Persecuted Church News: 3/11/12

Friday, March 16, 2012

Iran Claims Pastor Nadarkhani Won’t Be Executed

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

NEW YORK (ANS) -- An Iranian official has refuted claims of plans to execute imprisoned pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who has been imprisoned for almost three years on accusations of apostasy, a crime where one disaffiliates themselves from a religion, according to Huffington postwww.huffingtonpost.com .

The website says the refutation came after human rights investigator Ahmed Shaheed delivered a recent report to the United Nations.

The UN report, in addition to citing Iran's "striking pattern of violations of fundamental human rights guaranteed under international law" and the country's "maltreatment of prisoners, dissidents, minorities and women," also called for the release of Nadarkhani, according to FOX News.

The Iranian refutation called Shaheed's 36-page report, which first circulated last week, "false," "fabricated," "biased" and manipulated by "certain Western countries and their cronies on the council," according to The New York Times.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani (Photo via Youcef Nadarkhani Facebook page).

The Huffington Post says that Iran's insistence that Nadarkhani will not be executed is “only the latest development in an ongoing legal nightmare, during which a litany of additional accusations, including rape and extortion, have been made against the Christian pastor by the Iranian government.”

In September of last year, the Iranian Supreme Court upheld Nadarkhani's initial conviction of apostasy after he allegedly refused to recant his Christian faith, the Huffington Post website stated.

The Huffington Post added that, in February, the American Center for Law and Justice received reports that Nadarkhani had been sentenced to death for the 2010 charges -- a ruling quickly condemned by the White House in a statement.

"This action is yet another shocking breach of Iran’s international obligations, its own constitution, and stated religious values," the White House statement read. "The United States stands in solidarity with Pastor Nadarkhani, his family, and all those who seek to practice their religion without fear of persecution -- a fundamental and universal human right."

The Huffington Post says that Leonard Leo, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, told the Religion News Service last year that Iran's court proceedings can't be trusted.

"The court continues to demand that he recant his faith or otherwise be executed," Leo told RNS. "The most recent court proceedings are not only a sham, but are contrary to Iranian law and international human rights standards."

The Huffington Post reports that deespite the reported execution ruling last fall, Iranian envoy Mohammad Javad Larijani told the Human Rights Council that such punishment is not permitted in Iran.

“In the last 33 years after [the Islamic] revolution, no single person has been put to death or executed or pursued for changing his religion from Islam,” Larijani told the council, according to FOX News. “Hundreds of people are changing from other religions to Islam. Why we should be so sensitive about a few people to change their religion from Islam?”

In a press release, dated March 7, which has been posted to the ALCJ website www.alcj.org , the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran at Brasilia “denies all of the News published about the death sentence of Mr. Youcef Nadarkhani, and States that the Power of the Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran delivered no definitive sentence relative to this individual.”

The release states: “Article 13 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes followers of major Heavenly religions, including Christians, as religious minorities; accepting and assuring their rights as religious citizens. According to this Article, they are free to hold services and religious teachings and to practice civil rights based in their background.

“Also these minorities, like the other Muslim organizations inside the Constitution, have representatives in the Parliament. It also says that a peaceful living exists in the Islamic Republic of Iran between the followers of divine religions, with a sincere fatherly spirit that is established between the State and different aspects. Also, we made sure of an independent power of the Court, reminding that the referred individual was arrested based upon laws and regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He has a lawyer who is protecting all of his legal rights, including contact with his family. Department the Press Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The release was made available to ACLJ by Department of the Press, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

** 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.

Human Rights Watchdog Condemns the Repatriation of North Korean Refugees by China

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

NEW MALDEN, SURREY, UK (ANS) -- A UK-based Christian humanitarian watchdog has condemned China’s forcible repatriation of at least 41 North Korean refugees, a decision that disregards international refugee conventions and violates international law.

Chistian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) www.csw.org.uk says the refugees face detention, torture and even execution as illegal border-crossers upon their return to North Korea, where the regime takes a dim view of defectors. In 2010, North Korea made the crime of defection a “crime of treachery against the nation.” In a media update, CSW says that under North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, the penalties have become harsher.

“Border guards have been ordered to shoot anyone escaping across the frontier to China. In January he announced that the penalty for defecting during the official period of mourning for his father, Kim Jong-il, is the execution of the defector’s entire famil,” CSW reported.

CSW explained that international law prohibits the forcible repatriation, either directly or indirectly, of any individuals to a country where they are at risk of facing persecution, torture or death.

CSW stated that in 1988 China ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which prohibits the forcible return of people to states where they face a substantial risk of being tortured. China is also a state party to the UN Refugee Convention.

CSW went on to report that despite its obligations under these conventions, China has prevented the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) from access to North Koreans in China and considers all undocumented North Koreans as economic migrants, rather than as asylum-seekers. Furthermore, China signed a co-operation agreement with North Korea in 1986 that obliges it to prevent illegal border crossings.

CSW said there are reports that a number of other North Korean refugees have been detained by China and also face repatriation.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas, speaking in the news release, said: "China's policy of forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees is in flagrant violation of international law, which includes the principle of 'non-refoulement'.

“China claims these people are economic migrants, not refugees, but due to the consequences they face upon return to North Korea, all these people -- whether they fled for economic or political or religious reasons -- count as 'refugees sur place' under the UN's definition. Even those who fled for primarily economic reasons did so because of the regime's economic policies which are inflicting severe poverty and hunger on its people.”

Thomas added: “Whether they fled in search of food or in search of freedom, China should give North Koreans safe passage to a third country rather than sending them back to a dire fate that involves almost certain imprisonment and severe torture, and possible death.

