Christianity

State Department Criticizes Iran for Persecuting Religious Minorities

March 13, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/03/13/us.iran.religious.persecution/index.html

The State Department condemned Iran's persecution of religious minorities on Friday following the Iranian authorities' detention of Baha'is and Christians in recent months.

Iranian authorities have detained more than 45 Baha'is in the last four months, and as many as 60 Baha'is are imprisoned in...

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Official: 122 Iraqi Christian Families Return to Mosul

March 11, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: TREND

http://en.trend.az/regions/met/iraq/1652588.html

Some 122 Christian families have returned to the troubled northern Iraqi city of Mosul since the March 7 parliamentary elections, a local official said Thursday.

Representatives of the city's Christian population had earlier told the German Press Agency dpa that some 250 Christian families had fled following a string of deadly attacks targeting the...

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New Study Sorts Through Obama-Muslim Myth

March 10, 2010

Author: Robbie Brown

Source: The New York Times

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/new-study-sorts-through-obama-muslim-myth/

A new academic study finds that Americans who believed during the 2008 campaign that Barack Obama was a Muslim generally held tight to that misconception, despite efforts by the media, fact-checking Web sites and his own campaign to debunk the myth.

The number...

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Hundreds Slaughtered In Nigeria Religious Violence

March 8, 2010

Author: Ahmed Saka and Jon Gambrell

Source: Google News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iNCU46VYMVf0VzhqkKJUus45PrDAD9EAFP4G1

Rioters armed with machetes slaughtered more than 200 people including a 4-day-old infant, residents said, less than two months after sectarian violence in the volatile region left more than 300 dead.

One aid worker...

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Malaysia Muslim Mag Sorry for Offending Christians

March 6, 2010

Author: Sean Yoong

Source: Yahoo News

Wire Service: AP

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100306/ap_on_re_as/as_malaysia_muslims_in_church

A Malaysian magazine apologized Saturday for upsetting Christians after it published an article researched by two Muslims who pretended to be Roman Catholics and took Communion in a church.

The apology is likely to soothe frustrations among religious...

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Teacher Suspended for Denying Wiccan Altar

March 4, 2010

Author: Lee Rood

Source: The Des Moines Register

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100304/NEWS/3040352/Teacher-suspended-for-denying-Wiccan-altar

A Guthrie Center teacher this week received a five-day unpaid suspension for insubordination for not allowing a student to build a Wiccan altar in his shop class - discipline he said he still doesn't agree with.

Dale Halferty, who...

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Judge Urges Counseling for Parents Of Teen Convert

March 2, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Beliefnet

Wire Service: AP

http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2010/03/judge-urges-counseling-for-par.php

A judge urged an Ohio couple to stick with counseling toward a reconciliation with their teenage daughter, who ran away to Florida last year claiming she would be harmed for converting from Islam to Christianity.

Rifqa Bary's parents have denied their daughter'...

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Pakistan: Sikh Beheadings Show Dangers Minorities Face

March 2, 2010

Author: Anto Akkara

Source: Episcopal Life Online/Ecumenical News International

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81808_119963_ENG_HTM.htm

Christian groups in Pakistan and India have joined political and other religious leaders in deploring the recent beheading of two young Sikh men by a Taliban group in Pakistan, and have demanded security for religious minorities in the Muslim-majority nation.

"We condemn this diabolic act," said Victor...

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European Court Agrees to Hear Italy’s Appeal On Crucifix Ban

March 2, 2010

Author: Heather Smith and Flavia Krause-Jackson

Source: Business Week/Bloomberg

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-02/european-court-agrees-to-hear-italy-s-appeal-on-crucifix-ban.html

The European Court of Human Rights agreed to hear Italy’s appeal of a ruling that banned crucifixes in state-run schools.

A panel of five judges at the Strasbourg-based court today said it...

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Iraqi Christians Protest Over Killings

March 1, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8542326.stm

Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have taken part in protests calling for government action after a spate of killings.

At least eight Christians have been killed in the past two weeks in the volatile northern city of Mosul.

The killings prompted an appeal by Pope Benedict on Sunday for Iraqi authorities to protect vulnerable religious minorities.

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Kerala Court Allows Earlier Divorce for Christians

March 1, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: CathNews Asia

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/2010/03/01/kerala-court-allows-earlier-divorce-for-christians/

Striking down a clause in the Indian Divorce Act as “discriminatory”, Kerala’s High Court has allowed Christian couples to apply for divorce after less than two years of their marriage.

The court struck down a section that said Christians can apply...

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EU Says Bangladesh Must Curb Violence Against Buddhists And Christians

February 28, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Nepal News

http://www.nepalnews.net/story/606692

The European Union has condemned last week's ethnic violence in Bangladesh. 

A number of families have been displaced from the Chittagong Hill Tract area, which has a significant Buddhist population. 

At least five people were killed and over twenty injured when a number of people from the Buddhist groups were targeted and their houses burned down....

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