Persecuted Church News

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Gaza Christians protest

Gaza (MNN) ― Despite their low status in the region, Christians were bravely protesting on the streets of Gaza on Monday after two believers were forcibly converted to Islam, according to the Associated Press.

Carl Moeller of Open Doors USA says, "A young man, Ramez, was forced to convert back to Islam after having been a believer. This is just an example of the kind of pressure that Christians live under."

Ramez's parents say he was held against his will and forced to give up his faith in Christ. A woman was also reportedly re-converted.

Moeller says this is not only an unacceptable practice, but it's one that threatens the very existence of Christians in Hamas-led Gaza.

There are less than 2,000 total Christians in Gaza -- whether nominal or evangelical -- out of a population of 1.7 million. Moeller says, "It's quite likely that if pressure continues at this level for any length of time, the community will cease to exist altogether. And then the Christian churches in Gaza will simply be museums about what used to be there."

It's looking similar to the extermination of Christians in Iraq, actually. Although Moeller says the attacks against believers are much more violent in Iraq, the situation is still dire in Gaza due to the low population.

"If the radicals in Gaza -- and that probably defines the majority of the population: radical Islamist ideology -- wanted to, they could eliminate the Christian population very, very rapidly. And this is the great fear."

So although it may only be two believers today, more could follow. And regardless, Open Doors wants all believers there to know that other Christians worldwide are standing with them in prayer.

"The questions that the Christian community have there are fundamentally 'Can they survive?' 'Can they be preserved?' Our commitment at Open Doors is to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the persecuted Christians in this context," says Moeller.

"Pray that the Church would remain and that they would be given more civil protections. For the tiny minority, these are very important things: that they have the rights that every other person has, and that they would be able to worship Christ freely and without fear that those among their congregation would be made to forcibly return to Islam."

Attack on church youth group a disconcerting shift in Mexico

(Cover photo by Alejandro de la
Cruz. Story photo courtesy
Compassion International)

Mexico (MNN) ― A gang of nearly a dozen armed people stormed into a church youth retreat near Mexico City on Saturday and went on an hours-long rampage of beatings, robberies, and rape.

Any connection between the gang and the drug cartels is still unconfirmed. However, Mexican authorities say that campers and hikers have been targeted in the past by common criminals, and the region is known for violent drug-related crime.

That said, the attack on children presents a disconcerting change. Tim Glenn with Compassion International says they have several projects in the region between Oaxaca and Mexico City. While none of their sponsored kids were victims of the attack, "I think it's a scary new venture in the active criminal activities. Historically, in the past they left the church alone, they left the kids alone. This new act of violence is a step in the wrong direction."

Because Compassion's Child Development Centers and other projects are in somewhat secluded areas, they do take precautions to prevent such attacks. Glenn explains, "One of the things we require of our church partners is that they have a safe place for kids to go so that they can learn, they can play, they can grow and be away from these type of things in their community."

Ironically, while the Mexico attack is a step in the "wrong direction," Glenn says the exact opposite is happening in nearby El Salvador. The country's two largest street gangs called a truce.

Up until now, the cycle of gang violence made the country the most murderous in the world last year after neighboring Honduras. Glenn says, "Part of that agreement was that they were going to stay away from the kids, agreeing that they weren't going to try to get kids to join. They were going to stay away from kids as targets of their violence."

Glenn goes on to say, "One of the things that came out of that truce in El Salvador is one of the gang leaders saying that they'd finally come to the realization that 'all we're doing is hurting each other, killing each other, and we're not getting anywhere.'" As a result of the truce, the homicide rate has been cut in half in just four months. In fact, police say the most dramatic change was noted on April 14, a day when El Salvador recorded its first 24 hours without a murder.

Glenn says El Salvador provides a great example that he hopes others will follow. "The sooner the gangs and gang leaders realize the affects they have on their own communities, the safer our own kids will be."