“As a major world power, China needs to know that if it wants to be respected, respect must be earned, and with power comes responsibility. We urge China to desist from any further repatriations, and we call on Kim Jong Un's regime in North Korea not to inflict on these people the punishments that have been threatened."

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

___________________________________________________________

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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Open Doors explosive church growth in Iran

Iran (MNN) ― Middle EastOpen Doors staff members recently reported that church growth is "explosive' in Iran; they even speak of a revival.

Iran is the fifth country in the world on Open Doors' World Watch List for the persecution of believers. The president and the supreme leader of the country openly speak against the growth of house churches, and persecution against Christian converts is highly prevalent.

Interestingly, though, these two government leaders are nearly alone in their disdain for Christianity as a "Western religion," says one Open Doors staff member. "In the past, Christianity wasn't popular; it was seen as a Western religion. Now only the government sees it as a Western product, or better: a Western political system," says the staff member.

Iranians have seen the corruption of the Islamic Revolution in their own country and are looking for something more. This yearning combined with a bold Christian presence is causing church growth like never before.

"Iranians are very outgoing and want to speak about their faith," a staff member states. "That is why discipleship training (with elements of outreach and communications) for Iranian believers is successful. If you tell them that a Christian should share, the Iranian Christian shares."

Offering discipleship training is one of the ways Open Doors works to strengthen the Iranian church. It is estimated that about half of the new Christians are open about their new faith while others are keeping their conversion a secret.

As a result of this willingness to take risks, there are hundreds of thousands of believers in Iran. About 40 years ago, approximately 200 Christians from a Muslim background were living in Iran. Today some estimate that there are as many as 370,000 Christian converts. Besides these new believers, Iran also has a traditional Armenian and Assyrian church with about 80,000 members.

These Christians face daily harassment for their faith. The government's abborhance of house churches has caused house churches to cut membership down from around 15 members to more like 5 or 6.

Open Doors staff say that in the last several months, the Iranian government has prohibited several churches from offering services in Farsi on Fridays, the official day off in the country. The Iranian government also forbids the selling of Bibles or New Testaments.

And persecution comes from society, too. "Based on the information that we get from people, we believe that persecution by family members is growing; but this kind of persecution is less visible than, for example, arrest by police." But, the staff member adds, "Even though persecution is growing, people becoming Christians continues to grow."

The growth can only be explained by the power of the Lord. Pray that He would continue to work through the church, and to give dreams and visions to seeking Iranians. Pray for boldness and safety for believers as they proclaim the name of the one and only God.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Human Rights Organization Calls for Investigation into Attack that left Cuban Pentecostal Pastor Brain Damaged

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

"Ladies in White" are under
the siege of the Castro
regime

SURREY, ENGLAND (ANS) -- A human rights organization is calling for an investigation into a violent attack on Pastor Reutilio Columbie, 41, of Shalom Christian Center in which he suffered brain damage.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is reporting it is believed that the Feb. 6 assault was the result of the pastor's decision to challenge the arbitrary confiscation of a church vehicle by the authorities.

Columbie bought a truck from a local resident five years ago, and modified it to transport members of the Pentecostal church in Moa, Cuba.

CSW said in Dec. 2011 it was suddenly confiscated by the authorities and apparently returned to the original owner, who has family ties to an individual in the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party.

CSW said the Central Committee is the same entity which holds authority over all religious matters, including registration of church property and vehicles, through the Office of Religious Affairs.

CSW said when the pastor protested the confiscation of the church vehicle and began the process of filing a formal complaint to prove ownership, the family began to receive anonymous phone calls telling them to stop or he would pay the consequences.

CSW said on Feb. 6 Columbie left his house intending to travel to the capital of Holguin Province to file the complaint, but was found unconscious on the street a few hours later and taken to the hospital. He cannot remember anything about the attack, but the only thing missing from his possession were the papers related to the vehicle.

Columbie suffered severe inflammation of the brain as a result of the attack.

CSW said Columbie is now recuperating at home with his wife Maida Perez and their three children, but still struggles with speech and memory. His daughter says he is also frequently nauseous and dizzy. The family was promised an investigation into the attack, which never materialized. They have now been told that too much time has passed for any investigation to be pursued.

CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said in a news release, “CSW calls on the authorities to conduct a full investigation into the violent assault on Pastor Reutilio. The theft of documentation relating to the ownership of the church vehicle raises questions about the motives behind the violent assault on the pastor. Cuba lacks legislation to protect religious freedom and guarantee church property.”

Thomas added, “This, combined with the fact that all religious matters are dealt with by the Office for Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party (CCP), rather than regular judicial channels, leaves religious groups and leaders vulnerable to abuse and with no means to appeal decisions. CSW continues to call for the establishment of a legal framework, independent of the CCP, to regulate religious affairs.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide works for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

For further information, visit www.csw.org.uk.

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 athttp://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Laos: Christians threatened -- recant or leave

-- a call to pray for the Church in Laos

By Elizabeth Kendal
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) 150
Special to ASSIST News Service

Lao Christians threatened to be
expelled from village, activists say, the
latest in a series of reported anti-
Christian incidents targeting churches
and individuals in the Communist
country.

AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- Laos is a Communist-ruled South-east Asian state known for its abysmal human rights record, particularly its appalling prison conditions and systematic use of torture.

Christians in this poor, landlocked nation face intensive persecution. Generally the religious persecution occurs outside the main cities, targets the already marginalised and persecuted ethnic minorities and is committed by belligerent and corrupt local officials. In Laos, religious liberty exists in theory but not in practice. Article 30 of the Laos Constitution states: 'Lao citizens have the right and freedom to believe or not to believe in religions.'

