VBB seeks open doors in North Korea

According to the Open Doors World Watch List,
North Korea is the worst persecutor of Christians
 in the world. (Image courtesy World Watch List)

North Korea (MNN) ― Concern is growing for a U.S. Christian being held in one of North Korea's infamous gulags.

Kenneth Bae, a 45-year-old U.S. missionary, was recently moved to a hospital because his health is rapidly declining. Detained in November 2012 and sentenced to 15 years of "hard labor" in April, Bae is accused of "hostile acts" against the country of North Korea.

According to the Associated Press, Bae is the sixth American to be detained by North Korea since 2009, and at least four of the people imprisoned in recent years are devout Christians.

Vision Beyond Borders President Patrick Klein just returned from the oppressive nation.

"It was unbelievable spiritual warfare. I mean, just constant," says Klein. "I've never faced such spiritual oppression before in my entire life."

Klein and a few others were visiting foreign workers in North Korea, looking for ways VBB could start supporting believers in the country.

"I think the people of North Korea are hungry," says Klein. "But there's incredible oppression, and I believe that's why we have to pray that God will break through that and that the people will see the Truth of Jesus Christ."

Idolatry is a significant challenge in North Korea because the national government insists people worship their leaders as gods. Klein recalls an oft-played video; he feels it was intended to showcase North Korea's supremacy.

"It really was a mockery of a church service," says Klein. "It had women leading [something] like a praise service, and people were worshiping their leaders. The whole place was filled with people dressed nicely.

"And then, they flashed on the big screen pictures of their leaders, and people started applauding and worshiping these leaders."

As if that weren't enough, the video's ending scenario truly "put a cherry on top."

"There was a nuclear warhead headed for the United States, and then they showed this big explosion," Klein recalls. "And at the end of this explosion, the people stood up and started applauding very, very loudly.

"That is such a mockery of our worship services, where we exalt Jesus and are looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ."

According to the Open Doors World Watch List, North Korea is the worst persecutor of Christians in the world.

"[This government] is so wicked that they actually turn children against their parents," says Klein.

He shares a story he heard while in-country: "'Some of your parents have a little book,' teachers told their students one day. 'Your assignment is to go home tonight and find that book, and bring it back to school tomorrow.'"

In class the next day, 16 children came to class with their parents' Bibles and were paraded around the classroom to much applause and cheering. One little girl was so excited by the celebration, Klein says, she couldn't wait to run home and tell her parents about it.

However, "when she got home, her parents were gone, and [they] never came back. They were taken to a concentration camp, and the little girl was taken to a state-run orphanage," Klein says.

"What a wicked, wicked system," he continues. "But we know that God is so much greater and that He Himself can break through this. I believe that prayer is the key."

As VBB searches for a way to support the Body of Christ in North Korea, please pray.

"The only way we can really get involved in there is through prayer and God opening the doors. We're committed to go back," says Klein. "We know it's only the Lord that's going to open the doors; we can't do it on our own."

Pray that doors will open for VBB in North Korea. Ask the Lord to open blind eyes to governmental oppression and idolatry.

Visit our Interviews page and hear more of Klein's stories from North Korea.

Church attacks in Kenya condemned

Images are screen grabs from KTN Kenya TV: Church attack in Garissa

Kenya (MNN) ―   At last report, at least 18 died and more than 60 were wounded in Sunday's church attack in northeastern Kenya.

Masked militants, believed to have an al Shabaab connection, crossed the Somalia border and attacked the Africa Inland Church (AIC) and Catholic Church in Garissa. Open Doors President and CEO Carl Moeller explains, "This is a region of Kenya that is exposed to a huge refugee population from Somalia.

Throughout those refugee camps, radical Islam in the form of al Shabaab and terrorism has been permeating those camps." The town is also near  the large Dadaab Refugee Camp is located, where in the past week four aid workers were abducted but eventually freed. 

Eyewitness told Open Doors that first, the gunmen threw grenades into the church, and then, as church goers fled from the explosives, the gunmen shot them as they exited the building.  Even as he described the situation, Moeller said, "The church is a soft target, and this should be seen for what it is: a  huge human rights and persecution tragedy."

Eyewitnesses were deeply shocked by the aftermath of the attacks. Moeller says, "The church in Kenya has been largely an island of stability, although they've been hard pressed as Islam does intrude more and more radical Islam into the culture."  

"We heard something like stones being thrown on top of the roof. Then we realized that we were being shot at," said Mr. Dennis Nzioki who was attending the AIC worship service at the time of the attack. Police say they have identified suspects, no but one has been arrested in connection to the attacks yet.

