Imprisoned Beijing Pastor Describes Her Experiences in Standing Up for the Shouwang Church

8/29/11 China (BeliefNet) - Miss Wang Shuanyan is the pastor of Beijing’s Xinshu (New Tree) Church, one of the hundreds of thousands of illegal “house churches” throughout China. Although she usually avoids the public spotlight, she has stepped forward to support Beijing’s 1,000-member Shouwang Church, which has been prevented from meeting for 21 Sundays in a row now.

She has attempted to join their outdoor worship and has been arrested a number of times because of that. She was also invited to attend Lausanne World Evangelical Conference in October of 2011 in South Africa, but was stopped by Chinese police and prevented from boarding the plane. She is also one of the seventeen Chinese signators, on be half of Shouwang Church, of “We Stand Up for Our Faith: A Petition to the National People’s Congress Concerning the Conflict Between Church and State” that was delivered on May 10, 2011.

In the following excerpt of her account smuggled out of China, she describes her attempt on August 14 to worship with the Shouwang Church. The government has prevented the congregation from taking possession of property it purchased $4 million — and now is detaining any worshipers who show up at a designated park for Sunday outdoor services. She describes reaching the 3rd floor outdoor platform of a park — the designated worship area — and being excited that she had almost eluded police. However, she was then taken into custody, as she describes here:

August 14 was the 19th Sunday for Shouwang’s outdoor worship and I went all the way to the 3-floor platform of Zhonggang Building. Reaching this place was already a great blessing from God. Last time, when I just arrived at the bottom of the platform, I was taken away by the guards from Fengtai District. This time, I started early and on my way there I miraculously met a sister from Shouwang and she took me on a mysterious road and in this way, we got all the way to the third floor.

First of all, I looked around at the beautiful surroundings: green grass, fresh flowers, flowing water. Then, the two of us began our worship. According to Shouwang’s Sunday schedule, we began to read passages from the Scripture, sing hymns, read chapters and listen to the sermon [which was recorded]. I also added a prayer. Halfway through the sermon, two people came to interfere with our service. I looked at the watch and it was not yet 7:15 a.m.
I said: “Don’t you usually clear the area at 7:30 a.m.? Please let us finish the sermon. They temporarily stepped aside and a DSPS (Domestic Security Protection Squad) agent from Changping District came over and took us off the platform.

Since I persisted in not telling them where I reside, they said at first to bring people from all police stations to identify me. At last, they had to take me to Zhongguancun Boulevard Police Station in a sedan.

However, I also know it was this same group of people who ordered other people to rough me up and [who] injured my arms and back and placed me on house arrest in a mountain. I tried to understand that they were doing their duty. Yet, many of the things they’ve done are violations of the law; I also tried to understand that they have orders from their superiors. They have to do what they are doing. Yet, I remember that at the Nuremburg Tribunal,  former Nazi soldiers defended themselves by arguing that they were simply taking orders from their superiors. They were still convicted. Therefore, I must persist in my actions. What is more important than doing a great thing is to do the right thing.

At around 2 p.m., a sister from Xinshu was trying to deliver lunch to me and was rejected. After repeated attempts, she finally had three pieces of snack and two bottles of water brought in. As I had not had any food since breakfast at 5a.m., I indeed felt hungry and dizzy too. But by then I had decided to go on a hunger strike.

What do I protest against? I protest against the abuse of power; I protest against the destruction of human relationships; I protest against one’s personal interest being held over conscience; I protest against unrighteousness and the lack of mercies; I protest against the trampling and disregard of a human being’s dignity and rights(Source).

Fearing Growth of Christianity, Iran Burns Bibles

Satan has always feared the spread of the written word of God. It is said to be a "double-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12). He also fears he written word of God because it leads people to Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word of God. So it comes to know surprise that he uses Muslims to try and prevent its spread.

8/26/2011 Iran (CNSNews.com) – A Shi’ite cleric affiliated with the Iranian regime has warned about the “danger” of Christianity spreading in the Islamic republic. This comes amid reports of an anti-Christianity propaganda campaign and the seizure of thousands of Bibles.

According to Mohabat News, an independent Iranian Christian news agency, Ayatollah Hadi Jahangosha expressed concern about “the spread of Christianity among our youth,” citing the availability of Christian satellite televisionprograms, books and objects.

“Everyone in society should feel responsibility in this matter and play his or her role in spreading of pure Islam and fight false and distorted cultures,” Mohabat quoted him as saying during a presentation on Mahdism – the belief in the so-called “hidden” or 12th imam, prophesied to emerge at a time of future chaos.

Last week, Mohabat reported that authorities had seized 6,500 pocket-sized Bibles in northwestern Iran. It quoted a parliamentary advisor, Majid Abhari, as telling the Mehr news agency that Christian missionaries were out to deceive Iranians, particularly the youth.

“They have begun a huge campaign by spending huge sums and false propaganda for deviating the public,” Abhari said. “The important point in this issue that should be considered by intelligence, judicial and religious agencies is that all religions are strengthening their power to confront Islam, otherwise what does this huge number of Bibles mean?”

