07
May
The Role of Parliamentarians in Combating Religious Persecution
I had the privilege recently participating in a webinar "The Role of Parliamentarians in Combating Religious Persecution" co-hosted by the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief and ADL's Task Force on Middle East.
05
March
Global support calls for Iran to return ancestral lands to Bahá’ís
A global campaign is demanding Iran return ancestral lands which were illegally confiscated solely because of the landowners’ religious beliefs.
09
December
It's Time to Get Concerned About Russia
Russian persecution of religious minorities has continued to accelerate over the last year. While the evidence is abundant, the consequences have been minimal and Russia has only accelerated its persecution in recent years.
15
June
Nigeria: Unfolding Genocide?
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief has launched a new report into Nigeria. Members have been alarmed by the dramatic and escalating violence in Nigeria characterised as the farmer-herder conflict.
Left to right: Khalil Dehghanpour, Mohammed Vafadar, Kamal Naamanian, Hossein Kadivar.
02
June
Iranian House Church Leaders Summoned to Begin Five-Year Prison Sentences
Four Iranian Christian converts have been summoned to begin their five-year jail sentences for leading house-churches, for which they were convicted of “acting against national security.”
18
May
620 Nigerian Christians Killed So Far This Year by Muslim Militants Boko Haram, Fulani Herdsmen
620 Nigerian Christians Killed So Far This Year by Muslim Militants Boko Haram, Fulani Herdsmen
17
May
Iranian Christian Converts Imprisoned
Four Iranian Christian converts who were arrested in February have been sent to Lakan Prison after they were unable to afford the bail ($30,000 each) established by Branch 10 of the Revolutionary Courts.
Wang Yi (left) with his wife, Jiang Rong (right) (Photo: ChinaAid)
15
May
Church member advised to mind "regulations"
Authorities in Chengdu, Sichuan, introduced a state-approved pastor to house church Christian Liu Hongliang. Liu and his wife attend the often-persecuted Early Rain Covenant Church. Their pastor, Pastor Wang Yi, is in prison.
12
May
Muslim Gang Killed Christian Man Because He Kept 'Preaching the Gospel of Jesus' to Them
A kidnapped seminarian was murdered by a Nigerian gang leader earlier this year because he would not stop preaching the gospel to his Muslim captors, the gang leader says.
A wave of Islamophobic posts was unleashed on social media by right-wing Hindus, some of them employed in Gulf countries [File: P Ravikumar/Reuters]
30
April
Why Arabs are speaking out against Islamophobia in India
Anger in Gulf region as right-wing Hindus target Muslims, accusing them of a 'conspiracy' to spread coronavirus.
29
January
China Bans Christian Funerals
Communist officials throughout China are using regulations that restrict religious freedom to also prohibit religious-themed funerals, even going so far as to arresting family members and stopping ceremonies mid-service.
An Assyrian woman attends Mass inside the Ibrahim al-Khalil church in Jaramana, eastern Damascus, Syria, in 2015. (Omar Sanadiki/Reuters)
28
January
A New Ranking of Nations Where Christians Are Persecuted Most
The ranking covers the worst 50 nations with respect to religious persecution of Christians. Most nations on the list are perennials, the details vary a bit year by year, but the outcome of this tragic sport rarely changes much.