Persecution

Nigeria has announced plans to diversify its efforts to combat terrorist group Boko Haram following continuous waves of violence and attacks by the Islamist sect over recent weeks. One official has called on local groups to be vigilant against the violent group, and has urged calm, saying the issue was not one between "Muslims and Christians," but that the sect simply wants to "kill people."

In Benue, Governor Gabriel Suswam has increased security around religious centers in the wake of threats by the terror group. Suswam also told members of the National Union of Local Government Employees, "Let me implore all of you to always be on alert and report any suspicious movement of strange people within your locality to security agents."

He added, "We learnt as a rumor that Benue State is on the hit list of the dreaded Boko Haram and as a person I don't count the information as a rumor… The issue of Boko Haram has become a strong one that needs to be given serious attention. If you study their activities, you discover that they come like spirits; they kill and maim people. This is not a matter of Muslim or Christian, not even pagan-their target is to kill people." more >>

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, has been facing increased pressure from those at home and abroad to put an end to the deadly violence and volatile animosity between the nation's Muslims in the north and Christians in the south. But critics claim the president may be ill-equipped to bring peace on his own. 

Nine months after being elected Nigeria's president in April 2011, Jonathan's popularity has plummeted. Already having to tackle brutal acts of violence in the north, where Muslim extremists are targeting the Christian community, the embattled leader has also faced massive protests over his decision to cancel oil subsidies, a problem of a different nature for those distressed by the religious violence.

Jonathan has faced criticism for not taking efficient steps to protect Christians regurlarly targeted in attacks by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. In fact, the president incited something of a scandal recently when he publicly admitted that he is convinced there are Boko Haram sympathizers in his own government. more >>

Several reports of persecution against Christians from around the globe have emerged this week, including an update on Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, violence against believers in Nigeria, and the kidnapping and torture of a Chinese woman linked to a house church.

Iran – Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani Still Alive but Under Increased Pressure to Recant

Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged apostasy, is experiencing renewed pressures to renounce his Christian faith and save his life by returning to Islam, the American Center for Law and Justice, which has been involved in the case, reported Wednesday. Nadarkhani has been sentenced to death for leaving Islam for Christianity and remains imprisoned awaiting confirmation of the death sentence from the Gilan Provincial Court, despite multiple protests from foreign governments, including that of the United States and the European Union. more >>

A Pakistani Christian woman convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death has successfully appealed a court's ruling, just as a petition demanding her release has reached over 500,000 signatures.

Asia Noreen Bibi, whose case has received global interest, including that of Pope Benedict XVI, was sentenced to death by hanging in 2011 after spending more than a year in a Pakistani prison.

Asia Bibi, a wife and mother, is accused of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad by Muslim witnesses, which she has denied. more >>

Although the year 2011 saw the greatest number of violations of human rights in China since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, watch dog organizations have no good news for the New Year, as some groups insist 2012 may be even worse.

On Jan. 1, more than 10 policemen led by the vice head of the local Public Security Bureau stormed into the home of Lou Yuanqi, one of the house church leaders in Huocheng County in Xinjiang (north-western China), according to information provided by Human Rights in China (HRIC), one of several human rights organizations monitoring persecution of Chinese citizens, including religious minorities.

No great damage was done and the church leader and his wife, present during the raid, are now fine. However, the incident was clearly meant to intimidate Lou as the leader of a house church – an institution detested by the Chinese communist government, according to reports from HRIC.  more >>

While the words "16th century England" likely call to mind images of Shakespeare, Henry VIII, and Queen Elizabeth, one author has argued that another name should be held in higher renown.

David Teems, author of the recently released Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice, argues that a Bible translator named William Tyndale was extremely influential in shaping the English language.

"Tyndale emancipated the English language," said Teems in an interview with CP, adding that Tyndale's translation of the Bible gave the English language "nobility." more >>