Middle East

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN/LONDON (BosNewsLife)-- Advocacy group Amnesty International (AI) says four Iranians have been sentenced in Iran to a combined total of 45 years in prison “solely for practicing their Christian faith” and has launched an Urgent Action for their release.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with additional reporting by Philippa Hitchen in Vatican City and Stefan J. Bos DAMASCUS/VATICAN CITY (BosNewsLife)-- The Vatican and aid workers have urged the world to help end an "apocalyptic" bombing campaign in Syria where "thousands of families" live in underground shelters and "millions of children" are malnourished.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent VIENNA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Some 100 mostly Christian Iranians stranded in Austria face imminent deportation back to Iran where they could face detention, torture, and even death after the United States rejected their asylum applications, rights activists told BosNewsLife Thursday, March 1.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos Three Iranian Christians were due to appear before Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court Sunday, February 4, to appeal against lengthy prison terms on charges of "conducting evangelism" and carrying out "illegal church activities."

By BosNewsLife Americas Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BUDAPEST/WASHINGTON (BosNewsLife)-- U.S.-based Bible translation group Wycliffe Associates says it is concerned about the security of Bible translators in Islamic nations where at least one of its contacts has been jailed for his Christian work.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with a Special Correspondent in Egypt CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Egypt have faced a deadly New Year as Islamic militants killed a Christian man while angry Muslims injured at least five believers and forced a Christian couple to leave their town, BosNewsLife learned Friday, January 26. Despite the bloodshed, an embattled Christian community pledged to build the first church in its troubled history.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An Iranian court has sentenced two Christian men of Iran's main evangelical denomination and house church movement to eight years imprisonment while a Christian woman received a one-year jail term for undermining the Islamic state's security and system, activist confirmed Thursday, January 11.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for shootings at a Coptic Orthodox church and a Christian-owned shop near Egypt's capital Cairo that left at least 11 people dead.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- One of the modern-day saints of the Middle East is Father Douglas Bazi, a Chaldean priest who endured nine days of captivity and torture after being kidnapped by the al-Qaida terror group. During my Skype interview with him last year, I was startled at how surprisingly cheerful and relaxed he appeared when recalling his harrowing experiences.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BosNewsLife Columns)-- It is “the secret sin” that no one wants to talk about, according to one Iraq-raised Christian. It's, she says, “the elephant in the room in the Arab Christian sub-culture.”