However, the Prime Minister's 2002 Decree on Religious Practice (Decree 92) renders religious liberty illusory by mandating that religious activities first be approved by the village, district and regional authorities.

Furthermore, Decree 92 and Article 9 of the Constitution prohibit activities that could cause 'chaos' or 'social division'. Lao Communists oppose the growth of Protestant Christianity amongst the ethnic minorities, viewing it as part of a US conspiracy to destroy social cohesion and challenge Communist rule. Meanwhile, ethnic minority groups with a tradition of ancestor worship oppose Christianity, fearing reprisals from offended ancestral spirits. Denial of services (educational, medical, sanitation), imprisonments, forced renunciations of faith (using threats and torture) and expulsions are the main means employed against Christians by Communist officials determined to maintain control over a harmonious society. In January 2010 eleven Christian families consisting of 48 believers were expelled at gunpoint from Katin village in Ta-Oih district, Saravan Province, southern Laos, simply on account of their faith. Over the course of the year several other families, moved by the Christians' witness, decided to follow Christ and were also expelled. These believers have suffered greatly, losing everything they owned, with some even dying in the bush. They are slowly re-establishing themselves but life is hard.
(For background see RLPB blog label: Laos )

On 2 March 2012 Khamla, the only known Christian in the whole of Viengphuka district in Luang Namtha Province, was summoned to meet with Lao officials at their headquarters. Khamla had recently converted to Christianity after being miraculously healed from a long-term disease in answer to the prayers of believers from another district. After rebuking and interrogating Khamla, the authorities gave him an ultimatum: recant or leave Dongvieng village by 7 March.

Local authorities are reportedly determined to keep Christianity out of Viengphuka district. No update on Khamla is available.

On 18 February local authorities in Pakoo district of Luangprabang Province issued an expulsion order against ten Christian families. The families, comprising some 65 believers, were given until 18 March to either recant their faith or leave Hueygong village. Eight of the ten families became Christian only three months ago, but without the permission of the Pakoo district chief, a district religious affairs official and the secretary of the Communist party's regional branch. Head of religious affairs of Luangprabang Province, Mr Bousee Chantuma, has reportedly intervened and is seeking a reversal of the expulsion order on the grounds that it is illegal as provincial religious affairs are supposed to be under his jurisdiction. Whether he is protesting injustice or procedural irregularity is unclear. Not all officials are prepared to use force against Christians who stand their ground. In mid-January local authorities threatened to expel 14 Christian families, comprising over 80 believers, from Hueysell village in Ngoi district, also in Luangprabang Province, unless they recanted their faith. Standing firm in faith, the believers held their ground and while the authorities continue to threaten and intimidate, as yet they have not used force against them.

(For breaking news and reports see Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom - HRWLRF)

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --

bless his faithful Church in Laos, protecting them wherever they are, meeting all their spiritual, emotional and physical needs.
redeem this suffering, using the arising witness to fan flickers of faith into a revival that transforms communities: may there be a spiritual awakening in Laos that liberates tribal animists driven by fear of ancestral spirits; Lao Buddhists driven by fear into legalism and ritual; and spiritually empty Communists driven by atheism into meaninglessness, selfishness and cruelty.
bring unity and solidarity to the body of Christ in Laos, so that registered (state-approved) religious groups will not be ashamed of those who are suffering on account of Christ's name. May they have strength and courage from the Holy Spirit to support their brothers and sisters who are suffering. 'By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.' (John 13:35 ESV)

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. This prayer bulletin was initially written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (AEA RLC).

Elizabeth Kendal's blogs:
Religious Liberty Monitoring and Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Survivors Desperately Seek Loved Ones in Jos, Nigeria Blast

Roseline Kumbo Pam, killed in
Sunday’s church bombing in Jos.(Photo: Compass Direct News)

Confirmed death toll rises to nine in Islamic extremist bombing at Catholic church.

JOS, Nigeria, March 13 (CDN) — One man rendered a widower by the Islamist suicide bombing at a Catholic church on Sunday (March 11) discovered his wife had been killed only after finding her severed hand with her wedding ring on it.

Another could identify his wife only by the clothing left on her remains.

Both women, 52-year-old Rose Dominic Dung Tari, and 50-year-old Roseline Kumbo Pam, had given birth to five children; the two victims were neighbors, their homes separated only by an apartment between them. They were two of the nine Christians confirmed killed – including two Boy Scouts, ages 8 and 16, helping security personnel keep the assailants outside the church compound gate – in the bombing by Islamic extremists reportedly from the Boko Haram sect.

Pam’s husband, Sunday Davou Pam, told Compass that before leaving for the service at St. Finbarr’s Catholic Church, his wife was preoccupied with preparations for her brother’s wedding that morning and helping him settle with his bride-to-be.

“I was in a meeting at the back of the church in the men’s fellowship meeting when the blast went off,” Pam said. “And when we heard a loud explosion, we all rushed to the front of the church, only to find the dead bodies of many of our members lying scattered across the street. There were also many injured who were crying for help.”

His wife, however, was nowhere to be found. He tried calling her cell phone, but it went unanswered, he said.

“I phoned her four times and still got no response,” Pam said. “My friend, David Dung, was also searching for his wife, Regina, and eventually found her dead body, but my wife was nowhere to be found.”

The suicide bombers had detonated the explosives after security personnel stopped them at the gate of the church compound, killing mainly people outside the sanctuary – some instantly, and others later in hospitals, including an 8-year-old boy who succumbed to his injuries at 1 a.m. today, according to church sources. After a desperate search, Pam finally found his wife’s remains.

