Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- Apple Again Rejects Christian iPhone App
- Nigeria's President Promises Accountability for Attackers
- Egypt Attempts to Convict Christian to Justify Muslim Riots
Apple Again Rejects Christian iPhone App
Apple has rejected a redesigned, resubmitted iPhone/iPad app from the signers of the Manhattan Declaration. Baptist Press reports that conservative leaders are now calling the company's policy "appalling" and suggesting it reflects hostility toward Christian beliefs. "It is difficult to see how this is anything other than a statement of animus by a major American corporation against the beliefs of millions of Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox citizens," a statement at ManhattanDeclaration.org says. The app includes the text of the 4,700-word Manhattan Declaration, a document that subscribes to traditional Christian teachings and Bible verses on marriage, life and religious liberty. Among its stances, the document opposes "gay marriage," abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
Egypt Attempts to Convict Christian to Justify Muslim Riots
Coptic Christians in Egypt believe that one their own was framed in order to justify deadly Muslim assaults on Christians, ASSIST News Service reports. Girgis Baroumi, 21, is accused of sexually assaulting a Muslim girl last year but has been denied requests to the court that help prove his innocence. Four members of his defense team withdrew from the trial in protest, with three remaining on the case lest the court appoint a less sympathetic attorney for Baroumi. "The direction of the court towards the case is not inclined towards Baroumi's innocence but have closely associated it with the crime of Nag Hammadi," Dr. Chafik, one of the team attorneys who withdrew. He referenced the Christmas Eve Massacre of six Copts in Nag Hammadi in Jan. 2010, saying Muslims want to portray the killings as an honor crime rather than a sectarian one.
Nigeria's President Promises Accountability for Attackers
ASSIST News Service reports that Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, has promised that his government will do all it can to make sure bombers "face the law." Speaking in the capital Abuja, President Jonathan said, "I assure all Nigerians that we shall unearth those behind the Jos bomb explosion and apprehend them to face the law." A Muslim group in Nigeria identifying itself as Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad claimed responsibility for the attacks shortly afterwards, according to Bloomberg. The group claimed they are "avenging the atrocities committed against Muslims in those areas, and the country in general," according to a statement on its website. "Therefore we will continue with our attacks on disbelievers and their allies and all those who help them." At least 80 people were killed in the attacks.
