Rights groups outraged as Blinken removes Nigeria from US list of countries tolerating or promoting religious violence

Christian and government organizations have expressed fury at last week’s decision by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to remove Nigeria from a US list of countries identified as allowing or engaging in violent persecution of minority faith groups, Politico reports. Outrage at Blinken’s decision follows the bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 2021 report in which Nigeria is described as a “killing field for Christians.”

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Afghani Christians facing employment discrimination and dire economic conditions

As Afghanistan descends further into chronic economic and political catastrophe, the nation’s Christians are facing hunger and even more severe employment discrimination than they were before the US withdrawal and the Taliban takeover in August, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Afghanistan ranked two on the US Open Doors Watch List 2021 of top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted - even before the Taliban took power this summer.

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Indonesia: Islamic radicals attack Christian home believing it to be a church

It was only recently reported that Islamic radicals in East Java, Indonesia, attacked and extensively damaged the home of a Protestant Christian man at the end of last month, apparently believing the house to be a church, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has reportedly launched an investigation into the attack.

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Wife of American missionary held hostage in Niger pleads with US to honor promise of help

The wife of Jeff Woodke, an American missionary who has been held hostage in Niger for five years, on Wednesday appealed to the US government to honor its promise to keep all options on the table in seeking her husband’s release, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Making her appeal at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Els Woodke also called on the international church for help to finance the rescue effort.

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