Pakistan blasphemy case girl examined by doctors

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Doctors in Pakistan have examined a young Christian girl imprisoned on blasphemy charges to determine her age and mental capacity, with the results due to be presented in court tomorrow.

According to the BBC, her lawyer says the girl, called Rimsha, is 11 or 12 years old and appears to have Down’s syndrome.

“She is being held in a maximum security prison after an angry mob accused her of desecrating pages of the Koran. But her supporters say she has been wrongly accused,” said the BBC.

“Police say the girl was arrested last week in a Christian area of the capital Islamabad, after a crowd of people demanded that she be punished for allegedly desecrating pages of the Muslim holy book.

“It is not clear whether she burned pages of the Koran or was found to be carrying them in her bag.

Attack fears

The doctors' report will be presented at a bail hearing in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Christian leaders say she is as young as 11 but police quoted in some media reports say she may be older and that she had no mental impairments.

Pakistan's Minister for National Harmony, Paul Bhatti, has said she is innocent and should be released.

He told the BBC earlier: “The police were initially reluctant to arrest her, but they came under a lot of pressure from a very large crowd who were threatening to burn down Christian homes.”

According to the BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad, Rimsha’s lawyer said that when he saw her in jail over the weekend she wept and begged to be released.

Her parents have been taken into protective custody following threats, and many other Christian families are reported to have fled the neighborhood.

“There are fears that even if she is released, Rimsha’s family will not be safe in Pakistan. 

Others accused of blasphemy have been killed by vigilante mobs in the recent past,” concluded the BBC story.

InterVarsity sees growth and resistance in 2012-2013

USA (MNN) ― On college and university campuses throughout the U.S., students are seeking God in droves. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship expects a record year of campus ministry during the 2012-2013 school year, topping the 3,000+ new believers who came to Christ throughout the previous term. In four months, InterVarsity will host the Urbana Student Missions Conference in St. Louis, with almost 20,000 students expected to attend. Register for Urbana 2012 on InterVarsity's Web site.

"In our 72-year history, we have never seen such a season of fruitfulness," said Alec Hill, president of InterVarsity. "God's Spirit is moving on campus, and this is an exciting time to be involved in campus ministry."

Yet with growth comes increased resistance. On a small number of campuses, InterVarsity chapters were "de-recognized." The decision was overturned this summer at the State University of New York at Buffalo, but officials at Vanderbilt University haven't changed their minds. Along with InterVarsity, more than a dozen Christian student organizations lost recognition because of a recent "all-comers" policy.

The policy, implemented in January 2012, prohibits campus groups from selecting members based on race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.

"InterVarsity believes that a diverse campus environment requires the presence of groups which authentically and faithfully reflect religious beliefs," said Hill. "We will vigorously defend our right to be on campus and to contribute to campus life."

Pastor and family survive attack in Nigeria

Nigeria (MNN/VOM) ― A pastor and his family are safe, but recovering after an attack in Nigeria. The attack happened on August 10, but details are just coming out.

According to the Voice of the Martyrs, at least seven gunmen entered an Ekillisiyar Yan'Uwa Nigeria (EYN) church compound in Borno state, intending to kill the pastor, his wife and three children.

One gunman entered the room of the pastor's 24-year-old son, but "God gave him the courage and strength to push the man down," VOM contacts said. The young man was shot in the leg and fell to the ground as he fled his attacker.

The pastor ran from the family's house when he heard the gunshots, only to see his son lying on the ground and gunmen shooting at him. Although the pastor was not hit, he also fell to the ground when the gunmen fired at him. Thinking both men were either dead or injured, the gunmen entered the house to search for the church key.

After confronting the pastor's wife and two other children, the gunmen ordered them to lie face down on the floor. The family remained in the house as the attackers set fire to the house and church. The woman and her children eventually escaped the fire and hid in bushes near the church.

Apparently satisfied with the burning buildings and persuaded that the pastor and his family were dead or seriously injured, the gunmen fired their guns into the air while shouting, "Allahu Akbar." As the attackers left the scene, they unknowingly passed right by the pastor and his family hiding in the bushes.

The family remained in hiding through the night and took the oldest son to a hospital in Maiduguri the next morning. He has been released from the hospital, and the family is staying with another pastor in Maiduguri.

