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Bulletin of Christian Persecution

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America

March 17, 2009
Washington, DC
Obama is backing off from his campaign pledge to declare that 1.5 million Armenians were the victims of genocide in Ottoman Turkey.

March 17, 2009
Fairfax, Virginia
A Saudi Islamic school has unsuccessfully revised its textbooks after facing criticisms that the texts promote murder and hatred of Christians and Jews.  The texts remain "toxic."

March 19, 2009
Washington, DC
Both Turkey and the US seek to avert tensions during Obama's April 5 visit by playing down potential backlash from a renewed attempt by US lawmakers to declare the murders of Armenians by Ottoman Turks genocide.

March 19, 2009
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County residents and advocates resisted the Islamic Saudi Academy's expansion and contended with a "bullying mob."  (Video ).

March 20 2009
Fairfax County, Virginia
Rep. Frank Wolf calls the State Department's inaction in response to his seven letters asking for an investigation into "very anti-Semitic, anti-Christian and pretty hate-filled" textbooks at two Islamic Saudi schools in Northern Virginia "inexcusable." 

March 24, 2009
Fairfax County, Virginia
Double standards abound regarding the way an Islamic school and a Christian school are treated by the County Board of Supervisors. 

March 27, 2009
Washington, DC
Obama's nominee for 7th Circuit Federal Judge, David Hamilton, forbade Indiana's House of Representatives from permitting "sectarian" prayers to be offered as part of official proceedings.  Prayers that "use Christ's name or title" are sectarian, but not Muslim prayers to "Allah."

March 27, 2009
Washington, DC
Congressman Frank Wolf sent a strongly-worded letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding the perilous situation of Assyrians in Iraq.

Africa

March 14, 2009
Elbeyba village, Egypt
Muslim villagers are hounding their Coptic neighbors and the police, authorities, and hospital are complicit.  The arrests and assaults stemmed from a family buying a house and obtaining a license for renewal and replacement.

March 15, 2009
Aswan, Egypt
The defendant in a murder case yelled "Get the infidels out of the courtroom!" during the trial, in reference to the family of the victim.

March 16, 2009
Egypt 
An Egyptian lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the Minister of the Interior in order to try to gain legal acceptance for Christian reverts.  The legal process of converting to Christianity is much more difficult than converting to Islam.

March 16, 2009
Egypt
The Coptic Youth of the Nation put out a press release for their Arabic-language film which shows the abuses suffered by Copts in Egypt.  The film can be viewed here (part one) and here (part two).

March 16, 2009
Nigeria
Dutch MPs warn that Nigeria will become Islamic soon, resulting in hundreds of millions of refugees, mostly Christian.  "Already, in twelve of the 36 states of Nigeria, Sharia has already become the law."

March 17, 2009
Egypt
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statements during her first visit to Egypt were taken as encouragement by the Mubarak regime to kill more Egyptian Copts.  "Afterwards, the regime didn't waste time, and immediately committed more crimes of killing Christian Copts."

March 18, 2009
Egypt
A lawyer for a US couple jailed in Egypt in an adoption case says that Egypt needs to pass a law allowing Christian families to adopt, as they are currently forced to do it in secret because Islamic law disallows the practice.

March 18, 2009
South Kordofan, Sudan
The expulsion of NGOs following Bashir's arrest is causing a humanitarian crisis where a refugee camp is located to aid those who were displaced by the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (from Sudan Radio Service ). 

March 18, 2009
Egypt
The Coptic Church has accused an Arab Fiction Prize winner of attempting to destroy Christian doctrine, in addition to plagiarizing British novelist Charles Kingsley.

March 19, 2009
Yaounde, Cameroon
A Cameroon university center has expressed concern at the growing influence of Wahhabite Muslims.  Father Krzysztof Zielenda says that political authorities are all that are maintaining harmony between Christians and Muslims. 

March 19, 2009
Shobra al-Khayma, Egypt
A woman who filed an assault complaint at a police station was tortured and abused.  She and her family have received death threats and are the targets of an harassment and intimidation campaign to make her rescind her later complaints of torture.

