Persecution on the upswing: do we care?

(Photos courtesy Voice of the Martyrs USA)

International (MNN) ― The Church is under fire. Upon reading that statement, half the people who started reading this article just moved on to something "more interesting."

And that response is troublesome.

The plight of believers gets little attention on the global stage, leaving many Christians throughout North America unaware and therefore indifferent to what's going on in the body of Christ.

Mention persecution, and eyes glaze over. Silence continues because not enough church leaders are talking about it from the pulpit. Although Barna Research states the opposite, many North American church leaders and pastors say their flocks don't want to hear such negative and depressing things.
That's despite the following:

Al-Qaeda vows to slaughter Christians after the U.S. "liberates" Syria. Nigeria's Boko Haram has slaughtered 3,000 Christians since they began waging war. Egypt's Coptic Church is under fire. A Church official there says after the recent violence that destroyed over 72 churches, there are just 57 Christian churches in the entire country--down from more than 300 as recently as 2003.

The Barnabas Fund, a ministry to the persecuted Church, is airlifting Christians out of Sudan. So far, they've evacuated more than 5,000 Christians from northern Sudan. In Pakistan, believers are still trying to put their lives back together after 3,000 angry Muslims torched the Joseph Colony six months ago. That's only part of the Middle East and North Africa.

Asia is also on the list. North Korea is trying to erase Christians and has been atop the Open Doors World Watch List for 11 years as the world's worst persecutor of Christians. There's religicide going on in Burma and in parts of India.

And still, there's relative silence from North America. There are a few who have been speaking out as loudly as they can, but the overall impassive response to the worldwide persecuted church begs the question: Do we care?

Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for the Voice of the Martyrs USA says, "I think the question arises because as we look around the world, we see more than 60 countries where Christians face some form of harassment or persecution. And you look at the average response of the average American Christian which is basically, ‘Man, that's too bad.'"

A defensive response is also common. But here, too, Nettleton asks, "If we care, how is that being lived out?

How are we SHOWING that we care? Not based on clicking the 'Like' button on a Facebook page, but how are we showing that we care in action that is designed to produce a result or some easing of the suffering of our Christian brothers and sisters?"

He goes on to explain, "How we show we care is by being involved, by connecting with these Christians who are suffering. The first line of doing that really is knowing them: knowing their names, knowing their situations, knowing the countries that they live in so that we can pray effectively."

Nettleton is also quick to note that the issue has gotten more traction as awareness of social justice issues has risen. "More people know about the persecuted church now than did 15 or 20 years ago. I think the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church--which is coming up in November--has been a significant part of making the American church aware of what's happening with persecuted Christians."

But there's still a long way to go, he concedes. "One of the challenges is: Americans are pretty home-focused. Our media covers things that are happening in America. In a 30-minute news program, we might get two minutes of what's going on around the world."

Another aspect is understanding the spiritual and biblical component of persecution. "These are not just statistics or people who live 10,000 miles from here. This is our family. These are our brothers and sisters."

Nettleton points out his own two brothers: if they were to be arrested and face the scenarios faced by Christians in Eritrea, for example, he would be making noise about their plight. The same should be true of the body of Christ. "I should be aware of what's happening with them. And when they're being persecuted and oppressed, I should be speaking out on their behalf. I should be letting people know that it is happening and doing whatever I can within my power to make it stop happening."

When believers put real faces, real names, and real places to the stories, the bigger picture becomes clearer. Nettleton explains, "It's not presented as this is what the Bible said was going to happen. Jesus said, 'If you follow Me, the world will hate you.' This is happening all around the world. Followers of Christ are being hated because they're followers of Jesus Christ."

Sometimes Americans avoid the discussion of the persecuted church because the news is discouraging. It's hard to hear and to feel helpless about changing anything. However, Nettleton breaks response down to its most simple elements. "You start by praying. You educate yourself. And then, whatever God lays on your heart as a response, you keep saying Yes to that and keep responding to that. You will find that you will enter into the ‘fellowship of suffering.'"

