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2023-03-30

• Church Leader Faces Accusations of Blasphemy

  

  Bahzad Mziri, the bishop of an Anabaptist church in the Kurdistan city of Duhok, is facing threats of blasphemy charges after social media comments were published. Considered by some Iraqi Facebook recipients to be offensive to Islam, the post comparing Jesus to the Islamic prophet Mohammed was made in response to insulting statements published online earlier by a Muslim leader. The post on the bishop's Facebook account was reposted on February 16th by Muslims intent on inciting anger.

• Homes Demolished for the Second Time

  

  For the second time within the past five months, the homes belonging to a group of believers in Laos were demolished by angry villagers. The village is located in an area of the country considered a "hot spot" for persecution because of the increasing number of Christians.

• Court Sends Child Bride to Shelter

  

  Hoorab Masih went missing on December 28th after she failed to return from grocery shopping. It was soon discovered that the 12-year-old had been kidnapped by a local shopkeeper, Muhammad Mustafa, and his co-worker, Muhammad Usman, who then forcibly converted the Christian girl to Islam. A few days later, Hoorab was found in a women's shelter after the arrests of Mustafa and Usman. However, when the two men were released on bail, they disappeared, along with Hoorab.