Newsfeed
Christians in Baghdad celebrate Easter with resignation
Publication Date: 5/4/2021
Source: Archyde
Easter Sunday. Mass has just ended in the Syrian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Salvation (Sayidat Al-Najat), in central Baghdad. In just a few minutes the benches are emptied, while the last notes of song are lost in the nave. Just a month ago, Pope Francis delivered from this same altar a speech of hope and unity, exhorting the Christians of Iraq to forgiveness and resilience. A particularly symbolic message in this cathedral where on October 31, 2010, terrorists had killed 48 people and injured hundreds of others.
As pope ends trip, Iraq's prime minister calls for national dialogue
Author: Hassan Ali Ahmed
Publication Date: 8/3/2021
Source: Al Monitor
After Pope Francis returned from his first international trip since the coronavirus pandemic began, where he visited different ethnicities and religious groups in Iraq, he tweeted, “Iraq will always remain in my heart.” He asked the Iraqi people “to work together, united for a future of peace and prosperity that leaves no one behind and discriminates against no one.”
Kurdistan’s President congratulated all Christians on Easter Day
Publication Date: 4/4/2021
Source: Shafaq News
Kurdistan’s President, Nechirvan Barzani, on Saturday congratulated all Christians in Kurdistan and the world on Easter Day.
North African Laws Leave Christians Vulnerable
Publication Date: 27/3/2021
Source: Persecution - International Christian Concern
Ten years after the Arab Spring, minorities in North African countries continue to experience religious persecution and oppression. According to independent research by an Egyptian, religious minorities Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco suffer from harsh and disproportionate laws.
UAE: Christian faithful observe Good Friday through online services
Author: Ashwani Kumar
Publication Date: 3/4/2021
Source: Khaleej Times
With pandemic-imposed restrictions on gatherings, majority of Christian expats are marking the holy week from their houses by following online streaming of services held in churches. Prayers for a relief from the pandemic are on every lip.
Two Christians Sentenced to Prison and Heavy Fine in Algeria
Publication Date: 4/3/2021
Source: Morning Star News
A court in Algeria has convicted and sentenced in absentia a pastor and another Christian to two years in prison and a heavy fine, accusing them of “shaking the faith” of Muslims with Christian literature at their bookstore, sources said.
Pastor Rachid Seighir and Nouh Hamimi learned by a written notification slipped under the door of their church building in Oran, a coastal city 268 miles west of Algiers, that they had been sentenced to prison and fined 500,000 Algerian dinars (US$3,745).The pastor was the manager of the now-closed bookstore, where Hamimi worked as a salesman. The judgment reads that they are condemned for “distributing publications or any other propaganda undermining the faith of a Muslim.”
Easter 2021: Churches in UAE to observe Easter with COVID-19 precautions in place
Author: Angel Tesorero
Publication Date: 3/4/2021
Source: Gulf News
As Christians across the UAE celebrate Easter on Sunday, priests and church officials reminded the congregants to observe proper health and safety protocol when they attend church services, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
'Dragged in the street': Christian persecution in Tunisia still rampant decade after revolution
Author: Emily Wood
Publication Date: 4/3/2021
Source: The Christian Post
A decade after the Tunisian Revolution, a new human rights report details the siege on religious freedom for Christians and other faith minorities in the Muslim-majority country, sharing cases in which followers of Jesus were harassed, dragged into the street, threatened and arrested.
The Attalaki Association for Liberty and Equality Committee on Religious Freedom published the annual report on the freedom of religion and belief in Tunisia for 2020. The organization was founded in 2016 to call for dialogue between religions and make the voices of religious minorities heard.
Committee of Christian Property Expropriations Makes Headway
Publication Date: 28/3/2021
Source: Persecution
A recently formed Iraqi parliament committee has returned at least 50 houses and other properties to their rightful Christian owners. The committee was formed in January by a prominent Shia leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, to explore the complaints from Christians regarding illegal property expropriations.
Iran's oppression of its Christians tears daughter from convert parents
Author: Fred Petrossian
Publication Date: 4/3/2021
Source: Global Voices
Lydia was 3 months old in 2019 when she was adopted by Sam Khosravi and his wife, Maryam Falahi, in Iran. At almost two years of age, and with serious health conditions, she was torn from her parents by a court ruling in July 2020. The reason was that Khosravi and his wife had converted to Christianity from Islam, and could not, therefore, parent a child originally born into a Muslim family.
