Persecution

NAIROBI, Kenya (Compass Direct News) – About 40 Muslim extremists with machetes and clubs tried to break into a Sunday worship service outside Uganda’s capital city of Kampala on Nov. 1, leaving a member of the congregation with several injuries and damaging the church building.

Eyewitnesses said the extremist mob tried to storm into World Possessor’s Church International in Namasuba at 11 a.m. as the church worshipped.

“The church members were taken by a big surprise, as this happened during worship time,” said Pastor Henry Zaake. “It began with an unusual noise coming from outside, and soon I saw the bricks falling away one by one. Immediately I knew that it was an attack from the Muslims who had earlier sent signals of an imminent attack.” more >>

More than 100 organizations, including Muslim and secularist ones, have signed a petition against the proposed U.N. resolutions on the "defamation of religions," which they contend will do more harm than good for religious freedom.

The “Common Statement from Civil Society on the Concept of the ‘Defamation of Religions,'” signed by organizations in over 20 countries, opposes the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s (OIC) proposal for the United Nations to adopt a binding treaty that would protect religions from defamation. The groups pointed out that a similar resolution adopted earlier this year only cites Islam as the religion that should be protected.

Moreover, human rights groups say the resolutions will give credit to anti-blasphemy laws in countries such as Pakistan and Sudan. more >>

More than 20,000 letters are to be handed to the Indian High Commission later in the month in a show of solidarity with Christians in India’s Orissa state.

The letters have been gathered by Open Doors and Premier Christian Radio as part of their Faith Without Fear campaign, which is calling on Christians in the United Kingdom to contact Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and urge him to help Christians displaced by violent attacks last year to return to their homes.

The campaign also calls on the Indian government to ensure the swift trial of perpetrators, protection for witnesses and adequate compensation for victims. more >>

A Uzbekistan court recently convicted the president of the Baptist Union of Uzbekistan and two other Baptist leaders for allegedly “evading taxes” and involving children in religious activity without their parents’ consent.

Pavel Peychev, who is also the president of the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist of Middle Asia, was convicted for failing to pay taxes for church-run summer camps, according to Forum 18. However, Peychev denied that the church financially profited from the camps and had evaded taxes.

The parents of the children listed in the case also said investigators had fabricated their statements. more >>

A new pioneer report, released Tuesday, sheds light on the often deliberately ignored problem of Christian women in Egypt being abducted, forced into Muslim marriages and coerced into converting to Islam.

Released by Christian Solidarity International and the Coptic Foundation for Human Rights, “The Disappearance, Forced Conversions and Forced Marriages of Coptic Christian Women in Egypt” report documents dozens of real cases of Christian women who were lured and then violently forced into marriage, often after being raped.

Report research was done in Egypt by American anti-trafficking specialist Michele Clark and Egyptian women’s rights activist Nadia Ghaly. Based on research findings, the report contends that the violence against Egypt’s Christian women corresponds to the internationally recognized definitions of human trafficking. more >>