Then what? Nettleton explains that when people invest in taking on the troubles facing believers worldwide, they begin to understand the God who provokes such a response. As a result, "The persecuted church is strengthened because we can encourage them, we can stand with them, and we can be a voice for them. But we are strengthened, as well, because we see their faithfulness, and we see God's faithfulness to them. And our faith is encouraged and challenged, and we find that we grow spiritually, as well."

Mosul is the most violent city in Iraq

Iraqi church before the exodus. (file photo)

Iraq (MNN/OD) ― Mosul is now one of the most violent cities in Iraq, with Christians and other minorities often targets of the violence.

As a result, thousands of Christians have left the Iraqi city since 2003 when U.S. forces deposed Saddam Hussein. The war triggered a wave of continuous violence in the second-largest city in Iraq.

Before 2003, Mosul was home to 75,000 Christians. Approximately 70% belonged to the Chaldean Church, while the rest were Syriac Orthodox and Catholic. Now approximately 25,000 Christians live in Mosul, which has a population of 2 million. Many more Christians live in the surrounding Nineveh province.

Dr. Carl Moeller, Open Doors USA President/CEO, labels the attacks against Christians in Mosul and all of Iraq as "religicide." He states: "Christians in cities like Baghdad and Mosul are gripped by terrorism. They are fleeing in droves.

Today it was reported that at least 20 people died in blasts and shootings across the country.

"With the spotlight currently on Syria, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq last December, Iraq has been placed on the back-burner. But we as Christians in the West must continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Iraq who face extinction if we don't pray and advocate for them."

Almost no day passes without someone being killed by bombs or bullets in the city, which is the capital of Nineveh province. The violence targets Christians but also policemen, soldiers or officials working for the government. In the midst of all this, it's not difficult to find examples of growing hostility toward Christians. In May, for example, it was reported that 20 families living in Mosul received threatening letters. The letters said that they had to move out of Mosul or face possible violence or kidnapping.

A Mosul Christian said terrorists in Mosul visited four real estate agents, asking the names of Christians who recently sold their houses. With this information, they know who has money and might be possible targets for kidnappings. "One of the agents refused to give information to the terrorists and was killed," said a spokesman for Open Doors.

Also in Mosul, the house of a Christian was set on fire, and the police dismantled a bomb placed in the car of another Christian.

General Ahmed M. Aljaboury, director general of the Mosul police, said: "Between 2005 and 2011, our operational command recorded the assassination of about 69 Christians, including university students, priests, female employees and housewives."

Two waves of killings and intimidation in 2008 and 2010 sent Christians fleeing from Mosul in such haste that the United Nations had to arrange emergency assistance. Many Christians have fled to Turkey, Jordan, Europe and the United States.

Before the Gulf War in 1991, the number of Christians in Iraq--ranked No. 9 on the Open Doors 2012 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians--was estimated to be over 1 million. That number fell to an estimated 850,000 in 2003. Since then, the numbers have plummeted. Open Doors estimates the number of Christians remaining in Iraq at 345,000. However, the number decreases every month.

The role of Open Doors in Iraq includes distributing Bibles and Christian literature to churches and Internally Displaced People; supporting a project which translates literature, including the Bible, into the Kurdish languages; training of church leaders and new Christians; and training leaders in trauma counseling, especially to children.

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

U.S. declares war in Iraq at an end

(Photos by Gregg.Carlstrom)

Iraq (MNN) ― U.S. defense secretary Leon Panetta formally declared an end to nine years of a war in Iraq on Thursday at a ceremony in Baghdad.

The cost: 4,500 American dead, 32,000 wounded and more than $800 billion. However, Mr Panetta said that "the mission had succeeded in "making that country sovereign and independent and able to govern and secure itself."

According to government reports, the pullout of U.S. troops began in 2009, and combat operations stopped a year later. U.S. troops pulled out of the cities in 2009 and halted combat operations a year later. Training Iraqi personnel has been on schedule, so it's assumed that the withdrawal will have little immediate impact on the lives of most Iraqis.