Pray for Christians in northern Nigeria. The radical group Boko Haram has taken aim at Christians and anything non-Muslim. They would like northern Nigeria to be an Islamic state.

Nigeria in talks with Boko Haram

(Cover photo courtesy Compass Direct. Story photo courtesy Open Doors)

Nigeria (MNN) ― Nigeria's president has taken a controversial step in trying to end the insurgency plaguing his country.

President Goodluck Jonathon is engaged in back-channel talks with leaders of the Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group blamed for the murder of over 600 people since the beginning of 2012.

The group's main targets of elimination are Christians, and their near-weekly attacks on churches have borne out their commitment.

President and CEO of Open Doors USA Carl Moeller reacts to news of the negotiations: "Having talks with these people? It's a bit crazy, in my opinion." Specifically, precedent has already been set for the success of such talks. "The experience of the Afghan government talking with the Taliban, the experience of the Pakistani government talking with the extremists in Swat Valley shows that you don't engage conversation with terrorist groups and expect them to compromise."

Compromise does not exist in Boko Haram's lexicon. "Boko Haram has committed itself ideologically to  the elimination of Christianity, particularly in northern Nigeria, but making all of Nigeria an Islamic state." Boko Haram, whose name in Hausa means "Western Education is sin," has gotten both better funding and better organized in their efforts.

This marks the second time the government has engaged Boko Haram in negotiations. Moeller disagrees with the notion. "I feel like it's absolutely a dead end for the Christian community in Nigeria--for the entire nation of Nigeria--for them to engage in conversation with those that are so intent on destroying the fabric of freedom and the church in Nigeria."

Since most of the victims have been pastors and Christians, there has been growing concern that the Church will begin to fight back, which could lead to civil war. However, last week, the National President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor denied that. At the end of a special council meeting, Oritsejafor said that the association will continue to pray for the peaceful co-existence of the country.

According to a news release from their Web site, Oritsejafor is quoted as saying that "we will not encourage our people to carry arms against anybody whatsoever the situation may be. For those that are behind Boko Haram, you come to us with AK47, bombs, charms and other dangerous weapons, but we come to you in the name of God."

Moeller agrees. The first line of defense is prayer. "Pray that the Nigerian government would understand that compromising on the rights of its citizens, Christians, in the north in order to obtain a political solution to this crisis, will only result in losses of more freedoms, more restrictions, and more violence against Christians in those areas." 

The second defense: awareness. That's where Open Doors can help. They've got more information about partners they work with and the back story to the scenario in Nigeria at their Web site. Once armed with the facts, Moeller encourages believers to get involved.

The last line of defense, says Moeller, are the tools. Open Doors equips church leaders with training, tools and mentorship to help them work toward a consensus for peace and biblical response to the campaign of violence.

Despite the fear and concern rising in the Church body, they haven't forgotten their first love. Moeller notes the courage of believers under fire. "Some of the most dynamic and growing churches in the world are in southern Nigeria. The progress of the Gospel continues to go forward."

Believers are gearing up for more, but not for the reasons you might think. Moeller calls it the "paradox of persecution."

"As extremism rages in people's hearts, it produces a deeper vacuum, and that vacuum can only be filled by Jesus. 

Sometimes they don't even know that, but Jesus is still moving in people's hearts, even in the midst of this violence."

Justice delayed...again

(Images courtesy Mission India)

India (MNN) ― August marks the three-year anniversary of the arrest of two Children's Bible Club leaders in Karnataka on false charges.

Late one night in 2009, a mob of 20 Hindu extremists burst into a training for Year-Long Children's Bible Club leaders working through Grand Rapids, Michigan-basedMission India. Shouting threats, they moved from room to room. The extremists dragged people out of bed, beat them mercilessly, and burned every book and Bible they could find.

When police finally arrived, they arrested two Children's Bible Club partners and charged them with coercing children to become Christians. Mission India President Dave Stravers says, "There's no basis for the charge. They were actually sound asleep in the middle of the night. It's during a training session, (but) there weren't even any non-Christians involved, so how could they be converting anyone?"

The pair is out on bail...and STILL awaiting trial. "This is normal. They claim there is a 20-year backlog in the Delhi court system, for instance," Stravers reports. The United Nations Development Program estimates that some 20 million legal cases are pending in India. the country has roughly 11 judges for every million people, so the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel" (hope for an end) isn't likely coming soon.