In the meantime, the Church needs a lot of prayer in Central and South America where gang activity is on the rise and growing increasingly violent. "Gang activity, sadly, is a reality in a lot of the developing world. Kids who have very little to cling to go to a gang for some source of acceptance and relationship."

But, says Glenn, Compassion International is making a notable difference. Sponsorships help with education and more. The Gospel is what transforms the community from within. Getting the Gospel to the streets is the hard part. "All we can do is pray for the protection of our kids and communities, and bring our kids to the safe haven of that local church that Compassion partners with."

The church youth group that suffered Saturday's attack has a lot of healing to do emotionally and physically. Glenn urges prayer support for the Gospel workers who are on the front lines. "One of the first prayer needs that we have is for the church to be the Church in those communities, for the body of Christ to step up and say 'we're going to take these kids under our wings. We're going to give them a safe place. We're going to protect them from this type of thing so that they don't have to look to a gang for relationship and acceptance."

Compassion's work in Mexico began in 1976. There are currently more than 20,500 children participating in 130 child development centers. Compassion partners with churches to help them provide Mexican children with the opportunity to rise above their circumstances and become all God has created them to be.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Extortion duo who threatened pastors in Nepal detained by police

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

KATHMANDU, NEPAL (ANS) -- Police in Nepal have detained two members of an extortion racket who have been threatening to blow up pastors’ churches and kill their families if they failed to pay up.

A cow enjoys his protected life in a Kathmandu street

According to UK-based Barnabas Aid (www.barnabasfund.org), a number of pastors in the Kathmandu Valley have been threatened in this extortion scheme.

Binod Kumar Tamang (29) of Kathmandu and Ramesh Pariyar (23) of Gorkha were caught in the act of extorting money from Sundar Thapa, chairman of the Federation of Nepali Christians and pastor of a church in Samakhusi.

Barnabas Aid went on to say that they had repeatedly threatened to blow up Sundar’s church and kill his family if he did not pay the demanded sum of two million rupees (US$22,500).

Tamang and Pariyar had issued bombing and kidnapping threats to other pastors in the Kathmandu Valley in their extortion campaign.

Fearful that the threats would be carried out, the victims sought help from the police.

Tamang and Pariyar have been charged with attempted kidnapping and extortion.

A Barnabas Aid partner in Nepal said that Christians face harassment in many forms, and expressed concern that the two detained men would be released.

“Outright violence against Christians in Nepal is rare, but there have been a few incidents in recent years,” said the partner. “The Nepal Defense Army, an extremist Hindu group that wants to reinstate the country’s Hindu monarchy, has detonated a bomb beside a Christian mission agency in Kathmandu, blown up a church in Lalitpur, killed a pastor and attacked other Christians.”

Dan Wooding, 71, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on the KWVE Radio Network in Southern California and which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. Dan has recently received two top media awards -- the "Passion for the Persecuted" award from Open Doors US, and one of the top "Newsmakers of 2011" from Plain Truth magazine. He is the author of some 44 books, the latest of which is "Caped Crusader: Rick Wakeman in the 1970s." To order a copy, go to: http://www.amazon.com/CAPED-CRUSADER-Rick-Wakeman-1970s/dp/1908728302/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335474883&sr=1-1 . Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.

Nigerian Christians Fleeing Their Homes Following Mass Killings

Interfaith Delegation Releases Report on Violence

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

JOS, NIGERIA (ANS) -- Members of the Church of Christ in Nigeria in the Jos region are fleeing their homes, fearful of more violence in the wake of last weekend’s mass killings in Plateau state, according to Open Doors News.

CCN officials told Open Doors News that after a week of rising tensions between the mainly Muslim ethnic Fulani and the mainly Christian ethnic Birom, about 50 members of the Church of Christ in Nigeria around the village of Maseh had fled their homes, taking refuge July 7 in the home their pastor.

The gunmen came Saturday, entering the home and opening fire. Then they burned the house, Open Doors News reported.

“Fifty of our church members were killed in the church building where they had fled to take refuge. They were killed alongside the wife of the pastor and children,” said Rev. Dachollom Datiri, vice president of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, in a July 11 interview with Open Doors News at the church’s headquarters in Jos.

