India Briefs: Recent Incidents of Persecution

By Mahruaii Sailo

Orissa, India, July 25 (Compass Direct News) – Hindu extremists on July 14 summoned three Christian families of Missionary Grace Fellowship and demanded that they abandon Christ or face a social boycott in Lathikata, Banapur. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that a Christian woman identified only as the wife of Sarat Naik declared before the intolerant Hindus and others that she and other Christians were prepared to undergo persecution, but that under no circumstances would they abandon Christ. She said relationship with Christ had transformed their lives, according to the GCIC. Area Christian leaders were reportedly taking steps to help the Christians.

Uttar Pradesh – In what appeared to be a premeditated attack, state police arrested five pastors and a Christian woman after Hindu extremists stormed into their prayer meeting on July 13 in Bighapur, Unnoa, and accused them of forceful conversion. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that at about 11 a.m., 70 Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal attacked the meeting organized by Pastor A.B. Singh, Pastor Ganga Prasad and another identified only as Pastor Robert. Officers and extremists threatened the pastors, later arresting Pastor Prasad and Christians Om Prakash, Desh Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Prem Shankar and a woman identified only as Uma. They were released on bail at about 7 p.m. the same evening.

West Bengal – In Midnapur, Hindu extremists on July 10 seized St. Priscilla School, beating the Rev. Nathan Hazre, owner of the school, and his wife, Sabitha Hazre, while accusing them of forceful conversion. A source told Compass that the extremists removed all Christian devotional items. Led by Dr. Sushil Mahanty, the intolerant Hindus told the Christian family that they would burn them to death in the same manner that Australian Christian worker Graham Staines and his two sons, ages 10 and 6, were killed in Orissa state in 1999. In January the extremists had threatened school Principal Daniel Barik. Fearful Christians filed a police complaint, but officers had taken no action at press time.

Chhattisgarh – Hindu extremists on July 3 disrupted the Sunday worship of a Believers Church in Pali, Korba, tearing up Bibles and gospel literature and beating Pastor Sunil Masih as they accused him of forceful conversion. The Rev. Ravi Paksh, secretary of the Korba Christian Forum, reported that the extremists from the Bharatiya Janata Party forcefully entered the worship meeting at about 11:30 a.m. The extremists took the pastor and other Christians to a police station, where the Christians told police that they had not been converted by force or fraud and attended church services willingly. Officers detained the pastor for about six hours, and after area leaders’ intervention, he was released without charges.

Uttar Pradesh – An enraged mob on July 3 beat Pastor John C.V. Samuel and his wife, accusing the pastor of forceful conversion, in Manpuri. The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) reported the incident took place when Pastor Samuel of Assembly of God’s Church, his wife and other Christians were about to attend a burial service for Anil Saxena, who had attended the church for two years and had committed suicide after an argument with his father. The mob rushed the pastor and his wife and accused them of being the cause of Saxena’s death. Saxena’s wife intervened, telling the assailants that she and her late husband went to the church of their own free will and nobody had forced them, and she called police. Officers arrived and rescued Pastor Samuel and his wife, taking them to Pushpanjali Hospital, Agra. Area Christian leaders filed a police complaint, but no actions had been taken at press time.

Chhattisgarh – Hindu extremists in Dhantulsi on July 2 attacked a Christian’s wedding reception and subsequent worship service, beating those at the gatherings and leaving their food in ruins. The Rev. Abel Varghese, area pastor and coordinator of Althea Indian Mission, told Compass that about 60 extremists beat women and children among those they attacked after barging into the wedding reception of tribal Christian Dhurau Kachalam. They also burned Christians’ vehicles. The Christians submitted a complaint to Kanker police, but the extremists continued threatening them, telling them to either stop Christian activities or leave the area. Sources said police pressured the Christians to withdraw their complaint and refused to take any action on their behalf.

Orissa – In Bendoguda, Malkangiri, Hindu radicals at midnight, June 28, destroyed a church building under construction. About 25 Christian families belonging to the Koya tribe were trying to build a worship center from their meager savings on a small piece of land donated by a Christian named Aitu Podiami. Hindu extremists had also attacked the same group of Koya tribal Christians in November 2010; at that time, with intervention from the Global Council of Indian Christians and the area sub-collector, a peace agreement between the communities had been reached. The Hindu extremists last month violated the agreement, and the village head has been pressuring tribal Christians to refrain from complaining to police about the incident.

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Copyright 2011 Compass Direct News

Funeral Held for Christians Killed in Suleja, Nigeria Bombing

Church leader makes urgent call for government to restore order.

