Middle East

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- A young Iranian man who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment after converting from Islam to Christianity has been released from jail, Iranian Christians and activists told BosNewsLife Monday, November 4.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Two evangelical Christians were recovering of their injuries Friday, November 1, after they received 80 painful lashes for taking wine during a communion service, Christians and rights activists confirmed.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- Egypt’s government and religious leaders have condemned an attack outside a Coptic church in Egypt's capital Cairo that killed four people, including an 8-year-old girl.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Three members of Iran's main evangelical house church movement faced painful whips for drinking wine at the Lord's Supper as early as Saturday, October 19, while two other evangelicals were discovered in a Tehran prison, nearly two months after they disappeared, activists and local Christians told BosNewsLife.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Rights activists said late Friday, October 4, they were "extremely concerned" about what they called "a serious deterioration in the health" of a 35-year-old Iranian Christian woman who is serving a four year sentence in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- Egyptian security forces have detained several suspects in the village where a key Coptic bishop survived an assassination attempt, BosNewsLife learned Thursday, October 3. he raid in al-Serw village in Minya province came shortly after gunmen attacked the entourage of Bishop Anba Makarios on Monday, September 30, Christians said.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service BRUSSELS/DAMASCUS (BosNewsLife)-- An Italian Jesuit priest who went missing in Syria several months ago is still alive, Christians involved in the case said Wednesday, October 2. Archdeacon Emanuel Youkhana of the Assyrian Church in the East told a gathering at the European Parliament that reports from inside Syria confirm that that "Father Paolo Dall’Oglio is alive".

By BosNewsLife Americas Service WASHINGTON, USA (BosNewsLife)-- A key rights official has "praised" a U.S. House of Representatives resolution for the creation of a special diplomatic envoy for religious freedom in the Middle East.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KARAJ, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An evangelical pastor who has been jailed in Iran for his Christian activities says he has been told by a court to remain behind bars because he "did not change". Speaking to BosNewsLife through an interpreter, Pastor Behnam Irani made clear he remained faithful to Christ, despite court pressure to return to Islam.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- Tensions remained high in southern Egypt on Saturday, September 21, after two government employees were reportedly killed for refusing to pay a Muslim tax inflicted on Christians by members of the Muslim Brotherhood group of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.