Mohabat recalled previous incidents of Bibles being seized, including one last February, when Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and security officials in a routine inspection of a bus near the Iran-Turkey border found 600 New Testaments, which they destroyed along with confiscated alcohol in a public burning.

A similar incident in the same area last October also saw officials seize and burn Bibles, it said.

In a third incident, in June 2010, Bibles were found in a town near the border with Iraq. Mohabat said the official IRGC Web site at the time accused the U.S. in neighboring Iraq of conspiring to smuggle Bibles into Iran.

…

The Iranian Bible Society’s offices have been shut for decades, and authorities do not allow publishing or reprinting of Bibles in Iran.

Because of this, according to Mohabat, the only solution for Christians needing Farsi-language Bibles is to have them smuggled across the borders from neighboring countries.

One organization that provides Bibles for Iranians is Elam Ministries, which says it printed and distributed 100,000 Bibles and 100,000 New Testaments in 2010.

“Despite the limited support, well over a million New Testaments have been made available in recent years, and up to half a million whole Bibles,” the organization says on its Web site. “And despite the ferocious hostility of the government in Iran to the Bible, brave Christians there have risked their lives to see their fellow country men can read the Scriptures. Some are in prison now for their work(Source).”

Nepali Terrorist Experiences Love of Christ in Prison

8/29/11 Nepal (Christian Post) - Ram Prasad Mainali, 39, spearheaded the Nepal Defense Army (NDA), a faction with the interest of re-establishing Nepal as a Hindu nation. The group was responsible for bombing several Christian and Muslim houses of worship in Nepal. In the bombing of the Catholic Assumption Church in 2009, two women and a schoolgirl died. Mainali was arrested and charged with organizing the attack.

Despite being imprisoned at the Kathmandu's Dilli Bazar Prison, Mainali was found to have also organized the bombing of two mosques in southern Nepal, where two men died, as well as the killing of Father John Prakash, a Salesian priest from India.

In 2010, Mainali repented for his actions against religious minorities in Nepal, stating that the compassion that he received from Christians compelled him to begin reading the Bible.
“Although I bombed the church, Christians come to meet me everyday,” he said. “No right wing Hindu has come to meet me even once.”

Now, Mainali and other leaders of the NDA are in negotiations with the Nepali government. The groups are working to have the NDA recognized as a political organization in exchange for the NDA surrendering its arms. If an agreement is made between the groups, members of the NDA who are currently in prison will be released, including Mainali.

Nepali Christians and Muslims are skeptical that the actions would be in the best interest of religious minorities in the country(Source).

Church Leaders in Bangladesh Beaten at Police Station

I'm glad that my Bangladeshi brethren are protesting  what the police did to church leaders. Hopefully, they are heard by their government leaders in spite of the Muslims who might riot if they feel their superiority being threatened.


8/29/11 Bangladesh (CDN) — Hundreds of Christians this month protested the hitting of two church leaders at a police station in southern Bangladesh after a Christian reported a local ruling party activist had occupied his house.

Bablu Biswas of Christianpara village in Gopalganj district, 62 miles (100 kilometers) south of Dhaka, had filed a police complaint accusing the son of the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) district president of illegally occupying his house. Biswas said Sohel Miah, son of Gopalganj district AL leader Raja Miah Batu, seized his house on July 23. Miah is also active in the AL.

A police official of Gopalganj called the Christians and the ruling party leaders, who are Muslims, to the police station to resolve the complaint. Onukul Biswas, pastor of St. Mothuranath Assembly of God Church, was present at the police station meeting.

“The attitude of the political leaders was that we should accept everything, whatever they said – if we argued anything, they got angry,” Pastor Biswas said. “At one point in the talks, Miah thrust at one of our older church leaders. He pushed him several times very inhumanly and landed a punch on his nose in front of everyone.”

The Christians left the police station in protest of the assault on their elderly pastor, said Pastor Biswas, but while they were still in the police station compound, Miah and his supporters beat Mitul Bala, a Church of the Nazarene of Bangladesh elder, for protesting their hostility.

“The beating of two pastors brought disgrace upon the whole Christian community,” said Biswas.
Christians across Gopalganj district quickly mobilized, with 250 to 300 gathering to demonstrate against the treatment of the Christians at the police station. The demonstrators submitted a letter of protest to the district administration chief, or deputy commissioner, who promised to resolve the dispute within a week. The Christians also demonstrated at the district press club.

“If they can beat us in the police station, they can do anything on us – where will we get protection?” Bala said. “We held a protest rally because a police station is such a place where everybody is equal in the eyes of the law. But the son of the ruling party leader beat one of our pastors by wielding political power.”

Bangladesh is the world’s third-largest Muslim-majority nation, with Muslims making up 89 percent of its population of 164.4 million, according to Operation World. Christians are less than 1 percent of the total, and Hindus 9 percent(Source).

UK Parliamentary Inquiry To Assess Christian Freedoms

If any of my Western brothers and sisters in Christ, are still nursing the Illusion that we couldn't face any serious persecution ought to read this and think again.


