Armenian Prisoners in Azerbaijan Report Restrictions on Religious Practice October 9, 2026 — Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan are being denied meaningful contact with their families, independent medical professionals, and international humanitarian monitors, while reports of restrictions on their Christian religious practice have...
The Disappearing Christian Middle East, Part VI: When Christianity Becomes History October 7, 2026 — By ICC Fellow Lisa Navarrette Throughout this series, The Disappearing Christian Middle East, we have traveled through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. Circumstances differ in...
The Disappearing Christian Middle East, Part V: The Holy Land — When Christians Leave the Birthplace of Christianity October 6, 2026 — By ICC Fellow Lisa Navarrette Every December, Elias watches pilgrims pour into Bethlehem. From the doorway of his family’s small olivewood shop, he hears church bells ringing above the old...
The Disappearing Christian Middle East, Part IV: Lebanon — The Last Christian Stronghold of the Arab Middle East?October 5, 2026 — By ICC Fellow Lisa Navarrette For generations, Lebanon was different. In much of the Middle East, Christians lived as minorities navigating political systems dominated by larger religious communities. In Lebanon,...
The Disappearing Christian Middle East, Part III: Syria — War, Displacement, and a Vanishing Christian Community October 2, 2026 — By ICC Fellow Lisa Navarrette On Sunday, June 22, 2025, Christians gathered for worship inside Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus. Families sat together, prayers were spoken, and...
The Disappearing Christian Middle East Part II: Iraq — From Ancient Christian Homeland to ExodusOctober 2, 2026 — By ICC Fellow Lisa Navarrette On an ordinary August evening in 2014, Mariam was preparing dinner while her husband, Nabil, closed the small repair shop his family had owned...
The Disappearing Christian Middle East, Part I: Can Christianity Disappear from the Land Where It Was Born?September 30, 2026 — By ICC Fellow Lisa Navarrette On a Sunday morning somewhere in the Middle East, an old church bell still rings. It may sound across a neighborhood in northern Iraq, an...
Lebanese Christians Stuck Between Mortal EnemiesSeptember 14, 2026 — Lebanon has the highest proportion of Christians anywhere in the Arab World and arguably the region’s least restrictive laws on religious freedom. Lebanese Christians also have important positions in society....
Canada Grants Asylum to Iranian Christian Deported from USAugust 31, 2026 — After being deported from the United States while seeking asylum, a Christian convert who fled persecution in Iran has a new home. Artemis Ghasemzadeh, 27, recently received asylum through Canada’s...
Baptist Pastor Released from Detention in Syria August 14, 2026 — 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 EscalatesAugust 12, 2026 — 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 — 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 FutureJuly 29, 2026 — 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...
Macron Visit Highlights Syria’s Uncertain Future for Religious Minorities July 9, 2026 — 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...
Iran Moves to Seize Historic Tehran Church as Pressure on Christians Escalates July 8, 2026 — Iranian authorities are moving to confiscate the country’s oldest Protestant church and ordering Christians to leave their homes, signaling a new escalation in the Islamic Republic’s decades-long campaign against Christianity. ...
EU Deepens Ties with Armenia During a Tense Moment for Religious FreedomJuly 7, 2026 — The European Union announced new economic assistance and expanded market access for Armenia, signaling deepening ties with the South Caucasus nation as it faces growing economic pressure from Russia. During...
