Middle East

By Joseph DeCaro, BosNewsLife International Correspondent DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- A group supporting persecuted Christians said Thursday, October 13, that Syria's Christian minority is suffering more ever after reports that at least 2,700 people have been killed and thousands more arrested in efforts to overthrow the country's long-time President Bashar al-Assad.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- The pastor of a major evangelical house church network in Iran was free Friday, September 2, after a family member guaranteed the required bail money of 30,000 dollars, Christians with close knowledge about the case said.  

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife Columns)-- The exciting but controversial discovery of what could be the oldest known fragment of a Christian gospel – scraps of recycled papyrus used to make an Egyptian mummy’s mask – puts the spotlight on Egypt’s Coptic Christians.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iranian authorities refuse to allow a young man to start his own company because he converted to Christianity and was previously detained on charges of "apostasy", or 'abandoning Islam', Iranian Christians said Saturday, July 14.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Many Iranian Christians have been forced to usher in the New Year without a church service in their native language amid a government crackdown on Farsi-speaking Christians and congregations, local believers told BosNewsLife.

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 BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- Egypt's finance minister resigned Tuesday, October 11, saying he wanted to protest the “government's handling" of protests that left at least 26 people dead, most of them Coptic Christians.

>Released soldier gives first ever TV interview after release >Ghalit says he missed family, hopes deal will boost peace >Hamas supporters demand more kidnappings By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with BosNewsLife Middle East Service JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)-- Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released Tuesday, October 18, after he was held over five years captive by militant group Hamas. Over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners were to be released in exchange, 477 of them on the same day.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An Iranian court has once again adjourned a trial of Christians of a large evangelical "house" church movement who potentially face the death penalty for "blasphemy" against Islam, trial observers said Wednesday, April 13.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with reporting from the Netherlands AMSTERDAM/CAIRO (BosNewsLife)-- A visit to Egypt by the Dutch parliament's foreign affairs committee has been canceled because lawmaker Raymond de Roon from anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV) was refused a visa after accusing Cairo of "the ethnic cleansing" of minority Christians.