Middle East

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Special Correspondent JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)-- Militants from the Islamic State (IS) group are threatening to massacre Christians in Jerusalem, according to leaflets distributed in Israel's capital. Signed "Islamic State, Jerusalem Emirate," the leaflet says IS knows where most Christians in Jerusalem live, and warns they have until Eid al-Fitr – the festival marking the end of Ramadan on July 19th – to leave the city or be killed, several Israeli media reported.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist TOKYO, JAPAN (BosNewsLife Columns)-- A forthcoming film from famed director Martin Scorsese is set  to confront the movie-going public with the persecution of Christians. It's “Silence,” based on the celebrated 1966 historical novel by Japanese Christian writer Shusaku Endo, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)--Iranian-born American pastor Saeed Abedini is recovering of injuries after he was "viciously beaten" in prison where he is serving an eight year sentenced on charges linked to evangelism and planting churches in Iran, several sources said.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BosNewsLife Columns)-- Is it now time for Christians to accept defeat in the face of the Islamic State group's genocidal onslaught in Iraq, and admit that our faith has no viable future – in the short term, at least – in that country? Certainly – and sadly - that's the message that is increasingly being heard from experts.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iran has sentenced nearly 20 people, including a well-known evangelical pastor, to more than 24 years in jail for converting to Christianity, evangelism and other Christian activities, several sources told BosNewsLife.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BosNewsLife Columns)-- We do not hear much good news for Christians from Iraq nowadays, so I was encouraged to learn about a new school there that, against all odds, is achieving great success in turning angry and confused young refugee kids into enthusiastic students.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife Columns)-- Fewer than 100 Jews are believed to be living in Yemen, and the number could soon drop to zero, as Houthi rebels fight to expand their control of the country.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BosNewsLife Columns)-- As Assyrian Christians continue to suffer at the hands of the barbaric Islamic State, a newly published book of images is set to raise awareness in the West of their plight.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BosNewsLife Columns)-- Western Christians have been shell-shocked by the Islamic State (ISIS) holocaust against fellow believers in the Middle East, and have little idea how to respond, beyond prayer and some giving to relevant charities. That's how I see things. So a timely new book is relevant. It is “Defying ISIS” by Johnnie Moore, an American author, business executive and religious freedom activist.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife JERUSALEM (BosNewsLife Columns)-- A man claiming to be the  Messiah  rose up from death Sunday, April 5, after he died at a cross on Golgotha hill near Jerusalem's walls, his friends said.