“I saw a dead body with no arms, and the lower part of the body was also blown off to pieces,” he said. “I also saw a hand that had a ring on its finger. The hand was that of my wife. That is how I found the partial part of her body and collected it for burial.”

Pam said his wife was a leader of the women’s fellowship in the parish and community. They had been married for 32 years.

Searching MorguesDominic Dung Tari told Compass that his wife, Rose, had only one thing on her mind before leaving for church that morning – money for the Sunday service offering. He was staying home ill with a fever, and she asked him for money.

“I could not give her the money she requested because I did not have a dime on me,” Tari said. “I asked our son whether he could spare us some little amount to enable their mother to have something to give as offering in the church, but he too had only 500 naira. So, she left for the church without having anything to offer as offering.”

Still at home at the time of the blast, Tari rushed out when he heard the explosion. Growing more anxious each minute that his wife did not call him, shaken, he ran to the church site. Unable to find her, he returned home.

“Just when I returned to my house, my mobile phone rang and I quickly grappled with it to receive the call, but then it was not from my wife,” he said. “I was told there is a corpse among the dead that resembles my wife. I raced back again to the church.”

Emergency rescue workers, however, had already taken the body along with others to the morgue, he said. He set out on the task of visiting morgues.

“I went ‘round the various hospitals – JUTH [Jos University Teaching Hospital], Plateau Specialist Hospital, and the Air Force Military Hospital – in all these hospitals, I could still not find my wife’s corpse,” Tari said.

With the help of family members, her remains were finally located at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital morgue, he said.

“The corpse had no head, no legs and was in pieces,” he said. “We only identified those pieces of human flesh as hers because of the clothes she wore.”

Her remains were buried yesterday at her family’s house.

“My wife was a devout Christian,” Tari said. “She was a member of the global ministries team and a very prayerful woman. To us, she was a mother, a sister, and a wife I so much loved.”

He said the attacks on Christians in Nigeria amount to a war waged by Muslim extremists against Christians. Sunday’s attack followed a Feb. 26 bomb blast outside the church walls of a Church of Christ in Nigeria service that killed at least three Christians (see www.compassdirect.org, “Suicide Bombers Attack Worship Service in Jos, Nigeria,” Feb. 26).

“I am an ex-service man [retired military] – I know what a war is,” he said. “What is happening in Nigeria today is a war against the church. We need to fight back spiritually, as this is the only way we as Christians can survive it.”

Death Toll
Among those killed in the in the blast, church sources said, was Tari Benjamin, who would have been 9 years old on March 26. Emmanuel David, 16, who like Tari was a Boy Scout helping to secure the church compound, was also killed in the blast.

Tari’s mother, Rose Benjamin, told Compass that her son died this morning at about 1 a.m. in the Intensive Care Unit of Jos University Teaching Hospital from burns from the bomb attack.

Besides the two boys and Rose Dominic Dung Tari, Roseline Kumbo Pam, and Regina David Dung, other church members killed in the blast were Emmanuel Kanke, Henry Chuwang, Matthew Dalyop and Ahmadu Choji.

Rose Benjamin said her 8-year-old son had a premonition he was about to die.

“He returned to the house after attending the Sunday school class, and then while placing his hands on my shoulders, told me he was returning to the church for his last duty,” she said. “I did not understand what he meant by that – not until he died this morning did his last moment with me that Sunday morning come to memory.”

Tari, the second of three children and known to be a hard-working and intelligent pupil at school, had left for church wearing his Boys Scout uniform and joined other Scouts, she said.

“They were working alongside security men, screening worshippers before allowing them entry into the church, before the suicide bombers crashed into them when they refused to allow them into the church,” she said.

While church member accounts varied as to whether there were two or three bombers in the car, they agreed that one of them was disguised as a woman, wearing a wig.

Several members of the church were still missing – not located among the wounded in hospitals or among the dead in morgues. Their relatives said they fear they may have been obliterated when the bombs went off; emergency rescue workers have collected bags of human body parts.

The body of 16-year-old Emmanuel David, an orphan whose father died in 2007, was found under debris of the church gate, said his uncle, Raphael Elisha Davou, 60.

“He and others refused to allow the bombers into the church premises,” Davou said. “Their refusal to allow the bombers into the church forced the bombers to detonate the bomb outside the church gate. It was the impact of the explosion that crashed the car into the gate and killed the youths and other security men with them. They died to save many other members of the church.”

Boko Haram, the name given to the Islamic extremist group officially called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad – “The People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” – seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates loosely as “Western education is forbidden.”

Nigeria’s population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population and live mainly in the south, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent of the population and live mainly in the north. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World.

Subsequent ViolenceApart from the bombing deaths, confusion is growing about subsequent violence.

While some state health and police sources have reported unconfirmed “reprisal” attacks against Muslims, witnesses have reported additional deaths of Christians at the hands of military personnel. Compass sources said soldiers killed four Christians when youths confronted them, asking them to leave the city because they had allowed suicide bombers to carry out attacks on churches.

The Jos-based Stefanos Foundation reported soldiers arriving at the church as people were searching for loved ones and opening fire on the crowd, killing several. Local press reported Special Task Force soldiers rushing to the scene of the blast and trying to control protestors by opening fire. Plateau state police spokesman Samuel Dabai reportedly said at least 10 people were killed and at least 10 others injured from the military action.

When Compass visited the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and the Plateau State Specialist Hospital yesterday, authorities confirmed 17 corpses in their morgues. Dr. Ishaya Pam, chief medical director at JUTH, said the hospital had received seven bodies and “about 12” injured persons, while Dr. Bitrus Matawal, medical director of Plateau Specialist Hospital, said there were 10 corpses in the hospital’s morgue brought from the church and seven injured Christians receiving treatment.

The Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Jos, appealed for calm on the part of Christians, saying God was not unaware of their suffering.

“We have a faith that preaches the respect of the sanctity of the human life,” Kaigama said. “We have a faith and have the ability to reason. So, we must not behave like those who believe they are serving God by killing others.”

END

Taliban threatens bloodbath for massacre

Vigil for Afghans killed in massacre.
(Photos by Alan Greig)

Afghanistan (MNN) -- The threat of reprisal violence is building in Afghanistan.

An unnamed U.S. soldier reportedly went AWOL in the middle of the night, walked off his base in Kandahar province and shot 16 civilians dead, mostly women and children. Carl Moeller, President of Open Doors USA, says, "Afghan extremists are accusing the U.S. of covering up several soldiers doing this. The U.S. is saying, 'No, it was a tragedy. It was one soldier who lost his senses and reacted in such a terrible way.'"

Enraged, the Taliban threatened to behead American troops to avenge the killings, giving some teeth to their threats of violence with a drive-by shooting on Tuesday.

Insurgents targeted a government delegation that included two brothers of President Hamid Karzai who were attending a memorial service for the dead. The attack left at least one Afghan soldier dead, and it destroyed the calm officials hoped would sustain in the wake of the news.

Things had just settled down from the deadly riots across the country, a reaction to the unintentional burning of the Koran by U.S. troops. Patience is wearing thinner with each incident, which has led to calls to move up the deadline for getting troops out to 2014.

What's more, warns Moeller, "these situations are never just isolated incidents. They always produce repercussions." The group most likely to bear the brunt of anti-American sentiment will probably be Christians. Moeller explains, "In places like Afghanistan--and particularly in this place, Christians represent a 'soft target' when someone is looking to lash out at western forces."

That's something they've already seen happening in other countries in the region. However, the violence aimed at believers is nothing new, Moeller confirms. "Completely unrelated to the fact that this massacre took place, Christianity is persecuted in Afghanistan at an extreme level. It's one of the worst places on earth by our World Watch List."

Afghanistan ranks 2nd on the Open Doors World Watch List 2012, a list of the top 50 countries in the world known for persecution of Christians.

According to their research, since all Afghan Christians come from a Muslim background, they often face discrimination and overt hostility. But that treatment hasn't silenced the Gospel. "Of course the Christian community there is exclusively an underground church," Moeller explains. "We believe that there are thousands of Christians in Afghanistan as a result of a very courageous witness and Bible distribution in that country. We are working with that underground church."

The tiny Christian minority cannot meet in public. Meetings in private homes are possible but require great caution. Not a single official church building remains, not even for expatriate believers. New converts often face apostasy charges.

That threat, in addition to the assumption that Christians, the U.S. and the military presence are connected could slow outreach, though, Moeller notes. "Frankly, this is just going to keep the possibility of that church emerging--and someday contributing positively to the society--much further off. It's likely there will be more extremism; these types of events inflame that extremism so that it's even going to make it more difficult to have Christians in that country."

While Open Doors comes alongside the Church with support, Moeller asks prayer for courage and perseverance for isolated believers. Pray that Taliban threats against Christians will come to nothing, and pray for the church to grow despite the difficulties. "It is a fact that the church is growing in Afghanistan. It's growing because men and women are boldly sharing Jesus Christ with those they love, despite the risk of them being turned in as a Christian, being incarcerated, or even killed."

Turkey's justice moves forward...slowly

Plaintiff lawyers Erdal Dogan (left)
and Orhan Kemal Cengiz on the
steps of the Malatya courthouse.
(Photo by Compass Direct News)

Turkey (MNN) ― Compass Direct News says the suspects arrested in Turkey's 2007 Zirve Publishing House murder case were before the court last week telling their story once more.

The original case stems from the brutal murders of three people (Necati Aydin and Ugur Yüksel and Christian German national Tilmann Geske) who sold Christian literature in a publishing house in the eastern province of Malatya.

IN Network USA president Rody Rodeheaver explains, "There were several young men who were caught red-handed in this situation. But there has always been the feeling that the people who wielded the knives were not the people who really were behind this."

The arrested are accused of having masterminded and instigated the April murders as part of Ergenekon's plan to lay the groundwork for a military takeover. Rodeheaver says that led to more investigation which uncovered the dark underbelly of Turkey. "They felt that it was a shadowy group called 'Ergenekon' which is a terrorist group at the highest levels of the Turkish military; their goal is to undermine the Turkish government and to keep them out of the European union."

The reason the judges of the Third Criminal Court of Malatya wanted to hear the testimony was so they could prepare another part of the case that links the suspects to the masterminds. So far, that's been a tough call. Rodeheaver says, "There is a concern on the part of the Christian church that an indictment will not really go deep enough because the lead prosecutor and the head judge were taken off the case, and there's always been a fear that this was the starting of a cover-up."

An indictment of the masterminds behind the murders is expected on April 9 if it process true justice. The trial hearings for the murders of the three Christians continued slowly last year amid advances in investigations and the replacement of key personnel--a move some think was intended to slow justice even more.

Compass Direct says while there were 20 suspects arrested in connection to last year's investigation connecting Ergenekon and Malatya, only seven of them are still in custody--five of whom are in the military. Their report goes on to say evidence garnered from a CD which surfaced was enough to connect the country's agenda, the Malatya murders, and fees for the slayings.