Open Doors News reported that church officials said that in all, about 100 Church of Christ members were killed in the weekend attacks in 12 villages: Maseh, Ninchah, Kakkuruk, Kuzen, Negon, Pwabiduk, Kai, Ngyo, Kura Falls, Dogo, Kufang, and Ruk.

“In a country where Christians have suffered violence for more than a decade, last weekend’s mass killings nonetheless have left the Church of Christ, and much of the country, in shock,” the news report stated.

“They are psychologically traumatized, and their productive economic activities are impeded,” said Rev. Obed Dashan, general secretary of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, of surviving church members.

He added: “Most of them are peasant farmers and the attacks have not allowed them to go to their farms. Even those that have planted crops have had their crops destroyed by the Muslim attackers.”

Open Doors News went on to say that church leaders claim the Nigerian government is turning a blind eye to persecution of Christians in the country, and fear more violence will occur as a result.

“The whole thing is coming to a head,” Datiri said. “It’s been a long-term thing planned by the Boko Haram. This is a jihadist movement with the agenda to Islamize the country. It is a jihad, a religious war against Christians for refusing to embrace Islam. So, they are using terrorism as a weapon. That is the reason you see that the target of their attacks are Christians and our churches.”

Christian and Muslim alliance Commits to help Solving Tensions in Nigeria

WCC general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan during the Inter-religious delegation's visit to Nigeria. (Courtesy WCC).

Meanwhile in Geneva, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (RABIIT) on July 12 issued a report on their joint commitment to help in resolving the tensions in Nigeria. The report reflects a new Christian-Muslim model of cooperation for peace between religions and further interfaith dialogue.

According to a media update, the report follows the high level inter-religious delegation’s visit to Abuja, Jos and Kaduna, Nigeria, from May 22 to 26.

The visit and report are a response to the inter-communal strife between Christians and Muslims in the country.

Last week, around a hundred people lost their lives in the Plateau state alone as a result of the clashes.

“Religion should never be used as a pretext for conflict. We are committed to the situation in Nigeria. We are concerned and anxious for the lives that are lost in the name of religion in Nigeria,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC.

“Therefore we set out to investigate together first-hand, impartially and credibly, the situation on the ground in Nigeria and the various factors that have led to the present tensions,” added Tveit.

The report discusses the complex reasons behind the violence in Nigeria and suggests that the conflict goes beyond religion.

“From what we have witnessed, it seems to me that the primary causes of the current tension and conflict in Nigeria are not inherently based in religion but rather, rooted in a complex matrix of political, social, ethnic, economic, and legal problems, among which the issue of justice – or the lack of it – looms large as a common factor,” said Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan, chairman of the RABIIT.

The delegation admired the vast majority of Nigerians who do not want their religion to be used to propagate violence. It voiced hopes that its collaboration will further Christian-Muslim cooperation and empower religious leaders in Nigeria to continue the conversation that they have started.

Both the WCC and the RABIIT plan to work together with individuals and institutions in Nigeria on projects that include developing a common statement for people to sign.

Based on both their religious traditions, they pledged themselves to work for the peace and well-being of Nigeria. They hope to initiate theological publications for peace, contributing to the harmony in both Muslim and Christian scriptures.

The delegation to Nigeria was led by the WCC general secretary and Prince Ghazi. During the visit delegates met with government officials, religious leaders, traditional rulers and the families of victims of violence.

Read full text of “Report on the inter-religious tensions and crisis in Nigeria” here:http://tinyurl.com/cqaguw3

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world.

An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church.

The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.

** 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

Vatican Commends Shanghai’s auxiliary Bishop Ma Daqin for his Act of Conscience

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

MIDLAND, TEXAS (ANS) -- ChinaAid (www.chinaaid.org ) says that on July 7, 2012, disregarding the Vatican’s angry protests, China’s state-run Catholic Patriotic Association held ordination ceremonies in Shanghai and Harbin without the approval of the Vatican.

