Category: News affecting the Church

Iranian Christian convert jailed for 5 years as crackdown on faith deepens

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MARK ALLEN

A Christian convert in Iran is sentenced to prison. Nayereh Arjaneh began her five-year prison term on 23 December. She was charged with “promoting deviant propaganda and teachings contrary to Islamic law.” The Revolutionary Court in Garmsar also assessed a fine of 165 million tomans (around C$ 5,432), two years’ internal exile in Kouhbanan in Kerman province, and a two-year travel ban. She was sentenced to two separate five-year sentences, but they will be served concurrently (at the same time,) and not back-to-back.

Arjaneh was arrested 7 July, 2025, along with her husband, Qasem Esmaili. The couple was taken into custody shortly after returning from a Christian training event in Turkey. Such travel and religious activity often draw the attention of Iranian security forces, especially when Muslims convert to Christianity.

“Christian converts in Iran face systematic persecution, including arbitrary arrests, lengthy prison sentences, and vague national security charges. Iranian authorities consider conversion from Islam illegal and routinely target converts for peaceful religious activities,” said the Center for Human Rights in Iran in a Facebook post about the sentencing .

Esmai­li was also sentenced, receiving three years and six months in prison. However, his imprisonment has been postponed for now because he is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

Under Iranian law, trying to spread any religion other than Islam can lead to a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The law is also commonly applied in a way that bars Muslim citizens from leaving Islam or adopting another faith.

Suicide bomber targets Christian celebrations in Aleppo, Syria on New Year’s Eve

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

A suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on New Year’s Eve, killing one police officer and injuring two others in what authorities described as a failed attempt to attack Christian worshippers, according to The Syrian Interior Ministry.

The Syrian Interior Ministry said on its Telegram channel that the attack occurred in the Bab al-Faraj neighbourhood when the assailant, identified by local authorities as a member of the Islamic State, opened fire during a police interrogation. A police officer physically restrained the attacker, at which point the bomber detonated his explosive belt. According to authorities, the attacker was attempting to reach a nearby Christian neighbourhood and religious sites, including a Greek Orthodox church, to target New Year’s celebrations.

The Aleppo bombing represents the latest in a series of recent Islamic State attacks in Syria. Just a week earlier, an explosion at an Alawite mosque in Homs killed eight people. Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, which analysts believe operates as a front for IS, claimed responsibility for that attack. On December 13, an IS attack in Palmyra killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian.

These incidents come as Syria continues military operations against Islamic State remnants under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, an Islamist leader who previously fought against IS during the Syrian civil war. In November, Syria officially joined the U.S.-led coalition against IS and has since been conducting coordinated raids with U.S. Central Command targeting IS sleeper cells throughout the country.

Indian court rules Bible distribution and preaching not illegal without coercion

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JEFF TURNER AND RAMESH SINGH

The Allahabad High Court ruled this month that distributing Bibles and preaching religious doctrine are not crimes under Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law when there is no coercion or inducement involved. The decision was delivered by a Division Bench comprising Justices Abdul Moin and Babita Rani, who found serious flaws in how police had handled the case.

The case began when police registered an FIR based on a complaint alleging that the accused had hosted religious gatherings at his residence. The complaint described the use of an LED screen, the delivery of sermons, and the distribution of Bibles during these gatherings.

However, the court found that these activities alone do not violate the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. The judges noted that the FIR failed to identify any individual who had been subjected to coercion, inducement, or threats. At the time the complaint was filed, there was no identifiable victim in the case. The court emphasized that coercion, inducement, or fraudulent means are essential elements required to invoke the 2021 Act. The absence of any allegation of actual or attempted conversion was a central reason for the court’s intervention.

The bench was particularly critical of the Uttar Pradesh Police for their handling of the matter. The court faulted officers for registering an FIR without identifying any victim and for acting in haste in a case where no person had claimed to have been converted.

As a result of its findings, the court granted bail to the accused and issued notice to the complainant in the case. The ruling clarified that simply distributing Bibles or preaching does not automatically trigger the anti-conversion law. More broadly, the judgment reaffirmed constitutional protections for lawful religious expression in India.

Officials investigate wave of anti-Christian incidents across India on Christmas week

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Multiple incidents targeting Christmas celebrations were reported across India on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to Christian organizations and local authorities. Known incidents occurred in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Delhi.

The reports come amid findings by monitoring groups, including the United Christian Forum for Human Rights, which documented more than 700 anti-Christian incidents across India during 2025.

In what the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) described as a particularly shocking case, a Christmas programme in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, reportedly saw a visually impaired woman subjected to public verbal abuse and physical harassment. A video cited by the CBCI allegedly shows Anju Bhargava, identified as the BJP’s city vice-president, carrying out the harassment. The CBCI said it was “particularly shocked” by the video from Jabalpur and by the broader pattern of incidents targeting Christians, and demanded the immediate dismissal of Anju Bhargava from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), citing “egregious and dehumanizing conduct.”

In Nalbari district, Assam, members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal allegedly entered St. Mary’s English School in Panigaon village on Wednesday, December 24. According to reports, they vandalized and burned Christmas banners, posters, and decorations while chanting slogans praising Hindu gods. The group also reportedly damaged or burned Christmas-related items at nearby shops, stating that they were protesting celebrations of festivals they described as being of “non-Indian origin.”

At Magneto Mall in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, a mob armed with sticks—described by sources as being linked to right-wing groups—stormed the premises and destroyed Christmas decorations and installations. The attack occurred during a statewide bandh called by some Hindu groups protesting alleged religious conversions in Kanker district. Videos shared online reportedly show chaos and slogan-chanting during the incident. Police later registered an FIR against unidentified individuals in connection with the attack.

In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, protests and disruptions were reported outside churches during the Christmas period. In several locations across Madhya Pradesh, Christian prayer meetings were reportedly interrupted.

In Odisha, roadside vendors selling Santa caps were allegedly harassed and accused of selling “Christian items” in what the perpetrators described as a “Hindu country.” In Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi, women wearing Santa caps were reportedly confronted by men described as being linked to a Hindu vigilante group and accused of attempting religious conversion. Vendors selling Christmas-related items were also reportedly threatened in multiple locations, although specific city names were not always provided.

Christian organizations and human rights groups urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure strict enforcement of law and order and to provide protection for Christian communities.

Chinese police detain more than 100 house church members in six-day crackdown

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WEI ZHANG, SPECIAL FOR TEXAS GOSPEL

More than 100 house church members were reportedly detained and arrested during a six-day police operation in Taishun County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, according to reports from local witnesses. The crackdown took place between December 13 and December 18.

Reports describe an ongoing campaign by Chinese authorities targeting members of unregistered house churches in the region, with witnesses sharing accounts through social media and other networks.

During the operation, witnesses reported seeing multiple police checkpoints and roving patrols throughout the area. Authorities reportedly posted notices offering cash rewards for the capture of house church leaders and asked the public to provide information leading to arrests of Christians. Monetary rewards were specifically offered for information related to Christians accused of disputing land seizures and the removal of Christian symbols and crosses, according to the reports.

The crackdown followed months of reported tension between local authorities and house church leaders. Authorities had reportedly been enforcing the removal of Christian symbols, including crosses, while simultaneously seeking to install Communist symbols in churches. A new government-driven education policy was also reportedly being enforced in churches during this period.

The operation specifically targeted house churches not affiliated with state-sanctioned religious organisations, including the Catholic Patriotic Association and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. These state-led religious institutions are characterised in reports as serving government messaging purposes. The Chinese government, which is led and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, reportedly views Christianity as a threat to state authority, according to the report.