IN Network doesn't have a direct link to the case, but what effects one part of the body affects them all, says Rodeheaver. "If I had any message for the Christian community around the world, it would be to pray that this case would actually do what it was really intended to do -- and that would be to find those who were guilty of these crimes."

IN Network faces both the scrutiny of terrorist groups and the threat of violence. These can be very distracting, Rodeheaver admits. "There have been some spikes in some places trying to intimidate Christians: threats, assassination plots, things like that. But this is a pretty normal lifestyle for the Christians who live in this kind of environment."

Last December, an Al Qaeda plot targeting churches came to light. At the same time, Ergenekon threatened to assassinate IN Network's country director.

While the incidents are unnerving, they won't stop the outreach. Church Planting and Evangelism are carried out by a small church that was planted in Istanbul, through personal visits, discipling church members, and building them up in their faith.

The I.N. Network in Turkey also works with Internet Evangelism -- a "door-opening" forum to chat with those who do not know Christ. A new constitution is in the works, so there is some hope for believers, especially with the advocacy that's come into play with the Greek Prelate.

Turkey is poised for change, notes Rodeheaver. "Anything that changes in Turkey will change because the people of God are praying. Turkey is a very pivotal place in terms of assisting the Christian church to be the church all over the world."

78-year-old woman arrested in Iran

(Photo by Kok Yeo)

Iran (MNN) ― A 78-year-old Christian woman was recently arrested in Iran, reports the Voice of the Martyrs, Canada.

The elderly woman, a member of the Church of Saint Luke in Esfahan, was held by police for three days. After several inquiries by church leaders, the woman was allowed to return home.

A reason has yet to be given her arrest. Apostasy seems an unlikely charge, reports VOM, since the woman was born into a Christian family and did not, therefore, convert to Christianity from another religion.

The idea of arresting a 78-year-old for no apparent reason is troubling, but the real concern may lie in the woman's church affiliation. It now appears that established churches are being targeted by authorities, not just house churches, notes VOM.

The ministry reports that "the tightening of Iran's oppressive grip against the Christian community in Esfahan has reached new levels since the official media reported the discovery of a truckload of Bibles on its way to the city."

Iran is fifth on the Open Doors World Watch List for the persecuted church.

Pray for Iran. Pray that no charges would be brought against this woman, and p

ray that her random arrest would not deter believers from shining Christ to others. Pray that the Gospel would continue to break through to Iranians as it has been doing under oppression.

To learn more about Iran's history with persecution, click here.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Pakistani Woman Charged with ‘Blasphemy’ for Refusing Islam

Relatives who became Muslims try to force her to renounce Christian faith.

FORT ABBAS, Pakistan, March 12 (CDN) — A young mother has been falsely accused of “blaspheming” Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, because she rebuffed attempts by relatives who had converted to Islam to force her to renounce her Christian faith, family members said.

Police in Khichiwala, Bahawalnagar district, in Punjab Province, charged 26-year-old Shamim Bibi, mother of a 5-month-old girl and resident of the village Chak No. 170/7R Colony, in the Fort Abbas area, under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s “blasphemy” statutes after neighbors accused her of uttering remarks against Muhammad. She was arrested on Feb. 28.

Speaking ill of Muhammad in Pakistan is punishable by life imprisonment or death under Pakistan’s internationally condemned blasphemy laws.

The young woman’s brother, Ilyas Masih, and her brother-in-law, Shahbaz Masih, told Compass that she had been wrongly accused because she had resisted pressure to convert to Islam four days before her arrest.

“Nazeeran, sister of Shamim’s husband Bashir Masih, and her nephew Nadeem and niece Bella accepted Islam on Feb. 24 and called on her to do the same,” Masih said. “She refused, telling them that she was satisfied with Christianity and did not want to convert.”

He said the newly-converted Muslims persisted in trying to force her to convert, but she resisted.

“Shamim told them that she had complete faith in a living God, and that there was no reason for her to start ‘worshiping graves,’” Masih said.

That remark was not the one deemed “blasphemous.” Rather, on Feb. 27 her neighbors accused her of making derogatory remarks – as yet unknown – on a separate occasion about Muhammad while in her courtyard.

Ansar Ali Shah, a local prayer leader in Chak 170/7R Colony, claimed that Shamim Bibi’s neighbors, Hamad Ahmed Hashmi and Abdul Qayyum, told him and other Muslims that they had heard the Christian woman making derogatory remarks about Muhammad in her courtyard, according to the First Information Report (FIR No. 30/12) registered by the Khichiwala police station. But there is no indication in the FIR of what, exactly, Shamim Bibi was alleged to have said.

As word of the allegation spread, a large crowd of villagers besieged her house and demanded “severe punishment for the infidel,” claiming she had hurt their religious sentiments, sources said.

Shahbaz Masih, her brother-in-law, told Compass that Qayyum, one of the two men named in the FIR as witnesses, has denied hearing anything from Shamim Bibi that supports the charge.

“Qayyum told police that he wasn’t even present in his house at the time of the alleged incident and had come to know about it from Hamad, the other witness,” Shahbaz Masih said.

Hamad Ahmed Hashmi, a motorized-rickshaw driver, also was not present at his house at 3 p.m., the time of the alleged remark, Shahbaz Masih said, based on information gathered from Shamim Bibi’s neighborhood.

“Hamad transports schoolchildren and could not have been in his house at the time of the incident, as it was just after school closing hours,” he said.

Bahawalnagar Superintendent of Police Investigation Irfan Ullah acknowledged that one of the two witnesses had admitted to not being present at the alleged “crime” scene at the time of the alleged remark.

“Qayyum told us that he hadn’t witnessed the incident and his name had been included in the FIR by the locals, but still that does not prove that Shamim did not commit blasphemy,” Ullah told Compass by phone. “The other witness is standing by his claim, and she has produced nothing so far which can prove her innocence.”

