Bangladeshi Christians told to close church, convert to Islam

Construction of Tangail Evangelical Holiness Church,
 in Bilbathuagani village, was halted by local officials.
World Watch Monitor

A local government official in central Bangladesh has halted the construction of a church, forced Christians to worship at a mosque and threatened them with eviction from their village unless they renounce their faith.

The Tangail Evangelical Holiness Church in Bilbathuagani village, was created Sept. 8 by a group of about 25 Christians who had been meeting secretly for three years.

Local council chairman Rafiqul Islam Faruk joined around 200 demonstrators Sept. 13 to protest against the start of the building of the church. He summoned the Christians to his office Sept. 14, as about 1,000 Muslims gathered outside.

“The chairman and the imams of the mosques interrogated me for accepting Christianity,” Mokrom Ali, 32, told World Watch Monitor. “They asked me why I had become a Christian. It is a great sin to become a Christian from Islam. If I did not accept Islam, they would beat me, burn my house, and evict me from the society.

Others reported being pressured to embrace Islam. They later filed documents in court re-affirming their Christianity.

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Will 'dialogue' help settle Boko Haram in Nigeria?

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
 (Cover image courtesy Voice of the Martyrs.
 Story photo courtesy Flickr/GovermentZA )

Nigeria (MNN) ― October 1 marked 53 years of independence from Britain, but the occasion was somber due to an eruption of violence by an Islamic insurgency group.

Given the events of the last month, is the state of emergency effective in curbing the Boko Haram?

Not exactly. Violence has been increasing over the past few months. Todd Nettleton, a spokesman with the Voice of the Martyrs USA, says, "Boko Haram means ‘Western education is a sin' or ‘Western education is evil,' so they are going after educational institutions. They're going after schools that they perceive to not be teaching the correct radical Islamic ideology."

Nettleton is referencing the attack on a secondary school dormitory in Yobe around 1:00AM on Sunday.

More than 40 students, many of them Muslims, died. Coincidental? It came just after the government promised protection and urged schools in Yobe to re-open after earlier similar attacks. Nettleton asks, "When will the general population of Northern Nigeria--which is heavily Islamic-- turn against Boko Haram and say, ‘Hey, we have had enough?'"

Other news accounts surfaced indicating President Goodluck Jonathan pledged a national dialogue to heal a "divided" Nigeria. Earlier accounts seemed to point to negotiations and peace talks with the Boko Haram.

However, Nettleton says when he took that issue up with church leaders, "Their number one response was: ‘Who are we negotiating with? People who will not step forward; they will not have a name and a face and admit what they are doing, and admit who they are. How are we going to negotiate with those people? Even if we come to an agreement, how are we going to hold them to it?'"

"The renewed violence is creating uncertainty and fear among people," reported an Open Doors worker. "It is intensifying an already explosive atmosphere as the government continues its battle against Boko Haram."

The violence is expected to continue, if not worsen. Nettleton explains, "Next year, there will be national elections in Nigeria. Goodluck Jonathan is running for president again. I would assume that one or probably more than one Muslim candidate for president will be running against him."

Nettleton goes on to say that in the grasp for political power, an insurgency could be enough to tip the balance. "As Boko Haram can create chaos and make Goodluck Jonathan and his government appear powerless, they affect the political process. They affect what the voters do and what the voters think."

The Islamist agenda for Nigeria is to bring the whole country under the House of Islam, using whatever method works. For believers, the months ahead will be the ultimate test their faith. "It's an act of courage just to go to church on Sunday. It takes some courage to do that because you realize our church could be targeted. We could be bombed. There could be gunmen that come to the church . That changes how they function."

Fear is pervasive among churches. Security has been beefed up in many places. Christians don't feel safe. Isolation and separation can lead to discouragement and intimidated silence. That's what we have to pray against, urges Nettleton. Stated another way, he says, "I think one of the first things to pray for is a sense of encouragement and a sense of passionately following the Lord even though there is risk, even though it is dangerous."

Pray that God will intervene to preserve their places of worship, fellowship, and teaching. Give thanks that believers are responding to recent pressure with increased prayer, evangelism, and care for Muslim Background Believers. Click here for a look at some past issues Nigeria's believers have had to contend with.

Ministries advance amid growing tensions

The son of ICDI staff member Albert
 Yahimi was shot to death in April by
 troops in the Central African Republic.
 (Image, caption courtesy HCJB Global)

Central African Republic (MNN) ― Rebel violence is rising in the Central African Republic.

