Iran Arrests 9 Christians for Evangelism, Reports State Media

Iran has arrested nine Christians on the charge of evangelism, according to a report picked up by a Persian language Christian news agency Tuesday.

Seven Christian Iranians were accused of cooperating with two foreigners who were supported by “Christian-Zionist organizations,” reported the Farsi Christian News Network based on a state news program that aired Sept. 10 on the Fars News Agency. The Fars News Agency is connected to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, a branch of Iran’s military.

According to the report, the Christians were accused of proselytizing – which is illegal in Iran – outside of the Northwest city of Hamedan. The term “Christian Zionists” is often used by the Iranian government to refer to evangelical Christians and does not imply any relationship with Israel or Zionists.

Indonesia Church Building in Bogor Re-Opens – for a Day

The Bogor city government in West Java re-sealed the Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI) Yasmin Church on Aug. 28, one day after security police had removed the seal and lock.

Under cover of darkness, Bogor security police were ordered to secretly re-seal the church building at 11 p.m. the night before it was to be used for worship services.


Jayadi Damanik, a member of the GKI Yasmin legal team, said security police had removed the lock and seal after church talks with the district officer, the Bogor police chief, the head of the security police and citizens who live near the church. In those talks all parties agreed that there was no reason to question the construction and presence of the GKI Yasmin Church, he said.

The district officer and the Bogor police chief told church leaders that the original sealing of the church on April 11 was the unwarranted result of political pressure, he said.

S. Korean Pastor Indicted After Trip to N. Korea

A South Korean pastor was indicted Thursday on the charge of violating South Korea’s National Security Law after returning from an unauthorized trip to North Korea.

The Rev. Han Sang-ryol allegedly met with top officials and secret agents during his 70-day stay in the communist north and praised Kim Jong-il’s regime while denouncing South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, reported the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency. He was also charged of leading anti-U.S. protests in 2006 under the guidance of North Korean spies.

Han was arrested Aug. 20 after returning to the South.

South Korea forbids its citizens from making unauthorized trips to the north and supporting Pyongyang’s repressive regime. Han, a pro-unification activist, could face up to seven years in prison if convicted of violating the security law.

South Korean religious activist Rev. Han Sang Ryol speaks at a press ..

Austrian Woman Charged for Criticizing the Koran

Burning Korans and criticizing religions may generate anger in America, but it's still freedom of speech guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

However in Europe, speaking out against Islam can lead to a jail sentence.

One Austrian citizen facing hate crimes charges for criticizing the Koran.

Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff still remembers her first exposure to Islam as a small child. It was 1979 and her father, an Austrian diplomat, was stationed in Tehran during the Iranian revolution.

"Millions of people were congregating and screaming 'Allahu Akhbar,'" she said.

That incident began an eye-opening journey for Sabaditsch-Wolff, who would be stationed in several Islamic countries during her own diplomatic career. She was living in Libya nine years ago when the 9/11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. occurred.

"My landlord came running down, banging on my door. And I opened the door and he ran inside my apartment and said, 'The Jews did it!' That was the first words he said," she recalled.

Experiences like that led her to study the Koran and Islamic culture extensively.

"I've read the Koran. I've studied the books from both sides -- the pro and the con. And I can tell you from what I've studied -- Islam is a political ideology disguised as a religion."

Va. School Principal Rebuked Over 'Candid' Response to New Christian Club

A middle school principal who sought to avoid controversy over the formation of a Christian club on campus created some when he sent an e-mail to his staff warning them against supporting or participating in religious activities while they are involved with students.

The e-mail from Principal Don Curtis was widely circulated Wednesday to parents, students, and members of the local community though its intended audience was teachers at Wilson Middle School in Fishersville, Va.

In the e-mail, Curtis wrote in a “candid style” that many interpreted as belittling and threatening toward his staff.

“There are students attempting to organize a ‘Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ organization here at school,” he wrote. “As I trust common sense and your elementary knowledge of the law should remind you, the Constitution includes an amendment that expects ‘The government will not establish any religion.’

Taliban Kills Three Christian Aid Workers

The Taliban reportedly killed three Christian aid workers in Pakistan last week.

Compass Direct News has reported the bodies of the three have been recovered and were sent to the U.S. Embassy. The names of the workers and their organization have been withheld for security reasons.

The aid workers were helping flood victims in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley. The Taliban had warned that it would attack foreign and Christian aid workers in the region.

"These sort of threats are not new," said Martin Tuelan, national executive officer of Catholic Mission, a mission aid agency.

American Christian held in North Korea return to America.Mother thankful for releash.

Carter Secures Release of U.S. Christian from N. Korea

Former President Jimmy Carter has helped free a U.S. Christian who was detained for the past seven months in North Korea.The two are expected to return to Boston, Mass., Friday afternoon.

According to The Carter Center, Aijalon Mahli Gomes was granted amnesty by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il after having been sentenced to eight years of hard labor for entering the reclusive country illegally.

Hard Times for Christian Aid Groups in Afghanistan and Somalia. 17 murdered and 19 abducted this year

17 Aid Workers murdered and 19 abducted this year.

It's been a bad week for Christian aid groups in two of the world’s most challenging nations.

In Afghanistan, ten workers for the International Assistance Mission (IAM) were found shot in the northeastern region of Badakhshan. Beyond veteran ophthalmologist and team leader Tom Little, whose wife recently wrote for CT on the Christian call to suffering in mission, the now-identified dead include Glenn D. Lapp, who worked with the Mennonite Central Committee, and 32-year-old Cheryl Beckett, a pastor’s daughter from Tennessee and a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University. Out of the 1,500 aid groups registered in Afghanistan, 17 aid workers have been murdered and 19 abducted this year.

North Korea to Release Christian Activist to Ex USA President Jimmy Carter

Ex President USA Jimmy Carter (L) and (R) Aijalon Mahli Gomes

The North Korean government says they will free a Christian activist they sent to prison in April—as long as former President Jimmy Carter is the one who comes to get him.

CNN reported that Carter is gearing up for a trip to North Korea to free Christian activist and American citizen Aijalon Mahli Gomes. North Korean officials say they will release Gomes to Carter.

Morocco Expels 100 Christian Foreigners

Foster parents of orphans of Village of Hope orphanage were among those forced to leave.

Morocco has expelled 100 foreign Christians since March because they allegedly tried to convert Muslims, the harshest crackdown in decades, Worthy News learned Saturday, May 22.

Morocco's Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufiq said in published remarks that the deportations, were needed for "order and calm" and to avoid a clash between faiths.

The latest expulsion was that of Spaniard Francisco Paton Millan, the head of a small energy company, who was ordered last week to leave the country for trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, church workers and European diplomats said.

Western diplomats and Christian rights investigators also said that authorities had ordered 23 foreigners to leave last week and that this was part of a new wave of such expulsions.

There was reportedly at least one American citizen among them. The list of deportees also includes citizens from the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Guatemala, Columbia and Korea, rights activists said.