National Commission for Minorities, inaugurated in Pakistan on 5 May, has been welcomed as “an important step” towards the protection of religious freedom

The long-awaited National Commission for Minorities, now inaugurated in Pakistan on 5 May, has been welcomed as “an important step” in the country’s “continuing journey towards the protection of religious freedom” by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Commissioner Johnnie Moore added that the formation of the minorities commission is “undoubtedly a…

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom welcomed the Pakistani government’s recent establishment of the National Commission for Minorities.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed the Pakistani government’s recent establishment of the National Commission for Minorities to oversee religious minorities’ rights.. In a June 2014 ruling, the Pakistani Supreme Court directed the government to form a commission “to monitor the practical realization of the rights and safeguards provided…

Life for Sudan Christians is beginning to change for the better. A bill is being considered that would repeal the law prescribing death penalty for apostasy

KHARTOUM – Life for Christians is beginning to change for the better in Sudan. Mission Box News published a story on March 20, 2020, reporting that Sudan’s Transitional Government had disbanded the “church councils” operating under the previous 30-year regime of dictator Omar al-Bashar. The so-called “church councils” were fronts for persecuting Christians and demolishing…

USCIRF expressed its concern over reports in Pakistan targeting Hazara Shi’a for the spread of COVID-19 amid the Coronavirus lockdown.

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today expressed its concern over reports of the provincial government of Balochistan, Pakistan targeting Hazara Shi’a for the spread of COVID-19 amid the Coronavirus lockdown. “We are troubled that government officials in Balochistan are scapegoating the already vulnerable and marginalized Hazara Shi’a community…

International activists are sounding the alarm over what they say is the pervasive and violent persecution of embattled Nigerian Christians

The International Committee on Nigeria (ICON) launched a campaign Wednesday titled the “Silent Slaughter” to raise awareness about the estimated more than 60,000 Nigerians who have died as a result of religious conflicts since 2001. Already this year, ICON reports more than 400 Nigerians were killed because of their Christian faith, with thousands more displaced….

The wife of a Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh who was abducted in 2017 was among 12 women honored Wednesday with the U.S. State Department’s International Women of Courage Award.

WASHINGTON D.C. – The wife of a Malaysian pastor who was abducted in 2017 was among 12 women honored Wednesday with the U.S. State Department’s International Women of Courage Award. Susanna Liew, the wife of pastor Raymond Koh, was honored by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and first lady Melania Trump for fighting on behalf…

Nigeria hosts the highest rate of religiously-motivated violence in the world, according to religious freedom watchdog group Open Doors USA

NIGERIA – The Nigerian government now agrees with what church leaders have been complaining for years: Christians are the target of jihadist terrorism. “In the wake of a renewed onslaught by our tireless military against Boko Haram and their ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) allies in recent times, the insurgents have apparently changed their…

Concerns are being raised internationally about the well-being of an Iranian Christian convert who was arrested during an anti-government protest in Tehran last week.

TEHRAN – Concerns are being raised internationally about the well-being of an Iranian Christian convert who was arrested during an anti-government protest in Tehran last week. The Human Rights Activists News Agency first reported on the arrest of 21-year-old Christian convert Fatemeh Mohammadi, who prefers to go by the name “Mary” since her spiritual conversion….

Open Doors announced the 2020 World Watch List of religious persecution offenders: Christians in China experience unprecedented levels of persecution...

WASHINGTON – Today Open Doors announced the 2020 World Watch List of religious persecution offenders at a press conference in Washington, D.C, and revealed that Christians living in China are experiencing unprecedented levels of persecution, and their quality of life is deteriorating at an alarming rate. China jumped four spots, from #27 in 2019 to…

Smith says the Bible translators “will make any sacrifice, take any risk, to make Bibles available to their people in their own heart language.”

ORLANDO, FL — Wycliffe Associates an international organization involving people in the advancement of Bible translation, has received requests from some of the most persecuted places in the world for Christians: Africa, Asia, and Indonesia for 1,525 computer tablets to aid in Bible translation. The tablets play a valuable role in the MAST (Mobilized Assistance…

Christians around the world ought to pray for Kashmir as tensions in the region have spiked when India removed its long-established “special status”.

