Persecuted Christians

December 11, 2017 By World Watch Monitor  Sory* was threatened by Islamists when they heard about his work at a church in Djalloube, central Mali, and fled, leaving his family traumatised. “I started to face serious problems when the Islamists heard about me and the conversion of some of the people [from Islam to Christianity],” Sory says. “They sent me warnings through...
Read More About Mali: ‘Christians can simply be slaughtered’ »

November 21, 2017 By Mark Ellis — Sunita Kumar (mom) with four children, Neeraj (23), Pardeep (17), Sapna (19), and Gaytari (15) A Hindu man kicked his wife and four children out of the house after they refused to renounce their Christian faith. The patriarch, Ramesh Kumar, felt scandalized by the fact that they are following Jesus. Now his wife and children struggle to...
Read More About Hindu man disowns, discards wife & 4 children after they follow Jesus »

Madrid, Spain, Nov 17, 2017 / 12:15 am ( ACI Prensa ).- Fr. Joseph of Jesus is a Chinese priest, faithful to the Catholic Church. Life is not easy for Catholics in China. Those who adhere to Rome are persecuted by the Chinese government, which only grants freedom of worship to those belonging to the state-controlled Patriotic Church. Fr. Joseph recently shared his story on the “In the...
Read More About The story of an underground Catholic priest in China »

“I use my story to tell others that, for those who love God, all things work together for good. I try to make people understand that we do not have to turn away from God because of difficult circumstances.”
Read More About ORPHAN FROM COLOMBIA USES HER STORY TO SHARE ABOUT GOD'S LOVE »

Each day, Christians living in Upper (southern) Egypt face a difficult struggle to survive because they are Christian. The widespread discrimination and outright persecution they endure defines much of their lives, ranging from their children’s education to the menial jobs they work to support their families. The narrative below illustrates a single day in the life of one of these Christians. While fictional, it is also a composite of actual experiences and represents the day-to-day reality for millions of Christians in Egypt
Read More About A day in the life of an Egyptian Christian »

Emergency Personnel Delayed Life-Saving Treatment 10/13/2017 Washington D.C. ( International Christian Concern ) - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Father Hegoumen Samaan Shehata, a priest at St. Julius Al-Akfehasi Church in Al-Fashn, Egypt, was killed by a knife-wielding assailant during his return to a church following a pastoral visit to a family. A...
Read More About Priest Murdered, Another Injured, in Cairo While Bystanders Looked On »

By Mark Ellis Dano was raised in a Christian home by parents who formerly practiced animism. After his father died, Dano turned to God and accepted Jesus as his Savior. As a young man, Dano enlisted in the military and had combat experience on the frontlines fighting Chinese rebels. “Our enemies ambushed us, they shot us and landmines exploded.” Dano reported in a  story...
Read More About Myanmar: Pastor casts demons out of chief’s son, Buddhist village comes to Christ »

By Mark Ellis — Jatya holds up photo of himself following beating (Photo credit: VOM) Jatya, a pastor in southern India, is able to document eight times he was persecuted for his faith, all memorialized in old newspaper clippings he keeps in a faded envelope. In 1992, police ordered Jatya to stop sharing Christ with others in his village. After he refused to stop, police broke...
Read More About Police broke all his fingers for sharing Christ »

Afzal Masih, father of three children, has been missing since 19 September. His home borders to that of Fazi Ullah, a Muslim businessman, who accuses him of theft. Masih family: "The purpose of the Muslim is to occupy our home, as he has already done with two other homes belonging to Christians."   Faisalabad (AsiaNews) - Afzal Masih, a Christian worker and father of three...
Read More About Faisalabad, Christian kidnapped by a Muslim landowner: They want his home »

 September 14, 2017 By World Watch Monitor  “I remember a Coptic Christian girl from a rich, well-known family in Minya. She was kidnapped by five Muslim men. They held her in a house, stripped her and filmed her naked. In the video, one of them also undressed. They threatened to make the video public if the girl wouldn’t marry him.” ‘G’, an Egyptian, admits he was in...
Read More About Egypt: ex-kidnapper admits ‘they get paid for every Coptic Christian girl they bring in’ »

Both Bibles and Christian youth meetings are forbidden for ethnic Persians in Iran, but this hasn't stopped young Iranians from hearing God's Word. Recently, a group of new believers secretly met in a Middle Eastern country to take part in discipleship seminars, talk about persecution, and, importantly, worship freely together. "When we worship together, I really feel like my...
Read More About IRAN: SONGS BRING ENCOURAGEMENT TO YOUNG SECRET BELIEVERS »

July Messina Source: Info Vaticana The church of Santa Elena was the victim of desecration, theft, and vandalism on July 3rd. The parish priest discovered the tabernacle completely emptied, smashed and detached from the wall. A statue of the Virgin Mary was decapitated, and a ciborium full of consecrated Hosts was stolen, along with an ancient reliquary containing a fragment of...
Read More About Hate crimes in Europe within second half of 2016 »

