Persecuted Church News: 1/15/12

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Muslims in Egypt Attack Church, Burn Christian Homes and Shops

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

CAIRO, EGYPT (ANS) -- A Muslim mob yesterday (Jan.19) attacked Copts in the Upper Egyptian village of Rahmaniya-Kebly, Nag Hammadi, Qena province, destroying and torching their homes, straw huts and shops, while chanting Allahu Akbar.

Mary Abdelmassih, an Egyptian journalist writing for the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) --www.aina.org -- says no one was reported killed or injured. According to reports, security forces were present but did not intervene and the fire brigade arrived 90 minutes late.

AINA reports that an eye-witness said a straw hut belonging to a Coptic Christian was torched to clear the area for a mosque. There are more than 300 mosques in the village and one church.

AINA says that according to Coptic residents, the reason behind the violence was the parliamentary elections. The Salafists wanted to prevent Copts, who number more than 50 percent of the inhabitants (20,000), from voting because they intended to vote for two moderate Muslims and not the Salafi candidates. "No Copt from Rahmaniya-Kebly was able to vote today, so the Salafists will win the elections," said a witness. Copts were forcefully prevented from voting.

AINA goes on to say that US-based WAY TV, which covered live yesterday’s Rahmaniya attacks, called commander Osama, head of security at Rahmaniya, who said "everything was OK" -- despite live pictures on TV of the burning homes.

AINA reported that Joseph Nasralla of WAY TV spoke to security and made them aware that the videos of the fires were being broadcast in the U.S. and Middle East, which caused the immediate dispatch of security vehicles. By late evening the violence had stopped.

In another incident yesterday, a large number of Salafis and members of the Muslim Brotherhood entered the Abu Makka church, in Bahteem, Shubra-el-Khayma, Qaliubia province, and informed the congregation that the church has no license and no one should pray in it. One Muslim said the 1,300 square meter church would be suitable for a mosque and a hospital.

AINA said Bishop Marcus of Shubra el Khayma was scheduled to inaugurate the incomplete church and celebrate the Epiphany mass in the evening.

However, according to Coptic witnesses the Bishop cancelled the festivities, which angered the congregation, who were not informed of the reason. A witness said the Muslim promised to be back Friday.

** Michael Ireland is the Senior International Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior International Reporter

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Pakistani Christian High School Teacher and Family Face Death Threats from Extremist Islamic Organization and Radical Muslim Families

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- A Pakistani Christian couple along with his wife and children are facing death threats from an extremist Islamic organization and radical Muslim families.

According to a source in Pakistan, the death threats came after Raheel Arif began preaching the gospel to Muslim students and others.

The source also told ANS that there was a failed attempt to kidnap one of the couple's children. While Arif and his family attempted to find a safe place of refuge they found that wasn't possible, as their assailants have many connections within Pakistan. There was also an attempt made to burn their house.

The source told ANS that when the family attempted to file a complaint with law enforcement, they were told to "make peace" with their attackers.

Arif, the source said, has also been repeatedly mistreated by Muslim teachers and administration in the school in which he worked for many years.

Arif was also demoted from his position as vice principal, during a change in the administration of the school.

His attempts to complain, the source said, went unheard by the school administration.

The source told ANS that Arif was very badly treated by the school principal and others in positions of authority in the school because he was the only Christian there.

The source said, "He is ... concerned for his students, who are left with incompetent teachers, preaching religious hatred and intolerance."

The source said Arif and his family have now abandoned their home due to continued pressure from an Islamic extremist organization, his radical Muslim colleagues, and fear of another attack on him and his family.

Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter,http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City."

Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available at http://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds atjeremyreynalds@comcast.net.

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Tensions Rise in Kashmir, India after ‘Guilty Verdict,’ Fatwa

Sharia court launches campaign threatening to ostracize those who decline to convert to Islam.

NEW DELHI, January 20 (CDN) — Christian workers are fleeing India’s Kashmir Valley after a sharia(Islamic law) court issued a “guilty verdict” against three Christian leaders, issued a fatwa against Christian schools and allegedly launched a door-to-door campaign to bring converts back to Islam.

The court, which has no legal authority, found the Rev. Chander Mani Khanna, pastor of All Saints Church in Srinagar, Dutch Catholic missionary Jim Borst and Christian worker Gayoor Messah guilty of “luring the valley Muslims to Christianity,” The Times of India daily reported on Dec. 19.

The three had already left the region apparently due to rising tensions.

Headed by Kashmir Grand Mufti Bashir-ud-din Ahmad, the sharia court also “directed” the state government to take over the management of all Christian schools in the region, the daily added.

“I fled with my wife and children, as I was not feeling safe in Srinagar,” a Christian worker from Kashmir told Compass on condition of anonymity. “A group of Muslims visited my house twice, threatening my parents with a social boycott if they failed to produce me.”

The source said he and some of his friends left Srinagar, the summer capital of northern India’s Jammu and Kashmir state, a few days before the sharia court ordered three Christian workers to leave Kashmir Valley, in the Muslim-majority region of the state.

Another source told Compass that some men had visited his family and those of his friends in Srinagar asking for their whereabouts.

“They had the names of all my local Christian friends when they came to my parents’ house, and they asked for the names of more Christians in the area,” he said. “Muslim men are going to every believer’s home and asking their families to ensure that their children return to Islam. They are using Islamic scriptures to persuade the families, warning that if their members do not reconvert their households will face ostracism.”

The source added that those who have fled may not be able to return to their homes for at least a year.

