For nearly 30 years now, as a way of monitoring severe and ongoing opposition to Christianity, Open Doors has published what it calls the annual World Watch List — a “ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.” For those of us in the West who enjoy an unprecedented level of …
Continue...On Sunday, the Taliban entered Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan and quickly took control of the city. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Hundreds of Afghan civilians were seen close to the runway and around parked planes Monday, with some hanging from boarding ramps as they scrambled to get into aircraft, hindering evacuation efforts.” …
Continue...Forced displacement is a growing and urgent global crisis. A multitude of conditions, including religious persecution, force people from their homes to pursue safety and the well-being of their families. As the worldwide refugee crisis becomes increasingly dire, churches have an opportunity to profoundly affect displaced people by extending compassion, hospitality, and advocacy. Tariq is …
Continue...“Their goal is to destroy everyone. And everybody knows it.” Tursunay Ziawudun, a Uyghur woman, spent nine months in one of China’s internment camps in Xinjiang. She was recently interviewed for a BBC article detailing the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse that Uyghur women face in the camps. In the article, Uyghur women who have …
Continue...Today, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an official determination that the People’s Republic of China is “committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, China, for targeting Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups.” This announcement comes on Secretary Pompeo’s last day in office and a day before the inauguration …
Continue...Since 2017, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has waged a systemic campaign of oppression and persecution against Uyghur Muslims, a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group. The geographic scope of the CCP’s campaign against Uyghurs is global, but primarily restricted to Xinjiang, China’s western-most territory, where Uyghurs have lived for centuries. Under the guise of national security, …
Continue...On Dec. 30, 2019, The Guardian reported that Wang Yi, leader of Early Rain Covenant in China, was sentenced to prison for nine years for inciting subversion through his unsanctioned church. The New York Times reported on Yi’s imprisonment, “As part of his sentence, he will also be stripped of his political rights for three …
Continue...Since the first mission movements of the Early Church, Assyrian (Syriac) churches have never failed to maintain a confessional Christian presence in or near their original lands. If the current crisis facing northeastern Syria worsens, ancient Christian communities dating back to the Book of Acts might soon be deserted. The last remnants of this people …
Continue...Around the world, Christians increasingly face harassment, arbitrary imprisonment, and even death because of their faith. An independent review in the U.K. found this summer that Christians were on the receiving end of 80% of religiously motivated discrimination around the world. Open Doors USA estimates that 245 million Christians currently face persecution for their faith. …
Continue...August 30, 2017, is indelibly marked in the minds of the Masih family. It would be the last day Ilyasab and his wife would hear the voice of their 17-year-old son, Sharoon. After completing lower education in his village, Sharoon began attending MC Model High School in Burewala City, Pakistan. His first day didn’t go …
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