Olusegun Obasanjo was elected president in 1999, ending 16 years of military rule, but, as elsewhere, the transition to democracy has released animosities hitherto brutally repressed by dictators.
Read moreFor weeks now the media has been in a frenzy about whether or not the Prime Minister rode a particular horse. Frankly the idea that Cameron should seriously check the provenance of every gee-gee he goes for a ride on is so daft as to be laughable.
There are vastly more important matters to which we should be drawing attention and the abject surrender of our Christian heritage is one, as is the growing persecution of anyone who happens to believe the gospel is true.
Read moreElsewhere, in Kermanshah, Masoud Delijani, a Christian convert from Islam, has been jailed for three years. He was charged with being a Christian, holding illegal house church gatherings, evangelising Muslims and action against national security. Masoud, a school teacher, was not given the opportunity to defend himself in court.
Read moreSuch violence in response to purported religious insults is not simply spontaneous. It is also stoked and channeled by governments for political purposes. And the objects and victims of accusations of religious insults are not usually Westerners, but minorities and dissidents in the Muslim world.
Read moreWith the exception of admitting a handful of Egyptian Copts fleeing prosecution, the official U.S. reaction has been limited to verbal condemnation.
Read moreThe situation of Homs at the moment is a horrifying one. Violence has escalated... We witnessed a lot of bombardments, killings, shootings, kidnappings.
As well as the danger of being caught in the crossfire, the lack of resources is putting the survival of Homs' residents under serious threat. There is no electricity, and people are running out of clean water, food and medicines.
Read moreWatch the moving interview with Pakistani Cabinet Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, just before his martyrdom - while defending her and others freedom of religion in Pakistan. http://goo.gl/pKqcl
Read moreBoth the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) and International Christian Concern (ICC) are charging that Saudi Arabian government officials have severely mistreated the prisoners because of their Christian faith.
Saudi officials assaulted the men and performed humiliating body cavity searches on the female prisoners. One high-ranking official told the Ethiopians, "You are nonbelievers and animals. You are pro-Jews and supporters of America."
Read moreMore than 7000 people - including an estimated 2000 members of the security forces - have been killed since the unrest began nearly a year ago. Despite the fevered diplomatic activity at the Arab League and the United Nations, there is no indication of how the crisis will be resolved.
Read moreSome are going to safer parts of the country while others are crossing the border into Cameroon.
"Systematic elimination"
The Church of England's General Synod last week called on the Government to "do all it can" to support the protection of religious minorities in Nigeria.
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