He vehemently denied that police had caved in to pressure from local Muslims and had registered a case in undue haste.

“I visited the village twice, and so far nothing has come up that suggests that the people have accused Shamim wrongly,” Ullah said. “We registered a case against her on the directions of the district police officer.”

Bahawalnagar District Police Officer Salman Ali Khan could not be reached for comment.

Shamim Bibi’s family and her infant daughter, meantime, may have to wait for a long time for her return. While no one has been executed for blasphemy in Pakistan, most are freed on appeal after suffering for years under appalling prison conditions.

Vigilantes have killed at least 10 people accused of blasphemy, rights groups estimate.

Section 295-C of Pakistan’s blasphemy law states: “Whoever by words, either spoken or written or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.”

END

Iraqi Teenagers Stoned to Death for Western Dress and ‘emo’ Haircuts

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (ANS) -- Religious extremists in Baghdad have stoned to death at least 90 Iraqi teenagers with "emo" appearances in the past month after an inflammatory interior ministry statement dubbed it "devil worshiping," activists said.

An online article published March 9 at http://english.al-akhbar.com says that Iraq's Moral Police released a chilling statement on the interior ministry's website condemning the "emo phenomenon" among Iraqi youth, disturbingly declaring its intent to "eliminate" the trend.

"The 'Emo phenomenon' or devil worshiping is being followed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate [the phenomenon] as soon as possible since it's detrimentally affecting the society and becoming a danger," the statement read.

"They wear strange, tight clothes that have pictures on them such as skulls and use stationary that are shaped as skulls. They also wear rings on their noses and tongues, and do other strange activities," it continued.

The website says that religious extremists caught onto the interior ministry statement, and have been harassing and killing teenagers with "strange" or "emo" appearances.

“A group of armed men dressed in civilian clothing led dozens of teenagers to secluded areas a few days ago, stoned them to death, and then disposed their bodies in garbage dumpsters across the capital,” according to activists.

The armed men are said to belong to “one of the most extremist religious groups” in Iraq, the website stated.

“First they throw concrete blocks at the boy's arms, then at his legs, then the final blow is to his head, and if he is not dead then, they start all over again,” one person who managed to escape told the Al-Akhbar website.

The website goes on to say that Iraq's moral police was granted approval by the Ministry of Education to enter Baghdad schools and pinpoint students with such appearances, according to the interior ministry's statement.

The exact death toll remains unclear, but Hana al-Bayaty of Brussels Tribunal, an NGO dealing with Iraqi issues, said the current figure ranges "between 90 and 100," the website said.

"What's most disturbing about this is that they're so young," she said.

According to the web report, Al-Bayaty said the killings appear to have been carried out by extremist Shia militias in mostly poor Shia neighborhoods and said she suspected "there's complicity of the Ministry of Interior in the killings."

Photos of the victims were released on Facebook, causing panic and fear among Iraqi students, the website said.

The web report said a young man with long hair expressed alarm at the government-ordained harassment of teenagers with Western appearances.

“I have long hair but that doesn't mean I'm an Emo. I'm not less of a man if I have long hair. Let's not say that if I have long hair, I'm a homosexual, but I have long hair because this is my style, this is me," he told Iraq's Al-Sharqiya television network.

Safiyyah al-Suhail, an Iraqi MP, said on Thursday that "some students have been recently arrested because they were wearing American jeans or had Western haircuts."

The web report explained that the interior ministry has not disclosed the number of teenage victims, but released a follow-up statement on Thursday warning extremists "not to step on public freedom of Iraqis."

News of the gruesome deaths drew a stern reaction from Iraq's prominent Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who criticized the stoning of the young men as "an act of terrorism."

The Director of the Moral Police of the Interior Ministry released a statement, saying "The 'Emo phenomenon' or devil worshiping is being followed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate [the phenomenon] as soon as possible since it's detrimentally affecting the society and becoming a danger."

The website further explained that 'Emo' comes from the English word 'emotional' and the phenomenon is popular among teenagers not only in Iraq, but in most societies. They use their appearances and movements as a method to express their emotions and embody their will and their view of life in their behavior.

Colonel Mushtaq Taleb al-Mahemdawi said: "The Emo Phenomenon was discovered a while back by members of our force in Baghdad. A report has been made and given to the Ministry of Interior to receive an approval to carry on with the investigation and to know how to eliminate the phenomenon."

He added: "The Ministry of Interior took this situation very seriously and received an approval from the Ministry of Education to set a plan under my full supervision and to allow us to enter schools in the capital."

"There are some cases of the spread of this phenomenon specifically among schools in Baghdad, but we are facing great difficulty in the lack of women on the force who would allow us to carry the investigation more accurately since the phenomenon is more popular among girls between the ages of 14 and 18."

"They wear strange, tight clothes that have pictures on them such as skulls and use stationary (sic) that are shaped as skulls. They also wear rings on their noses and tongues, and do other strange activities."

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Monday, March 12, 2012

Another Church in Jos, Nigeria Hit by Suicide Bombing

At least three dead in blast by suspected Islamic terrorists.

JOS, Nigeria, March 11 (CDN) — Two weeks after a suicide bomb attack by the Islamist sect Boko Haram during a church service here left at least three Christians dead, a similar blast during a Catholic Mass today killed at least three people.

As in the Feb. 26 bomb blast outside the church walls of the Church of Christ in Nigeria service, security personnel action apparently forced the suspected Islamic extremists approaching St. Finbar’s Catholic Church in Rayfield, an affluent area of Jos, to detonate their bomb before their car reached the sanctuary where worship was taking place, eyewitnesses said.

