By Anthony Bond A Christian woman has spoken of how she was given a death sentence in Pakistan because she drank water from a well with a cup used by Muslim women. Mother-of-five Asia Bibi, 46, has spent the last four years languishing in a prison cell after being condemned to hang following a conviction…
Review by Bruce Thornton We are living through one of the largest persecutions of a religious group in history. Few people realize that we are today living through the largest persecution of Christians in history, worse even than the famous attacks under ancient Roman emperors like Diocletian and Nero. Estimates of the numbers of Christians…
By Sarah Sirgany and Laura Smith-Spark Kafr Hakim, Egypt (CNN) — For 67 years, the Virgin Mary Church has been a peaceful refuge for Shenouda El Sayeh, much like the Giza province village of Kafr Hakim where it rests and where he has lived all those years. But, as he swept its floors on Thursday,…
By John S. Dickerson Reza Aslan, author of the new book, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” has been interviewed on a host of media outlets in the last week. Riding a publicity wave, the book has surged to #2 on Amazon’s list. Media reports have introduced Aslan as a “religion scholar”…
By Beth Byrd CAIRO (BP) -– At least six Egyptian Christians have been murdered in a persecution surge following former president Mohamed Morsi’s removal from office July 3. Christian persecution has intensified, CBS News reported, because Christians supported the ousting of Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who was elected to office a year ago. “People…
World Watch Monitor Middle Eastern Christians are experiencing one of the most significant periods in their history, according to religious and political leaders meeting in London last week. Regime changes in Egypt and Iran and sectarian violence in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq have presented an opportunity for the Christian minority to speak out, or for…
By Jeff Walton Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is this week embarking on his first visit abroad since his enthronement earlier this year. Lambeth Palace says the Anglican official chose the Holy Land because of the region’s importance to global stability. Welby is “deeply concerned for justice and for the security of all the peoples…
By Helene Fisher The conclusion of a new report by U.S. Hudson Institute researcher Lela Gilbert is clear and unequivocal: Gender-based violence plays a key strategic role in the plans of those who wish to eradicate Christians and Christian belief from Muslim lands. “Gender-Based Violence as an Expression of Christian Persecution in Muslim Lands,” written…
Open Doors The following article was written by Michael (not his real name). He is a Christian leader in Egypt, which is ranked No. 25 on the Open Doors 2013 World Watch List of the worst persecutors in the world. This morning, as I was praying to start a new day with all its happenings…
By Richard L. Russell Americans of all political stripes have embraced the promotion of democracy as a centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy. But this American democracy crusade has caused huge, and largely overlooked, collateral damage since the 9/11 Al Qaeda attacks against the United States in 2001. The fall of authoritarian regimes throughout the greater…