“We have our family with children – where should we send our kids to school?” he said. “Where should we stay? We don’t have any answers.”

He said the men who are visiting Christians’ homes are sent from the many committees the sharia court has formed to prevent conversions. The mufti could not be contacted for comment.

Separately, well-known Muslim clergyman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq recently launched a website,www.tahafuzeiman.org, entitled “Council for Protection of Faith,” for a committee formed in November 2011, “after numerous cases of apostasy came into light” and “to thwart nefarious designs of pervasive forces and the deep-rooted conspiracy of making youth apostate and defectors by giving them concessions and benefits secretly.”

Besides the “guilty verdict” against Pastor Khanna, Borst and Messa, mufti deputy Nasir-ul-Islam reportedly said an investigation against Parvez Samuel Kaul, principal of a local Christian missionary school, was underway.

The court also ordered all Christian schools to teach Islam and other faiths.

“Given the Muslim majority character of the valley, the Muslim students should be taught Islam, and daily prayer written by Syed Mohammad Iqbal should also be sung in the morning prayers,” Nasir-ul-Islam told The Times of India.

Muslim leaders began to rally against Christians after a video posted on YouTube last October showed Muslim youth being baptized at the All Saints Church. Soon thereafter, the sharia court “summoned” Pastor Khanna to explain why Muslim youth were converted and whether they were offered money.

State police arrested Pastor Khanna on Nov. 19 on charges of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims by “converting” their youth. He was released on bail on Dec. 1. The court later summoned Borst, but he asked the mufti to meet him at his church site. The mufti declined. The court found Christian worker Messah “guilty” because he was also seen with Pastor Khanna in the video.

The All India Christian Council warned that the sharia court’s verdict could encourage extremist elements to indulge in violence.

“The church does not accept as genuine any conversion brought about by fraud or force,” Dr. John Dayal, the group’s secretary general, said in a statement.

He pointed out that a fact-finding team that went to Srinagar late last year found no evidence of force or fraud in baptisms. “Each baptism has been proven to be voluntary.”

There are only about 400 Christians in the Kashmir region, with 300 of them living in Srinagar, according to the fact-finding team.

The council also said the Christian community did not accept the jurisdiction of the sharia courts anywhere in India.

The sharia court was careful in its “verdict,” one of the area sources observed, noting that the three who were ordered to leave are not permanent residents of Kashmir. He questioned the fatwa against Christian schools.

“The court issued a fatwa against Christian schools because some business-minded Muslims want greater control over these schools, which are known for providing quality education,” he said.

Local residents saw an element of politics behind the tensions. The fact-finding team, which visited Kashmir from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2, learned from local people that some extremist groups and other vested interests had been seeking to use the issue of conversion in their confrontation with the state government, political parties and moderate Islamic groups.

They were “looking to score political points against each other, and any excuse was good enough to foment trouble,” one resident said. The state government apparently sided with the extremists to preempt any unrest, local residents told the fact-finding team.

While most Muslims in Kashmir are peaceful adherents of Sufi Islam, some are influenced by Wahhabism and are extremists.

END

Police Beat, Arrest Evangelist in Sudan

Harassment continues amid growing hostility toward Christians.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 20 (CDN) — Police this week beat and arrested a church leader in Khartoum, sources told Compass.

Evangelist James Kat of the Evangelical Church of Sudan was arrested on Tuesday morning (Jan. 17), with officers beating him as they took him to a North Division police station, the sources said. He was released on bail the same day.

Police detained Kat, who lives at the church site, apparently because he was using the place as his home.

“They forced him to go with them to the police station,” an eyewitness said.

The arrest came amid increasing harassment of Christians by Sudanese authorities following the secession of South Sudan on July 9, 2011. In a Jan. 3 letter to Sudanese Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) leaders, Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments threatened to arrest pastors if they carry out evangelistic activities and do not comply with an order for churches to provide the leaders’ names and contact information.

Hamid Yousif Adam, undersecretary of the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment, warned “We have all legal rights to take them to court” in the letter. SPEC leaders said the government is increasingly trying to limit church activities.

Church Takeover
Another church leader was arrested on Monday (Jan. 16) in a SPEC church property dispute in which police and courts have been unjustly biased in favor of Muslims, Christian leaders said.

Officers arrested SPEC worker Gabro Haile Selassie, as he lives on the church property that has been transferred to a Muslim businessman in a disputed agreement; he has refused to be evicted without police providing him an official document indicating the basis for the action.

Selassie, who was released on bail after a few hours, said he fears being arrested again; police are threatening him and his family, warning them to evacuate the house on the church property in downtown Khartoum, so they are staying with friends, he said.

Police have already started demolishing the church compound fence, Selassie added.

“They will definitely demolish my house” he told Compass. “I am in great terror; I’m afraid to sleep in the house, because they may come again and arrest me. This is a clear form of terrorism against Christians.”

Armed police were deployed Sunday evening (Jan.15) to the site to take the property by force, as authorities are supporting Muslim businessman Osman al Tayeb’s efforts to take control of the plot as part of planned confiscation of church property, church leaders said (see “Police in Sudan Aid Muslim’s Effort to Take Over Church Plot,” Oct. 25, 2011). A court has ruled in favor of al Tayeb.

“The government is still trying to get involved in the affairs of the church by supporting people like Osman al Tyab,” said one church leader.

The church had signed a contract with al Tayeb stipulating the terms under which he could attain the property – including providing legal documents such as a construction permit and then obtaining final approval from SPEC – but those terms remained unmet, church officials said.

