News Releases and Featured ArticlesMap reflects the 30 most recent Persecution Reports. Click HERE for the Map Legend.Why is Burma Army Targeting Kachin Christians?Saturday, March 30th, 2013The Burma army has finally allowed the United Nations to provide humanitarian aid to the tens of thousands of displaced people, mostly Christian, in the war-torn Kachin state. It has also held peace talks with Kachin rebels. But one thing the federal government is not willing to do is stop military attacks. Christian Persecution Escalating Under Libya’s Islamist RuleFriday, March 29th, 2013The recent death of an Egyptian Evangelical Christian under dubious circumstances, along with increasing arrests and detention of Christians, confirms the rising threat of Islamist extremism and Christian persecution in Libya. Nepal’s Christians Given Much-Needed ReprieveThursday, March 28th, 2013After finally permitting Christians to bury their dead in Nepal, the former Hindu nation is showing signs of change with a pattern of religious lenience that other restrictive nations would do well to follow. New Restrictions Worrisome for Christians in MalaysiaSunday, March 24th, 2013The Sultan of Malaysia has made it illegal for anyone besides Muslims to use the word ‘Allah,’ putting Christians at risk in a nation whose legal framework tacitly works against the interests of religious minorities. Killings of Christians Spike in SomaliaSaturday, March 23rd, 2013The recent fatal shooting of a father of four by suspected Islamic extremists in the coastal city of Kismayo unmasked the pervasive threat to Christians in the nation, and hurt Somalia’s efforts to improve their human rights record. Innocent Baptist Christian Remains Imprisoned in UzbekistanThursday, March 21st, 2013Two years after an Uzbek Baptist Christian was sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking, which his church says is a false charge, Uzbekistan shows no signs of relenting on its ongoing persecution of Christians. Pakistani Government Aid Commendable, but Perpetrators of Anti-Christian Violence Still at LargeWednesday, March 20th, 2013International Christian Concern (ICC) commends the government of Pakistan for its immediate response in providing financial aid promising to rebuild the houses of Christian families following the destruction of some 180 Christian homes by a Muslim mob in Lahore on March 9. While victims are satisfied with the government’s relief efforts, they doubt the government’s pledge to bring the perpetrators to justice. Past experience has shown that offenders of anti-Christian violence in Pakistan are rarely prosecuted, and usually operate with impunity. At Least Twenty Killed in Suicide Bombing on Christian Neighborhood in NigeriaWednesday, March 20th, 2013Targeting of Christians Unabated in Communist LaosSaturday, March 16th, 2013Although Laos has taken formal steps to further religious freedom, recent incidents show that little has changed as Christian persecution is often tolerated, permitted or even endorsed by the state. Boko Haram’s Targeting of Christians Likely to Worsen in NigeriaSaturday, March 16th, 2013With a failed attempt at a ceasefire between the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram, and government soldiers, Nigerian Christians will likely continue to be victims of an unending conflict over the nation’s future. Mali Christians Hopeful Despite Extremist ThreatFriday, March 15th, 2013French military intervention in the conflict over Mali has given Christians and moderate Muslims a brief respite from the persistent Islamist threat of a reign of terror under Sharia law, though the conflict is still far from over. Attacks on Christians Spike in LibyaThursday, March 14th, 2013With the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, anti-Christian violence is quickly rising under the influence of Islamist extremism, thus raising concerns about the future of religious freedom in the country. Intervention Needed to Protect Christians in Central AsiaWednesday, March 13th, 2013With disturbing reports of persecution against Christians trickling out of a region that appears to exist in the shadows, religious freedom in Central Asia remains a matter of grave concern for the rest of the world. Christian Homes Torched by Muslim Mob over Blasphemy in PakistanMonday, March 11th, 2013More than 100 Christian homes were torched on Saturday by an enraged Muslim mob, following reports that a Christian man had blasphemed Islam in Lahore, eastern Pakistan. Thousands of Christians demonstrated throughout the country the next day demanding justice and criticizing the police for failing to protect them. Muslim Association Pressures Pakistani Court to Uphold Christian’s Death SentenceSaturday, March 9th, 2013The High Court in Lahore, Pakistan is scheduled to announce whether it will uphold the death sentence of a Pakistani Christian condemned for blasphemy in the coming weeks. After more than seven years behind bars, advocates are hopeful that the Christian will soon be released, but they fear that outside pressure by extremists may alter the court's decision. Rising Intolerance across Indonesia Leads to Violent Attacks against ChristiansFriday, March 8th, 2013“ICC is deeply concerned not only be the consistent increase in violent attacks against religious minorities in Indonesia but by the inability or unwillingness of the government to firmly address the issue. We urge President Yudhoyono to step in and take immediate concrete action to halt incidents of religious violence against not only Christians but all religious minorities. The people of Indonesia should not have to live in fear of being attacked simply for attending a Sunday morning church service. The Indonesian government must protect the right to worship freely or risk losing the nations already tarnished reputation as a tolerant democracy.”
