Christians in Burma need our prayers. This Sunday is the Global Day of Prayer for Burma – and it comes right as Christians in Burma are courageously standing against a military coup. Burma was on a tentative path away from decades of brutal rule by a military junta that persecuted Christian ethnic minorities. But it … Read more
Shahbaz Bhatti, the highest Christian official in Pakistan and advocate for religious freedom, was assassinated on March 2, 2011. He had courageously fought for religious minorities and against the country’s blasphemy law, which outlaws insulting Islam. Anticipating his killing, Shahbaz arranged for a video interview to be sent to news agencies within hours of his death. … Read more
After tentative hope for a peace process, Burma’s military has renewed its attacks on Karen villages. In one area, over 200 people fled the shelling and are hiding in the jungle. Burma “has not specifically said it is because the Karen in the area are Christian, but have somehow made deals with any Buddhist villages,” … Read more
In 1975, following six centuries of monarchy and then colonization by France that ended in 1949, communists took over Laos and instituted socialism. Today, roughly 7.5 million people from 49 ethnic groups live in Laos, with just under two-thirds identifying as Buddhist, a third as no religion and less than two percent as Christian. What’s … Read more
Just like us in the U.S., every country is struggling with the COVID pandemic. But in some places it is an excuse to discriminate more against impoverished Christians. For Christians in Egypt – who already face kidnappings, forced conversions, and murder by extremists – the corona virus has led to being denied medical care and … Read more
Officials burst into Pastor Sohail’s house in the middle of the night. The authorities accused him of “terrorism” and threw him in jail – for months. His crime? Helping poor Christians in Pakistan whose homes were destroyed and whose land was seized by local henchmen. Pakistani Christians in the U.S. organized a campaign to fight … Read more
UPDATE (11/13/20) – Middle East Concern reports: Muna and Awale were deported by order of the Somaliland Court on Nov 1. The Somali converts from Islam to Christianity traveled with their infant to Somalia then onto a safe country to be reunited with their two oldest sons. According to their lawyer, this decision came after … Read more
Pakistan’s culture of injustice was exposed when Asia Bibi, an impoverished Christian mother, was convicted of ‘blasphemy’ and sentenced to death by hanging. Asia’s crime? Muslim villagers were offended when she – a despised “untouchable” Christian – touched a cup when she brought them water. They accused her of blasphemy, a crime punishable by death … Read more
China is punishing children for believing in God and belonging to religious groups – even banning children from entering a church – to force them into a “correct” worldview. “President Xi Jinping and his Chinese Communist Party have really started a war against children’s faith,” said Bob Fu of ChinaAid. “For the first time since … Read more
Lebanon, a country that was already collapsing under a prolonged economic meltdown and consequent soaring hyper-inflation has been doubly hit by the COVID-19 crisis and now devastating explosions at the Beirut port that killed hundreds. A large portion of the country’s population who had been driven into poverty before the explosion is now enduring a spike … Read more