Church leader Deng Bol said that under terms of the unfulfilled contract, the SPEC would have turned the property over to al Tayeb to construct a business center on the site, with the denomination to receive a share of the returns from the commercial enterprise and regain ownership of the property after 80 years. SPEC leaders had yet to approve the project because of the high risk of permanently losing the property, he said, and they had undertaken legal action to recover it.

SPEC leaders said Muslims have taken over many other Christian properties through similar ploys.

Christians are facing growing threats from both Muslim communities and Islamist government officials who have long wanted to rid Sudan of Christianity, Christian leaders told Compass. They said Christianity is now regarded as a foreign religion following the departure of 350,000 people, most of them Christians, to South Sudan since the secession.

Sudan’s Interim National Constitution holds up sharia (Islamic law) as a source of legislation, and the laws and policies of the government favor Islam, according to the U.S. State Department’s most recent International Religious Freedom Report.

END

Friday, January 20, 2012

Cuban Government Backtracks on Verbal Assurances to Grant Pastor Exit Visa

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

Pastor Omar Gude Perez & wife

CUBA (ANS) -- Despite verbal assurances from Cuban authorities that his application would be approved, Pastor Omar Gude Perez has so far been denied a visa to leave Cuba in order to seek asylum in the United States.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Pastor Gude Perez’s wife and two children have been given exit visas, or “white cards”, as they are called in Cuba, but the family has refused to leave Cuba without him, for fear that delays in the pastor’s visa application may lead to a long-term separation.

CSW says that since the family was granted asylum by the US in July 2010, they have had to wait several months for their exit visas to be approved, and have been subject to contradictory messages from the authorities on whether the family will be able to leave Cuba together.

CSW reports that Pastor Gude, a national leader in a fast growing network of independent churches called the Apostolic Movement, served almost three years of a six-and-a-half year prison sentence on trumped up charges. His release was subject to certain conditions, namely that he was prohibited from preaching or from travelling outside the city of Camaguey.

The Apostolic Movement is a non-denominational, Charismatic, Protestant network of church groups which are outside of the traditionally recognized Christian denominations in Cuba.

CSW has documented intense government persecution of church leaders linked to the network over the past three years, detailed in its annual report on religious freedom in Cuba.

CSW’s Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston said, “CSW is deeply concerned at the failure of Cuban officials to honour verbal assurances to grant Pastor Omar Gude Perez an exit visa.

“The Gude family have been waiting for the whole family to be granted exit visas for more than six months, and do not want to be forced to separate. We call on the Cuban government to honour its promise to the Gude family and grant Pastor Gude Perez an exit visa so that he and his family can begin a new life in the United States together without any further delay.”

___________________________________________________________

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, emailkiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk .

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Elections don't change much or give new freedom in Kazakhstan

Training for church leaders.
(Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Assocation)

Kazakhstan (MNN) ―Leaders in Kazakhstan are looking to lift the state of emergency that was to last through January 31. Things seem to have settled down in the oil-rich town where riots between striking oil workers and security forces claimed over 50 lives in mid-December.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev declared the emergency in response to uprisings that took place--a move that was partially aimed at salvaging his image of stability right before elections.

On January 15, voters went to the polls against the backdrop of the smoke of the government crackdowns. The result: two more parties will join Nazarbayev's party in parliament for the first time in 20 years of independence. The new Parliament is slated to open its first session today.

The ruling party Nur Otan took the lions' share--nearly 81% of the votes. Ak Zhol, the Democratic Party garnered nearly 7.5%, and the Communist People's Party brought up the rear with just over 7% of the vote.

However, not everyone was pleased with the results. Opposition leaders organized a modest rally in Almaty denying the legitimacy of the January 15 election that reinforced Nazarbayev's power. Joel Griffith with Slavic Gospel Association' says, "The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe issued a statement pretty critical of Kazakh authorities for de-registering parties and candidates at the last minute. They were basically saying that it deprived voters of their choices."

Still, it seems clear that things will remain as they are for now. "President Nazarbayev continues to maintain a fairly firm grip on power, and I don't think we see that changing anytime soon. What will be interesting in the days ahead will be if this continued criticism manages to encourage any further democratic reform."

As with any democratic election process, there's a slim hope that change will result from casting a vote. Toward the end of 2011, the country adopted harsh new restrictions that raised eyebrows among human rights watchdog groups. Griffith says between the same people in power and the trend of the region, that hope appears to have been dashed, especially when couched in security terms. "The reasons given for passing these types of laws are they want to put controls on Muslim extremism."

In reality, Griffith says, "Once these laws go into place, it's the evangelical churches that appear to take the brunt of the crackdown that takes place. It's definitely a situation that bears watching. It's definitely a situation that bears for a lot of prayers. We need to pray for the security and protection of the evangelical churches that are there."

SGA has come alongside evangelical churches in Kazakhstan through a variety of ministries, including support of the Almaty Bible Institute. Griffith says that won't change. "These churches are going to continue their ministry, regardless of what government does. But of course, they'll have to do it in a much more secure, discrete fashion, and we certainly don't want to do anything that would jeopardize their security in any way."

SGA supports children's ministries such as Immanuel's Child, Orphans Reborn, summer camps and national church-planting missionaries. There's more at our Featured Links.

Karnataka Christians most targeted in India

India (MNN) ― Karnataka State is one of the most dangerous places in India for Christians, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India's (EFI) annual report.