The terrifying experience of Franciscan Father Abuna Nirwan in Iraq Abuna Nirwan is a Franciscan priest, originally from Iraq, who studied medicine before being ordained. In 2004, while he was living in the Holy Land, the Dominican Sisters of the Rosary, founded by Maria Alphonsine Danil Ghattas (a Palestinian woman beatified in 2009 and canonized in 2015), gave him a relic of...
Read More About The miracle that saved a priest from a jihadist’s knife »

August 4, 2017 By Michael Ashcraft – Chaffing under repressive Islam, young Iranians are secretly turning to Christ in record numbers, and Iranian-born Shahrokh Afshar wanted to be part of the revival. So he filmed 13 programs for young people and offered them to SAT7, which broadcasts Christian programming into Iran via satellite. “Iran is 25% 14 years or younger. Iran has the...
Read More About Christianity exploding in Iran despite efforts of government to stamp it out »

11 August 2017 "I was extremely disheartened because of the opposition from my friends and relations. Many times I even considered returning to my old faith." Deepa, pictured below, is a Christian from a Hindu background in India. Her family were forced to leave their home and their village because of their faith in Jesus. But the persecution didn't end once they left. "The...
Read More About INDIA: FASHION AND FELLOWSHIP AT TAILORING CENTRE »

January Fontainebleau Source: Le Parisien The sixteenth century church Saint-Louis was entirely burnt out, images, including that of the baby Jesus, were desecrated, and the ciborium containing consecrated Hosts was stolen.  “The fire was lit at the foot of the most valuable and symbolic goods. So these are people who knew their heritage and religious value,” according to...
Read More About Hate crimes in Europe within first half of 2016 »

  By Wiliam Stark   There’s really no hiding the fact that this is a Christian town,” I said to Dr. Rabee as we drove past the enormous cross that marks the entrance to Qeraqosh, once one of the largest Christian towns in northern Iraq. “We loved living here because it is one of the few places where we were among our own people,” Dr. Rabee  explained. “This is...
Read More About THE RETURN »

07 July 2017 "The Lord gives me joy in my heart despite my struggles," says Subhash*. He doesn't say that lightly - Subhash has been imprisoned and is facing several false court cases because of his preaching about Jesus. But despite the challenges he faces, he says, "I have only one concern... that I will not be able to carry on the ministry like before. It's painful to even think...
Read More About INDIA: SUBHASH FINDS JOY DESPITE FALSE IMPRISONMENT »

  He helped organize pro-democracy demonstrations that captured the world’s attention when Chinese authorities massacred hundreds of unarmed students in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. When he faced retribution from the government for his role in the protests, suicidal despair and hatred began to consume him – until a powerful encounter with the living God. Even as a child, he...
Read More About How a despairing, hate-filled Chinese freedom fighter found Christ »

German language 61-Jähriger nach Besuch bei christlichen Verwandten in China der Spionage angeklagt (Open Doors, Kelkheim) – Nachdem er christliche Verwandte in China besucht hatte, wurde ein Nordkoreaner unter dem Vorwurf der Spionage verhaftet. Dies berichtete Radio Free Asia. Das nordkoreanische Regime betrachtet den christlichen Glauben als Bedrohung für die eigene Macht und...
Read More About NORDKOREA: VERHAFTET WEGEN KONTAKT ZU CHRISTEN »

06/08/2017  Washington D.C.  (International Christian Concern) - Alex’s heart was pounding so hard he felt sure the police could see it through his shirt. If that wasn’t enough, his leg was trembling…visibly. Surrounded by a police escort, he said a simple prayer under his breath as they turned the corner and entered the police station. Immediately, everything changed. ...
Read More About Americans Detained for 10 Hours and Deported from China for Carrying Bibles »

Militants linked to Islamic State swept through a southern Philippine city, beheading a police chief, burning buildings, seizing a Roman Catholic priest and his worshippers and raising the black flag of Isis, regional authorities have said.   President Rodrigo Duterte, who had declared martial law across the southern third of the country, warned he may expand it nationwide. ...
Read More About In Philippines: at least 21 reported killed, Catholic priest and worshippers seized, in attack linked to ISIS »

May 23, 2017 By World Watch Monitor Attock ,  Education ,  Punjab province A Christian girl studying at a state school in Pakistan has been told by her teacher that ,  if she refuses to take a class in Islamic Studies ,  then she should not be in that school. Muqadas Sukhraj chose instead to study Ethics, a subject created as an alternative for children from...
Read More About Pakistani Christian schoolgirl told: ‘Do Islamic studies instead of Ethics, or leave this school’ »

05/09/2017 Washington, D.C. ( International Christian Concern ) - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as "Ahok," has been convicted of blasphemy against the Quran and sentenced to two years in jail. The sentence was harsher than expected since even the prosecution recommended only a "suspended" jail...
Read More About Christian Governor of Jakarta Given Jail Sentence for "Blasphemy" »

04/27/2017 Washington D.C.  (International Christian Concern) - On April 15, around 7:30 p.m., while villagers were gathered to worship, Fulani militants entered Asso village in Kaduna State and killed 13 people. The security forces stationed nearby did nothing to stop the massacre, repeating the story of so many previous Fulani attacks. The governor of Kaduna state, El-Rufai, sent...
Read More About More Than 1.5 Million Have Been Displaced by Muslim Militants in Northern Nigeria »