Middle East

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.”

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- Christian aid workers say they are supporting thousands of Christian families in Egypt where many still struggle with mental and physical pain after more than 40 people died and countless others were injured in this year's deadly Palm Sunday attack in the Nile Delta area.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iranian Christians are concerned about the plight of eight prominent church workers who they say face lengthy prison terms and torture following an appeal hearing and further detentions this week.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife JERUSALEM/ASMARA (BosNewsLife)-- International aid workers say nearly 30,000 Eritrean Christian refugees are struggling to survive in Israel and many may soon be moved to jail due to new government policies. "Next year the limited periods in the Holot detention center may, if the Israeli government is successful in its current negotiations, be replaced with indefinite periods in a real prison," warned Barnabas Fund, a Christian relief, and advocacy group.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife ISTANBUL, TURKEY (BosNewsLife)-- An American pastor jailed in Turkey on controversial security charges has published a song to raise awareness about his unrelenting faith in Jesus Christ, his wife and friends say.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest, Hungary BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungary's anti-migration government says it wants to shelter a limited number of Christians facing persecution after mounting criticism that this heavily Catholic and Protestant nation is closing its borders to most refugees.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iran's government has ordered children belonging to families of one of the country's largest house church movements to study the Koran and Shi’a Islam teachings or face expulsion from school, a church official confirmed to BosNewsLife Thursday, September 7. The Church of Iran movement is also concerned about four jailed members saying one of them "was deported to a feared secret police facility" in the southern city of Shiraz.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An Iranian judge who sentenced a well-known pastor and three devoted Christians to long prison terms is practically demanding that they no longer recognize Jesus as Lord, ahead of an upcoming appeal hearing, a well-informed church official told BosNewsLife Sunday, September 3.