March 20, 2009
Al-Khosous, Egypt
A Muslim woman sought the help of a police chief to try to marry an already-married Coptic man.  The police arrested his entire family, beat them, and sexually assaulted the man's wife in front of him. 

March 20, 2009
Asmara, Eritrea
Three Christian men in their 80s were released from a military prison camp police facility.  "There are some 360 prisoners held in Mitire [the prison camp], many of them in underground prisons or shipping containers, without enough food and medical care." 

March 20, 2009
Sudan
The expulsion of 16 aid groups could worsen tenuous North-South relations. Update March 24 : The Netherlands will extend its UN peacekeeping mission for a year in order to help maintain stability.

March 21, 2009
Egypt
A member of the International Society for Human Rights in Germany has written an open letter to the president of Egypt regarding a priest who is imprisoned on charges of forging documents because he unknowingly performed a wedding ceremony between a Christian man and a Christian convert.

March 22, 2009
Egypt
The US State Department's human rights report stressed that the Egyptian government's respect for freedom of the press and religious freedom declined last year.  "The report placed Egypt at the forefront in human rights abuse."

March 22, 2009
Alexandria, Egypt
A Coptic bishop ordained two twin boys as deacons, in defiance of their court-mandated Islamization.  The boys' Islam-convert father was granted custody last year, and their mother contested it. 

March 24, 2009
Egypt
A Coptic mother was arrested because she exposed government fraud in a lawsuit filed against the Minister of the Interior, which registered her two Coptic children as Muslims. 

March 24, 2009
Cairo, Egypt
Blogger Karim Amer's imprisonment is a violation of international law, according to UN experts. 

March 25, 2009
Madagascar
Pentecostal missionaries were evacuated to Nairobi, Kenya on the recommendation of the US State Department when Madagascar underwent a military coup. 

March 25, 2009
Egypt
The head of the Egyptian Federation for Human Rights calls on Egyptian Christians to protest and strike in order to obtain their legitimate rights.

March 26, 2009
Luxor, Egypt
Representatives of the Egyptian Union Organization for Human Rights will visit the prime minister to hand over a complaint against the high chief of the city council, who stole land which was owned by the Coptic Orthodox Bishopric of Luxor. 

March 26, 2009
Eritrea
Thousands of Christians are believed to be imprisoned in military prisons, labor camps, and in shipping containers in the open desert.

Asia

March 1, 2009
Iran
A Christian prisoner was released after 27 days in custody after being arrested on charges of "attending home churches, evangelizing, storing Bible & converting to Christian faith."  He signed a statement that he would no longer participate in any Christian activities.

March 11, 2009
Middle East/North Africa
Amnesty International says that Mideast rights activists face persecution, torture, and repression for defending others, and that Iran, Syria, and Egypt were among the worst in this respect.

March 13, 2009
Selangor, Indonesia
The Selangor Islamic Religious Council has now banned the Indonesian song "Allah Peduli" (Allah Cares) because it contains the word "Allah" in reference to Jesus. 

March 16, 2009
Mindanao, Philippines
Fighting between Philippine troops and separatist MILF rebels is causing a humanitarian crisis. (Video at link). 

March 16, 2009
Iraq
A new book by the UN's media strategist accuses Kurdish officials of murdering an Assyrian leader.

March 17, 2009
Jordan
Jordan’s military court sentenced three men to 22 1/2 years in jail for a plot to bomb a Catholic church last May. 

March 17, 2009
Kazakhstan
President Nazarbaev decided not to challenge the finding of the Constitutional Council that a new law amending various laws on religion is unconstitutional.  "The Law violated the rights of Kazakh citizens, foreign citizens and people without citizenship in the area of freedom of religion," but more attempts to implement it are likely.

March 17, 2009
Pakistan
The Long March 's success will likely serve to encourage the Taliban insurgency in Pakistan. 

March 18, 2009
Malatya, Turkey
The Malatya trial involving the slayings of Christians may reveal a "deep state" conspiracy.  A poll reveals a "deep mistrust of Christians," who are often believed to be foreigners in their own country.

March 18, 2009
Iraq
Christians still face daily persecution, threats of violence, and "extreme deprivation."

