Middle East

BosNewsLife Middle East Service with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BosNewsLife)-- The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has appealed to Iraqi authorities to defend minority Christians, after police confirmed that the Christian owner of a car repair shop was killed, execution-style, in Mosul.

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Jerusalem Bureau Chief WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (BosNewsLife) -– Masab Hassan Yousef, the son of a prominent Hamas leader who became a Christian, is facing a deportation hearing on June 30 in San Diego because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security views him as "a threat to America’s national security", Worthy News learned Monday, June 14.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos IRBIL, IRAQ (BosNewsLife)-- Native missionaries in Iraq say God is using them to spread hope and faith in Jesus Christ among thousands fleeing Islamic State militants, and many become Christians.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iran has released two devoted Christians from one of Tehran's most notorious prisons amid mounting pressure on the country's recently elected president to make good on his promises to respect minority rights, rights activists said.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service GAZA/JERUSALEM (BosNewsLife)-- Palestinian Christians in Israel and across the border in Gaza were facing more difficulties Sunday, August 31, after being forced out of a church in Jerusalem, while in Gaza they were among those rebuilding their lives after weeks of death and destruction.

TEHRAN/LONDON (BosNewsLife)-- Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who faced the death penalty for "apostasy" but was recently released, has thanked those who had prayed and petitioned on his behalf during his imprisonment for nearly three years, BosNewsLife monitored Wednesday, November 28.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Aid workers remain concerned over dozens of mainly elderly Christians in north-west Syria, after Islamic militants overran a Christian town, killing some 80 people, and forcing thousands of local residents to flee.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- A group of 19 influential human rights groups have urged the United Nations and the international community to help protect Christian converts in Iran saying scores of believers were detained for leaving Islam. In a statement to BosNewsLife the activists said that the "Islamic Republic of Iran" has been "homing in on converts from a Muslim background".

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (BosNewsLife)-- A Christian member of the European Parliament has urged the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to make more rights for Egyptian Christians, also known as Copts, a policy priority and to develop an EU strategy for religious freedom.

By BosNewsLife News Center TEHRAN/LONDON (BosNewsLife)-- Women dressed in white have gathered outside the Iranian embassy in London as part of a prayer vigil to highlight the plight of two female Christian converts from Islam who have been held at Evin Prison in Teheran “without charge” for the last six months, organizers said.