religious freedom

“Nigeria: A Killing Field of Defenseless Christians” – a further 11 people were slaughtered last week

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law has published a report called “Nigeria: A Killing Field of Defenseless Christians,” in which it estimates that some 11,500 Christians have been murdered in Nigeria since 2015 by Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram and highway bandits. Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed a further 11 Christians in the state of Kaduna last week, CBN News reports.

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Member of Anglican Church in Iran imprisoned for being hostile to the regime

A Christian convert in Iran has won an appeal against conviction for “insulting the sacred beliefs of Muslims,” but lost his appeal against two charges of inciting “propaganda against the state” and for “membership of a [“Zionist” evangelical] group hostile to the regime” respectively, the Christian Post reports. Ismaeil Maghrebinejad was arrested in January 2019 and sentenced by a civil court in January 2020 to a total of six years imprisonment on the original three charges.

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Yazidis and Christians face existential threat in northeast Syria following Turkish intervention and US pull back of troops

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) heard last week that President Donald Trump’s partial withdrawal of American troops from northeast Syria in 2019 created a vacuum in which Turkey and Turkish-backed militia have been able to threaten local vulnerable civilian populations including Christians and Yazidis. Condemning Turkey’s latest airstrikes and ground operations in the region, the USCIRF called for the US government to “utilize all diplomatic and economic leverage to protect vulnerable religious minorities in northern Iraq — as well as neighboring northeastern Syria — from Turkey’s indiscriminate military operations,” the Christian Post reported.

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Iran Christian Convert: ‘15 Christians Detained for Faith’

An Iranian Christian rights activist who was jailed for protesting against Iran’s Islamic government says more than a dozen Christians remain behind bars in the country’s overcrowded prisons.

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Iranian Christians Risk Their Lives to Help Neighbors in COVID-19 Crisis

Religious freedom group Open Doors USA has been told that Christians in Iran are risking their lives to help fellow citizens with food and hygiene parcels during the coronavirus outbreak, Fox News reported Thursday. Known internationally for its radical Islamic terrorism, Iran is the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East.

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Washington Outraged Over Beheading of Christians And Other Religious Rights Abuses

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed concern Wednesday about ongoing beheadings and other abuses of Christians and other faith groups in several nations.

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US Condemns China Over 'Repression' of Christians and other Minorities

The United States accused China's leadership on Wednesday of increasing repression of Christians and other minorities while forcing religious groups to adopt its communist ideology. In remarks obtained by Worthy News, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that "In China, state-sponsored repression against all religions continues to intensify."

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India Christian Families Injured and Hiding after Hindu Attacks

Three Christian families were hiding in India’s Chhattisgarh state on Sunday after they were attacked by Hindu nationalists while sleeping in their homes, rights investigators confirmed.

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Sudan to Establish Commission for Religious Freedom

Sudan’s transitional government agreed last week to establish an independent national commission for religious freedom, The Christian Post reported. Together with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) group which fought against ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir, the Transitional Sovereign Council is forming the commission in order to “address all issues relating to religious freedom in order to affirm the principle of peaceful coexistence in the country.”

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