Problems viewing this email? View it on our website. 13 NOVEMBER 2014 Barnabas editorial “The Islamic State will remain”: IS’s tightening grip and its threat to the future of Christian communities The Islamist group Islamic State (IS) has been asserting its control over territories it occupies in Iraq and Syria, in a series of developments that will be devastating to Christians displaced from their homes in these areas. Read more... The leader of IS, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi   Latest international news New Indonesian government set to extend religious freedom to all citizens Indonesia’s new government plans to restore religious freedom to all minorities, as per the country’s 1945 constitution. With less than a month in their posts, the President, along with the Ministers for Religious and Home Affairs, are taking steps to ensure freedom of worship for all, bringing hope to the country after years of religious persecution. Read more... Joko Widodo was inaugurated President of Indonesia on 20 October 2014 Kreshna Aditya 2012 / CC BY-NC 2.0 Islamic rebels form a political party in the Philippines The Philippines’ largest Islamist rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), has announced that it will be forming a political party called the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJ). Read more... MILF militant Keith Bacongco / CC BY 2.0 Prince Charles advocates for persecuted Christians to House of Lords, British MPs sign letter pleading for Aasia Bibi In a video broadcast to the House of Lords on 4 November, the UK’s Prince Charles has voiced his concern about the suffering of Christians in the Middle East. And in a letter addressed to Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Chief Justice, 54 British MPs appeal for urgent attention to the case of Aasia Bibi, who was given a death sentence for “blasphemy” in 2010. Read more... The suffering of persecuted Christians was discussed in the Houses of Parliament 47 youngsters killed at Christian school in Nigeria, while Christians in Mubi forced to flee after Boko Haram renames it “City of Islam” A suicide bomb attack in a Christian secondary school in the town of Potiskum in Yobe state, north-eastern Nigeria, killed at least 47 people on Monday (10 November) as the students gathered for morning assembly. Boko Haram is thought to be behind the blast, having carried out several attacks on schools giving a Western-style education. Read more... The homes of Christians are often burned in attacks in north-eastern Nigeria