After the Bharatiya Janata Party came to sole power in May 2008, anti-Christian attacks increased in the state and continue steadily increasing every year, according to the EFI. However, harassment doesn't always come in the form of violence. It is often subversive and emotionally draining.

Don Edwards, a spokesman with Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India, shares one case involving a group of their partners. "Two and a half years ago, we had a training going on in the same state of Karnataka where all the trouble is happening today. 10 of our partners were arrested, thrown in jail, and then released on bond waiting for a court hearing."

In late 2010, there was faint hope that a judge would throw out the Karnataka case in which the team was accused of "inciting communal violence and bribing people to become Christians" in August 2009 during a 3-day training session for the Children's Bible Club program.

The partners have to travel back to Karnataka to appear before the court to answer the charges. The months of delay, while not a direct threat, intimidates through inconvenience and expense.

Edwards says, "They have to drop everything and show up at the court at least once a month. That's been going on now for two and a half years. Every time they show up,at court, the court case is postponed. It's quite an act of harassment."

Once again, the team arrived in Karnataka on Thursday, January 19. "There was another court hearing. It was postponed for another five days. The court hearing has now been postponed until next Tuesday, January 24. We certainly would appreciate any prayers from those who would remember Mission India's ministry, especially in the state of Karnataka."

The charges they face could be determined under India's Penal Code, Section 295-A which reads, in part: the offense is "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs."

While legal protections against violations of religious freedom exist in India, corruption impacts how the laws are enforced, a fact noted by the U.S. State Department. Edwards notes, "It could be interpreted any way by the judge and whoever is the political power broker in the state at the time. That particular crime of 'intending to outrage religious feelings' is punishable by imprisonment for three years, or a fine, or both."

The accusations are false: the team was sleeping at the time they were arrested, so they could not have been inciting communal violence. "That's just one of the charges leveled against this particular group and often is leveled against people when they're attacked by Hindu fundamentalists and the government arrests the Christians rather than those who are committing the violence."

There is openness to the Gospel, and the church is growing. Edwards urges you to pray "that this case would be dismissed and these Christians would no longer be harassed simply because they were conducting training for Christians to share the Gospel."

Mission India has long waiting lists of people who want to participate in their literacy program, Bible Club, and other outreach programs. Growth is only limited by resources, however. Here are links to help Mission India move forward.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

North Korea’s leader will not last long, says Kim Jong-un’s brother

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

BEIJING, CHINA (ANS) -- “The eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il has predicted the regime would soon fail, with or without reforms, according to a new book that the author says is based on emails and interviews with Kim Jong-nam.”

Kim Jong-un salutes during his father Kim Jong-il’s memorial service in Pyongyang (Photograph: North Korea TV/AFP/Getty Images)

This extraordinary statement was made in a story by Jonathan Watts and Tania Branigan in Beijing for the UK-based newspaper, The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk).

The journalists said that the book says that Kim Jong-nam – who has never met the new leader, his half-brother Kim Jong-un – described the dynastic succession as “a joke to the outside world”, and said even his father had originally opposed the hereditary transfer of power.

“The Kim Jong-un regime will not last long,” Kim Jong-nam is said to have written, forecasting a power struggle. “Without reforms, North Korea will collapse, and when such changes take place the regime will collapse.”

Kim Jong-nam added: “I think we will see valuable time lost as the regime sits idle fretting over whether it should pursue reforms or stick to the present political structure.”

Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong-il, says of his half-brother and the new leader of North Korea: ‘Kim Jong-un is still just a nominal figure’ (Photo: Joongang Sunday/AFP/Getty Images)

The journalists went on to say that the claims emerge in a book by Yoji Gomi, a journalist with Tokyo Shimbun, who said he exchanged emails with Kim Jong-nam over seven years. The date of the remarks on the regime is unclear.

Gomi, who lived for years in Seoul and Beijing, said he met Kim three times in total, once in 2004 and twice in 2011.

“He gave me a very good impression. He's very gentle and friendly,” Gomi said.

“We exchanged emails over some time and when I suggested compiling our exchanges as a book, he agreed. At first he wanted publication to be delayed, but when I said we ought to go ahead because of everything that is happening in North Korea right now, he said that was OK. I don't feel that he has any ambition to become leader of North Korea, but he wants to contribute to improving the situation in the country. He travels a great deal, but his base is in Macau.”

The story added, “A publicist for the Bungei Shunju publishing company said the book would be published shortly.

Dan Wooding and Dr. David Cho, who led the team that Wooding was part of into North Korea, pictured besides huge statue of Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang

“Kim Jong-nam has previously offered relatively outspoken if brief remarks on the North to journalists who have tracked him down, but these reported messages go much further. Experts on North Korea cautioned that it was impossible to verify the details unless or until Kim Jong-nam confirmed he had written the emails.”

They concluded by saying that in one message, Kim Jong-nam remarked: “I'm concerned how Jong-un, who merely resembles my grandfather [former North Korean leader Kim Il-sung], will be able to satisfy the needs of North Koreans.

“Kim Jong-un is still just a nominal figure and the members of the power elite will be the ones in actual power.”

Note from Dan Wooding: Having once been to North Korea on a reporting trip, I find this information quite intriguing and an amazing look behind the secretive curtain of this mysterious land. Only time will tell if this turn out to be true. In the meantime, let us continue to pray for the many suffering Christians in North Korea who are in the numerous concentration camps there. Once again, Open Doors, in its World Watch List, has named North Korea as the World’s Worst Persecutor of Christians for the ninth straight year.

