| Bombing in Moscow and a call to higher humanity Marie Helm, Christian Science Monitor (27 January 2011) |
| When I learned of the bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, my heart ached to do something to help. I found myself reaching out to God, seeking the comfort of the Christ, which touches the human heart, heals grief, and unites us all as one universal family. Read More |
| The Palestine Papers |
| Al Jazeera (English) Guardian |
| Moscow Terror Attack: Russia Must Develop an Alternative to Islamism in the Caucasus Matthias Schepp (Moscow), SPIEGEL (25 January 2011) |
| Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wants to weaken Islamist militants in the Caucasus by building infrastructure projects worth billions. But Monday's terror attack in Moscow shows once again how hard it will be to win the hearts and minds of the population. Read more |
| Leaked documents: who was serious about a deal to end the conflict? View from Jerusalem by Harriet Sherwood, guardian.co.uk (24 January 2011) |
| Disclosure of Palestine Papers rebut Israeli claims that there is 'no partner for peace' Read more |
| The Palestine Papers: The Final Nail in the Coffin of the Peace Process? Tony Karon, TIME (24 January 2011) |
| An unspoken truth held to be self-evident by many in the Middle East is that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is dead. If so, the trove of more than 1,600 secret Palestinian documents whose release by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera news organization and Britain's Guardian newspaper began on Sunday could be its postmortem. Read more |
| The Palestine Papers:Secret Papers reveal slow death to the Middle East peace process Seumas Milne and Ian Black, guardian.co.uk (23 January 2011) |
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| Nigeria: in the name of God FRANCE24 (14 January 2011) |
| Torched houses, burned cars, devastated populations....For the past ten years, the city of Jos has been repeatedly shaken by ethnic and sectarian violence, opposing Christian and Muslim communities. Thousands have died in these clashes which are becoming increasingly violent. Read and watch the exclusive FRANCE24 report. Read more |
| A Roma Community Fights Against the Odds By Siobhán Dowling, Der Spiegel (14 January 2011) |
| The village of Alsózentmárton is at the very margins of Europe, one of the last places in Hungary before the Croation border. And all its people are Roma, among the most marginalized in the EU. But a church-run project there aims to break the cycle of social exclusion and educational disadvantage. Read more |
| The UN was Envisaged as a War-Fighting Machine By Simon Tisdall, guardian.co.uk (13 January 2011) |
| A deeper look at the origins of the UN reveals some surprising facts about the military purpose of the fledgling organisation. Read more |
| Murderers and Martyrs: The Difficult Struggle of Christians in the Orient By Hasnain Kazim, Juliane von Mittelstaedt, Yassin Musharbash, Daniel Steinvorth, Volkhard Windfuhr and Bernhard Zand, Der Spiegel (13 January 2011) Translated from German by Josh Ward |
| Just moments after the new year began, a bomb outside a church in Alexandria killed 21 Coptic Christians. A week later, a Pakistani governor was murdered for standing by a Christian convict. The two cases dramatically illustrate the worsening plight of Christians in the Orient. Read more |
| UN human rights chief condemns religious attacks around the world OHCHR, Geneva (7 January 2011) |
| The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday condemned recent attacks targeting religious groups in various countries across the world, and urged States to show determination in combating such violence and in rooting out discriminatory laws and practices affecting religious minorities. Read more |
| Taseer: Pakistan we want is liberal and progressive BBC News (South Asia), 5 January 2011 |
| Governor Salman Taseer, one of Pakistan's most high profile politicians, was shot dead on Tuesday by his own bodyguard. Mr Taseer was an outspoken anti-extremist, and the motive for his killing appears to be his stance on Pakistan's stringent blasphemy laws. Taseer felt these laws discriminated against religious minorities and needed to be scrapped. At the end of November he spoke to Aleem Maqbool and explained why he felt the need to speak out, despite the risks. Video feed |
| Arab World: What future for Christians? FRANCE24 (Video Debate) (3 January 2011) |
| After the New Year’s Eve suicide attack against a Christian Coptic church in Alexandria, François Picard’s panel argues over the roots of polarisation between Christians and Muslims: is it the work of a radical fringe or is there just less room today for common ground in an Egypt where religious faith on all sides continues to rise? Part I Part II |
| Nigeria: Widespread Attacks on Christians Strategy World (2 January 2011) |
| Islamic radical violence against Christians in the last ten days has left over 80 dead, hundreds wounded and over a hundred suspects arrested. Read more |
| Egypt on Alert as Copts gather for Christmas Eve BBC World (6 January 2011) |
| Coptic Christians are preparing to celebrate Christmas Eve amid tight security after a bomb attack on a church in Egypt in which 23 died. Read more Related report: Coptic Churches Across Europe Increase Security" (video) |
| European Police Protect Coptic Churches Der Spiegel International (5 January 2011) |
| The bomb attack against a Coptic church in Egypt, along with a list of targets found on a radical Muslim website, have led police in several European countries to guard Coptic churches ahead of Orthodox Christmas celebrations on Friday. Moderate Muslims have offered to help. Read more |
| Egypt and the Destruction of Churches: Strategic Implications by George Friedman, STRATFOR (January 2011) |
| Over the past few days, Christian churches have been attacked in at least two countries — Nigeria and Egypt — while small packages containing improvised explosive devices were placed on the doorsteps of Christian families in Iraq. Attacks against Christians are not uncommon in the Islamic world, driven by local issues and groups, and it is unclear whether these latest attacks were simply coincidental and do not raise the threat to a new level or whether they indicate the existence of a new, coordinated, international initiative. There is a strong case to be made for the idea that there is nothing new in all of this. Read more |
| Who are Egypt's Copts and the Middle-East's other Christian Populations? by Ariel Zirulnick, Christian Science Monitor |
| Recent attacks against Christians in Egypt and Iraq have drawn attention to the Middle East's Christian populations, which are dwindling as Christians flee violence, political strife, and persecution. Christians made up more than 20 percent of the region's population in the early 20th century, but today, they make up less than 10 percent. Here is a look at the status of Christians in seven key countries, from Egypt to Iran. Read more |
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