Compass Direct News

Vietnam Tries to Portray Cult Gathering as Christian

The government tried to portray several thousand Hmong followers of a sub-Christian messianic cult as orthodox Christians while the military forcibly disbanded their gathering yesterday and today.

Some Wary of Blacklisting Egypt for Rights Violations

Placing Egypt on a U.S. State Department list that penalizes countries for their lack of religious freedom would be a mistake, according to some Egyptian human rights activists and Christian leaders.

Nigerian Church Leaders Call for Probe into Election Violence

Christian leaders have called for an investigation into political violence that targeted churches and Christian homes, with at least one clergyman saying Monday that Islamic attacks following the election of a Christian president were premeditated.

Rioting Muslims Damage Church, Properties in Pakistan

Hundreds of Muslims in Gujranwala on Saturday (April 30) attacked Christians’ homes, a school and a Presbyterian church building after learning that police had released two Christians accused of “blasphemy” – amid reports of another alleged desecration of the Quran.

Survey of Christians in India Sets Off Alarm Bells

An attempt by police in India's Madhya Pradesh to survey the state's Christian minority came to light this month and left church leaders calling for a federal investigation into alleged religious profiling.

Christian Converts Flee Syria, Seek Aslyum in U.S.

A father and daughter who fled Egypt to Syria after spending two and a half years in hiding for becoming Christians have arrived in France and yesterday applied for asylum there, human rights advocates said.

New Christian Convert from Islam Murdered in Somalia

Two Muslim extremists in Somalia on Monday murdered a member of a secret Christian community in Lower Shabele region as part of a campaign to rid the country of Christianity, sources said.

Nepal Christians Begin Legal Battle for Burial Ground

With the government refusing to listen to their three-year plea for an official cemetery and ignoring a protracted hunger strike, Nepal’s Christians are now seeking redress from the Supreme Court.

Detained Pakistani Christian Released – But Two Others Arrested

A Christian illegally detained in Faisalabad on false blasphemy charges was freed last night, while two other Christians in Gujranwala arrested on similar charges on Friday (April 15) were also released – until pressure from irate mullahs led police to detain them anew, sources said.