Dan Wooding, 71, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books, one of which is his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.

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Sudan Threatens to Arrest Church Leaders

Christians subject to stricter controls, religious freedom violations.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 18 (CDN) — Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments has threatened to arrest church leaders if they carry out evangelistic activities and do not comply with an order for churches to provide their names and contact information, Christian sources said.

The warning in a Jan. 3 letter to church leaders of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) arrived a few days after Sudan President Omar al-Bashir told cheering crowds on Jan. 3 that, following the secession of largely non-Islamic south Sudan last July, the country’s constitution will be more deeply entrenched in sharia (Islamic law).

“We will take legal procedures against pastors who are involved in preaching or evangelistic activities,” Hamid Yousif Adam, undersecretary of the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment, wrote to the church leaders. “We have all legal rights to take them to court.”

Sources said the order was aimed at oppressing Christians amid growing hostilities toward Christianity.

“This is a critical situation faced by our church in Sudan,” said the Rev. Yousif Matar, secretary general of the SPEC.

Another church leader said the order was another in a series of measures by the government to control churches.

“They do not want pastors from South Sudan to carry on any church activities or mission work in Sudan,” he said.

Sudanese law prohibits missionaries from evangelizing, and converting from Islam to another religion is punishable by imprisonment or death in Sudan, though previously such laws were not strictly enforced. The government has never carried out a death sentence for apostasy, according to the U.S. State Department’s latest International Religious Freedom Report.

Christians are facing growing threats from both Muslim communities and Islamist government officials who have long wanted to rid Sudan of Christianity, Christian leaders told Compass. They said Christianity is now regarded as a foreign religion following the departure of 350,000 people, most of them Christians, to South Sudan following the July 9, 2011 secession.

Sudan’s Interim National Constitution (INC) holds up sharia as a source of legislation, and the laws and policies of the government favor Islam, according to the state department report. Christian leaders said they fear the government is tightening controls on churches in Sudan and planning to force compliance with Islamic law as part of a strategy to eliminate Christianity.

As he has several times in the past year, Al-Bashir on Jan. 3 once again warned that Sudan’s constitution will be more firmly entrenched in sharia.

“We are an Islamic nation with sharia as the basis of our constitution,” he told crowds in Kosti, south of Khartoum. “We will base our constitution on Islamic laws.”

His government subsequently issued the decree ordering church leaders to provide names and contact information of church leaders in Sudan, sources said. Christian leaders said the government is retaliating for churches’ perceived pro-West position.

Muslim scholars have urged heavy-handed measures against Christians to Al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in Darfur.

HostilitiesChristians in (north) Sudan celebrated last Christmas amid several threats from officials in Khartoum, and some followers of Christ were arrested for their faith, sources said.

Yasir Musa of the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) was arrested along with two other church members by national security agents in Khartoum on Dec. 23; they were detained because they were Christians and therefore suspected supporters of southern military forces. Released shortly afterward, they said authorities threatened to arrest them again if they did not comply with orders not to carry out Christian activities in the Islamic nation.

SCOC leaders said they have complained to the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments and were told that the three were arrested for security reasons.

In another case, sources said that Islamic militias loyal to the government in civilian uniform abducted a church leader and two church members as they were returning from a worship service and demanded $1,000 in ransom. They were released after two days, according to Christian sources in Khartoum.

Christians in Khartoum increasingly fear arrests by militias loyal to the Islamic government, the sources said.

Security agencies in Khartoum have also ordered local Christians not to organize Bible exhibitions, as some churches have done annually, the sources said.

The pressures on Christians come as war in Sudan’s South Kordofan state has led leaders there and in North Kordofan to incite hatred against Christians, with officials in both states calling for holy war against the predominantly Christian Nuba people.

END

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Nigerian Christians on High Alert After Vicious Boko Haram Attacks

SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 18, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- This week's halt to a nation-wide strike over fuel prices came as a relief to the Open Doors team in Nigeria.

Since the week before Christmas, Open Doors workers have been swamped in efforts to confirm and address the most urgent needs of Christian believers affected directly by the latest onslaught of attacks against the church by Boko Haram, a militant Islamist sect demanding the rule of strict Muslim law in Nigeria.

Boko Haram's bold, deadly campaign during the Christmas season left Northern Nigeria reeling, causing many to say that Nigeria was tumbling into full-scale civil war. Then last week's five-day strike over the government's decision to cancel fuel subsidies spiraled into violent clashes between demonstrators and police, compounding the situation considerably. The Open Doors team has confirmed that more than 50 Christians have been killed in the violence since the beginning of January.

Despite a military presence in the Boko Haram-affected areas, coupled with the government's apparent intention to clamp down on perpetrators of violence, the Boko Haram leader's vow to "cleanse the north of Christianity" has kept the affected areas in the grip of uncertainty. A short cell phone text message circulated to warn Christians that more attacks would follow caused more fear. In a recent video posted on YouTube, the sect leader declared their attacks were "reprisals" for alleged earlier attacks by Christians against Muslims.

In reaction, the government called on Christians not to be alarmed by the threats of Boko Haram, assuring them of protection. Many church leaders joined the president in calling for calm, urging members to remain in prayer. However, the leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ayo Oritsejafor, told Christians to take appropriate action to protect themselves.

This atmosphere of fear and mistrust across the North complicates the work for Open Doors teams, which need much wisdom and discernment in their decision-making process. If staff teams are caught up in the violence themselves, this would compromise urgently needed assistance even further.

