Building in Cuba Demolished, Re-Openings Blocked
Government harasses those opposed to social policies, Christian leaders say.
(Morning Star News) – Authorities in Cuba have demolished a church building and are blocking other churches from re-opening after the lifting of pandemic restrictions, sources said. Having demolished an Assemblies of God building in the Abel Santa Maria area outside Santiago de Cuba on the southeastern part of the island, officials are blocking church […]
Christian Flogged in Iran, Pastor and Wife Forced to Flee
Harsh sentences reflect dark times for both recognized and underground churches.
(Morning Star News) – The flogging an underground Christian in Iran received and the harsh prison sentence upheld for the pastor of a legally recognized church reflect the growing dangers of Christian faith in the country. Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi on Oct. 14 received 80 lashes for drinking Communion wine. Alcohol is forbidden only for […]
Christians in China Forced to Replace Christian Items with Portraits of President
84-year-old man is told to pray to Communist Party leader.
(Morning Star News) – An 84-year-old Christian in Shanxi Province, China was among people in at least five provinces ordered to remove Christian imagery from their homes and replace them with pictures of President Xi Jinping, religious rights magazine Bitter Winter reported. “The township [Chinese Communist] Party [CCP] secretary asked me to take down and […]
Hopes Wilt for Teaching Christianity in Schools in Sudan
Obligatory classes on Islam result in Islamization, sources say.
JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – Hopes that the transitional government in Sudan would allow Christianity as a school subject alongside Islam wilted when officials omitted it from an academic schedule released last week, sources said. Doubly disappointed when an expected TV broadcast of school lessons on Christianity was omitted from the government-owned Television […]
Harsh Sentence for Pastor Wang Signals Severe Crackdown in China, Sources Say
Early Rain Covenant Church leader given nine years in prison.
(Morning Star News) – The sentencing of pastor Wang Yi to nine years in prison this week for “subversion” and “illegal business activities” shows how authorities in China are increasingly intolerant of unregistered churches, sources said. Pastor Wang of Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan Province, was sentenced in closed-door […]
Crackdown on Christianity in China Ramps Up
Persecution rising toward levels under Chairman Mao, sources say.
(Morning Star News) – As more government officials in China are empowered to close churches and a “social credit” system threatens to block Christians from schools, bank loans and jobs, authorities have taken harsh measures against more churches, sources said. Early Rain Covenant Church elder Qin Defu was sentenced to four years in prison on […]
Al-Baghdadi Is Dead, but the Fight Goes On
Demolish strongholds with weapons not of this world.
JOS, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – The death Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State (IS), did not come as a surprise to many across the world – many terrorists brandishing a gun in one hand and the Koran in the other have gone the same way. Boko Haram, the terrorist group now allied […]