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Four churches burned to the ground in northern Nigeria
Alhaji Ibrahim Adamu doesn't like Living Faith Church in Dutse, capital town of the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa. Nigerian newspapers report that two years ago he sued the church for "disturbing the neighborhood by its activities." The church claims that Adamu, apparently a young Muslim, has stolen from the church. Reuters reports that Adamu has been charged with trying to burn Living Faith down.

Yesterday, when Adamu reportedly refused to turn up for a court hearing, the judge ordered him arrested and denied him bail.

Muslim youth in the area didn't like this very much. "The miscreants were angered by the court ruling; they went around the town and burnt down four churches and one hotel," a police officer told Reuters.

The destroyed houses of worship include The Redeemed Christian Church, Calvary Church, and Living Faith Church. No one was killed, and there are so far no reports of injuries. There are also no arrests.

China crackdown on church leaders warning of crackdown:

• China tries church leaders for telling foreigners of Christian crackdown | China has tried three underground church leaders in secret for exposing a crackdown against Christians just days after it passed a constitutional amendment to protect human rights (AFP)
  
  
• Earlier: China Arrests Dozens of Prominent Christians | At least 50 detained in fresh crackdown on house churches, reportedly promoted by new video and book releases. (Christianity Today)
  
  

Other religious conflicts:

• NATO fire teargas in Mitrovica, Serb church on fire | Ethnic Albanians set a Serbian Orthodox church on fire in the flashpoint town of Mitrovica on Thursday, despite NATO troops firing teargas and rubber bullets at the crowd (Reuters)
  
  
• Mass rape atrocity in west Sudan | More than 100 women have been raped in a single attack carried out by Arab militias in Darfur in western Sudan (BBC)
  
  

Religious freedom:

• Student group sues Ohio State University over right to exclude gays | Christian Legal Society seeks exemption from university policy (WCMH, Columbus, Oh.)
  
  
• Church angry after religious advertisements rejected | Slogans such as "Don't look down, look up" and "Talk to the Boss online every day" are too controversial, even illegal, Father Michael Kelly has been told (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
  
  
• Faith groups can ban guns temporarily, judge rules | Religious organizations can temporarily ban guns in their parking areas and on rental property, a Hennepin County district judge ruled Tuesday (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
  
  

Church and state:

• N.C. judge requests religion-neutral oaths, courtrooms | James M. Honeycutt says courts are seeing increasing number of people who aren't necessarily Christian, says change would apply only to his sessions (Associated Press)
  
  
• Group protests 'cover-up' | About 50 demonstrators rallied Thursday in Nashville, protesting the decision to cover a display of the Ten Commandments in the Nash County courthouse during Andre Edwards' murder trial (Rocky Mount Telegram, N.C.)
  
  
• Faith is freedom's bulwark | Os Guinness on contours of a Christian worldview (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Russian patriarch urges Christianity to be mentioned in EU constitution | Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II on Friday renewed his appeal for the future EU constitution to recognise Christianity as the basis of European culture. (EU Business, UK)
  
  
• Jews rip 'church' parking proposal | Observant Jews whose beliefs bar them from driving to a synagogue are trying to put the brakes on a city councilman's proposal that would require many new houses of worship to provide off-street parking (New York Post)
  
  

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March (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48