Two other Christians, a pastor an a student were also sentenced to 12 years, on charges related to “espionage.”

“This demolition was done out of injustice and discrimination”, said Rev. Musa. Six more churches are due to be demolished.

According to Open Doors, 215 million Christians suffer “high, very high or extreme persecution”. North Korea continues at the top of the World Watch List. Africa is the region in which more Christians are killed because of their faith.

Jamil, a former Muslim: “Yemenis follow Christ with all their hearts. There is no way back. We all know that. Becoming a Christian will cost you much”.

Young Markus had been an ambitious Muslim. He studied in an Islamic university led by his father and his mission was to reach out to Christian youth and lead them to the “right path”.

Three others (including Czech aid worker Petr Jasek) remain in jail. Attorneys are hopeful that they also will be released soon.  

The police and Islamic religious authorities in these countries are highly vigilant against any attempts by Christians to reach Malay Muslims with the gospel.

The situation of Christians in North Korea does not seem to have improved during this past year.

About 400 Christians publicly showed their solidarity with the Persecuted Church in three Swiss cities on Human Rights Day.

The mob blocked firefighter access to the village and cut off the water supply, and firefighters were unable to reach the burning building until police showed up and suppressed the rioting crowd with tear gas.

Churches are forbidden in Saudi Arabia, and converting from Islam is punished with decapitation.

In the region, almost 40% of the Protestant churches have become secret churches. “We do not want to be associated with anything illegal and our desire is to be law-abiding citizens”.

Indonesia, the country with most Muslims in the world, sees the worrying rise of radical Islam. Christians fear demonstrations and new attacks on churches.

For 20 years, IDOP has united millions of Christians to denounce and pray for those who suffer persecution. This year, events are being held the first three Sundays of November.

The number of believers of Muslim background has increased radically in the Horn of Africa, despite the high costs associated with the decision of leaving  Islam to follow Christ whole-heartedly.

All of the victims of the attack are members of a Protestant Batak Church, three other children are injured. In recent demonstrations, radical Muslims protested against the influence of Christians.

A German television reports about the measures taken by the authorities to stop violence against refugees converting to Christianity.

Jess and Rena with their baby son were kicked out and all their sheep and horses were taken away. They didn’t have any money, not enough clothes to wear and no place to sleep.

Qaraqosh, the so-called “Christian capital”, is among the cities recovered. Christian refugees held a vigil to celebrate it. Experts believe the advance to Mosul will be long and difficult.

The theatre group was made up of university students who travelled to the mainly Muslim area of Mandera to perform plays in local schools. “The attackers knew exactly whom they were attacking, that is, the Christians”.

Besides the killings, hundreds of Christians have been displaced. Houses, worship centers and crops that were ready for harvest have all been destroyed.

Zoltan Balog, minister of Human Capacities, said it is “of utmost importance” to help persecuted Christians. The new office will have a starting budget of US$3.35 million.

Rebels attacked the village of Ndomete, about 220 miles north of the capital city of Bangui, and went door-to-door killing 26 Christians, according to Morning Star News.

Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang have banned all forms of religious activity in hospitals in an ongoing crackdown targeting the region's burgeoning Protestant Christian community.

Church leaders say attacks on Christian communities by Muslim herdsmen constitute a war “by Islam to eliminate Christianity” in Nigeria.