Lawyer sticks up for beaten Christians; case likely to reach the Supreme Court

Kyrgyzstan (MNN) ― A case of crucial importance for all believers in Kyrgyzstan is finally headed to trial.

Kyrgyzstan made the Open Doors World Watch List this year at #48 for its tight grip on Christians. It's not uncommon for believers to face property destruction, intimidation, and physical harm in Kyrgyzstan. Despite a 2009 Religion Law, the nation is currently considering tighter censorship on all religious literature as well.

Christians may constantly be under a microscope in Kyrgyzstan, but an incident in April was especially disturbing.

Narsbek was invited to a school by the principal and several village leaders to distribute Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes in his home village of Ak-Kyia in the Naryn region of Kyrgyzstan, reports Voice of the Martyrs. Narsbek and a team arrived in the village on the morning of April 11, 2012 in two vehicles.

As they greeted the principal and other leaders, the village mosque leader, or mullah, appeared with his students in tow. He ordered the group to stop the distribution immediately. Instead, the principal directed the team to move their vehicles onto the school yard, and the mullah left.

But a few moments later, he reappeared--this time with a group of about 20 young zealots with him. The mob shouted "Allahu Akbar" and rushed in to pummel the visiting Christians, flinging rocks through the air. They grabbed Narsbek and his brother-in-law, Marazat, pinning them to the ground to beat them. Narsbek was hit in the back of the head with a rock, and another attacker clenched his hands around his throat.

Just when Narsbek thought he would be leaving the earth forever, his wife managed to surprise his attacker and the two barely escaped in their battered van.

The remaining attackers reportedly collected the Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes and burned them in the school yard in front of the students and school staff.

Although the distribution team notified local authorities of the incident, police took no action. Narsbek still has remaining damage to his right eye, as well as reoccurring headaches.

Narsbek decided to file a case against the mullah to prompt authorities to act, but even that didn't get results. Finally, Narsbek and his family got a lawyer from another city to come speak to the local state attorney, police, and village leaders. The lawyer reminded the local officials that Kyrgystan's new president had stated it was important not to have conflict over ethnic or religious issues and that the country's laws must be followed.

It appears that Narsbek's case will go all the way to the country's Supreme Court, according to VOM. If it does, it would be a victory for believers all over the country.

Narsbek recently told VOM, "We are pushing this case not for our own benefit, but so that everyone will feel safe and not afraid of being beaten or killed because of their religion. People... are very afraid to think about following Jesus... Please pray that justice would reign and that there would be freedom, and not fear, in following Jesus."

Pray that this case will not only promote religious freedom in Kyrgyzstan, but that the injustice would cause Kyrgyzstanis to think about and even give their lives to Christ. 

Parents, Islamic Extremists Beat Young Woman in India

Christian in West Bengal cast out of home for her faith.

NEW DELHI, March 20 (CDN) — A young woman was thrown out of her home this month for daring to give thanks for healing in Christ’s name in a predominantly Muslim village in India’s West Bengal state, and then her parents helped Islamic extremists to beat her nearly unconscious.


The attack on Rekha Khatoon, 22, took place on March 9 in Nutangram, Murshidabad.


“I boldly told those who beat me up that I may leave my parents, but that I will not leave Jesus,” Khatoon said. “Jesus has healed me, and I cannot forget Him.”


In a village where hard-line Muslims have threatened to kill the 25 families who initially showed interest in Christ, leaving only five frightened Christian families, Khatoon was returning from worship with Believers Church at Al Hamdulillah Hall when her parents and Muslim extremists attacked her, she said. They called her a pagan, among other verbal abuse.


The mob also harassed the Christian woman who encouraged Khatoon to trust Christ as Lord, Aimazan Bibi, said Bashir Pal, pastor and founder of the village Believers Church.


“On the same night, Rekha Khatoon’s father, Nistar Shaike, and about 20 Muslim radicals surrounded Aimazan’s house, shouted anti-Christian slogans, threatened to harm her and her family and falsely accused her of ‘luring’ Rekha to convert to Christianity,” Pastor Pal told Compass.


After finding herself alone on a road after the beating, Khatoon had taken refuge in Aimazan Bibi’s home.


Khatoon had met Amaizan Bibi last year and told her about a reproductive ailment that caused her to bleed heavily, and the older woman had shared both the gospel of Christ and His healing power with her, Pastor Pal said.


“After Rekha Khatoon came to know about her ailment, she met one of our church members, Aimazan Bibi, and she shared her physical problem with her and told her that her illness was getting worse as she was not able to purchase medicines anymore,” he said.


