Daughter of Poisoned Christian in Uganda Strangled to Death

Muslim extremists threaten to kill former sheikh but instead attack 12-year-old girl.

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Hassan Muwanguzi, poisoned earlier this year in Uganda by Muslim relatives, did not expect the Muslim extremists who threatened to kill him on June 16 to murder his 12-year-old daughter. Muwanguzi did not recognize the four men who appeared at his door that evening and forced their way into his […]

Copt Convicted of ‘Blasphemy’ in Egypt for ‘Liking’ Facebook Page

Severity of sentence shocks Christian community, free speech advocates.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – A young Christian man in Upper Egypt accused of blaspheming Islam for “liking” a Facebook page was sentenced Tuesday (June 24) to six years in prison, shocking the Coptic community and other Facebook users. Judge Hazim Hany of Armant Criminal Court found Kerolos Shouky Attallah, 29, of Al-Mahamid village near […]

Christians in Vietnam Church Center Beaten, Locked Up in Massive Raid

Authorities show brazen disregard for law, religious rights.

(Morning Star News) – Blaring police loudspeakers awoke Bible school students at a Mennonite church center in southern Vietnam at about 11 p.m. the night of June 9, a prelude to a night of violence and detention that would seriously injure 20 people. Police called for the owner of the compound in Binh Duong Province […]

Noted Convert in Egypt, Formerly Known as Hegazy, Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

Bishoy Armia Boulous convicted for photographing unrest.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – A judge in Egypt yesterday sentenced Bishoy Armia Boulous – formerly Mohammed Hegazy, the first Egyptian to try to legally change his religious identity on his official ID – to five years in prison, his attorney said. The 31-year-old Christian received the prison term and a fine of 500 Egyptian […]

Coptic Teacher Loses Appeal, Sentenced to Prison in Egypt for ‘Blasphemy’

Falsely accused woman likely to remain in permanent exile, advocates say.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – A Coptic woman has lost her appeal of what human rights activists call a false conviction for blaspheming Islam and has been sentenced to six months in an Egytian prison. The appellate court ruling, handed down on Sunday (June 15), shocked the Christian woman, 25-year-old Demyana Abd al-Nour, her family […]

Christians Targeted in Massacre by Al Shabaab in Kenya

Deaths in coastal town of Mpeketoni could top those of Westgate mall attack.

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Somalia’s Islamic extremist Al Shabaab rebels attacked a predominantly Christian town on Kenya’s coast Sunday night (June 15), selecting out Christian males as they killed more than 57 people, area sources said. The estimated 50 Al Shabaab militants attacked two hotels, a police station and other buildings in Mpeketoni, […]

Religious Rights Violations in Indonesia Expected to Continue as Elections Approach

Islamic extremists said to be preparing to close more churches.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – The average of 56 incidents of religious rights violations churches suffered annually in Indonesia over the past seven years is not expected to abate following elections next month, sources said. Jakarta Christian Communications Forum records show churches suffered 392 incidents of religious rights violations, mainly closures and attacks, from 2007 […]

Nigerian Girl Who Escaped Boko Haram Abduction Aches for Schoolmates

Government, U.S., U.N. response inadequate, congressional subcommittee told.

ABUJA, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – The 18-year-old high school student escaped from Boko Haram with her life, but she’s feeling sharp loss. One of more than 300 girls kidnapped by the Islamic extremist group on April 15 from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno, Patience (last name withheld for […]

European Christians Face Threats, Loss of Livelihood for Expressing Faith

Plainly stating belief or acting on it meets with hostilities.

(Morning Star News) – Battles over abortion and homosexuality can be white hot, with each side accusing the other of hate-speech and discrimination, but European Christians say merely stating their beliefs or acting in accordance with them has led to hatred and hostility. Often fought on battlefields where a “post-Christian” mindset is presupposed, European culture […]

Concerns about Religious Rights in Bhutan Raised at U.N. Council

Freedom of worship, legal recognition for Christians in democratic monarchy lacking, members say.

THIMPHU, Bhutan (Morning Star News) – Several member countries of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) have raised concerns over lack of rights for religious minorities in Bhutan, but legal recognition for Christians remains nowhere in sight. At the UNHRC’s recent Universal Periodic Review of the Buddhist nation in Geneva, Switzerland, the United States and other […]