November 19, 2019 The Cuban government last week prevented several church leaders affiliated with the Alliance of Evangelical Churches from leaving the island to attend the Alliance’s general assembly in Indonesia. But that action was only the tip of the iceberg. One pastor, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, said that in addition to harassment, intimidation, …

November 5, 2019 Nonpartisan Pew Research Center data reveals that government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion – including violence and harassment by private individuals, organizations, or groups, is increasing around the world.  Christians in Nigeria, Rohingya in Myanmar, Yazidis in Iraq, Uyghur in China-entire communities across the globe are persecuted based on their religion or beliefs. Given this rising …

October 22, 2019 In February of 2018, Boko Haram insurgents abducted 110 students from a girls’ boarding school in Dapchi, Yobe state, Nigeria. Five students were killed while being held captive and four weeks after the abduction, 104 of the girls were released. One student, 14-year-old Leah Sharibu, did not return and is still held captive because of refusal to …

October 11, 2019 Turkish forces launched a bombing campaign across northeastern Syria on Wednesday, targeting civilian areas and killing Syriac Christians. The bombing campaign, launched less than 48 hours after a phone call between President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appeared to target Christian and Kurdish enclaves in the cities of Qameshli, Kobani, and others. Shelling also …

September 27, 2019 Christians and other minority faiths suffer worldwide. Believers are targeted by extremist groups, social hostilities, and government oppression. Collectively more people are persecuted for their faith more than any time ever. 215 million Christians experience high levels of persecution globally – which is 1 in 12 (Open Doors World Watch List). 83% of people live in a …

September 5, 2019 The Chinese government is engaged in cultural genocide. Xinjiang, in northwest China, is home to 22 million people with an estimated 13 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities residing in the region. At least one million Uyghurs are being held in counter-extremism centers and another two million Uyghurs and Turkic Muslim minorities have been forced into “education …

August 13, 2019 Religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq are living at the edge of extinction. They are marginalized and under threat from the genocidal actions of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq resulting in the purging of religious and ethnic minorities from their historic homes. If immediate action is not taken, the existence of religious and ethnic minority communities …

July 31, 2019 The United States recently convened the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, the largest human rights gathering ever held at the State Department. Government, religious, and civil society leaders from 106 countries discussed challenges facing religious freedom, and identified means to address religious persecution and discrimination worldwide. The diverse group focused on concrete outcomes that reaffirm international …

July 2, 2019 As millions of Americans celebrate July 4th, let us not forget freedoms that are under attack in other countries. Specifically, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in …

April 9, 2019 The value and impact of storytelling can never be underestimated. Stories go beyond relaying facts and data. They allow us to connect in a deep, meaningful way. Here are 10 books that tell powerful stories of ordinary people who suffered extraordinary persecution for what they believe. Captive In Iran by Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirzadeh Islamic laws …

March 26, 2019 Recently, 40 Christians in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest province, met in the home of a church leader to pray. Two dozen Hindu militants stormed in and verbally and physically abused those gathered. Six of the worshipers needed urgent medical attention, and it is reported that the militants threatened to return and kill the Christians if they continued …

March 12, 2019 Raif Badawi co-founded the website Free Saudi Liberals in 2008 to encourage debate on religious and political issues in Saudi Arabia despite the country’s restricted civic space. In 2012 the Saudi government arrested him on charges of promoting religious freedom. Badawi received a sentence of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes and has been banned from …

Across France protestors recently rallied in solidarity against what appears to be a growing trend of anti-Semitism in the country and throughout Western Europe. Earlier this month, nearly 100 graves were desecrated with swastikas in a Jewish cemetery near Strasbourg. This follows other incidents in the region in December, including another cemetery where tombstones and a Holocaust memorial were vandalized. …

January 22, 2o19 In China’s northwest province of Xinjiang, family members are disappearing. Arfat Aeriken is a Uyghur Muslim who lost contact with his family in 2017. While studying in the U.S., Arfat learned that his father was sentenced to a nine-year prison term and his mother was sent to a concentration camp. He does not know what has happened …

January 8, 2019 Readers of history will recall the Great Schism of 1054 as the moment when the western Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church parted ways, a separation that punctuated the end of the Roman Empire. That split, with its religious and political undertones, rocked Christendom in the 11th century and remains a visible wound even today, never fully …

December 18, 2018 For the world’s 2.3 billion Christians, the week ahead marks the culmination of one of the holiest seasons of the year — the anticipation and arrival of the Christ child. Sadly, the advent period has been marred by persecution, as global headlines make clear. In China, authorities arrested more than 100 leaders and members of the Early …