At the end of last year, some Open Doors training sessions were disrupted by Boko Haram violence. While a training seminar was going on in Maiduguri, 10 bomb explosions occurred in different locations of the city within three days. Two of the participants in the seminar were gunned down by Boko Haram members after returning home. One of them was a pastor of the local Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) congregation. Despite the great shock to all the participants and the ongoing danger, they persisted to complete the training. In one instance, it was confirmed that the movements of an Open Doors relief team were being monitored by members of Boko Haram.

For now the priority of the team is to confirm data and reach the believers who are in the greatest need of assistance. From a quick scan of secular media reports, it is clear that there is a lot of contradictory information circulating. Despite the fact that the Open Doors team is very well connected with the local church in Nigeria, it poses a challenge to make sense of the plethora of information.

In prioritizing assistance, Open Doors workers have confirmed that at least some of the Christians affected by the Christmas Day attacks in the Abuja area have been helped by the government. Open Doors is assessing the needs of those Christians who are not receiving any assistance.

Reportedly the most urgent needs are among the large number of Christians from Potiskum and Damaturu in Yobe state who have fled to Nassarawa. Christians in Kano and Katsina say they have nowhere to go, so have stayed put, and the team is investigating their needs. Some Christians have fled across the border to the Republic of Niger, but it appears that they are being cared for to some degree.

"Please pray with me about the deteriorating situation in Nigeria," said Open Doors USA President/CEO Dr. Carl Moeller. "The goal of Boko Haram is to spread Sharia law throughout Nigeria. We must storm the gates of heaven with our prayers to prevent this from happening. The millions of Christians -- as well as the Open Doors team -- need our support now."

Nigeria is ranked No. 13 on the Open Doors 2012 World Watch List of 50 countries which are the worst persecutors of Christians. Last year it was ranked No. 23.

An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to our Website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Ugandan Girl Tortured for Christ Regaining Use of Legs

(Photo: Compass)

Released from hospital, Susan Ithungu takes steps with support.

BWERA, Uganda, January 17 (CDN) — A 15-year-old Christian girl in western Uganda who lost the use of her legs after her father locked her in a room for six months for leaving Islam has begun to take tentative steps.

Susan Ithungu of Isango village, Kasese district, had been hospitalized since September 2010 after neighbors along with police rescued her from her father, Beya Baluku, who had given her hardly any food or water. He was arrested shortly afterward but quickly released. She and her younger brother, Mbusa Baluku, lived alone with their father, who was divorced from their mother.

In March 2010, Susan had trusted Christ for her salvation – prompting her father to threaten to slaughter her publicly with a knife. Pastor Joseph Baluku of Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese said neighbors who discovered that the girl was locked in a room with almost no food or water notified authorities.

After her release, they took her to a hospital on Sept. 6, 2010. She would not be discharged from hospital care until Oct. 19, 2011.

After Compass published her ordeal on Aug. 11, 2011, several individuals and ministries came forward to help her (see www.compassdirect.org, “Girl in Uganda Loses Use of Legs after Leaving Islam for Christ,” Aug. 11, 2011). She now lives in a rented house in an undisclosed location.

“Well-wishers have been paying the house rent and buying me food and clothing,” said Susan, who added that she has forgiven her father.

A member of the Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese, Biira Dreda, left her own four children under the care of her mother in order to look after Susan while she was hospitalized.

“It is now becoming difficult to meet the school fees for my own children,” Dreda said. “I am praying to get some little funds so as to start an income generating project.”

A member of a Pentecostal church, Susan has begun to walk with support. She cannot squat or stand upright because she lay on one side for such a long time, besides suffering a bout of malaria.

“I thank all those who have continually supported me spiritually, materially and even morally,” Susan said. “I am also thankful to Biira Dreda, who stood by me in the hospital, and to date she is still with me when none of my family members has come to see me. I now take Dreda as my mother because of her care and love. My own people have abandoned me.”

Jacob Mukobi, who works with Uganda police as a child protection volunteer, was tipped off that Susan had been locked up in the house for six months.

“When I got the horrifying message about Susan that she had been put under house arrest for converting to Christianity, I went with the police to the house on Sept. 6, 2010 and took her to Bwera hospital,” he said.

Her father, he said, is not ready to take her back.

“A neighbor heard Susan’s father saying that she will be accepted back to the family only if she recants the Christian faith and rejoins Islam,” he said.

When Mukobi asked Susan’s father about his mistreatment of her, he said only that he was upset by her conversion to Christianity, Mukobi said.

“I do not like my daughter calling herself Susan and leaving her Muslim name, Aisha,” Mukobi said Baluku told him.

On Oct. 22, 2010, Susan was referred to Kagando hospital, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Bwera. Six months later, she was referred to Curso hospital in Kampala. She still could not walk. Surgeons operated on both her thighs, but as a doctor tried to stretch her leg, one thigh bone was so weak that it broke.

She returned to Kagando hospital after two weeks, but with her condition deteriorating, after two months she was referred to Kilembe hospital, about eight kilometers (five miles) from Kasese.

Though she has had to drop out of school, she said she hopes to return this year.

“I am now able to handle a pen and write,” she told Compass late last year. “I am able to sit down for at least one hour, and I hope by next year it will be much better, enough to enable me go to school.”

Pastor Baluku said that “many Good Samaritans” came to her aid.

“Susan at the moment needs a balanced diet to strengthen her weak bones, so that she can go to school soon,” he added.

