Khairunissa, along with her siblings and parents, spent years living in a multi-religious and multicultural apartment in Gujarat state’s Ahmedabad city. When communal tensions and targeted violence against Muslims erupted in the Indian city on Feb. 28, 2002, her family initially felt secure, confident that their neighbors would be able to protect them.
Read MoreGlobal Christian Relief (GCR), the watchdog group launched in 2023 when Open Doors USA reorganized, has released its first persecution report, citing top five countries persecuting Christians in select categories. The 2025 GCR Red List is marketed as a “first-ever quantifiable and verifiable index” of incidents in five key areas.
Read MoreChristian persecution intensified in 2024 in Nicaragua, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and regions throughout Africa’s Sahel region, ICC said in a new report, citing increased government hostility in Nicaragua, Hindu nationalism and anti-conversion laws in India and terrorism and displacement in Africa.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Syria’s sudden shift in leadership has introduced the Islamist world’s rising star: Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the leader of HTS. Despite Jawlani’s soft-spoken promises of peace and prosperity, his history is both alarming and ominous.
Read MoreIt may be the start of a new year, but many of the same issues and concerns will dominate the news cycle in 2025. From Pope Francis’ health from the erosion of religious freedom in many parts of the globe to the moral implications that come with the widespread use of AI, here’s what to watch for in the new year.
Read MoreAs 2024 draws to a close, the Christian community in India reflects on a year marked by increasing challenges and persecution. Data from various organizations paint a sobering picture of the difficulties faced by this religious minority, which comprises approximately 2.3% of the country’s population of 1.45 billion people.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Anyone who is interested in the roots of Christian history is familiar with the following, drawn from the 11th chapter of Acts. Where is Antioch today? That biblical city now known as Antakya, located on the Orontes River about 12 miles from the Syrian border. The history of the church in Antioch was at the heart of the news in this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.
Read MoreBaker Cathy Miller, who won two lower court battles in her refusal to custom design a wedding cake for a lesbian couple, continued to plead her case for individual religious freedom this week in a California appeals court.
Read MoreChristians in Nigeria plan to celebrate Christmas amid fear of a repeat of violence that claimed at least 160 lives in Nigeria’s Middle Belt at Christmastime in 2023 and dozens in northern Nigeria during the holidays in 2022, international religious liberty advocates reported.
Read MorePatriarch John X of Antioch delivered a powerful sermon at the Church of the Holy Cross in Damascus, addressing Christians in Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad and the takeover by an Islamic rebel group.
Read MoreTen Catholic priests and a seminarian were murdered during the six-year term of former Mexican President López Obrador that ended Sept. 30, the Catholic Multimedia Center said in its 2024 annual report.
Read MoreMinnesota Christian parents are challenging a state law that blocks certain Christian colleges from a program that allows colleges to enroll high schoolers in tuition-free college credit courses.
Read More(OPINION) A thorough analysis of the autopsy reports for the 10 Kuki-Zo “village volunteers” killed in Manipur during an alleged gunbattle with the Central Reserve Police Force suggests that the young men were shot from behind or from multiple directions and at close range. Some of them also sustained injuries that cannot solely be attributed to gunfire.
Read MoreDespite fears of persecution, the asylum claims of Iranian Christians have consistently been refused by Georgian authorities, a new report says. The claim, in a 24-page joint report by Article18, CSW, Open Doors and Middle East Concern, is based on interviews with the asylum-seekers and their lawyers. The report found that one-fifth of asylum-seekers in Georgia are Iranian, but few have gained entry.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It’s crucial for readers to understand that while Islamic radicals have killed Christian believers by the thousands, they also attack and murder Muslims who do not share their warped version of Islam. This includes persecuting Muslims who dare to assist organizations — such as the Red Cross — that seek peace in the midst of Nigeria’s ongoing civil strife.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In 2023, 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes were documented in 35 European countries. This included 232 personal attacks, such as harassment, threats and physical violence. At least 2,000 Christian places of worship were damaged. Attacks took place throughout the continent, including Germany, the United Kingdom and especially France.
Read More(ESSAY) When we finally arrived, I was greeted with an obvious sort of curiosity. I later learned that I was the first white person to visit the city since the violence broke out over a year ago. I was stunned by this revelation. In a city that is under siege and giving refuge to 40,000 people, not a single emissary, journalist or missionary from a Western nation had bothered to visit?
Read More(ANALYSIS) The absence of religious “safety nets” in schools has been blamed for the growth in juvenile delinquency across Zimbabwe. Parents and communities are becoming aware of the vacuum caused by the absence of faith-based activities in schools as a result of drug addiction and other crimes. Christians, it should be noted, have been impacted by this more than any other religious group.
Read MorePastor Eli Abdullah Tinau lives in the charred room that remains of his home after an attack by militant Fulani Muslims, an increasingly violent group accused of killing thousands of Christians in Nigeria. But Tinau, a Fulani Christian who converted from Islam, is committed to sharing the Gospel with Fulani Muslims as a missionary and pastor of Evangelical Church Winning All in Nkiendoro, about 60 miles from Jos in the Bassa Local Government Area.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Some 79 countries around the world continue to enforce blasphemy laws. And in places such as Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, violation of these measures can result in a death penalty. While the U.S. is not among those countries, it also has a long history of blasphemy laws.
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