Religious Freedom Report

[Reimagine Curator]

OCTOBER 2013

The Religious Freedom Report is a monthly update about the persecution of the Church worldwide. It is a joint project of The Institute on Religion & Democracy in Washington D.C., and the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty in Grand Rapids, Mich. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, simply click the unsubscribe button on the bottom of the page. Thanks for reading. Muslim Trophy In Syria: Lifeless Body of Decapitated Christian Child A young Christian girl beheaded in Syria. The sign of extremism and fanatics, the long beards, is present in each and everyone of these subhuman Muslims who killed this small child, in their jihad to Allah. Two Egyptian Christians Slain in Libya A group of Muslims robbed two Egyptian Christians living in Libya, then tied up and shot them to death after the two Copts refused their demand to convert to Islam, relatives said. Nigerian Islamists Kill 27 in Northeast Attacks: Official Gunmen from Islamist group Boko Haram killed 27 villagers in two attacks in Nigeria's restive northeast this week, a government official said, as violence continued to flare in the face of an army crackdown on the militants. This Is What Al Qaeda Has to Say about Friendship with Non-Muslims In a lecture posted online, Al Qaeda offers advice on friendship in which it asserts that Muslims should never become friends with non-Muslims, who are considered to be a perpetual enemy. Being a Christian Carries a Death Sentence Now In Pakistan, suicide bombers in Peshawar killed 60 Christians in their local church. In Nairobi, gunmen shot 69 (and counting) shoppers at a mall — but freed the ones who could name the Prophet's mother. What these two tragedies have in common is that the killers were Muslim and the victims, Christian. The other similarity will be the response of the West: gentle reproaches followed by … nothing. A Global Slaughter of Christians, but America’s Churches Stay Silent Christians in the Middle East and Africa are being slaughtered, tortured, raped, kidnapped, beheaded, and forced to flee the birthplace of Christianity. One would think this horror might be consuming the pulpits and pews of American churches. Not so. The silence has been nearly deafening. Priest in Zanzibar Attacked with Acid in Third Such Incident in Two Months A Catholic priest was attacked with acid on the east African island of Zanzibar in the third such unprovoked assault in two months, and remained hospitalized Saturday, the cleric told CNN. Christianity, Islam, and a Deadly Double-Standard Objective truth about Islam is forbidden, gutter opinion about Catholics is perfectly fine. Anglican Archbishop of Nigeria’s Niger Delta Province Kidnapped On Friday evening, September 6, the Most Reverend Ignatius Ogboru Kattey and his wife, Beatrice, were kidnapped near their home in Eleme, Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State in the Niger Delta. American Orthodox Hierarchs Add Voices to Ecumenical Witness on Plight of Syrian Christians On Saturday, September 7, the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) became the latest body of Orthodox bishops in North America to comment publicly on the perilous situation of Christians in the Middle East. Kenyan Mom Rubbed Blood on Herself, Played Dead to Survive Mall Attack A week ago Saturday, Sneha Kothair-Mashru was having coffee with friend at the Westgate mall when she heard the staccato crack of gunfire. Eyes Gouged Out, Bodies Hanging from Hooks, and Fingers Removed with Pliers': Horrific Claims of Torture Emerge as Soldiers Reveal Gory Kenyan Mall Massacre Details Soldiers told of the horrific torture meted out by terrorists in the Nairobi mall massacre yesterday with claims hostages were dismembered, had their eyes gouged out and were left hanging from hooks in the ceiling.

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[Reimagine Curator]

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The Religious Freedom Report is a monthly update about the persecution of the Church worldwide. It is a joint project of The Institute on Religion & Democracy in Washington D.C., and the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty in Grand Rapids, Mich. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, simply click the unsubscribe button on the bottom of the page. Thanks for reading. Egyptian Christians Killed in Libya for Refusing to Convert to Islam In late September, two Egyptian Christians living in Libya were killed by Muslims when they refused to convert to Islam. Christians Flee Marauding Muslims in Africa's 'Forgotten Crisis' The Central African Republic (CAR) is “descending into complete chaos,” becoming a breeding ground for extremists and threatening to sink into religious and ethnic conflict that could spread through an already troubled region, the U.N. Security Council was told on Novermber 25. Maaloula: Islamist Rebels Abduct 12 Nuns from the St Thecla Orthodo... Islamist rebels have kidnapped a group of nuns from the Greek Orthodox monastery of St Thecla (Mar Taqla) in Maaloula (north of Damascus). Mgr Mario Zenari, the Vatican nuncio in Damascus, confirmed the information after speaking with the Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate. Through the Vatican diplomat, the latter "calls on all Catholics to pray for the women. North Sumatra: Hundreds of Islamists Attack Protestant Community Du... A group of extremists belonging to the Islamic Defenders Frontattacked and disrupted the Sunday services of the Tandemn Huria Kristen Batak Protestant ( Hkbp ) community in the city of Binjai, the Indonesian province of North Sumatra. Christian Persecution Heaviest in North Korea North Korea has been ranked by Open Doors as the hardest place in the world to be a Christian. It is illegal to be a Christian in the communist dictatorship under Kim Jong-Un, and those who are caught with a Bible face prison, public execution, or are sent to concentration camps. Paying in Blood: The Global War on Christians (Part 1) Sometime in November, the North Korean regime publicly executed eighty people in seven cities across the country. In each instance, a crowd was forced to watch as ten people, their heads covered with white bags, were tied to stakes and machine gunned to death. Christians Must Cooperate to Help the Persecuted Church, Pope Tells... Pope Francis has called for increased cooperation among Christians to protect religious freedom and the right to promote Christian values in society without discrimination. Living Dangerously: Christian Persecution Around the World In his 18th-century classic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,English historian Edward Gibbon famously attributed the fall of the Roman Empire primarily to the rise of the Christian religion. The Christian belief in eternal life, paired with the gospel teachings on love of neighbor and the demand to turn the other cheek, were responsible, Gibbon believed, for the weakening of the Roman peoples’ concern with this earthly state. Baroness Sayeeda Warsi Addresses Crisis of Christian ‘Hemorrhaging’ Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the United Kingdom’s first Minister of Faith, came to Washington on a mission to stop the global persecution of Christians. Hope Dims for Religious Rights in Iran with Sanctions Deal As Western powers prepare to ease economic sanctions against Iran in support of a new nuclear non-proliferation treaty, human rights activists say leverage for winning freedom for prisoners of faith may about to be lost. Police in India Slow to Investigate Torture, Killing of Christian Boy The father of a 7-year-old boy who was tortured and killed in India’s Rajasthan state said police are ignoring his suggestions on possible suspects – Hindu extremists who have long threatened to kill him.

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