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International Christian Concern staffers are experts on global persecution and pride themselves on knowing the trends and ins and outs of religious freedom. ICC’s global team, ICC Fellows, and guest scholars write breaking news stories and reports on persecution topics, countries, and regimes. ICC’s signature comprehensive report is the annual Global Persecution Index.
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First Conviction Handed Down in Pakistan’s Jaranwala Christian Enclave Attacks
August 14, 2026 Pakistan — A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has secured its first conviction over the devastating 2023 Jaranwala riots, sentencing a Muslim man to a decade in prison for the demolition of two churches....
Tunisian Christians Keep Quiet in a Land of Nightclubs, ISIS Fighters
August 14, 2026 Tunisia — Tunisia makes for an interesting case study in apparent contrasts: Many would describe it as the most secularized country in the Arab World. Yet it has also been an abundant...
Cancer Diagnosis Raises Stakes for Chinese Pastor John Cao
August 14, 2026 China — Pastor John Cao, a Chinese Christian leader who completed a seven-year prison sentence in 2024, has been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer and a spinal tumor, according to reports from...
Baptist Pastor Released from Detention in Syria
August 14, 2026 Syria — A Kurdish pastor has been released from a Syrian prison after being detained for two weeks without an official charge. Pastor Nihad Hassan was visiting family in Afrin, Syria, when...
The Final Chapter in the Tragic Murder of Susan Magara
August 13, 2026 Uganda — On Aug. 5, a Ugandan court presided over by High Court Judge Alex Mackay Ajiji sentenced two Muslims, Hajarah Nakandi and Abas Musa, to death for the killing of an...
Sudanese Christian Finds Hope After Fleeing to South Sudan
August 13, 2026 South Sudan, Sudan — When an Islamic militia attacked Saleh’s village in Sudan, everything he had built collapsed in a single day. As a new convert to Christianity, the decision to follow Jesus had...
Nigerian Rights Commission Calls for Arrest of Islamic Cleric Over Remarks Against Christians
August 13, 2026 Nigeria — Sheikh Muhammadu Sani Yahaya Jingir, a prominent Islamic cleric in northern Nigeria, faces calls for arrest and prosecution after he described Christians and other non-Muslims as “infidels” and urged Muslims...
Africa News
See All Africa NewsTunisian Christians Keep Quiet in a Land of Nightclubs, ISIS Fighters
August 14, 2026 ICC News — Tunisia makes for an interesting case study in apparent contrasts: Many would describe it as the most secularized country in the Arab World. Yet it has also been an abundant...
The Final Chapter in the Tragic Murder of Susan Magara
August 13, 2026 ICC News — On Aug. 5, a Ugandan court presided over by High Court Judge Alex Mackay Ajiji sentenced two Muslims, Hajarah Nakandi and Abas Musa, to death for the killing of an...
Sudanese Christian Finds Hope After Fleeing to South Sudan
August 13, 2026 ICC News, Project Highlight — When an Islamic militia attacked Saleh’s village in Sudan, everything he had built collapsed in a single day. As a new convert to Christianity, the decision to follow Jesus had...
Nigerian Rights Commission Calls for Arrest of Islamic Cleric Over Remarks Against Christians
August 13, 2026 ICC News — Sheikh Muhammadu Sani Yahaya Jingir, a prominent Islamic cleric in northern Nigeria, faces calls for arrest and prosecution after he described Christians and other non-Muslims as “infidels” and urged Muslims...
Middle East News
See All Middle East NewsBaptist Pastor Released from Detention in Syria
August 14, 2026 ICC News — A Kurdish pastor has been released from a Syrian prison after being detained for two weeks without an official charge. Pastor Nihad Hassan was visiting family in Afrin, Syria, when...
Armenian Church Leader Faces Trial as Government Pressure Escalates
August 12, 2026 ICC News — The Armenian government’s confrontation with the Armenian Apostolic Church has reached an unprecedented point, with Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II appearing in court on criminal charges last week while...
Egypt’s High School Honors List Highlights Christian Marginalization
July 31, 2026 ICC News — Egypt’s Ministry of Education recently announced the country’s top-performing students in the 2025–2026 General Secondary Certificate examinations, but the list has drawn attention from Christian advocates after no Coptic Christians...
TPS Protections End as Syrian Christians Face an Uncertain Future
July 29, 2026 ICC News — The expiration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for Syrians in the United States this week has renewed attention on the fragile security environment facing civilians in Syria, particularly religious...
