Middle East

An American Christian working in Turkey has called for open dialogue on the issue of persecution of churches in that country.

Inescapably intertwined with Bible history, Egypt and much of her history has had great impact over the years on Judaism, then Christianity. From Joseph being appointed as second-in-command to Pharaoh, to Moses leading the Jews through the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula, to the infant Jesus and His family seeking refuge, the stories are familiar … Read more

For many Western Christians, the mention of “Iraq” gives rise to mental images of Saddam Hussein and the Gulf War. Few realize that there are Christians in Iraq and that those Christians have arguably suffered more from the U.N. sanctions imposed after the 1991 war than from government oppression.

Instead of convicting the Muslim murder suspects accused of killing 21 Christians in last year’s El-Kosheh massacre, a judge in southern Egypt has accused the local Coptic clergy of responsibility for the three-day rampage.

An Egyptian court sentenced Coptic Christian Sourial Gayed Isshak to three years in prison at hard labor in mid July, convicted on charges of insulting the Muslim religion.

The sentencing of a former Muslim on trial in Yemen for converting to Christianity was delayed until next Wednesday, July 19, his lawyer confirmed today.

Officials from Egypt’s powerful State Security Intelligence (SSI) agency detained a Coptic Orthodox Christian for the fourth time in early June, interrogating him under torture on accusations of preaching Christianity to Muslims.

A Yemen court meted out the death penalty today to a Somali refugee for converting from Islam to Christianity, unless he recants within seven days.

Two Turkish Christians imprisoned near Izmir for a month on concocted charges of insulting Islam were ordered released March 30, after prosecution witnesses admitted that local gendarmarie officials pressured them to sign prepared complaints.

Two Turkish Christians arrested March 1 while selling and distributing Christian literature near the southern port city of Izmir were refused bail today, pending a court hearing scheduled for March 30.