March 18, 2009
Andijan Region, Uzbekistan
Four Protestants were jailed and three more were detained in a homeless center.  A Baptist was also jailed in a separate incident.  They were arrested in raids and told that they needed special permission to meet for church services besides those held on Sundays, but no requirement of the sort can be found in the legal code.

March 19, 2009
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Police and town authorities opposed a funeral for a man because his wife and son are Christians.  They later allowed it in a concealed form.  Christians are sent to prison for gathering and praying.

March 19, 2009
Pakistan
As Pakistan becomes a Taliban state, discrimination and violence against Christians have increased and many are displaced.  "Christians are fighting for their lives and being put on trial for their beliefs."  Blasphemy laws are used to legitimize violence.

March 20, 2009
Istanbul, Turkey
Last month Turkey decided to try two Christians under a revised version of a controversial law against "insulting Turkishness."  Update March 27 : They may appeal the fine for illegally collecting funds.

March 20, 2009
Baghdad, Iraq
Armenians in Baghdad are staying put, being grateful for a homeland after their families were driven into Iraq by the Armenian genocide.

March 21, 2009
Sargodha, Pakistan
Pakistani police have detained five Muslim militants for their alleged involvement in a shooting/desecration spree at a Presbyterian church which killed one woman and injured several others.  At least four others are still at large.

March 22, 2009
Gaza
The Hamas administration has banned a Christian school from holding an event to mark "Jerusalem Capital of Arab Culture" day (from www.palvoice.com, in Arabic).

March 22, 2009
Iraq
A nun discusses the decline of religious freedom, as well as violence and displacement faced by Christians in Iraq.

March 23, 2009
Kuala Lumpur
The Minister of Islamic Affairs issued a thinly-veiled threat of violence against a leading lawyers association if the word "Allah" were not removed from the website of the Catholic Herald .

March 23, 2009
Islamabad & Malukay, Pakistan
Courts have dismissed blasphemy charges against a Christian rights activist but he is still in jail.  Two others were charged with blasphemy for defiling the Muslim statement of faith during a ceremony in a graveyard.

March 24, 2009
Iraq
A young man was abducted and tortured for seven months for converting to Christianity. (Video).

March 24, 2009
Isfahan, Iran
Two Christian converts were arrested after having been set up and there is no news of their whereabouts.  They and one of their sisters had previously been arrested and beaten by police for Internet evangelism.

March 25, 2009
Shiraz, Iran
Three Christian converts were found guilty of cooperation with anti-government movements (a Christian TV channel) and the propagation of Christian gospel, and were sentenced to eight-month suspended sentences and five years of probation. 

March 25, 2009
Manila, Philippines
A hostage crisis involving three Red Cross workers may force several relief agencies to stop bringing assistance to some areas.  The situation in Mindanao has become "dramatically less secure."  Update March 26 : A guerilla group with al-Qaeda ties, Abu Sayyaf, has threatened to behead a Red Cross hostage.

March 25
Iraq
Christians are living in peril in Iraq.  (Video).

March 26, 2009
Andijan, Uzbekistan
A pastor was arrested in a raid for not being an authorized religious leader and was sentenced to four years in a labor camp.  International Christian Concern received a letter from his daughter and started a petition .

March 27, 2009
Tehran, Iran
An Assyrian church was closed by the Islamic Revolutionary Court, largely due to the attendance of newly-converted Muslims.

March 27, 2009
Swat Valley, Pakistan
Christians brace themselves for Sharia as the Taliban takes over.  500 Christians remain in the area, living in terror, along with the Hindus.

March 27, 2009
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
A new law was signed by the president which bans religious education for young children, any religious instruction in private homes, censorship of religious literature, and restrictions on services.

March 27, 2009
Ankara, Turkey
A report by the Council of Europe has warned Turkey against wrongly interpreting the Lausanne Treaty and using it as a pretext for refusing to implement minority rights.

Europe

March 15, 2009
Scotland
A research network was launched by Scottish universities to reflect global awareness of the plight of Christians in the Middle East.

March 15, 2009
UK
A girl claims that her father, an imam, chased her with an axe after she converted to Christianity.  She says that her story is fairly common and that Christian converts often live in secret and in fear for their lives.