However, that might not be true for one of the minority groups in Iraq: the Christians. Spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs USATodd Nettleton explains, "The potential is there for it to affect believers, because believers have had a sense that American presence provided at least a little bit of protection, a little bit of oversight for them."  

However, Nettleton notes that "the reality is that there have been attacks on believers while the Americans have been there. There will be attacks on believers, now that they're gone. It is simply a continuation of the persecution that Christians in Iraq face on a day-to-day basis."

About 334,000 Christians remain in Iraq, less than half of the number there in 1991. The violence has caused hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people--both Muslim and Christian--to leave the country, and many more are displaced inside Iraq, particularly in Kurdistan.

There is one question Iraq's believers want answered. "Now that the Americans are leaving, now that the Iraqi government is fully in charge and fully in place, what will be done about religious freedom? Will there be protections for Christians to meet together?"

A wait-and-see approach is the only option. In the meantime, the Gospel is going forward. "The Voice of the Martyrs is directly involved in ministries that equip the church, particularly equipping Christians who are doing evangelism. We provide Bibles, we provide other Gospel materials. We are also providing other material needs to Christians, especially those who have been displaced by the violence."

Pray for protection for the Christians who remain. Nettleton says their teams are praying for government leaders who will stand for religious freedom. "We can pray about the evangelism efforts that are going on. We can pray for those who are spreading the Gospel that God will protect them, that seeds will be planted, and that lives will be changed by the love of Christ." 

Christian Solidarity International issues Genocide warning for Christians in the Middle East

Burning of mostly Christian-owned
 shops in Zakho, Northern Iraq.
 (Photo courtesy Compass Direct News)

Middle East (MNN) ―Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a Genocide Warning last week for endangered religious minorities in the Islamic Middle East.

Todd Nettleton is a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs USA. He agrees that persecution is high for one religious minority: Christians. Nettleton explains, "When you look at elections in Egypt where sixty some-odd percent of the vote went to the Islamic parties, including, in one case, the Islamic party that has been a party of attacking churches and attacking Christians, there is fear among the church about what this means."

However, he wonders at the use of "genocide" to describe what is happening. "I think it is a very strong word. I have not heard that word used by our staff who works in the Middle East region. I haven't heard it used by the Christians who are there. To say there is a threat against them I think is very real, but to say it's 'genocide' goes a bit beyond what we've identified at this point."

That's not to say believers are blind to the hostilities aimed at them. Open Doors USA uses the term "religicide" to describe what's happening in Iraq. Violence against believers has already created a remnant church there. Last weekend, new reports surfaced about Islamic rioters attacking Christian shops in northern Iraq. Compass Direct News also revealed an Al Qaeda plot to bomb churches in Turkey and multiple attacks against Christians in Pakistan and Syria.

The greatest concern is what the future might hold with an Islamist government in charge. Nettleton says Christians worry that "'if we have no way of earning representation at the ballot box because we're such a small minority in the country, what does this mean for us? What will our government do to protect us?' That fear is very real."

CSI is asking President Obama to call on the United Nations Secretary-General to issue a genocide warning, to stop funding institutions in the Middle East that promote religious discrimination, and to commit at least 15% of the funding the U.S. has set aside for promoting democracy in the region towards "combating Islamic supremacism."

However, considering the length of time it took for the Obama administration to fill the International Ambassador for Religious Freedom, Nettleton says, "It will be interesting to see if there is a response from the State Department to see what they do to protect religious freedom in the Middle East, and particularly, the countries that are in the transition process."

Given the pattern in Iraq, could the Middle East be experiencing another exodus? For persecuted Christians, that's not out of the realm of possibility. Nettleton says, "Because these issues are across the region, you can't necessarily go next door to find better treatment and to find protection and to find freedom. For many Christians, they feel like they have to get completely out of the Middle East region in order to have their religious freedom protected and honored."

Nettleton hastens to add that there remains a remnant church in the most difficult areas. Those Christians continue to live out the Gospel and share their hope with others when given the opportunity, sometimes from inside a prison cell. Keep praying.