Aimazan Bibi also invited Khatoon to attend church. On Dec. 23, Khatoon came to the worship center, where Christian women laid hands on her, he said. The pastor and congregation prayed for God’s healing touch in Jesus’ name.


“She received healing from Christ, and thereafter she attended the worship services whenever she could,” Pastor Pal said. “On Jan. 17, Khatoon attended one house church meeting in her village and once again testified that Jesus has healed her, and that she had not taken any medicine since Dec. 23.”


He said the Muslim extremists warned Khatoon not to have contact with Christians. West Bengal is 25.2 percent Muslim, with Hindus in the predominantly Hindu country making up 72.5 percent of the population in the state, according to Operation World. The state, which borders Muslim-majority Bangladesh, is only 0.6 percent Christian.


Upon learning that she was attending Christian worship meetings, her parents had strictly warned her not to have any relationships with Christians and not to attend their fellowship, Aimazan Bibi said.


“However, she told them that she cannot forget Jesus and His love for her,” she said.


Pastor Pal’s wife, nurse Anasea Pal, added that at another house church meeting, Khatoon brought her sister and talked about the healing she had received from Christ.


Khatoon has since relocated to another area, where she lives largely confined for her own protection.


Khatoon and her mother had attended worship services at the church previously; they began there in 2009 until area Muslims, furious to hear that several women were attending worship services, warned them to cease all contact with Christians or else they would face harm. The local mosque then offered Khatoon’s mother a job carrying food for the local Islamic leader to ensure she stopped all contact with Christians.


She also stopped Khatoon from attending Christian meetings.


Tensions prevail in the area, with enraged Muslim radicals threatening to hurt the five Christian families on the slightest pretext. In addition to harassing Aimazan Bibi, Islamic extremists have ruined her son Sirajul Shaike’s business, throwing away all his vegetables and chasing him out of the village market.


“It is very difficult for them now, since selling vegetables was the main source of income for the family,” Pastor Pal said.


Christians in the village have endured all manner of physical torture and social boycotts at the hand of Muslim extremists, Pastor Pal said. He added that the extremists are not allowing Christians to enter the village.



END

No justice for kidnapping case

Sudan (MNN) ― Kidnapping, rape, torture, and threats are all methods of persecution suffered by Christians in Sudan at the hands of Muslims. One teenage girl who recently escaped from the hands of her Islamic abductors suffered all four.
Voice of the Martyrs, Canada(VCM) reported that Hiba Abdelfadil Anglo, 16, was abducted last year on June 17 by a Muslim gang. She was just reunited with her family last month after several months of trauma and suffering.

According to VCM's source with Compass Direct, Hiba was kidnapped while going to the Ministry of Education for transcripts to enter into secondary school. She didn't know she was being monitored and one of the kidnappers pretended to work for the Ministry of Education.

She was taken and moved around various locations in Khartoum by her kidnappers. All the while, Hiba was constantly pressured to convert from Christianity to Islam. She was often locked in a room and beaten until she lost consciousness.
In trying to recount the story to Compass Direct, Hiba broke into tears. "They did many bad things to me," she says.

The group members tortured her and referred to her family as "infidels." They would not let her pray Christian prayers, and the leader of the group sexually abused her. "Apart from abusing me sexually, he tried to force me to change my faith and kept reminding me to prepare for Ramadan," says Hiba.

Two days after Hiba was kidnapped, her family started receiving threatening phone calls and text messages demanding a random of 1,500 Sudanese pounds ($560 USD) if they wanted her back.

Hiba's mother, Anglo, went to the police station to open a case to find her daughter, but the police refused unless Anglo converted to Islam as well.

Hiba tried to run away three different times, but each time her captors caught her and severely beat her for trying to escape. Freedom finally did come when Hiba gave enough of a pretense of converting to Islam for her captors to lighten up on guarding her. She got out and begged a motorcyclist to give her a ride to her home two hours away.
Such a situation just shows the intensity of the religious profiling at the level of law enforcement in Sudan and the ongoing persecution there.

Even Hiba's captors were so sure of their safety if they were caught. Hiba says she was warned by her captors, "Even if you call the government, they will not do anything to us."

Anglo says, "It is good that those who prayed for us to know that their prayers were answered, and that my daughter is back at home with me. I also need prayers because I am jobless since the time my daughter was kidnapped."

Please pray for Christians in Sudan suffering persecution both from Islamic groups and from lack of justice by the law.

Pray for the emotional and spiritual wellness of Hiba and she and her family recover in Christ from this traumatic time.