Totalitarian Government of Eritrea Beats and Detains 125 ChristiansFriday, March 8th, 2013ICC Renews Calls for Justice on Second Anniversary of Christian Minister’s Assassination in PakistanMonday, March 4th, 2013The killers of Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's sole Christian cabinet minister, have yet to be brought to justice two years after his murder. Bhatti was assassinated in Islamabad on March 2, 2011 for opposing Pakistan's ominous blasphemy laws and for condemning the death penalty of a young Christian woman who was sentenced in November 2010 for allegedly insulting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. No Reprieve in Sight for Tajikistan’s ChristiansSaturday, February 23rd, 2013Recent administrative reforms reveal that Tajikistan is using the fear of punishment as a deterrent to all religious activity, leaving the minority Christian community as the most vulnerable to intimidation and persecution. Christians Being Targeted under Egypt’s New ConstitutionFriday, February 22nd, 2013A new Sharia-friendly constitution in Egypt has increased anti-Christian hostility and created conditions conducive to the organized persecution of the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Philippine Peace Deal Makes Christians Vulnerable to PersecutionThursday, February 21st, 2013A peace deal between the Philippine national government and Islamic secessionist rebels over the island of Mindanao could signal the end of a 40-year conflict, but it might be at the cost of religious freedom and more persecution for Christians. Christians Call for Justice Following Church Attack in EgyptTuesday, February 19th, 2013International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Christians gathered in Cairo on Sunday to protest the destruction of a church that was attacked by Muslim villagers this weekend in Egypt’s Fayoum Province. It was the second attack on Christians in the province in a little over a month. Philippine Peace Deal Makes Christians Vulnerable to PersecutionThursday, February 14th, 2013A peace deal between the Philippine national government and Islamic secessionist rebels over the island of Mindanao could signal the end of a 40-year conflict, but it might be at the cost of religious freedom and more persecution for Christians. Algerian Court Fines Christian for ProselytizingThursday, February 14th, 2013International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a Christian was given a hefty fine by an appellate court in Tindouf, Algeria yesterday for proselytizing. The verdict, viewed by advocates as an “attack” on religious freedom, raises concerns about the trial of a second Christian in Oran who may face five years in prison on similar charges. Christians Sentenced for Proselytizing Fight Verdict in Algeria’s CourtsWednesday, February 13th, 2013The final verdict of an Algerian sentenced to one year in prison for allegedly propagating the Christian faith is scheduled to be announced today during his appeal hearing in Tindouf. A second Christian, being tried for the same offense in Oran, is expected to learn whether his five-year prison sentence will stand in the coming weeks. The cases’ verdicts will reveal the Algerian government’s commitment, or lack thereof, to religious freedom, rights advocates say. Petty Dictatorship Cripples Christians’ Freedom in AzerbaijanTuesday, February 12th, 2013As Azerbaijan’s authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev seeks to secure his re-election to a third consecutive term, religious and civil liberties for Christians and others are likely to suffer even further at the hands of one of the world’s most corrupt and autonomous rulers. Kazakhstan’s New Religion Law Hurting ChristiansSunday, February 10th, 2013Just over a year after Kazakhstan tightened its laws regulating religion in a purported effort to stamp out “Islamic extremism,” reports reveal that Christians and other innocent faith minorities have increasingly been victimized by the needless reform. No Justice for Egypt’s ChristiansThursday, February 7th, 2013The convictions of two Coptic Christians on Monday for stealing weapons from soldiers during a 2011 protest is the latest attempt by the Egyptian military to cover up their involvement in a massacre that left more than two dozen Copts dead, Christians say. Nineteen Christian Children Rescued from a Trafficker Intending to Sell Them to Radical Islamic CentersThursday, February 7th, 2013International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that 19 children, who were to be sold to fundamentalist Islamic boarding schools (madrassas), have been rescued. Traffickers lied to the children’s parents, saying they would take the children to Christian boarding schools in Dhaka, when in fact, they were intending to sell the children to various madrassas. Students from Dhaka University discovered the children and rescued them. This is not the first instance of Christian children being trafficked to madrassas, as upwards of 150 children have been rescued from similar situations since July 2012. Turkey’s Christians Could Face Nationalist BacklashThursday, February 7th, 2013Religion was kept out of the public square for centuries in Turkey, but the country has become more Islamic with the “Islamic-oriented” AKP government in power for a decade. Turkish nationalists – the main persecutors of Christians and who believe in secularism – have become more active out of their disappointment, and could turn their anger towards religious minorities. |
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