Just days before the government of Sudan allowed Christian mother Meriam Ibrahim to leave the country, it imposed a new ban on church construction.
Because many Sudanese Christians fled the north and moved to South Sudan once that nation gained independence in 2011, the government insists the few who remain in Sudan have enough existing churches to meet their needs.
But Christian Headlines.com reports that Sudanese Christians were angered by the government decision. It quotes Rev. Kori Elramla Kuku, general secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches, who described the ban as shocking and misleading.
"We (Christians) have the right to have new plots of land and building of new churches," he said.
"We need the churches for the growing of Sudanese Christians."
Religious freedom groups say the church ban is a violation of the right of freedom of religion and worship.
Also, Tina Ramirez, executive director of Hardwired recently told CBN News, Sudan's apostasy law needs to be overturned if more cases like Meriam Ibrahim's are to be prevented.
The 27-year old mother of two was sentenced to death for marrying an American Christian, and for abandoning the Muslim faith. Ibrahim insisted she never practiced Islam, but instead embraced the Christian faith of her mother.
Meanwhile, as Sudan moves forward with its ban on church construction--its northern neighbor--Egypt is negotiating with Christian leaders to develop plans to facilitate new church construction. Under the Mubarak regime, Egyptian Christians were required to petition the government for permission to repair or build churches. Rarely were new church buildings allowed.
So far, church leaders are optimistic that changes in the Egyptian constitution allowing church construction will be honored by new President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.