By Obed Minchakpu

 

ABUJA, Nigeria, July 19 (Compass Direct News) – Members of a church in Suleja, Niger state, on the northern outskirts of this Nigerian capital city, culminated a week of fasting and prayer on Saturday (July 17) with a memorial service for three Christians killed in a bombing by an Islamist sect.

 

Muslim militants from the Boko Haram threw a bomb into the building of the All Christian Fellowship Mission church on July 10 as members were leaving a Sunday worship service, authorities said.

 

Church member Christopher Ogbu told Compass he lost his wife, Ifeanyiwa Justina Ogbu, in the explosion.

 

“I have now been transformed into a widower, as my wife has been killed here,” Ogbu said.

 

At the funeral service for the three Christians that were killed, the Rev. William Okoye, general overseer of the church, lamented the lack of security in Nigeria. He urged the government to halt the violence that has ravaged the country this year before it is plunged into religious war.

 

He told Compass that he rushed to the church site when news of the explosion reached him.

 

“I got here to discover that indeed an explosion had occurred in my church here in Suleja,” he said. “Two died here, while the third died in the hospital in Abuja.”

 

Shortly after the church was bombed, he said, the church declared a week of fasting and prayer. Security authorities believe members of Boko Haram, which has declared a jihad on the government in a bid to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on the country, threw a bomb onto church premises the afternoon of July 10.

 

“We received a report about the explosion in this church, and we rushed here to discover that it is true the church has been bombed,” Sanusi Lemu, assistant commissioner of police, told Compass. “We then brought in our men from the bomb disposal unit, who recovered the injured and those killed.”

 

Church member Uche Alfred confirmed that the explosion occurred as members were leaving the Sunday service.

 

The explosion marks the third time this year that bombs have targeted institutions in Suleja, just outside the political heart of the nation. The first explosion occurred early in the year at the Suleja office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, killing more than 25 persons. A second bombing took place during a political party’s rally, killing several persons, including elementary schoolchildren. 

 

“We received a report on the explosion in this church, and we mobilized and got here,” Ishaya Isa of the National Emergency Management Agency told Compass. “You can see for yourself that it is true, as we have evacuated those killed to the morgue.”

 

Members of Boko Haram, or the Jama’atu ahlus Sunnah lid da’awati wal Jihad, have claimed responsibility for other church bombings and attacks. The extremist Islamic sect is reportedly expected to launch a terrorist offensive at the end of this month, the two-year anniversary of the death of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf.

 

Nigerian security forces captured Yusuf on July 30, 2009, and the next day he was dead under mysterious circumstances.

 

Boko Haram reportedly formalized links with Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) last year, prompting fears that Nigeria could see unprecedented large-scale terrorism, including suicide bombings. The government is reportedly expecting more than 100 jihadists trained in Sudan and Somalia to lead a terrorist assault planned for the end of the month.

 

The jihadists, who reportedly received training from AQIM, would lead attacks planned for Borno as well as the northern states of Katsina, Kaduna and Yobe.

 

Sharia is already in force in 12 northern states, where Christians are supposed to be exempt but are often compelled to comply by various sectors of society. Borno state, where Boko Haram has its base, is one of the states implementing Islamic law.

 

After the death of Yusuf, the extremist Islamic sect has been led by Abu Zaid, who last October claimed responsibility for bombing churches in Borno state. Zaid told the Hausa-language service of the BBC and Voice of America at that time that the group attacks as a means of pressuring the government to allow Islamic law in Nigeria.

 

Dr. Abdulateef Adegbite, secretary-general of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, has said Muslim leaders do not support the activities of Boko Haram.

 

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.

 

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Pakistani Muslims Convicted for Beating Christian to Death

Court gives life sentences to three men who killed merchant for refusing to convert to Islam.

By Jeff M. Sellers

 

LOS ANGELES, July 22 (Compass Direct News) – Three Muslims convicted of killing a Christian in Pakistan’s Punjab Province for refusing to convert to Islam last year have been given life sentences, according to attorneys for the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) in Pakistan.

 

The Sessions Court in Mian Channu on July 7 convicted Ghulam Rasool, Amjad Iqbal and Kashir Saleem of torturing and killing Rasheed Masih on March 9, 2010, and sentenced them to life in prison, which in Pakistan is 25 years. The court also ordered each convict to pay 100,000 rupees (US$1,153) to Masih’s family. A fourth suspect, Muhammad Asif, was acquitted. 