March 15, 2009
Belgrade, Serbia
Opposition leader and former prime minister Vojislav Kostunica has warned that Serbia is undergoing spiritual and territorial ravaging at an address to his party's youth forum.

March 16, 2009
Ribnovo, Bulgaria
The mayor of the municipality and a teacher were arrested and are under investigation for forcing kids to visit a mosque and adhere to the laws of fundamentalist Islam.  Those who complained claimed to have been threatened with exile from the village.

March 16, 2009
Rome
In Memoriam Martyrum, an initiative of the Italian section of Aid to the Church in Need, celebrated three days of prayer and reflection to remember the Christians who "witness to their faith to the point of martyrdom."

March 17, 2009
Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo
Serbs mark the 5th anniversary of riots which left 29 dead, 900 injured, and dozens of churches and monasteries destroyed or damaged.  "Even five years later, there is no progress regarding our lives and our existence in this territory," said the deputy mayor.

March 18, 2009
Athens, Greece
Three Iranian and American pastors, apostates from Islam, at a Farsi-speaking church were threatened with murder by an Iranian Hezbollah group.  The threatening letter can be read at the link.

March 19, 2009
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Croat groups have denounced the Islamization of the Muslim-Croat federation and have prepared a document demanding their own entity.  Serbs have sided with them by threatening to hold a referendum on independence.   

March 19, 2009
Germany
More than 100 Iraqi Christians arrived, some with tears in their eyes, to a new life away from the violence and persecution they suffered in their homeland and then in Syria.  15,000 Christians fled Mosul last year.

March 22, 2009
London, England
Londoners will be allowed to fly the flag of England's Patron Saint, St. George.  The flag was previously banned because it was "racist."

March 23, 2009
Ribvono, Bulgaria
MP Yane Yanev spoke out against the forced Islamization of villages in the southern part of the country.  Children have been forced to study radical Islam and both students and teachers have been made to wear traditional Muslim clothing.

March 24, 2009
Rome, Italy
A Catholic group meets once a month to pray for Christians who suffer persecution worldwide.

March 24, 2009
Bosnia-Herzegovina
A Bosnian-Croat NGO has filed war crimes suits against Bosnian Muslim political and military leaders for killing 375 Croat inmates in detention camps during the 1991-1995 civil war.

March 25, 2009
Burel, Albania
European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) may soon begin investigating the trafficking of the organs of Kosovo Serbs.  EULEX has received material relating to the "yellow house," which is under investigation for having been an organ extraction facility, some of it implicating top Albanian separatist leadership.

March 25
Divic, Bosnia-Herzegovina
An entire church is being picked up and moved at great expense in order not to offend Muslims and to improve relations

March 25, 2009
Vatican City
The Vatican expressed "profound concern" about the situation of Middle Eastern Christians after the recent conflict in Gaza.  "The land that was the cradle of Christianity risks ending up without Christians".

March 26, 2009
Geneva, Switzerland
The U.N.'s top human-rights body approved a proposal backed by Muslim nations urging the passage of laws around the world protecting religion from criticism.  Islam was the only religion specifically named as deserving protection.

March 27, 2009
Verin Dvin, Ararat Province, Armenia
"Armenia is a homeland for Assyrians, who have no homeland."

March 27, 2009
Donja Budriga, Kosovo
An elderly ethnic Kosovo Serb woman's house was bombed.  She was not injured.  The Kosovo Police Service is investigating.

Australia

March 16, 2009
Australia
An Iraqi delegation met with Australian Assyrians to discuss the plight of Assyrians in Iraq.  "[S]ince the 1930's, Assyrians in Iraq have petitioned the successive governments of Iraq for their national rights and a halt to their systematic persecution, genocide and displacement"

March 22, 2009
Melbourne, Australia
Muslim students staged a protest, claiming that they are discriminated against due to a lack of prayer rooms.  RMIT University has eight prayer rooms, two of which are specifically reserved for Muslims, and the rest of which are multi-faith.

Everywhere

March 24, 2009
Voice of the Martyrs provides Christian victims of violence with medical aid. (Video).

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