The problem is the expectation of those who are awaiting their day in court. Stravers explains, "Every month, they get on the train [for a] 12-hour train ride, sit all day in the court, and be told. 'No, no progress. A new date has been set.'" That's added expense and time lost to travel back and forth.

While the delay may be "normal" in Delhi, Stravers wonders if the "dragging feet" could be because  "judges and the accusers know that there is no case, so if the case actually comes to trial, all the charges will be dismissed. So they want to drag it out as long as possible to make life as difficult as possible."

The case is at a standstill in the courts. The most recent court date was postponed until September 21. It's harassment, pure and simple, Stravers argues.

However, it also revealed an indomitable spirit. "These people are still working hard, training Children's Bible Club leaders. We have a long list of Christian workers who are waiting to be trained." In fact, Karnataka State is one of Mission India's biggest fields of ministry. 

Why do the extremist Hindus oppose the Children's Bible Clubs? First, explains Stravers, "God is working. And this is why the persecution is happening, because the general population is so open to the Gospel and the Lord Jesus is doing His work in a really powerful way in India today."

Mission India provides in-depth training for volunteer Children's Bible Club leaders as well as materials to teach up to five age levels in nearly two dozen Indian languages.

The Children's Bible Clubs are introduced in a community through a 10-day program. In the clubs, children enjoy songs, skits, and play games. They also listen to Bible stories, memorize Scripture, and learn more about relationship with Jesus, which helps them discover a loving Savior.

So, Stravers says, by the end of the Children's Bible Club, many children make a decision to follow Jesus. They then share their new faith and are bringing their parents to Christ. As a result, every year new churches grow out of Children's Bible Clubs.

As far as their two workers go, the danger of this case is that it's a distraction. "We need to pray that the Lord will be faithful to them, that they'll feel the Lord's hand of protection. And when the persecution comes, [pray that] they will understand that this is not the devil winning any battles, [that]  they need to keep speaking boldly for Christ."

Pray that there will be no further delays in the courts. Pray that the false charges will be dropped. Pray for the safety of this year's Year-Long Children's Bible Club leaders who are being trained right now across India.

Check our Featured Links Section for more details about the Children's Bible Clubs.

Fate of Turkish believers might lie in this decision

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Turkey (MNN) ― Currently the cause of unrest between parties writing Turkey's new constitution, the issue of religious freedom could act as a catalyst.

"Depending on who wins this battle, they certainly will gain more power in moving the country: either toward a more secular, European/Western country," Rody Rodeheaver with IN Network explains, "or into a closed, Islamic fundamentalist country like their neighbor, Iran."

What would this decision mean for Turkish believers?

"There is great danger here, and in the midst of this are the Christians," he said.

One point of controversy in the freedom of religion proposals is education: namely, the Religious Culture and Knowledge of Ethnics (RCKE) courses required at all public schools. In this class, kids have to memorize parts of the Koran, the history of Mohammed, and various teachings from the Koran. They're also expected to participate in various Muslim celebrations and holidays.

The RCKE course puts children of believers on the front-lines of persecution. Rodeheaver explains that a common Turkish view is: "If you're a Turk, you're Muslim." This can be very difficult for kids trying to fit in at school because the RCKE course requires them to reveal their faith, making them stick out like a sore thumb.

"Our director and his children have experienced some very hurtful things," Rodeheaver said. "The children were selected for ridicule: 'You Christians, you're just all Americans in disguise.'"

Pray for Christian children who face persecution from their peers.

Another area impacted by this decision is Turkey's membership in the European Union (EU). Turks are primarily divided into two groups; some Turks want their nation to join the European Union and adopt policies with a secular lean, while others want Turkey to become a fundamental, Islamic nation. With Turkey's interest in becoming a part of the EU comes freedom for believers.

"If this changes, [believers] will lose a lot of ground and it could become very dangerous for them."

However, a recent survey by the Turkey-Europe Educational and Scientific Research Foundation (TAVAK) shows a significant drop in Turks' desire to join the EU. The study attributes this drop in support to the economic crises in EU member states and self-assurance among Turks that "they can do without the EU."

As the government continues to drag its feet toward change, there is a desperate need for prayer. Pray for the safety of believers in Turkey.