Rev. Joseph D’Souza, one of the most widely considered as one of the most influential voices of global Christianity discusses how Christians should respond to the crisis in Kashmir, and perspective for all Indian, Pakistani and all Christians to have in this dire situation. Christians around the world ought to pray for Kashmir as tensions…

Afghanistan: 48,000 mosques. No churches. Constant persecution of Christians. Over 37 million need to come to Christ. Only 40,000 believers to reach them.

KABUL – That is one way to describe Afghanistan: 48,000 mosques; no churches. Our mental picture of Afghanistan is a country torn by Taliban tribal warfare and a haven of ISIS. That vision includes thousands of U.S. troops in-country and many more whose return to “normal life” has been hindered by afflictions that range from…

Wycliffe is working to accelerate Bible translation in Indonesia. There, the Christians facing persecution are still without the Bible in their language.

ORLANDO, FL — Wycliffe Associates is working to accelerate Bible translation in Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world. There, the Christians facing persecution daily are still without the Bible in their language. Wycliffe Associates provides computer tablets and training to mother-tongue translators around the world, so they can translate the Bible quickly and…

Ananias House is a ministry dedicated to “empowering the growth of the body of Jesus Christ in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region).”

HOUSTON – Ananias House is a ministry dedicated to “empowering the growth of the body of Jesus Christ in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region).” The ministry of Ananias House in the strife-torn MENA region is three-fold: Making disciples and planting churches Offering sustained hope and comfort to people suffering from conflict and…

International Religious Freedom bipartisan hearing on the perilous state of religious freedom for Christians in China, Nigeria, Iran & other places around the world.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chairman of Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission along with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), today held a bipartisan hearing on the perilous state of religious freedom for Christians in China, Nigeria, Iran and other places around the world. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, head of the U.S. State Department’s Office…

Joshuacord, is honored to share this film that reveals the intense suffering of Christians from persecution in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

WASHINGTON —Travis Weber, Vice President for Policy and Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, spoke in Taiwan at the Taiwan International Religious Freedom Forum (TIRFF) on the importance of promoting religious freedom around the world, particularly in China. The conference is a joint effort of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan,…

Christian churches in western Uganda began an evangelistic campaign on May 20. Muslim leaders began staging demonstrations that escalated into death threats

BWERA, UGANDA – Several Christian churches in western Uganda began an outdoor evangelistic campaign in Bwera on May 20. It was evident that the event was going well as Muslim people listened and responded positively to the Gospel message.Because so many were publicly professing their faith in Christ, Muslim leaders began staging demonstrations. The demonstrations…

The Chinese government often views religions, including Christianity, as foreign attempts to undermine its rule, even though there is no evidential basis for such a claim

A local government communications agency in China held a seminar in April to discuss with Communist Party members the “enormous harm” the growth of Christianity is to the atheist nation. The Chinese Christian persecution watchdog China Aid raised an alarm about the event, titled “Christianity’s Enormous Harm on China’s Security,” held on April 22 in the…

Release International has long campaigned for the repeal of the blasphemy laws. These notorious laws are often used to target minorities & take out rivals

OTTAWA – Asia Bibi is finally free 10 years after being imprisoned on spurious charges of blasphemy in Pakistan. She spent eight of those years in a cell on death row while Christians around the world prayed for her health, safety, and release. According to reports from the Canadian Broadcasting System and the British Pakistan…

The 2019 religious freedom report identifies 16 countries that engaged in or tolerated egregious violations. China sits prominently on that list.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has released its annual report in the aftermath of attacks on mosques in New Zealand, churches in Sri Lanka and synagogues in the United States. “It’s coming at a time when religious freedom concerns, for lots of reasons, are getting more attention across the board,” USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie…

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom cites dozens of countries but especially notes China’s repression of a range of religious beliefs.

WASHINGTON — With its particular focus on China’s oppression of religious and human rights, an independent watchdog group has decried in its annual report the state of religious freedom across the globe. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan organization created 20 years ago, concludes in its Monday (April 29) report that “innumerable…

“If heaven is made for ISIS and their belief, I would choose hell for myself instead of being again with them in the same place, even if it's paradise.”

KOBANI – Open Doors’ most recent World Watch List noted that, although persecution of Christians in the country at large appeared to have diminished, there was “a spike in violence” against Christians perpetrated by ISIS-backed rebels. Expression of Christian faith are strictly prohibited in areas controlled by radical Islamic forces. Countless church buildings have been…