END

Monday, January 16, 2012

Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills Four Christians and Threatens Village Attacks

This home-grown terrorist group is conducting a brutal campaign that has claimed the lives of many Christians in Nigeria, and the killing continue

By Dan Wooding, who was born in Nigeria
He is the Founder of ASSIST Ministries

YORBA LINDA, CA (ANS) -- Boko Haram gunmen on Thursday, January 12, 2012, shot dead four Igbo Christian men in Potiskum town in Yobe State, and threatened to launch an attack on two nearby villages later that evening.

Boko Haram gunmen

“The four men were reportedly shot in a vehicle as they were migrating southwards to rejoin their families, who had already moved to that area to escape the violence. Previous attempts to join them had been hampered by the indefinite general strike against fuel subsidy removal, which has brought the nation to a halt,” said a spokesperson for UK-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

“On the same day, Boko Haram also threatened to attack Kukargadu and Dagare villages, both of which have large populations of indigenous Christians. However, extra security personnel were deployed to the villages, which were consequently kept safe through the night.”

The CSW spokesperson went on that say that on Tuesday, eight men and a woman were killed by suspected Boko Haram gunmen in Potiskum. All nine are thought to have been Christians. The group, which included a lecturer at the Federal College of Education/Technical in Potiskum, four policemen and a young man employed by Jam'a Clinic, were in a bar in the Dorawa Ward when they were shot at by gunmen who escaped on motorcycles. On the previous day, two Christians were also shot at by gunmen on a motorcycle in the Barracks area of Potiskum, but escaped unhurt by falling to the ground and playing dead.

A 24-hour curfew has now been imposed in Yobe, and motorcycles have been banned due to Boko Haram’s regular usage of these vehicles.

The deteriorating security situation has led to rising speculation that Yobe State could soon be entirely emptied of its Christian population as entire lorry-loads of people have been departing the state. One source, who informed CSW-Nigeria he was assisting over two hundred families of indigenous Christians with relocation, said, “If this continues unabated, in the next few months or weeks there may be no Christians in Yobe State. Though our houses, jobs and churches are here, we have no choice but to leave”

In several instances, added the CSW spokesperson, fuel subsidy removal protests are being used for alternative agendas.

On Tuesday, a fuel protest in Gusau, Zamfara State, degenerated into an attack on Ebenezer Baptist Church as rioters removed equipment and other valuables from the premises and set them on fire. A 24-hour curfew was imposed in Kaduna City and its environs yesterday, after Muslim youths went to the governor's official residence on Tuesday claiming they wanted to seize control.

On Wednesay, a 6am to 6pm curfew was imposed in Niger State after rioting broke out in the capital, Minna, and the governor's campaign headquarters was attacked.

Meanwhile, retaliatory attacks on Hausa-Fulani neighborhoods in Benin City in southern Nigeria on 9 and 10 January during fuel protests resulted in five deaths, mass displacement and the destruction of an Islamic School attached to the central mosque. This worrying development follows a week of violent events in Adamawa State that left at least 37 people dead in which southerners were specifically targeted.

Mervyn Thomas

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “CSW is deeply grieved by the continuing deaths, injuries and displacements across Nigeria. The fact that an entire local Christian population is being forced to flee from their homes and the deliberate targeting of the Igbo population by a terrorist group are appalling manifestations of religious and ethnic cleansing. We call on the state and federal officials and security agents to do everything in their power to end Boko Haram’s reign of terror and bring an end to the ongoing violence, which constitutes an immediate threat to the unity of this multi-religious and multi-ethnic nation.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organization working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

Note: Boko Haram, is a terrorist organization based in the north east of Nigeria, in the areas predominated by the Kanuri ethnic group founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2001or 2002, the group is a Muslim sect that seeks to “abolish the secular system and establish an Islamic state” and “establish Sharia system of government in the country.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, emailkiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.

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Send an email -- and encourage imprisoned Asia Bibi

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

SOUTH AFRICA (ANS) -- South African Christians are rallying behind a Pakistani Christian mother of five who is in prison awaiting her appeal against a death sentence for blasphemy.

So far, 100 encouraging emails were sent from South Africans to Asia Bibi, as part of a campaign to send 1,000 emails.

Asia Bibi

Asia Bibi is reportedly in “good spirits” -- even after spending her third Christmas in prison separated from her family since her arrest in June 2009. She was imprisoned after she was falsely accused of insulting the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

Andre Viljoen,writing for http://gatewaynews.co.za , the South African News Portal, says the email campaign organizers, In Context Ministries (incontextwebs.com) , have now issued an appeal to more South African Christians to urgently support the letter-writing effort.

The emails are being sent in batches of 100 to one of the legal assistants of Asia Bibi.

On receipt of the first batch, which was sent on Monday (January 9), the legal assistant said: “I am really touched.. this is amazing… I am printing this. I will personally take these emails to the family and one copy to Asia Bibi and will read these emails to her. This will be a great encouragement. “

In Context Ministries urges local Christians to “use three minutes of your freedom for our sister in Pakistan” and provides the following guidelines on how to participate in the email project:

Step 1 – write a short email where you express your prayer on paper. Add a word of encouragement, a Scripture, your name and country of residence (no street address). Get your children to write messages as well, especially to the children of Asia
Step 2 – Email the message to mike@incontextministries.org
Step 3 – Forward this request to as many friends as possible. Make this your project!

