christian persecution

Christians falsely charged with crimes related to an act of vandalism in central India five years ago spent five days in jail and are fighting the case anew after it mysteriously resurfaced, sources said.

Coptic Christians have been in the news a lot recently. Many of us likely read or heard about the horrific Palm Sunday bombings at two Coptic Christian churches in Egypt in which nearly 50 people died and many others were injured. Those who follow news updates from ChristianHeadlines.com will also probably be familiar with the name Coptic Christians as we often report on the discrimination and persecution they suffer. However, though many of us have heard the name "Coptic Christian," this sect of Christianity likely remains less familiar than Catholic Christians or the many denominations of Protestant Christians. Here are five things you should know about this part of the Body of Christ.

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A group of Christians arrested on Dec. 12 received a reduction in their sentence for “unauthorized worship” last week, one of those convicted said.

A couple in Sudan could be punished with 100 lashes after being charged with “adultery” because a sharia (Islamic law) court annulled their marriage due to the husband’s conversion to Christianity, their attorney said.

Terrorism by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) stretched into Taraba state, Nigeria for the first time on April 19, killing six Christians, sources said.

Fulani herdsmen and others on Tuesday night (April 26) attacked four villages in Kaduna state, Nigeria, killing 18 Christians and burning down 92 houses, sources said.

For the first time in two decades, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is recommending that Afghanistan be designated as a major violator of religious freedom due to what it calls a significant deterioration of freedom in that country.

A pastor in Sudan who was attacked during worship this month was sentenced to a month in jail along with another church leader on Monday (April 25) under a law against disturbing the peace, sources said.

A young mother of two in eastern Uganda sustained deep knife wounds on Easter Sunday (April 17) when her Muslim husband discovered she had converted to Christianity, sources said.

A church in Sudan long harassed by Islamic extremists was attacked on April 10, with three people assaulted including the pastor – who was then charged with disturbing the peace.