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Your leading source for persecution news
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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Inside Southeast Asia’s Expanding Islamization
January 16, 2026 — 01/16/2026 Southeast Asia (International Christian Concern) – I n one part of Southeast Asia, angry mobs constantly threaten a church with physical violence to try to prevent the church from worshipping...
Syria 2025 In Review: A Year of Violence and Uncertainty
January 15, 2026 — By Linda Burkle, PhD, ICC Fellow It has been a little more than a year since the collapse in December 2024 of 50 years of the totalitarian dictatorship under Syrian President Assad. This article provides an update...
Confrontation and Clarity in Nigeria
January 15, 2026 Nigeria — By Dr. Greg Cochran, ICC Fellow In cooperation with the Nigerian government, the Trump administration recently launched a Christmas attack against Islamic State group strongholds in northwest Nigeria. Political sceptics panned the...
Several Christians Detained Amid Crackdown on Christianity in China
January 15, 2026 China, United States — Chinese authorities detained leaders and members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in China on Jan. 6 amid the nation’s continued persecution of Christians. Among those detained, the whereabouts of...
Following Jesus Down Dirt Roads in India
January 14, 2026 India — After traveling for seven hours on an ordinary public transport bus along India’s roads, followed by another two hours in a private taxi along a bumpy path, I thought I...
Rebuilding a Life
January 14, 2026 Congo, DRC — When Masereka Paul Karimu’s parents learned he had left Islam to follow Jesus, they chased him out of their house in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Suddenly alone,...
Pray and Stand with Iran’s Underground Church
January 13, 2026 Iran — I write to you today with deep urgency as history unfolds in Iran. As nationwide protests for freedom intensify — with death toll reports climbing from the hundreds into the...
Africa News
See All Africa NewsConfrontation and Clarity in Nigeria
January 15, 2026 ICC News — By Dr. Greg Cochran, ICC Fellow In cooperation with the Nigerian government, the Trump administration recently launched a Christmas attack against Islamic State group strongholds in northwest Nigeria. Political sceptics panned the...
Rebuilding a Life
January 14, 2026 ICC News, Project Highlight — When Masereka Paul Karimu’s parents learned he had left Islam to follow Jesus, they chased him out of their house in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Suddenly alone,...
Christian Leader Killed in Ambush as Violence Targets Rural Communities in Central Nigeria
January 13, 2026 ICC News — A Christian traditional ruler was killed in an ambush on Jan. 5, while returning to his village in central Nigeria’s Plateau state, adding to a pattern of attacks targeting Christian...
When the Underground Church Is Exposed
January 9, 2026 ICC News — 01/09/2026 Somalia (International Christian Concern) – In the narrow, sun-baked streets of Mogadishu, faith is a secret kept behind locked doors and whispered prayers. The city hums with the clatter...
Middle East News
See All Middle East NewsPray and Stand with Iran’s Underground Church
January 13, 2026 ICC News — I write to you today with deep urgency as history unfolds in Iran. As nationwide protests for freedom intensify — with death toll reports climbing from the hundreds into the...
Finding the Biblical Context for the Story Unfolding in Iran
January 13, 2026 ICC News — As events unfold in Iran and the nation once again faces unrest, violence, and uncertainty, many believers are asking where God is at work — and how the Church should pray in...
Christian Convert in Iran Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
January 8, 2026 ICC News — Nayereh Arjaneh, a Christian convert living in Iran, began serving a five-year prison term on Dec. 23 because of her faith. Christian converts are often targets of imprisonment, false accusations,...
Two Prisoners Released Following Prison-Letter Effort, More Behind Bars
December 22, 2025 ICC News — More than 300 faithful writers took time out of their busy schedules to share the love of Christ and pen letters of encouragement to global prisoners this year. By God’s grace, it made a difference. Most of the prisoners who were...
South Asia News
See All South Asia NewsFollowing Jesus Down Dirt Roads in India
January 14, 2026 ICC News — After traveling for seven hours on an ordinary public transport bus along India’s roads, followed by another two hours in a private taxi along a bumpy path, I thought I...
Hindu Nationalists Attack Bus of Christian Evangelists
January 12, 2026 ICC News — A minibus carrying a Christian evangelism team was brutally attacked last week by Hindu nationalists near the village of Korrakudu in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Several passengers...
Pakistan Shows Surprising Respect for Christian Community During Christmas
January 12, 2026 ICC News — Christmas 2025 unfolded as an unusually grand and public affirmation of Pakistan’s Christian community, led most visibly by the Punjab government in what many have called a historic break from...
Bibles Desecrated During Church Attack in Punjab, Pakistan
January 6, 2026 ICC News — An attack on a Christian place of worship was reported in the early hours of Monday morning in the Raiwind area of Punjab, Pakistan. At around 4 a.m. on Jan. 5, an individual forcibly...
Southeast Asia news
See All Southeast Asia NewsSeveral Christians Detained Amid Crackdown on Christianity in China
January 15, 2026 ICC News — Chinese authorities detained leaders and members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in China on Jan. 6 amid the nation’s continued persecution of Christians. Among those detained, the whereabouts of...
Myanmar’s Military Junta Attempts to Legitimize Its Rule with Election, Amnesties
January 8, 2026 ICC News — The military junta ruling Myanmar, midway through a three-phase election cycle designed to create a veneer of legitimacy for a group of rulers who deposed the elected government in 2021,...
Chinese Authorities Crack Down and Arrest House Church Members
December 24, 2025 ICC News — Reports are emerging of an ongoing, massive campaign by Chinese police to crack down and arrest hundreds of Chinese house church members in Taishun County, Wenzhou City, in Zhejiang Province....
Islamic Group in Indonesia Rejects Construction of Church Building
December 23, 2025 ICC News — A church in East Java, Indonesia, the Protestant Church in Western Indonesia (GPIB) Benowo, has again experienced discrimination from a local Islamic group. In May 2024, residents of a housing...
Religious freedom in the west
See All The West NewsSeveral Christians Detained Amid Crackdown on Christianity in China
January 15, 2026 ICC News — Chinese authorities detained leaders and members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in China on Jan. 6 amid the nation’s continued persecution of Christians. Among those detained, the whereabouts of...
Colombian Pastor Killed on New Year’s Eve
January 9, 2026 ICC News — On New Year’s Eve, Pastor José Otoniel Ortega was repeatedly shot by three armed attackers in the Santa Elena neighborhood in Magdalena Department, Colombia. He was taken to a nearby...
Fire and Violence: U.S. Christian Institutions Burned and Attacked in 2025
December 30, 2025 ICC News — As the countdown to a new year approaches, many American Christians are looking back at 2025 with a mixed sense of grief, loss, and perseverance. Christian institutions across America became...
Two Prisoners Released Following Prison-Letter Effort, More Behind Bars
December 22, 2025 ICC News — More than 300 faithful writers took time out of their busy schedules to share the love of Christ and pen letters of encouragement to global prisoners this year. By God’s grace, it made a difference. Most of the prisoners who were...
ICC Fellows
See All ICC Fellows NewsUpdate 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...
The Refugee Camp Economy: How Refugee Camps Fuel Growth
March 24, 2025 ICC Fellows — 03/24/2025 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – When conflict and persecution happen, whole populations flee their homes, cross national borders, and end up in refugee camps. By 2030, more than 300...
Education Is Key: The Role of Education in Fostering Religious Tolerance
March 17, 2025 ICC Fellows — 03/17/2025 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – “Education is key,” they say. Education for religious tolerance can be effective in developing mutual respect and understanding among individuals from different religious...
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