Nearly 400,000 people are now internally displaced according to the Geneva-based Assessment Capacities Project, or ACAPS. That figure almost doubled within the span of a month.

Jim Hocking with Integrated Community Development International (ICDI) works in the CAR with Living Water International and HCJB Global.

"What we're seeing on-the-ground is pretty much the collapse of the government," says Hocking.

That leaves people on their own against armed and dangerous Seleka militants.

"Because of that, people are leaving their homes, even in the capital city; I was there two weeks ago," Hocking reports.

"It's kind of a 'Catch 22,' in a sense, because although they're scared for their lives...they still have to live, they still have to provide for their families."

Central African legislature and civil society members met last week in Washington, D.C. to discuss the situation.

"The crisis that has been brought about by Seleka is now turning into a conflict between Christians and Muslims," Rev. Nicolas Guerekoyame Gbangou said through a translator.

Nearly all Seleka factions follow Islam, Gbangou explains, and approximately two-thirds of the group comes from countries outside the CAR. He says they're targeting Christians and trying to force their religion, customs, and traditions on communities and individuals.

"As they proceed through the country, they tend to destroy everything that is Christian," Gbangou states. "We've come to a point where people have had enough. They no longer are willing to tolerate these massacres and torture. People are starting to form self-defense groups.

"They're starting to buy machetes so they can defend themselves against aggressors, and we're now starting to take the path of Rwanda, if you will," he continues. "And maybe that's what it's going to take for the international community to finally intervene."

Along with leading a church in Bangassou, Gbangou is Chairman of the Regional Association of Evangelical Churches.

Despite growing religious tensions and rising violence, Gospel work continues.

"It has been difficult, but we have been able to accomplish actually MORE since May 1 than we have normally [during] this time of year," says Hocking.

ICDI teams have drilled 72 wells and performed over 400 maintenance visits. Hocking credits the success to ICDI's national staff, who dedicate their lives to sharing clean water and the Living Water of Christ. To this end, Living Water International is a crucial component.

"Living Water is a huge help with our maintenance program," Hocking states. "We're trying to keep the maintenance going on over 500 wells in the country, and keep the water flowing for the people in that country."

While Hocking was in the CAR recently, he attended training sessions for national ICDI workers with Jerry Wiles, President Emeritus of Living Water International. He says Wiles was teaching staff how to share the Gospel with villagers using orality.

"We trained all of our trainers and our maintenance teams that travel around," Hocking explains. "18 people had a follow-up training [so they could] become trainers, to help train even more people in the villages how to use Gospel stories, because it is an oral tradition there in the [CAR]."

The Gospel is the only glimmer of hope in a nation coming apart at the seams.

"Villages are continuing to receive Gospel tracts [and] receive encouragement from our staff," Hocking says. "Basically, a little touch of hope comes back to them that [there are] still people in the country who care about them."

It's up to you to keep hope alive in the CAR. By financially supporting the work of ICDI, Living Water International and HCJB Global, Hocking says you're helping them stay in the troubled nation.

"These organizations are what are giving hope to people in the Central African Republic," states Hocking.

The most important way to help is through prayer. Please keep praying for the Central African Republic. Pray for an end to religious tensions in northern CAR. Ask the Lord to bring peace to this troubled nation.

"Your prayers are going to make a difference in that country," says Hocking. "There isn't anything else that can really solve it."

Censorship in Azerbaijan is crippling for the church

Azerbaijan (MNN) ― For years, many have been intrigued by novels such as Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell's 1984. More recently, Americans have eaten up movies like The Book of Eli and Equilibrium.

These are stories of total government control and oppression. In these stories, written works aren't allowed. While fictional in these stories, this is actually happening.

Open Doors USA reports that Azerbaijan is facing this very scenario. Censorship has become increasingly restrictive in recent years, and stricter laws and codes have been enforced to progress this control. While the country still has access to books and other media, it is extremely regulated.

The State Committee is need for the possession, importation, or reproduction of any work. Every title must be inspected. This State Committee also sets the limit to how many of any approved title is allowed. Any book sent to Azerbaijan has to be inspected before it can be released. At airports, too, inspection of books has become regular routine.

Anyone found with illegal material is subject to punishment including the confiscation of the text, raids, detentions, and fines.

This is a big problem for Christians. Even the Bible is condemned to these limitations. Most religious material must be approved. This includes other media, too. This ban and limitation on religious texts, including the Bible and the Koran, has been set in place since 2008.