In Context ministries summarized Bibi’s plight on its website as follows: In June 2009, Asia Noreen, better known as Asia Bibi, a farm hand from the village of Ittan Wali in Sheikhupura District, was asked to fetch water; she complied, but some of her Muslim fellow workers refused to drink the water as they considered Christians to be “unclean.” Some arguments ensued and some co-workers falsely accused her to a cleric of making derogatory comments about Prophet Muhammad. A mob came to her house, beating her and members of her family before she was rescued by the police. However, the police initiated an investigation about her remarks, resulting in her arrest and prosecution under Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code. She spent more than a year in jail and in November 2010 Muhammed Naveed Iqbal, judge at the court of Sheikhupura, Punjab, sentenced her to death by hanging. Additionally, a fine of an equivalent of $1,100 was imposed. Noreen’s husband, Aashiq Fauji Masih, 51 years old, plans to appeal the verdict, which has to be upheld by the Lahore High Court.

A team from the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), an interdenominational organization working for Christians who are being persecuted because of their faith in Pakistan,visited Bibi along with her husband on Christmas Eve. In a report after their visit they said that despite being in prison for so long and the remaining uncertainty about whether her death sentence for blasphemy will be overturned, Asia’s faith remains strong.

“The grace of God is with me and I am happy in God and always will be happy in God,” she said.

“I am daily praying for my country and praying to God that the Lord may protect Pakistan from all harm. I am especially praying for those who are giving a bad image of Pakistan in the world and am also praying for those who falsely implicate me, that the Lord gives them wisdom so that they may not implicate the innocents in such cases.”

Bibi said she was saddened by the murders of Governor Salman Taseer and Minority Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who spoke out on the misuse of the blasphemy law and tried to protect her. She also pleaded with the international media to report accurately on her imprisonment as false reports about her health and other aspects of her imprisonment have “hurt” her. At the same time, she encouraged people to continue praying for her.

“I am thankful for those who are praying for me and my family,” she said. “Please continue your prayers because I need your prayers. By the grace of Almighty God I am alright and praying for my safe exit from the false blasphemy charges.”

She added: “I want to wish a merry Christmas and very happy, prosperous and peaceful New Year to my fellow citizens as well as brothers and sisters internationally.

“I am satisfied with the security arrangements provided me by the jail authority and am also praying for them.”

CLAAS UK Coordinator Nasir Saeed said: “Asia Bibi continues to demonstrate remarkable strength of spirit despite the challenges she faces in overturning the death sentence handed to her for blasphemy. We see in her plight the very real suffering that the unjust application of the law is causing for Pakistan’s Christians. What 2012 holds for Asia is difficult to say at this point.

“We continue to pray for a miracle for her and all other blasphemy prisoners. In the long-term, however, the only way to secure real and lasting change for Christians is reform of the blasphemy law and we will be campaigning hard for this throughout the year.”

More information about the 3 minutes of freedom email project and Bibi’s case history and circumstances is available on the In Context Ministries website -- incontext.webs.com, which will publish a daily update on the number of emails received.

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Islamic cleric calls Evangelical Christianity the most horrifying intelligence organization in the world!

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

TEHRAN, IRAN (ANS) -- After Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi desperately pleaded with seminaries to stop the spread of Christianity, an Islamic cleric stated that evangelical Christianity is the most horrifying intelligence and security organization in the world.

According to the Iranian Christian news agency, Mohabat News, www.Mohabatnews.com , the Revolutionary Guard-backed news agency Fars quoted a pro-regime Islamic cleric -- who was introduced as an outstanding scholar in denominations -- as saying "evangelical Christianity is the most horrifying intelligence and security organization in the world!"

In a conference on ‘New-Age Cults’ in Varamin, a county south of Tehran, Akhond Mohsen Alizadeh said: "We should not allow these cults to question Islamic jurisprudence under the cover of mysticism."

He added: "They tell the youth that God is wrathful and horrible in Islam but is love in Christianity. Also, Christian preachers answer the questions and doubts of youth in their own interest and try to attract them."

The Mohabat News agency says that after strongly warning against false mysticism, “this misguided cleric suggested that a place in universities be dedicated for the study of false mysticism in order to explain real Islam so that the youth will see that Islam is a great defensive and attacking plan of life.”

However, according to the news agency report, he neglected to mention what kind of Islam was introduced and practiced in the thirty three years since the Islamic revolution, “so that now they want to show the true face of Islam, especially to youth!”

Mohabat News says it is not clear what kind of reasoning this scholar used to relate evangelical Christianity to horrifying intelligence organizations.

The news agency said: “What is obvious is the fear and inability of the Islamic Republic in preventing the spread of Christianity among Iranian youth, and this has made the regime to babble incoherently.”

Mohabat News says that in the recent past, Heidar Moslehi, the Intelligence Minister, announced a new series of actions to counteract the spread of Christianity and house churches across the country. In his speech he pleaded with seminaries, telling the members “to take action and guide the youth to the right way!”

Mohabat News goes on to say; “It seems that Akhond Mohsen Alizadeh's claims regarding evangelical Christianity, likening it to intelligence organizations, have been influenced by the Intelligence Minister's suggestions. Their purpose is to enable judicial authorities to easily use such expressions in accusing Christian detainees of security offenses.”

Earlier, the news agency says, media backed by the Islamic regime had warned about the growth of Christianity in Iran and published a series of false reports in order to damage the image of Christianity in Iran.

“They wrote that cultural and promotional institutions need a coherent plan to confront these movements, especially the strong advancement of Christianity,” the news agency reported.

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