South Asia News
See All South Asia NewsFirst Conviction Handed Down in Pakistan’s Jaranwala Christian Enclave Attacks
August 14, 2026 ICC News — A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has secured its first conviction over the devastating 2023 Jaranwala riots, sentencing a Muslim man to a decade in prison for the demolition of two churches....
Call Issued to Make Odisha ‘Church-Free’ State
August 13, 2026 ICC News — Under the guise of a literary launch for a book about a Hindu monk in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, a Hindu religious leader issued a definitive, public call to...
Christians Sentenced to Prison for ‘Forced Conversions’ at Birthday Party
August 3, 2026 ICC News — Seven Christians from India’s Madhya Pradesh state have been sentenced after a court found them guilty of forceful conversions during a birthday party. The convictions, which follow a legal battle...
India’s Proposed FCRA Amendment Raises New Threats for Christian Ministries
July 30, 2026 ICC News — India’s Parliament is considering a sweeping amendment to the country’s foreign-funding law that critics warn could give the government unprecedented authority over the assets of NGOs, including Christian ministries, hospitals,...
Southeast Asia news
See All Southeast Asia NewsCancer Diagnosis Raises Stakes for Chinese Pastor John Cao
August 14, 2026 ICC News — Pastor John Cao, a Chinese Christian leader who completed a seven-year prison sentence in 2024, has been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer and a spinal tumor, according to reports from...
Montagnard Pastor Gets 7-Year Prison Sentence in Vietnam
August 11, 2026 ICC News — Pastor Y Nuen Ayun, a member of the Montagnard and Ede people group, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and an additional four years of...
Pastor Describes Experience in Chinese Prison
July 23, 2026 ICC News — Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, 56, reunited with his family on July 3 after spending 266 days in a Chinese prison. In an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal on...
Muslim Mob Shuts Down Worship Service in Indonesia
July 21, 2026 ICC News — During a worship service on Sunday, July 19, at Christ the Answer Tabernacle Pentecostal Church (GPT) in Medan City in Indonesia’s North Sumatra Province, an angry mob of Muslims forced...
Religious freedom in the west
See All The West NewsRussian Missile Kills Beloved Christian Family in Ukraine
August 7, 2026 ICC News — In the early hours of the morning of July 30, Russia launched an attack on a village on the outskirts of Kryvyi Rih, a large industrial city in Ukraine. In...
Jim Elliot: A Life Shaped by Surrender
July 11, 2026 ICC News — By Pieter Vermeulen, ICC Board Member, as part of a series, “Persecuted but not Forsaken.” By the time we encounter the story of Jim Elliot, we are no longer in...
Authorities Detain Elderly Bishop in Nicaragua
July 10, 2026 ICC News — An elderly bishop, who has a pacemaker and is a cancer survivor, was subjected to short-term arbitrary detention on June 29 and 30 in Estelí, Nicaragua. Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata...
Macron Visit Highlights Syria’s Uncertain Future for Religious Minorities
July 9, 2026 ICC News — Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had hoped to showcase his country’s transformation toward democracy during French President Emmanuel Macron’s historic visit to Damascus this week. Instead, the visit was overshadowed by...
ICC Fellows
See All ICC Fellows NewsPerspective on Middle East Policy, Politics, and Persecution
April 1, 2026 ICC Fellows, ICC News — By ICC Fellow Dr. Greg Cochran What makes a home? Beyond the quality of neighborhoods and locations near good schools, houses currently for sale must compete for the attention of skilled buyers who are well-suited to scrutinize — buyers making...
Economic Persecution (Part 1 of 5)
March 9, 2026 ICC Fellows, ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow When persecution is discussed, it is usually framed in images of violence: burned churches, imprisoned pastors, mobs chanting in the streets. These images are real, and...
Update on Syria: A New Era or More of the Same for Syrian Christians?
September 19, 2025 ICC Fellows — By Linda Burkle, Ph.D., ICC Fellow Several years ago, while in Jordan, I had the privilege of participating in a feeding and grocery distribution program for Syrian refugees. We served...
Word Wrangling in the Sahel Region
May 8, 2025 ICC Fellows — By Dr. Greg Cochran, ICC Fellow One of the greatest half-truths ever unleashed on humanity was the pithy encouragement parents commonly passed down to their children: “Sticks and stones may...
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