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Bulletin of Christian Persecution

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America

March 6, 2009
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The Muslim Students Association protests a speech by former terrorist/convert to Christianity, but entertains a Holocaust denier .

March 11, 2009
Washington DC
Five senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in order to call attention to the plight of Assyrians.

March 11, 2009
Chicago, IL
Muslims hacked the "Christians on Facebook" group and changed its name to "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet."

March 12, 2009
Washington DC
US lawmakers pressure Obama to follow up on campaign statements and label the 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide in light of his expected trip to Turkey.

March 13, 2009
Alexandria, VA
A Saudi academy revises textbooks so as to omit hatred and incitement of violence toward Jews and Christians, but enough sensitive material remains to fuel criticism. 3/12.  (Update: Rep. Frank Wolf has called for an investigation 3/13).

Africa

March 4, 2009
Abu-Korkas, Egypt
A lawyer was given a 6-month prison sentence after telling a judge that she would complain to the Attorney General following unfair treatment.  She had previously been beaten and stripped for exposing the collusion of the police and Muslim Brotherhood lawyers.

Mar. 5, 2009
Bauchi, Nigeria
International Christian Concern has called for an investigation into the recent violence against Christians.

March 5, 2009
Garissa, Kenya
Authorities hold up the reconstruction of a Christian church in order to avoid conflict with Muslims after it was burned down.

March 6, 2009
Kenya and Nigeria
Christians await justice after suffering violence, displacement, and destruction of their homes and churches.

March 6, 2009
Dmas Meet-Ghamr, Egypt
Rumors of a Muslim girl being romantically involved with a Coptic boy erupt into violence, riots, and two deaths, one by being burned alive.

March 6, 2009
Cairo, Egypt
A Christian man was stabbed to death following rumors that his son was having an affair with a Muslim girl.  

March 8, 2009
Dama, Egypt
The town was placed under curfew following inter-religious clashes which killed two Christians.

March 8, 2009
Cairo, Egypt
A former Muslim who converted to Christianity has gone into hiding after receiving death threats.  Lawyers had demanded that he be executed for apostacy.

March 8, 2009
Roman Christians of the Center, Egypt
Security forces raided the homes of Copts and arrested more than 20 under the pretext of a weapons search and without bringing charges.

March 9, 2009
Port Sudan, Sudan
Hassan Al-Turabi has been released after two months' detention after the arrest of Omar Bashir.  Turabi, the spiritual mentor in Bashir's regime, was instrumental in the genocide of Christians and animists in South Sudan during the 21-year civil war.

March 9, 2009
Tripoli, Libya
Four converts from Islam to Christianity were detained and tortured for weeks.

March 10, 2009
Eritrea
Religious freedom and quality of life continues to decline in the "veritable prison" in which many Christians are actually imprisoned for their faith.  Video here .

March 12, 2009
Egypt
The first court appeal has been brought in order to challenge the restriction on reconversion to Christianity from Islam, which is legal under one section of the legal code, illegal under another, and thus far impossible in practice .

March 12, 2009
Egypt
The Coptic Church has launched a probe into the recent 'trend' of Copts getting killed after rumors of romantic relationships with Muslim girls.

March 12, 2009
Kafr Naim, Egypt
Another Christian was murdered for ostensibly harassing a Muslim woman.  His body was thrown into the Nile after 9 days of torture.

March 12, 2009
Morocco
Moroccans feel that Christian proselytizing is threatening their "spiritual security and religious identity."

Asia

March, 2009
Iraq
A man was tortured in prison for 7 months for refusing to renounce Christianity after his conversion.  Extremists target Christians. (Video). 

March 5, 2009
Islamabad, Pakistan
A Christian girl's abduction, rape, and attempted forced conversion is part of a growing trend.

March 6, 2009
Singowali, Pakistan
One person was killed and 17 were injured when Muslim militants open fire on a church.  They also desecrated the church, attacked homes, and threatened the Christians with more violence if they did not leave town.

March 6, 2009
Uzbekistan
Christian citizens are systematically denied exit visas and fined for religious activity .

March 7, 2009
Baghdad, Iraq
Churches are being bombed, families thrown out of homes, businesses robbed, and people abducted, threatened, and extorted in areas where Christians and Muslims used to live in relative peace.

March 7, 2009
Middle East
80 activists call on the US to pressure Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia to respect democracy and human rights.

March 7, 2009
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A court ruled that a Christian man given an Islamic name at birth could legally become a Christian, which was a rare victory.

March 9, 2009
Mosul, Iraq
Between late September and mid-October more than half of Mosul's Christian families fled in response to a "three-week, well-organized terror campaign targeting Christians," including murders, bombings of homes, harassment, and printed death threats.