“The ECLJ also plans to file an appeal in the Lahore High Court concerning the acquittal of the fourth defendant,” said Asif Aqeel, director of the Lahore-based, ECLJ-supported Community Development Initiative. “The callous treatment by the police presented lots of challenges in proving that Masih was killed by the defendants. However, extensive work by our legal team in Pakistan and in the United States resulted in a conviction for the three defendants in this case.”

 

Masih’s family said they were grateful to ECLJ attorneys for assisting the court in making its judgments.

 

Aqeel said Masih’s brother, Asi, said that Muslim businessmen were jealous of Rasheed Masih’s success as a potato merchant in Mian Channu, Khanewal district because he was a Christian. When the 36-year-old victim met with the defendants at their farmhouse to discuss business on March 9, 2010, they asked him to convert to Islam. When he refused, the four Muslims beat him to death with iron rods, Aqeel said.

 

A bystander informed Asi Masih, who said he then called police.

 

Police officers along with the victim’s brother found Masih smeared with blood. They rushed him to a hospital, but he died on the way after stating to police that he was tortured by Rasool and his accomplices, Aqeel said.

 

Police, however, denied that Masih ever gave such a statement and refused to charge or arrest the defendants, Aqeel said. A large number of Christians blocked an intercity highway and demanded that the killers be arrested. Police conceded after the Christian community’s five-hour protest.

 

The Rev. Iqbal Masih of the Mian Channu Parish of the Church of Pakistan told Compass last year that Rasheed Masih was a devoted Christian, and that both he and his brother Asi had refused the Muslims’ pressure to convert to Islam. The Muslims had been threatening both brothers for six months before the murder, according to Asi Masih.

 

An autopsy by Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Mian Channu revealed 24 wounds on the body of Masih, according to a copy of the report obtained by Compass.

 

The European Centre for Law and Justice, headquartered in Strasbourg, France, is an international Non-Governmental Organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights in Europe and worldwide.

 

www.compassdirect.org

 

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*** Photos of Rasheed Masih at his funeral are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct News for pricing and transmittal.

 

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Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

Believers chorus a Cry For Mercy on behalf of a Christian in Pakistan

Cover photo: Asia Bibi. Story photo:
 Bibi's family. (Photos courtesy of
 Voice of the Martyrs USA)

Pakistan (MNN) ― A global petition drive is underway to see a Pakistani woman freed.

For two years, Voice of the Martyrs, a Christian persecution watchdog group, has been following the case of Asia Bibi--a Christian woman who was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges.

  

VOM spokesman Todd Nettleton says last week, they unveiled a campaign on Bibi's behalf. It was a response to a grassroots movement. "The genesis of this actually came from Christians in Pakistan. They collected 150,000 signatures inside Pakistan--people who were willing to say ‘We need justice for Asia Bibi. We need justice for Christians in our country.'"

Entitled "Call for Mercy," Nettleton describes the purpose. "We are trying to collect a million signatures of people who will say, ‘Listen. We ask for our sister Asia Bibi to be released from prison. We ask for her to be restored to her husband and her daughters and allowed to continue her life.'"

  

What good will signatures do in a high-profile case like this? Due to tense relations between Pakistan and the U.S. right now, government pressure might not be effective. However, a grassroots movement is likely to get some attention. Nettleton says, "We are going to deliver these names to the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC,"  adding that "we are encouraging some of our contacts around the world to work through the Pakistani embassy in their particular country so that we sort of create the understanding that people around the world are watching this case."

Bibi's case began in 2009 when she was involved in an intense discussion with co-workers about their faith. The Muslim women told her about Islam, and, according to VOM sources, Bibi responded by telling the Muslim women that Jesus is alive: "Our Christ sacrificed His life on the cross for our sins.... Our Christ is alive."

Bibi was arrested in connection with this incident, charged and convicted under Pakistan's blasphemy law which prohibits citizens from criticizing Islam, the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, or the Quran. Although the United Nations passed a resolution that protects individuals from blasphemy laws, it seems to have had little effect.

Bibi appealed her conviction to the country's highest court. "We don't know when they will rule, when they will hear that case and it will move forward. In the meantime, she's still in jail. She's separated from her husband, from her daughters, and waiting for the High Court to rule. It's now been more than two years."

The Voice of the Martyrs has supported Bibi and her family since the time of her arrest. The petition drive is a chorus of voices working in harmony in the name of Christ. "We're simply speaking on behalf of a Christian sister, and we don't like the fact that she has been sentenced to die simply for speaking out about her Christian faith. We encourage the Pakistani government to release her and allow her to go free."

Check our featured links section for a link to the petition drive.

