New Church in Algeria Burned to the Ground

By Michael Ireland, ASSIST News Service

ALGERIA (ANS) — The Tafat Protestant Church building in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria, was set on fire on January 9, around 11:00 pm, according to the website for satellite broadcaster Channel North Africa (www.cna-sat.org ).

On its site, CNA states that “Tafat” means “light” in the Berber language.

According to the church’s pastor, Mustapha Krireche, “around twenty bearded men broke into the church, destroyed the chairs and doors and then set the building on fire.” Read the rest of this entry »

Over 100 Coptic Christian Teenagers Arrested in Egypt

By Jeremy Reynalds, Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

EGYPT (ANS) — Egyptian State Security has intensified its intimidation of the Coptic Church and Christians in Nag Hammadi, and neighboring Bahgoura, by carrying out random arrests of Christian youth.

According to a story by Mary Abdelmassih writing for the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), the ongoing campaign against Christians started on Jan. 7 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

Fourth Malaysian Church Attacked

Compiled by Michelle MY Chan, Special to ASSIST News Service

KUALA LUMPUR, WEST MALAYSIA (ANS) — A fourth Malaysian church was firebombed this afternoon (Saturday, January 09, 2010, in a spate of attacks on churches that began two days ago here, linked to a court ruling allowing the word Allah to be used by non-Muslims.

The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church was the latest church to be attacked, according to web news portal Malaysian Insider. “A firebomb missed a window and caused minor damage,” it quoted Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, the general-secretary of the Council of Churches, Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »

Muslim Mob in Pakistan Wounds Christian Family

By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) — Compass Direct News has revealed that a Muslim mob in Pakistan has attacked and wounded a Christian family in Iqbal Town, Islamabad.

“Infuriated by an alleged anti-Islamic comment by a mentally ill man, more than a dozen Muslims attacked his Christian family here last week, beating his 20-year-old sister unconscious and breaking her leg,” said the Compass story.

“The woman’s father, Aleem Mansoor, said his daughter Elishba Aleem ‘went unconscious’ after being struck in the head with an iron rod in the December 28, 2009, attack.” Read the rest of this entry »

Pakistani Muslims Allegedly Poison Christian Employees to Death

GUJRANWALA, PAKISTAN (ANS) — Muslim employers of three Christian sanitation workers at a banquet/wedding hall allegedly poisoned the three workers yesterday, killing two of them. At press time the third was struggling for life in intensive care.

According to a story by Compass Direct News, the father of the three workers, Yousaf Masih, said the owner of the hall, along with the manager, poisoned his sons because they were Christians who had asked for wages owed to them. Read the rest of this entry »