Then, the inevitable question came: could this be just the beginning of more violence? Moeller agrees with speculation that radical Islamists are only using the tense atmosphere in these regions to get rid of the Christian presence in these Somali dominated border regions. However, he says, "It's our prayer that the church in Kenya will remain in peace and that this sort of violence will not be retaliated."

Meanwhile, Chairman Abdulghafur El-Busaidy of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims condemned Sunday's church attacks: "All places of worship must be respected. We want to send our condolences, and we are sad that no arrests have been made yet."

Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka also condemned Sunday's church attacks. "Places of worship... should be respected," he said.

Although fear seems to be the initial reaction to the attacks, Moeller says church leaders appear strong in the midst of the difficult circumstances. "The impact as a result is that those Christians that are remaining there (and we just continue to pray for peace in the region), that they become those agents of peace, that they become those agents of hope."

Open Doors is planning to visit the church in the next few days to offer encouragement and to determine the need for further support. Africa Inland Mission's Regional Executive Officer Marvin Smith, in a written statement released by Africa Inland Mission, said, "Join us in prayer for the families who lost loved ones, martyred for their desire to worship God and grow in the Lord. Many of the wounded have been airlifted to hospitals in Nairobi, so pray also for their quick recovery. Pray also for the Africa Inland Church as they receive and respond to this event. While we do not understand why this happened, we can trust our Faithful Creator to work all things for His glory. "

Moeller went on to describe another attack that has been overshadowed by the Garissa incident: "In a separate incident Sunday morning, a large church in Nairobi, Nairobi Lighthouse Church, was attacked by 15-20 armed men, who forced the entire congregation to lie on the floor in order to rob everyone of all their possessions.  They also stole money and other items from the church offices. Our Kenyan Short Term Assistant, Janet Ngarika normally attends the church, but she did not attend yesterday. These incidents against churches in Kenya remind us to take our faith seriously as we live in uncertain times." 

Please pray for the Lord's comfort for the bereaved. Pray that justice will be done. Pray for Open Doors workers as they investigate the attacks and determine an appropriate response.

Azerbaijan scrutiny through EuroVision fails to raise red flags

(Image courtesy of Eurovision)

Azerbaijan (MNN) ― The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union.

It is one of the longest-running, most-watched television programs in the world.  

This year, Azerbaijan hosts the competition, and Forum 18 News Service notes that freedom of religion or belief and related human rights such as the freedom of expression and of assembly remain highly restricted. 

Joel Griffith with the Slavic Gospel Association explains, "This Eurovision Song Contest doesn't necessarily have religious freedom tied to it, but it is a major European event. And Azerbaijan is also a signatory to many conventions when it comes to human rights." 

The question is WHY these violated rights are being allowed to pass unchallenged with Eurovision's global scrutiny. 

"There just seems to be a real concern--not only with religious freedom groups but with human rights groups and Western governments, in general--that you would have signatories to these conventions that are supposed to guarantee human rights. And then you have a country that's known, in recent years, for cracking down on some of these freedoms."

Azerbaijan is part of the Caucuses with a Muslim-dominated population. It also ranks 25th on this year's Open Doors World Watch List, a compilation of countries known for the persecution of Christians.   

The country's record on this issue is not widely known. However, Griffith says, "Since 2003, we've had local and international human rights organizations document cases of fraud, corruption, human rights abuses, and rule of law. 

We've just seen a steady increase in reports of religious freedom being violated."

One case in point: as of January 2010, all religious groups were required to renew their registration. Since then, no new churches have been able to register. Congregations without registration are often raided, with church leaders arrested or fined.

Griffith says they saw what was coming and came alongside the church with a Bible institute to help with the training of church leaders prior to the changes. Although they're still working, "What we have to do--not just in Azerbaijan but in any of the former Soviet countries where you have a larger Muslim domination, especially in Central Asia--is try to help churches as discreetly as possible."

The atmosphere seems to more hostile than ever. Azeri believers are considered traitors as Christianity is associated with the country's rival, Armenia. Many Christians are unable to find or keep jobs and are monitored by the secret police. 

"The main thing we're able to do right now is try to help as discreetly as we can, and try to raise awareness of the situation. Obviously, intercessory prayer holds a major role in this. Pray for our brothers and sisters there that they would not only be able to obtain freedom to worship but also to proclaim the Gospel."