Political tensions give way to protests

Riots in Malawi started last
 Wednesday in protest of Malawi's
 government injustice pushing other
 countries to cut aid funds.

Malawi (MNN) ― The drastic cutting of British aid funding to Malawi has rocked the country. That, plus high food and fuel prices, started widespread rioting and protests in the streets as of last Wednesday.

The UK is joining ranks with several other countries and organizations boycotting Malawian government for failure to respond to issues in their country. There have been several months of diplomatic attempts to resolve Malawi government actions, but to no avail.

Malawi government officials have neglected their duty to human rights, fair governing, and fuel importation issues, and have restricted their people's ability to demonstrate peacefully against government practices.

Amidst the demonstrations and chaos, CURE International has been in the thick of it. Their Malawi base, CURE Malawi, closed at the start of the riots and even had protesters passing as close as their front gate.

CURE Malawi is now operating again and established a security committee to determine which areas are safe and which areas are too dangerous for staff.

For CURE Malawi staff, the danger cannot prevent them from doing what God has called them there to do. They provide medical assistance and surgeries to children who are physically disabled.

Stuart Palmer, CURE Malawi Executive Director, writes in an update, "All non-state owned radio stations have been taken off the air. Only Facebook and Twitter are enabling us all to find out what is happening on the ground. CURE Malawi continues to operate but in a limited capacity for the safety of our staff and patients."

While many demonstrations started out as peaceful, Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated that police used force and live ammunition to subdue protestors.

As of Friday, July 22, the Ministry of Health and police officials confirmed 18 deaths, 250 arrests, and several critical injuries. Looting by bandits has also occurred under the chaos created by the civil unrest.

With the loss of so much aid and government funding, the needs of the people are only climbing, making CURE Malawi's assistance in the community even more critical, as well as the message of the Gospel they bring.

The people of Malawi are looking for hope in these desperate times. CURE Malawi pairs everything they do with the message of hope in Christ. The Malawian people can find a more stable hope in Christ as government officials disappoint with their actions. Hopefully through CURE Malawi's ministry, they can show the greater assurance of faith in Christ.

Please pray for the safety of the staff with CURE Malawi in these times of tension. Pray also that their medical and evangelistic ministries would only expand and that more people would receive the physical and spiritual healing they need.

Turkey experiences openness in wake of Middle East violence

Turkey (MNN) ― Upheavals in Bahrain, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, and a multitude of other nations across the Middle East and North Africa have many citizens of those countries thinking. But their responses to freedom and change have unintentionally gotten others involved as well.

Turkey has not suffered much of the turmoil that other nearby nations have, but the numerous revolutions have caused the air to change there. Rex Rogers with SAT-7, a satellite television service for the Middle East and North Africa, says many Turks are starting to open up.

"When things happen, even if it isn't happening in a given country like Turkey--[where violence] hasn't quite taken place there as it has in other Arab countries, still there's an influence, and you begin to think about old ideas. You think about new, alternative structures of ideas," explains Rogers.

SAT-7 workers who live in Turkey have noticed a change: people appear to be more open to the Gospel lately.

In Turkey, it's often said that to be Turkish is to be Muslim, and to be Muslim is to be Turkish. The pronouns are interchangeable. It's probably not surprising, then, that the average Turk knows very little about Christianity and may not ever have come in contact with a believer.

Still, many in Turkey are seeking out truth. The SAT-7 TURK programming manager has said, "There are many people in Turkey who consciously or unconsciously are searching for God. "

Rogers agrees. "They are interested in Christ," notes Rogers. "They say, ‘Who is this person? What do you mean that He's the Messiah?' Or, ‘What is the idea of forgiveness, or hope, or love?' -- which they don't find in their traditional religious views."

The questions many are asking are exciting and deserve answers. In response to these seeking hearts, SAT-7 has created a program called "Proof."

"Proof" is an apologetic program geared at satisfying the need many have for "proof" that the Bible's truths are indeed True. The show uses a scientific approach to enlighten unbelievers and to strengthen the faith of Christians.

"It's a little early to determine an exact response to the programs." explains Rogers, "But we can say that there's an openness; there's more openness than we sometimes realize."

This openness is enough to get SAT-7 working hard to respond. Beyond that, SAT-7 hopes to be an encouragement to the church in Turkey, since Christians will be the ones to really invest in a one-on-one relationship with those who are seeking.

Pray for SAT-7 and for believers in Turkey as they respond to the many questions that people have about life, death, hope, faith, love, and more. Pray that many would put their trust in Christ as they learn a new way of thinking.