According to Abdel Fattah Zarawi, the Muslim leader of the Salafi party, also known as the Free Front of Algeria, any and all Christian churches remaining in the north African nation must be closed and reopened as mosques. Although the closure, destruction, or transformation of Christian churches into mosques is nearly as old as Islam itself -- Algeria was Christian-majority … [Read more...]
Pakistan: ‘Stop Building Churches, Convert to Islam’ or ‘We Will Make a Horrible Example of You’
Due to their involvement in helping build churches for impoverished Christian communities in Pakistan, Javed David, head of Hope for the Light Ministries in Lahore, and his associates, have been receiving death threats since February of this year. The latest incident occurred on April 4 (though it became public knowledge in May). According to David: I had been to church in … [Read more...]
Egypt: Gunmen Kidnap 8-Year-Old Copt from Mother’s Arms
Coptic Solidarity Armed gunmen seized an 8-year-old Coptic Christian child from his mother’s arms. The child, Antonious Zaki Hani, was walking with his mother to school in Nag Hammadi, where he attended second grade. Four armed gunmen appeared, forced the child from his mother’s hands under threat of death, and immediately fled in a car. Since the “Arab Spring” came to … [Read more...]
Freedom, Provocation, and Targets: No Cartoons Required
By Ralph H. Sidway, an Orthodox Christian researcher and writer, and author of Facing Islam: What the Ancient Church has to say about the Religion of Muhammad. He operates the Facing Islam blog. The recent Muslim jihad attack at a Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest in Garland Texas has generated strong reactions across the political spectrum. Four of us in my church recently had … [Read more...]
Turkey Bulldozes Armenian-Christian Orphanage
On the same year that millions around the world commemorated the centennial of the Armenian Genocide—or, more fundamentally, the Christian Genocide—Turkish authorities have started the demolition of Kamp Armen, an Armenian orphanage. Armenian sources reported in early May that bulldozers have begun to demolish the building located in the metropolitan district of Tuzla, despite … [Read more...]