Arab Spring Brings the Decline of Secularism in Tunisia

Throughout the Middle East, long-standing dictators just ousted in the Arab Spring are being replaced by more oppressive forms of governance, even in the Arab world’s most liberal country, Tunisia

By Aidan Clay
Special to ASSIST News Service

TUNIS, TUNISIA (ANS) -- Widely seen as the most secular country that recently deposed long-standing leaders, many believed that Tunisia had the greatest opportunity to elect a moderate government concerned with democratic principles and human rights. However, the hopes of secularists, Christians, and other minorities were crippled in October when the Islamist Ennahda party won 41 percent of the votes for a national constitutional assembly, a one-year body charged with writing a constitution.

Uprising in Tunis that ousted President Zine El Abedine Ben Ali

Along with other Islamist movements, Ennahda – at the time called the Movement of the Islamic Tendency – had been outlawed under former President Zine El Abedine Ben Ali. Robin Wright, an American foreign affairs analyst and author of Sacred Rage, described the Islamic Tendency as “the single most threatening opposition force [to Ben Ali’s regime] in Tunis.”

Ennahda’s founder and chairman is Rashid Ghannouchi. He considers himself a pupil of Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini, defended the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, and supported Saddam Hussein’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait in 1990. In a speech given in Khartoum just before the Gulf War erupted, Ghannouchi said, “We must wage unceasing war against the Americans until they leave the land of Islam, or we will burn and destroy all their interests across the entire Islamic world,” The Brussels Journal reported.

Martin Kramer, the renowned Middle East scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, labeled Ghannouchi “the most prominent Islamist in the West” during his 22-year exile in the U.K. At an Islamic Conference on Palestine attended by leaders of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in 1990, Ghannouchi said, “The greatest danger to civilization, religion and world peace is the United States Administration. It is the Great Satan.”

The international community has ignored this extremist rhetoric and extolled Tunisia’s revolutionary motives for ‘greater freedoms.’ However, Ennahda is beginning to show its true colors by attacking freedom of speech and tacitly disregarding violent Islamist movements calling for an Islamic state.

Death of Free Speech

Nabil Karoui, the owner of Tunisian channel Nessma TV, is currently on trial for blasphemy after airing the French-Iranian animated film Persepolis which features a cartoon depiction of God and is considered sacrilege to some Muslims. Nearly 140 lawyers filed lawsuits against Karoui for “violating sacred values” and “disturbing public order,” Tunisia Live reported. Following the release of the film in Tunisia, a Salifist-led mob damaged Karoui’s house with Molotov cocktails on October 14. If convicted, Karoui could face three to five years in prison. His trial has been adjourned until April 19, 2012.

“I am very sad when I see that the people that burned my house are free while I am here because I broadcast a film which was authorized,” Karoui told reporters outside the courtroom. He described the trial as the “death of freedom of expression [in Tunisia],” AP reported.

While Human Rights Watch called the trial “a disturbing turn for the nascent Tunisian democracy,” Ghannouchi, the voice of the Ennahda party, backed the trial, saying, “I support the Tunisians’ right to denounce this attack on their religion,” reported The New York Times.

On February 15, in a second disturbing attack on free speech in Tunisia, a publisher and two editors of Tunisia’s Attounissia newspaper were arrested on charges of violating public morals for publishing a revealing photograph of a German-Tunisian football player with his girlfriend. 

The arrests raised further concerns among secularists that the Islamist-led government will increasingly seek to censor material it deems offensive to Islam.

Mongi Khadraoui, a senior member of the Tunisian journalists’ union, told The Independent that article 121 of Tunisia’s penal code, which was used to detain the three journalists, was introduced to arrest opponents of Ben Ali’s 23-year-old regime, and that, while the publication of the photograph was a mistake, it “should be treated as a professional error rather than a crime.”

“This issue is political and aims to quell the voice of the media and stop it [from] criticizing the government,” Jihen Lagmari, a journalist at Attounissia, told Reuters. Lagmari also said she received telephone calls threatening to burn down the paper’s headquarters.

Islamists vs. Secularists

On February 17, hundreds of Salafis – who follow the strict Wahhabi doctrine of Islam – protested in the streets of Tunis with signs calling for Islamic law and shouting “Allah Akbar” after Friday prayers, AP reported.

Thus, Islamists have used their newly gained freedoms to threaten the very freedoms and values of secularists. If Islamists continue to gain power, violations against the rights of non-Muslims and liberals will inevitably continue. However, some believe the elections – that brought the Islamist Ennahda party to power – do not accurately represent the voice of the population’s majority.

