Christian leaders in India have released a joint statement in response to allegations made by the weekly newspaper Tehelka against the Christian community. In its inaugural issue on January 30 and a second issue on February 8, Tehelka claimed Christians were carrying out “the conversion agenda of U.S. President George Bush,” and using the HIV/AIDS problem as “an opportunity for evangelism.”
...continue reading this storyIn an apparent attempt to settle an old grudge, a Pakistani man who converted to Islam several months ago has implicated a Christian acquaintance for alleged blasphemy.
...continue reading this storyMuslim protestors have attacked at least five Protestant churches over the past three weeks in the regions of East Java, West Java and North Sumatra.
...continue reading this storyChristians suffered further violence in the Buddhist-majority country of Sri Lanka on January 20, when a Catholic church was attacked near the capital, Colombo, despite the presence of a heavily armed police guard.
...continue reading this storyPakistani police arrested one suspect and seized a “huge” cache of powerful explosives in Karachi over the weekend, declaring both were linked to grenade and car bomb explosions at a local Bible Society shop on January 15.
...continue reading this storyAnson Thomas, a Christian activist who has rescued scores of minors working as prostitutes in Mumbai, India, was recently accused of “unlawfully converting” Hindu commercial sex workers. Owners of Jamuna Mansion, one of the largest brothels in Mumbai, made the accusations.
...continue reading this storyMuslim groups are taking advantage of a document issued by the Indonesian government to close several existing churches and prevent the building of new churches in Jakarta. Letter of Decision No. 137, issued in 2002, allows for churches in the Jakarta area to be closed down -- even if they have the required government permit -- should people in the surrounding community object to their existence or location.
...continue reading this storySince the Cambodian government closed the refugee camps in Mondulkiri and Rattanakiri provinces of Cambodia, the Vietnamese government has increased repression in the Central Highlands, arresting, imprisoning and killing the Montagnard Degar people to halt the spread of grass roots Christianity.
...continue reading this storyA Protestant pastor in Pakistan’s Punjab province was murdered in the early hours of January 5, just minutes after he left his home to catch a train to Lahore.
...continue reading this storyFollowing the disaster of December 26, native missionaries of Indonesia have been helping survivors on the northern tip of Sumatra Island, the single region with the most casualties.
...continue reading this story