ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – Another court hearing in the case of three Christians that were killed for their faith in Turkey almost nine years ago is set to be held next week. The Jan. 5 hearing will be the 109th hearing to take place since the killing took place in 2007. On April 18, […]
Almost Nine Years Later, Verdict in Malatya Killings Trial Still Awaited
Defense could seek removal of monitoring devices on suspects.
December 30, 2015 By - Leave a Comment
Textbooks in Turkey Improved, but Biased against Non-Islamic Faiths, Study Says
USCIRF notes misrepresentations of Christianity.
December 27, 2015 By - Leave a Comment
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – Newly revised textbooks for schoolchildren’s mandatory religion classes in Turkey are markedly improved but still have notable shortcomings, according to a study by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The textbooks do not adequately address Christianity and other non-Islamic religions, according to USCIRF. “The current books are a […]
Five Years after Murder of Priest in Turkey, New Bishop Preaches
Pope Francis appointed Paolo Bizzeti to post at İskenderun Catholic Church.
December 17, 2015 By - Leave a Comment
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – More than five years after a bishop in Turkey was viciously murdered for reasons still shrouded in mystery, a new bishop held his first service at the church where the slain priest once preached. Bishop Paolo Bizzeti, 67, celebrated Mass at İskenderun Catholic Church in Hatay Province on Nov. 29, […]
Egyptian Army ‘Suicides’ Raise Specter of Persecution of Christians in Military
Evidence points to murder in soldiers' deaths.
December 11, 2015 By - Leave a Comment
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – In a daze, Nataay Boushra made his way out of the morgue and into a hallway of the army hospital in Cairo, Egypt. Lost in grief, he walked through the hallways of the medical facility; past nurses, past doctors and past groups of young soldiers talking to each other, but […]
Two Converts from Islam Slain in Yemen
Both Christians had received threats; one from Muslim family members, the other from Al Qaeda.
November 25, 2015 By - 2 Comments
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – Two Christians in Yemen, both converts from Islam, have been ambushed and killed because of their faith, according to sources close to the victims. In Taiz, a city with a pre-war population of 600,000 people in southwest Yemen, at least one member of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) […]
The Problem of Islam and the Islamic State
An atheist and an Anglican offer bold solutions.
November 12, 2015 By - 1 Comment
(Morning Star News) – Two remarkable pieces about Islamist violence were published last week in mainstream media – one answering the ambivalence thoughtful people feel on what to do about the Islamic State, and the other answering perplexity on what to do about Islam. They are remarkable first because, unconcerned about political correctness, they strongly […]
Islamic State Threatens to Kill Christians in Syria in Video Showing Executions
Three Assyrians shot to death in recording.
October 9, 2015 By - 1 Comment
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – The terrorist group Islamic State (IS) late last month killed three Assyrian Christians, presumably in Syria, according to an execution video released Wednesday (Oct. 7). In the video, the group threatened to kill some 200 other Christians in Syria unless it receives a ransom of $50,000 each for their release. […]
Christians in Syria Struggle to Survive amid Terrors
Pastor caught between obligations to ministry and to family.
October 2, 2015 By - 2 Comments
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – His 6-year-old daughter still wakes up screaming, more than three years after the sounds and sights of war first gave her night terrors. At least a few times each week, she wakes up with her muscles clenched, her head thrown back and her mouth open, screaming. Her father, a pastor […]
U.S.-Iranian Pastor Abedini’s Ordeal in Iran Tests, Builds Faith of Wife, Children
Addressing president of Iran or her kids, Naghmeh Abedini chooses words carefully.
September 29, 2015 By - 1 Comment
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday declined to meet with the wife of imprisoned U.S.-Iranian- pastor Saeed Abedini during his trip to the United Nations, days after the Christian’s wife learned he had recently been tortured. Rouhani instead said in a television interview that releasing Iranian criminals held in U.S. prisons […]
Christian in Egypt Kept in Prison on False Charge of ‘Blasphemy,’ Attorney Says
Second arrest in one month of a Christian for ‘evangelism.’
August 25, 2015 By - Leave a Comment
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – An Egyptian Christian who was arrested earlier this month for alleged evangelizing of Muslims in suburban Cairo could be held indefinitely in prison on a false accusation of blasphemy, his lawyer said. Medhat Ishak, a 35-year-old Christian from Ebid village in Minya Governorate, was arrested on Aug. 7 while handing […]