“In October 2011, when Tunisia’s first post-revolutionary national elections took place… the turnout was 80 percent; but not, as was deceptively reported by the Western media, 80 percent of the total Tunisian population, but rather 80 percent of the 50 percent who had bothered to register to vote,” British author and journalist John R. Bradley wrote in his book After the Arab Spring. “In other words: Ennahda won despite the fact that more than 80 percent of all voting-age Tunisians did not actually vote for the party.”

Tunis witnessed the secularists’ response when over 6,000 demonstrators chanted slogans “No to extremism” and “No niqab, no to Salafism” in a march for freedom of expression on January 28, Tunisia Live reported. Protestors also called for the government to stop the rise of an Islamist-based society, which would derail Tunisia’s transition to democracy and threaten the gains made by the revolution.

Mustapha Tlili, the founder of the New York-based Center for Dialogues, views the recent actions taken by Islamists as an indicator that Islamists are hijacking the revolution. “Those that staged the revolution see it being stolen and hijacked,” Tlili told Middle East Online. “The Islamists’ discourse is to withdraw Tunisia from its natural environment and make it adopt Islamist values that are not those of the majority of Tunisians. They reject these values because they are not part of their daily life or vision of Islam.”

“We’ve become the ahl al-dhimma,” Abdelhalim Messaoudi, a journalist at Nessma TV, told The New York Times in reference to the second-class status minorities have historically been subjected to in Muslim states. “It’s like the Middle Ages.”

What’s Next? An Islamic State?

On February 20, Aridha Chaabia, or Popular List, the third-largest party in Tunisia's constituent assembly, proposed drafting a constitution based on Islamic law, Reuters reported. If the proposal wins the support of more than 60 percent of parliamentarians, it could pass without a referendum. Rashid Ghannouchi’s Ennahda party, which will have the strongest voice in the vote, has already alluded to its endorsement of an Islamic-based constitution.

Protestors in Tunis

Hamadi Jebali, the Prime Minister of the Ennahda party, implied in mid-November that he sought a return of the Muslim caliphate. He further stated at a rally near his hometown of Sousse, standing side-by-side with a lawmaker from the Islamic Palestinian movement Hamas, that “the liberation of Tunisia will, God willing, bring about the liberation of Jerusalem,” The Jerusalem Post reported.

“[Ghannouchi’s] only condition for Muslim democracy to flourish is the sharing of the immutable principles of Islam as a shared set of values,” Larbi Sadiki, a senior lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter, wrote in an editorial for Al Jazeera.

Samir Dilou, spokesman for the Ennahdha Party, tried to ease secularists’ concerns in an interview in May: “We do not want a theocracy. We want a democratic state that is characterized by the idea of freedom. The people must decide for themselves how they live…We are not an Islamist party, we are an Islamic party, which gets its direction from the principles of the Quran.”

But, can an Islamic party governed by the principles of the Quran value the freedoms of the country’s secularists, including its religious minorities? Katharine Cornell Gorka, the Executive Director of The Westminster Institute, does not think so.

“Of all the people in the world, Americans first and foremost should recognize the absurdity of [Dilou’s] statement,” Gorka wrote. “All the evidence is there to suggest that Tunisia’s new government will prove antagonistic both to American interests and to the values America is built on. That is not to suggest we should have intervened to create a different outcome. Tunisia’s fate is its own. But neither should we be at the front of the cheering section, applauding what will likely be a long and brutal lesson for Tunisia on what happens when religion is enchained with politics.”

Recent indicators in Tunisia suggest that Islam and democracy are not and cannot be compatible. John R. Bradley, in his book After the Arab Spring, offers an alarming glimpse into Tunisia’s future governance: “[Ghannouchi] is for democracy ‘as a system of government and a method of change’ but – and here comes the conversation stopper – only insofar as it is compatible with Islam. The Quran remains the sole authoritative bases for legislation, whose earthly manifestation are the scholars… who interpret it so that the state’s function is essentially executive in nature. To put it in a nutshell: Islam is the answer to everything, the final authority, and the sole source of legitimacy of government.”

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Aidan Clay is the Middle East Regional Manager for International Christian Concern (ICC), a Washington, DC-based human rights organization that exists to support persecuted Christians worldwide by providing awareness, advocacy, and assistance (www.persecution.org). Aidan is a graduate from Biola University in Southern California. Prior to joining ICC, Aidan worked with Samaritan’s Purse in South Sudan and has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, Africa and Europe. He and his wife currently live in Nairobi, Kenya. For more information, contact Aidan Clay at clay@persecution.org 

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