Persecution Watch Oct – Nov 2017

Rebuilding hope in Iraq

Christians are slowly returning to the town of Karamles in Iraq after Islamic State (ISIS) was ousted.

Over half of the houses in the town are either piles of rubble or completely burnt out, but 250 families have signed up to return. With the help of Christian charity Open Doors, 30 houses have so far been restored, with 20 more in the pipeline. However, the returnees get no help from the government. Read More

PERSECUTION WATCH: APRIL – MAY 2017

Somalian family attacked in their sleep

Terrorists wound father, kill wife and son

Al Shabaab militants in Somalia – affiliated with Al Qaeda

Islamic extremists in Somalia shot a Christian family as they slept, seriously wounding the husband and killing his wife and 11-year-old son.

The militants broke into the family’s home in Afgoi, about 30k from Mogadishu, at dawn. According to Morning Star News, at least four armed men carried out the attack in February, shouting the jihadist slogan, “Allahhu Akbar (Allah is greater)” and saying, “We cannot allow the defiling of our religion with a foreign, Western religion.” Read More

Iranian Church may be world’s fastest growing

(Photo: © Hope for the Persecuted)

OVER 200 Iranians and Afghans were baptised at a service near Iran in September.

New converts from eight Persian-speaking churches shared the stories of how Jesus had transformed their lives, according to Elam Ministries. Read More

PERSECUTION WATCH Oct – Nov 2016

Girl kidnapped by ISIS appears on Facebook

Two years after her abduction by ISIS, little Christine, whose kidnap we reported in HEART, is still missing – but hopes rose for her mother when her daughter’s photo appeared on Facebook.

At least … Read More

Iran: Maryam back in prison after treatment

Maryam Naghash Zargaran before her imprisonment

Maryam Naghash Zargaran, a Christian convert from Islam, has been in Evin prison for three years and urgently needed medical treatment which the prosecutor refused to grant.

Since our report in the June-July issue, … Read More

British bishops join Free Iran protest

Right Rev Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester – one of several bishops protesting against Iran’s treatment of Christians. Photo: Diocese of Gloucester

Persecution of Christians in Iran is getting worse, said four bishops as a ‘Free Iran’ international protest took place in Paris on 9 July.

Almost 80 British and American church leaders supported the protest, one year after economic sanctions on Iran were lifted. They demanded government action to prevent persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Islamic state. Read More

US accused of Iran cover-up

Saeed Abedini after his release earlier this year

The law firm that successfully lobbied for the release of Christian pastor Saeed Abedini from Iran says the US administration ignored hostages in Iran while negotiating a nuclear deal with the country.

Read More

Iranian prisoner encourages the faithful

The current crackdown on Christians in Iran has targeted the leaders of house churches, but an imprisoned convert has managed to sneak out a message to encourage Iranian Christians. Read More

JEWS AGAIN THREATENED WITH GENOCIDE – DO WE CARE?

WHEN THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ WAS CELEBRATED JUST A YEAR AGO, FEW COULD HAVE IMAGINED THAT ANTI-SEMITISM WOULD GET EVEN WORSE. BUT IT HAS…

THE PAST YEAR HAS SEEN TWO SHOCKING terrorist attacks on Paris, with Jews specifically targeted on both occasions, along with a wave of stabbings and shootings of innocent bystanders in Israel itself. Read More

FREE AT LAST!

Pastor Saeed’s Iran jail hell over

But 90 other Christians are still jailed for their faith in Iran

By Andrew Boyd

Iranian / American pastor Saeed Abedini has been set free after more than three years in jail in Iran. He was denied medical treatment because, as a Christian, he was considered ‘unclean’. Read More