Persecution | TLG Christian News

Pastor, Eight Others Missing in Uganda After Muslims Beat, Rape Congregation

30/01/2017 0 Comment

(Morning Star News) – A pastor in eastern Uganda and eight other Christians are missing two weeks after a Muslim mob attacked a church prayer meeting, locked the congregation in, beat several members and raped 15 women, sources said.

The approximately 90 Muslims broke into the evening prayer meeting of Katira Church of Uganda, in Katira village, Budaka District at about 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 and beat them with clubs and sticks, area sources said. Previously Muslims had only thrown stones at the ..

Sri Lankan Church Lives on Despite Destroyed Building, Death Threats From Buddhist Monk

23/01/2017 0 Comment

(World Watch Monitor) — The leader of a Sri Lankan church destroyed by a mob earlier this month has vowed that the church will continue to meet.

Kamal Wasantha, leader of the Kithu Sevana prayer centre, told Asia News, “No attack can stop us. We shall continue to meet and pray under a tree.”

Despite the attack leaving the Christian community of 15 families and 20 other worshippers nowhere to meet, they have no desire for revenge. “[We] shall not attack them in retaliation. Judgment belongs to ..

Report: Global Christian Persecution Rose for Third Year in a Row in 2016

15/01/2017 0 Comment

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A watchdog organization that releases a report each year on the global persecution of Christians says that acts of hostility against believers rose for the third year in a row in 2016, with persecution in South and Southeast Asia particularly rising to “unprecedented levels.”

“For Christians in the West, the Open Doors World Watch List is a clear indicator that we need to advocate on behalf of those who do not have the same religious freedom privileges we do,” said David Cur..

Christian in Algeria Sentenced to Prison for Islamic Cartoons on Facebook

13/01/2017 0 Comment

Photo Credit: Mohamed BengueddaTIZI-OUZOU, Algeria (Morning Star News) – A judge in Algeria has reduced from five years to one year a prison sentence for a Christian convicted of offending Islam with cartoons on his Facebook page.

Samir Chamek, a 33-year-old theater actor in Algeria’s northern area of Wilaya de Bouira, had been sentenced to five years and a fine of 100,000 Algerian dinars (US$900) last year under Article 144 of the country’s 2006 law outlawing any “writing, drawing, statement o..

Sudan Officials Ignore Order to Remove Government-Imposed Church Leaders

02/01/2017 0 Comment

Photo Credit: OCHA(Morning Star News) – After more than three years, the leadership of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) remains in the hands of government-appointed committee members even after a court ruled in November that the appointments were illegal, sources said.

Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment appointed a group to run the SPEC offices on May 13, 2013, in what the prior church leaders called a bid to control church activities and rid the country of Chr..

Nigerian Christians Face Pressure to Abandon Faith

16/12/2016 0 Comment

(World Watch Monitor) — While violent attacks on Christians at the hands of Islamist militants Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen in the northeast and Middle Belt of Nigeria have captured media attention, the persistent social pressures Christians face elsewhere go mostly unnoticed.

Despite common misperceptions that they are a minority across the north of Nigeria, Christians still form the majority in half of the 12 northern states now all under Islamic law (although they are in theory exempt ..

Congress Passes ‘International Religious Freedom Act’ to Combat Persecution Worldwide

15/12/2016 0 Comment

WASHINGTON — Congress passed a bill this week that aims to give the White House and State Department improved tools to address religious persecution worldwide.

The Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act had been introduced in the House last year by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and then in the Senate this year by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. The bi-partisan-backed bill first passed the House in May and then came before the Senate this month, where it passed unanimously.

It is named after fo..

Trial Begins Against Indonesian Governor Accused of Blaspheming Islam

14/12/2016 0 Comment

(Morning Star News) – The blasphemy trial of Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama began on Tuesday, with the ethnic Chinese Christian breaking into tears inside the courtroom while hundreds of people protested outside.

Some 2,000 police officers kept anti-Ahok and pro-Ahok protestors apart outside the heavily guarded court. Those opposing Ahok chanted, “Jail Ahok, jail Ahok, jail Ahok now.”

A panel of judges will hear from 30 witnesses and see 50 pieces of evidence regarding the charge o..

Former Muslim’s 60-Year-Old Mother Attacked in Uganda for Putting Faith in Christ

13/12/2016 0 Comment

(Morning Star News) – Relatives of a former Islamic teacher attacked his 60-year-old mother on Thursday (Dec. 8) for becoming a Christian, wounding her head and breaking her hand, sources said.

Aimuna Namutongi sustained a deep cut on her forehead. She and her son, 30-year-old Malik Higenyi, were trying to gather cassava at 10 a.m. on the homestead he had been forced to abandon in Bufuja village, Butaleja District, after Muslim relatives threatened to kill him if he returned.

Higenyi, whom Mus..

Turkey Jails U.S. Pastor on ‘Terrorism’ Allegations

12/12/2016 0 Comment

(World Watch Monitor) — A Turkish judge has sent Andrew Brunson to prison in Izmir, 64 days after the U.S. pastor and his wife, Norine, were detained on 7 Oct. under Interior Ministry deportation orders.

Although his wife was released on 19 Oct. and given an extended permit to remain in the country, Andrew Brunson has been held since 20 Oct. at the Harmandali Detention Center on the northern edge of Izmir.

The 48-year-old was transferred overnight on 8 Dec. to a counter-terrorism center, befor..