At Jos University Teaching Hospital, 14 people were reportedly receiving treatment for wounds following today’s explosion, which damaged the church’s roof, windows and a portion of a fence surrounding its compound. Others received treatment and were released.

Damian Babang, 26, a parishioner at the church, told Compass that he had just completed a reading during the service when he heard the explosion.

“The next thing I saw was the ceiling of the church falling on us and cries of people struggling to get out of the church,” he said. “Many people are injured, and many have died. I cannot say how many died or injured, but I saw dead bodies being carried away, as well as the injured.”

Babang, visibly traumatized as he spoke inside the church building, said he did not understand why churches have become targets of Muslim terrorists.

Retaliatory attacks by Christian youths reportedly took at least seven other lives today.

The Rev. Emmanuel Kundum told Compass that he had concluded the second Mass and left the third service to be conducted by another priest when he heard the explosion at 10:30 a.m.

“On getting outside, I saw members of our church rushing out from the church too – many were injured and others were dead,” Kundum told Compass.

The priest said he was unsure of the number of people killed, as both the dead and the injured were evacuated to various hospitals in Jos by workers of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Red Cross Society. At press time NEMA reported three bodies at the site, but it was not clear if those included the suicide bombers.

“It is very difficult for us to say how many of our parishioners that were either killed or injured,” Kundum said. “NEMA officials removed the dead and the injured to hospitals in the city. We are waiting for them to provide us with the details after calm is restored.”

St. Finbar’s is one of the largest Catholic parishes in Jos, with an average attendance of more than 3,000 worshippers each Sunday.

Jos, often described as a religious fault line between the north and the south, has been the site of numerous large-scale and isolated incidents of violence containing a religious component.

Suspected Islamic extremists detonated a bomb outside a church building in Suleja, Niger state, on Feb. 19, two months after Boko Haram Islamists killed 44 Christians and blinded seven in a Christmas Day church bombing in nearby Madalla. The Feb. 19 blast injured at five Christians.

Nigeria’s population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population and live mainly in the south, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent of the population and live mainly in the north. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World.

Boko Haram, the name given to the Islamic extremist group officially called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad – “The People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” – seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates loosely as “Western education is forbidden.”

END

Egyptian Court Sentences Priest to Six Months for Excess Church Height

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

EGYPT (ANS) -- A court in Edfu has sentenced Rev. Makarios Bolous, pastor of St. George's Church in the village of Elmarinab, Edfu, in the Aswan province, to six months prison and a fine of 300 pounds for violations in the height of the church building.

According to a story by Mary Abdelmassih for the Assyrian International News agency (AINA), the court also ordered the removal of the excess height.

AINA said the church had received a license from the Governor of Aswan and was still under construction, but it was torched by a Muslim mob on Sept. 30 2011. Construction workers had started removing the excess height before the torching of the church.

“Since then no work has been done to it. We are not allowed to pray there or come near it by order of the authorities,” said Father Salib el-Deek of the Coptic Diocese of Edfu.

AINA said he added they had proof that the church applied several times to the police to remove the excess height, which it had started doing before the torching of the church, but were not granted permission. The police records were not allowed by the court as evidence.

AINA said the church lawyer also presented documents showing that Bolous is not the one who is responsible for the removal of the excess height, but the architect and the building contractor.

However, AINA said, the court refused to take this into consideration and Bolous was convicted.

AINA reported that el-Deek also said that Bolous is not allowed to go inside the village by the village Muslims, and the government has done nothing about this.

AINA said Field Marshall Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, had given orders to the governor of Aswan to rebuild the church at the expense of the government.

“He even told this to Pope Shenouda personally and was mentioned in all papers,” AINA reported el-Deek said. “But the governor did nothing about it.”

AINA said the church will appeal the ruling.

For more information about AINA go to www.aina.org

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Iranian Believer Released from Jail

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

TEHRAN, IRAN (ANS) -- An Iranian Christian news agency reports the release of a Christian believer after almost three months of detention by authorities.

Farsi Christian News Network (www.fcnn.com ) says Davood Ali-J

Davood Ali-Jani (David) [Photo courtesy FCNN].

ani (David) a 32 year old active member of the Church of “The Assembly of God” in Ahvaz, was seized by security agents at the church during a raid on Dec. 23.

FCNN says Davood was eventually allowed home on bail on Thursday, March 8.

According to FCNN, after the release of Mrs. Shahnaz Jizan, the wife of Pastor Farhad Sabokruh on the first day of the year following payment of US$ 200,000, it was hoped that the rest of those arrested would also be released. However, only Rev. Farhad Sabokruh, pastor of “The Assembly of God” Church, and Mr. Naser Zamen-Dezfuli, were released temporarily on about $200,000 bail for each of them on February 21.

FCNN states that on Friday, Dec. 23 at 11:00 local time, during the weekly service in the Church of The Assembly of God in the city of Ahvaz, which is the center of oil-rich province of Khuzestan and is located about 900 Km south-west of Tehran, a large number of State Security agents surrounded the building and raided the church, situated in Kianpars 3th street.

In its report, FCNN says: “All those present, including children attending their Friday school, were arrested, mobile phones confiscated, and the church building thoroughly searched by the plainclothes agents who refused to identify themselves.

“A number of computers, all Audio-Visual equipment, and hundreds of copies of Christian books, were seized and removed. Church attendees were relieved of their mobiles and taken on two buses to an unknown destination.”

FCNN reported that almost all detainees, after a thorough search and considerable verbal abuse, were released a few hours later.

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