March 10, 2009
Middle East
Christians suffer "extreme deprivation" in Iraq and "rapid attrition" in the Middle East more generally.

March 10, 2009
Pakistan
The Long March is not for Christians.

March 10, 2009
Saudi Arabia
A pastor who was imprisoned for holding mass in a private residence has started a prayer group for King Abdullah and religious freedom in Saudi Arabia.

March 10, 2009
Indonesia
The nation is trying to tackle the issue of where to send the mastermind of the 2000 attacks against Christian churches and buildings and the 2002 Bali bombings upon his release from Guantanamo.

March 10, 2009
Iraq
Assyrians were prevented from voting in the recent elections. (From Liberal Matters magazine).

March 10, 2009
Iran
A Christian couple who were arrested for apostacy from Islam were released.  Christians increasingly face persecution in Iran. (Video).

March 10, 2009
Philippines
The 95% Christian nation has filed for observer status in the OIC.

March 11, 2009
Kyrgyzstan
A new law was adopted in January which outlaws missionary activities and proselytism.

March 11, 2009
Malaysia
Christians continue the battle over the use of the word "Allah."

March 11, 2009
Lahore, Pakistan
Christian rights activists are hopeful that they may be able to free Saba Younis, a 13-year-old Christian girl who was abducted, then forced to convert and marry her kidnapper.

March 11, 2009
Lahore, Pakistan
A Christian chief of a hostel for nursing students faced dismissal following death threats for allowing Christian students to pray on the premises.

March 11, 2009
Almaty, Kazakhstan
A Unification Church missionary who was jailed for teaching a class on original sin was freed Wednesday after paying a fine, in light of the government's nixing of a restrictive law on religious freedom on Feb. 11 under international pressure.

March 12, 2009
Tajikistan
The new Religion Law, which explicitly favors the Hanafi Muslim sect, was adopted.  It restricts religious leadership, worship, literature, belief, structures, and education of children.  Its text is unavailable to the public.

March 12, 2009
Jaramana, Syria
A 7-year-old boy has gone missing from his Assyrian school after repeated threats to his family and police are not conducting a serious investigation.  The official website is here .

March 12, 2009
Iraq
"Christians in Iraq are finished" and continue to flee Iraq to bordering countries and Lebanon.  Many had previously fled to Kurdistan but were not safe there.

March 13, 2009
Sarghoda, Pakistan
A Christian teacher was fired and two students suspended after allegations that they "humiliated Islam." 

March 13, 2009
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
A Christian man has been charged with "abetting blasphemy" after a charge of blaspheming Islam was dropped. 

March 13, 2009
Malaysia
An Islamic Council tries to have Agnes Monica's song declared haram (i.e., illegal under Islamic law).  The song uses the word 'Allah ' in reference to Jesus.

March 13, 2009
Kirkuk, Iraq
Chaldeans celebrate the anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Paulo Faraj Rahho and all Iraqi martyrs.

Europe

March 5, 2009
Georgia
Christian crosses are to be removed from Azerbaijani-populated villages.

March 5, 2009
Rome, Italy
Iraqi, Iranian, and Turkish Christians are urged to remain in the Middle East at a meeting of religious leaders so that people do not get the wrong idea about Islam.

March 7, 2009
Kartmin, Turkey
The battle over the world’s oldest monastery tests Turkey’s tolerance of minorities.  "They want to make us all go away," says Bishop Aktas.  A marathon was held in Holland to draw attention to the case on 3/6.

March 9, 2009
Istanbul, Turkey
A long-hidden document dealing with the Armenian Holocaust is uncovered and met with silence and denial.

March 9, 2009
Kosovo
New information has come to light regarding the harvesting and trafficking of Serbian organs in Suva Reka and Albania in 1999.

March 9, 2009
Gnjilane, Kosovo
The police attacked 300 Serbs after they demanded that the government provide them electricity.  Video here .

March 10, 2009
UK
Prominent Muslims mock a dying cancer patient because she is Christian.

March 10, 2009
Birmingham, UK
Catholics are outraged after the Catholic Archbishop defends the use of a Catholic university chapel for the celebration of the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday.

March 10, 2009
Serbia
A study has determined that Serbs are still in danger of explosions from cluster bombs.

March 12, 2009
UK
The Barnabas Fund has made a plea to help the Christians of Pakistan.

March 15, 2009
UK
A Christian convert who has been on the run in fear for her life tells her story, which she says is fairly common.

March 15, 2009
UK
A Minister was beaten after clashing with Muslims on his TV Gospel show. Three men ripped off his cross and threatened to break his legs. 

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