Libya

Libya released four Egyptian Christians accused of proselytizing from prison on Thursday, after imprisoning them for more than a month.

In the latest instance of Christian persecution in Libya, Islamists torched a church attended by Egyptian Christians in Benghazi on Friday.

Repeated electrical shock torture of an Egyptian Christian accused of "proselytizing" in Libya likely exacerbated his heart ailment, leading to his death in custody.

An Open Doors field worker for Libya has expressed his deep concerns about the deteriorating situation for Christians in Libya.

An Egyptian Christian, detained simply because he knew other Christians accused of evangelizing in Libya, has died in a Libyan jail.

Libyan security officials arrested almost 50 more foreign Christians last week in Benghazi.

Arrests continue of Christians accused of proselytizing in Libya, with a total of seven now known to be in custody including one reported to have been tortured.

Four foreign Christian workers in Libya have been arrested on suspicion of spreading Christianity and giving out Christian literature in Benghazi.

The age of religious war is supposed to be long past, but try telling that to members of the fledgling Christian movement across North Africa. The region, conquered by the followers of Muhammad more than a millennium ago, is witnessing a renewed assault on the church — and indeed on religious liberty.

Official emails now prove that White House and State Department officials were told two hours after the attack began that an Islamist terrorist group had claimed credit for the assault.

According to emails obtained by Reuters from government sources, officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11 that an Islamic militant group had claimed credit.

Clearly, this administration’s reluctance to deal with the realities of Islamist fundamentalist terrorism, even under the admittedly weak description of a "War on Terror," and its insistence that "al Qaeda is on the run," reflect a denial of reality unfocused on reality. The White House reaction to the Benghazi debacle is amateurish at best.

In response to criticism from The New York Times' public editor, Margaret Sullivan, about the paper's decision not to run its story about the Oct. 10 Libya congressional hearings on the front page, the Times' managing editor and executive editor explained that they didn't see "anything significantly new" in the "politicized" hearings and that's why they tucked coverage inside.

The initial story coming from the White House was that an anti-Muslim video sparked the violence. They now admit that the attack began before the video surfaced. What's more, the State Department now admits the attack wasn't spontaneous, but planned by terrorists.

Angry demonstrations and attacks on Western interests continued to spread across the Middle Eastern and north African regions and into Asia with already marginalized Christians attempting to keep low profiles.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended Israel's condolences to the families of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other officials at the American embassy in Libya who were murdered Tuesday night by Islamic terrorists.

Is there anything for which this president will stand? Our embassy was attacked. We give billions in aid to the Egyptian government. It is that government, now run by the Muslim Brotherhood, which should be apologizing to us.

In the wake of the U.S. Embassy attacks in Libya, countless questions remain unanswered -- and the lost lives of Chris Stevens and three of his American colleagues speak to the tragic threat of violent terrorist groups and the uncertainty of Libya’s fragile new government.

The Tuesday attacks on U.S. embassies in Libya and Egypt could have severe consequences for already marginalized Christians in the Middle East and northern Africa.

President Barack Obama took no questions Wednesday at a White House press conference on the attacks in Libya in which U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens as well as three other Americans were killed, walking away as a reporter asked, "Is this an act of war?"