Even internally it is difficult to produce copies of the Bible. Because printing and photocopy shops must get permission before they print anything, they usually will refuse to copy the Bible. This is because the State Committee usually refuses consent.

Religion overall is already looked down upon by the government. All things religious are controlled by the Committee on Religious Affairs. The government and the people of Azerbaijan are especially harsh toward Christians. This is largely because Christianity is associated with Armenia, Azerbaijan's biggest enemy.

This country needs prayer. We can rejoice that the church is still growing amidst oppression. But as more and more citizens become Christians, the need for Bibles increases. Pray that the church continues to receive converts, and that Christians in this country will grow in their faith in light of the oppression of the government. Pray that the Word will not be stopped despite the government's regulation.

Coptic Bishop Escapes Assassination Attempt in Egypt

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

MINYA, EGYPT (ANS) -- Bishop Anba Makarios of Minya was the target of an unsuccessful assassination attempted on Monday morning.

Bishop Anba Makarios pictured during a visit to Niagara Falls

According to a story by Mary Abdelmassih of the Assyrian International News Agency (www.aina.org), the Bishop was driving into the town of el-Sario in Abou Qorqas, Minya province, when his car came under a hail of bullets from several unidentified persons.

"The Bishop's driver was able to drive away and he brought the Bishop to the home of a local Copt, where the Bishop took refuge," said Abdelmassih. "But the gunmen followed, surrounded the Copt's house and shot at it for over 90 minutes, causing extensive damage to its windows, doors and walls.

Shat he said that Minya security were contacted immediately but they arrived 90 minutes after the shooting stopped.

The head of Minya security told the media the Muslim people in the village were angry because they thought the Bishop had come to reopen St. Michael's church, the only church in the village, which was closed 10 years ago for security reasons.

"In other words," said Coptic activist Mark Ebeid, "Muslims were angry because of the presence of a church in the village and the police do not want any trouble with them, and therefore Copts have to go without prayers just to appease the Muslims."

Abdelmassih went on to say that the Coptic rights group Maspero Youth Union (MYU) issued a statement yesterday afternoon warning officials of the spread of hardline guerrilla warfare led by Muslim Brotherhood members against Christians. MYU said what took place today was an assassination attempt, not, as was claimed by the Minya police, Muslims shooting in the air.

MYU demanded an immediate investigation into the behavior of the Minya security services, not only because of their slow response to the emergency call of the Bishop, but also because of their attitude towards the Copts in general and the "ongoing attacks on them, such as the burning of homes and property in Zakaria village in Minya and the expulsion of a Christian family from the village.

MYU called on the President and the Prime Minister to stop the systematic violence against Christians, who are targeted by spreading rumors or incitements in mosques to generate chaos against them and loot their property, in the complete absence of law and security, and "reconciliation" meetings that deprive the Copts of their rights.

"The province of Minya has suffered most after the ousting of former president Morsi, where over twenty churches have been looted and torched. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and abroad, especially the UK, issued threats of assassination against many public figures, including Coptic Pope Tawadros II," concluded Mary Abdelmassih.

Boko Haram killing spree claims 110 Nigerians

Bishop says Islamist insurgency ‘has no limits’ to its targets

Rev. Faye Pama Musa, CAN Secretary for Borno,
was killed in his home by suspected Boko Haram members.
World Watch Monitor

The militant Islamist sect Boko Haram is suspected of killing at least 110 people of various faiths across Nigeria during the past week, prompting the country’s top Catholic bishop to declare the rebel movement “has no limits.”

On Thursday, Sept. 26, gunmen killed Rev. Augustine Yohana, a Catholic priest, and two of his sons in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Yobe, then set their home and Church building ablaze. In the neighbouring northeastern state of Borno, suspected Boko Haram attackers raided the town of Gamboru twice. The first attack, on the night of Wednesday, Sept. 25, killed six. The second, late Thursday, killed a further 21.

On Saturday, in the central state of Kaduna, gunmen moved into the town of Zangang in the early-morning hours, burned homes and killed 15 people. On Sunday, about 30 gunmen stormed the student quarters of the Agricultural College campus in Gujba, Yobe state, killing at least 65.

Msgr. Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, archbishop of Jos and president of the Bishops Conference of Nigeria, on Mondayissued a statement that noted most of the victims of the attack at the college were Muslim.

“In the beginning the aim of Boko Haram was to attack Christians in order to destabilize the community. But now the ferocity of the members of this movement has no limits to the point of slaughtering even those who should be their fellow Muslims,” he said.