Auxiliary Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin resigned during illegitimate state ordination ceremony. (Photo via Google Images search).

According to the ministry, at the illegitimate ordination ceremony held by Association, auxiliary Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin publicly announced his resignation from the Patriotic Association effective immediately. ChinaAid expresses its understanding and appreciation for this act.

According to reports by Radio Free Asia and BBC Chinese News, Ma Daqin used to be a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the deputy director of Shanghai Catholic Patriotic Association.

In his speech at the ordination mass held at the St. Ignatius Cathedral located in Xujiahui, Shanghai, auxiliary Bishop Ma Daqin of Shanghai diocese said that, as an auxiliary bishop appointed by the Vatican, he would resign from his position in the Patriotic Association, effective immediately, and would focus on the chaplaincy and evangelism.

ChinaAid said that later he was taken away by the authorities and has disappeared. He was reportedly being detained at Sheshan monastery outside Shanghai of which he is a member.

In a statement issued after the incident, the Vatican praised Ma Daqin as “commendable and encouraging” and excommunicated Bishop Yue Fusheng of the diocese of Harbin, who was ordained by Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association on July 6 without the approval of Pope Benedict XVI.

Before this incident, the Chinese government had accused the Vatican of “creating division and confusion within the Chinese church”. After the incident, the spokesperson of the “one association and one conference”, i.e. the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and the Bishops Conference of Catholic Church in China, said on July 11, “The ordination mass of Shanghai’s auxiliary bishop on July 7 is suspected of being in serious violation of the regulations of the Bishops Conference of Catholic Church in China regarding the appointment of bishops. The ‘one association and one conference’ of the Chinese Catholic Church is conducting an investigation and will make an assessment.”

ChianAid says the Ma Daqin incident set off a massive response inside and outside of China.

In a media update, ChinaAid “highly commends Ma Daqin’s act of integrity, condemns the Chinese government for detaining him, and urges the Chinese government to immediately release this auxiliary bishop widely revered by Catholic believers in Shanghai and to follow the law in respecting the Chinese people’s right to religious freedom.”

The group said that like the “two committees” of the Chinese Christian Council and the Three-self Patriotic Movement, China’s Catholic Patriotic “one association and one conference” has been indoctrinated by Beijing Theology -- a heresy whose central doctrine is patriotism -- as the church’s supreme faith principle.

ChinaAid explained that religious affairs in China are actually controlled by the government such that the church is like a government agency, although superficially it is a religious organization.

ChinaAid added that Bishop Fu Tieshan, the late chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association who passed away in 2007, was reportedly a member of the Communist Party sent to infiltrate the Catholic Church. He intentionally opposed the Vatican.

In the obituary published by China’s Xinhua News Agency, he was referred to as “an extraordinary patriotic religious leader, a well-known social activist and a close friend of the Chinese Communist Party.”

The group goes on to say that just a few days after the June 4, 1989 massacre, he was the only religious figure who publicly endorsed on TV Deng Xiaoping’s military crackdown on the demonstrators in Beijing and the forcible clearing of Tiananmen Square.

ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu said: “Auxiliary Bishop Ma Daqin’s courage, independent spirit and integrity are admirable. This incident makes clear to the world that the ‘three-self’ principle advocated by China’s official church is a fraud because even wholly religious activities of the clergy and church must be approved by the government; otherwise, they will be punished. There is no independence at all. We are deeply concerned about the continuing deterioration in the relationship between China and the Vatican.”

Sources:
1. Ma Daqin resigned from the Patriotic Association and restricted in chaplaincy duty; Yue Fusheng was excommunicated by the Vatican (photo)
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/g-07102012141245.html

2. Shanghai’s auxiliary bishop was detained at a monastery
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2012/07/120710_china_madaqin_bishop.shtml

3. News conference of the Chinese Catholic Church “one association and one conference”
http://www.shmzw.gov.cn/gb/mzw/mrxw/syxw/userobject1ai8973.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ChinaAid Contacts

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.