08/28/2011 UK (Inspire Magazine)-Are Christians being marginalized in public life? Is it becoming more difficult to speak freely or be authentically Christian in the workplace? What does the law actually have to say about these issues?

These are just some of the questions a cross-party group of Christian MPs and peers are attempting to address as part of Clearing the Ground – a parliamentary inquiry to see how the law treats Christians.

The All Party Parliamentary Group ‘Christians in Parliament’ has launched the inquiry to seek clarity regarding what Christians can and cannot do within the law. It will cut through the claims made in the media and by opposing campaign groups to consider whether Christians are finding their freedoms eroded.

Gary Streeter MP, who is chairing the inquiry, said: "There has never been a more significant time for Christians to make a positive contribution to our society, but if we are to do that it is important to clear the ground of the confusion that sometimes appears to hinder our capacity to live and speak freely. This cross-party enquiry from both the Commons and the Lords attempts to do just that. "

Clearing the Ground follows a series of high profile cases of Christians facing the courts because of the way they have lived out their beliefs - particularly in the workplace. The legal complexity and media portrayal of such cases is making many Christians and others unclear about the position of their supposed freedoms, and uncertain as to how they can continue to contribute to public life in the UK().

Twenty-Four Killed in Series of Attacks against Christian Communities in Nigeria

The Quran commands Muslims to fight and oppress all non-Muslims:
Quran 9:29- Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and his Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of truth, from among the People of the Book till they pay the Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.

Quran 9:73- O Prophet! Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and their abode is hell, and evil is the destination.

Quran 9:111- Surely Allah has bought of the believers their persons and their property for this, that they shall have the garden; they fight in Allah's way, so they slay and are slain.

Quran 9:123- O you who believe! Fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you  and let them find in you hardness; and know that Allah is with those who guard (against evil).

Quran 47:35- Be not weary and fainthearted, crying for peace, when ye should be uppermost: for Allah is with you, and will never put yu in loss for your (good) deeds.

The Hadith command them to do the same thing:

Sahih al-Bukhari 6924- Allah's Messenger said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: La ilaha illallah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah), and whoever said La ilaha illallah, Allah will save his property and his life from me."

Sahih Muslim 30- It is reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against the people so long as they do not there is no god but Allah, and he who professed it was guaranteed the protection of his property and life on my behalf except for the right, and his affairs rest with Allah.

Sahih Muslim 33- It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. Umar that the Messenger o Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till thy testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.

Sahih al-Bukhari 2787- Allah guarantees that He will admit the Mujahid in His Case into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to him safely with rewards and war plunder.

While there are Muslims who ignore the commands just mentioned, there are some who take them seriously:

08/26/2011 Nigeria (CDN) — Twenty-four Christians were killed over the past two weeks by Muslim extremists in renewed attacks against Christian communities in central Nigeria.

The attacks started Aug. 11 in Rasta Foron village and continued sporadically until the concluding attacks on Aug. 21 in Kwi, Loton, and Jwol villages. Muslim extremists attacked a dozen villages or neighborhoods in the restive Plateau state in central Nigeria, a region known for religiously motivated attacks. In addition to the death toll, community members found this wave of attacks particularly disturbing because soldiers from the national army allegedly participated in the killings, or at a minimum accompanied those who committed the attacks.

Nnaji John, who lost nine family members in the attack on Heipang village, said she saw federal soldiers involved in the attack. “I saw them. They were in army uniforms,” she said in tears. “I even know some of them. They came along with the Muslims to attack us. I can swear to God Almighty that the attack was carried out with the support of the soldiers.”

Chollom Gyang, a man from the predominantly Christian community of Chwelnyap in the city of Jos confirmed that the Aug. 14 attack on his neighborhood was carried out with the support or tacit approval of Muslims in the army’s Special Task Force (STF), a unit designed to stop sectarian attacks.

“The attackers were the very soldiers deployed to the area to ensure protection of the people,” Gyang said. “One of the victims received a call from the STF men in the area to come out and assist, only to get gunned down by them as he stepped out from his house.”

Gyang said that identification cards of Muslim soldiers, berets and other pieces of their uniforms were found in the villages that were attacked. The specific circumstances of how those items were left behind are unknown.

In the wake of the attacks, Plateau Governor Jonah Jang called for immediate withdrawal of the Nigerian army brought to the state to keep the peace because, he said, Muslims in the army have taken sides with Muslim attackers.

“I am convinced that the armed forces are being polluted with the religious crisis in the country,” Jang said.

“Before now, the military personnel used to stay in the barracks, but today the armed forces have started taking sides in this religious crisis, and if they are not called to order it will be dangerous for the country.”
Bitrus Kaze, the representative for Jos in Nigeria’s National Assembly, said in a recent press conference that there have been other times that military ID cards and pieces of uniforms have been found at the scene of sectarian attacks.

“It is a very sad testimony of the STF,” he said. “And what worries me is that in spite of that grievous allegation, it appears to me that STF has not come out, at least to deny it. It is really very strange and worrisome to me that in a scene of such a heinous crime, where a family of nine was wiped out, and an allegation of this nature was leveled against the military, it says nothing about it. It appears to me that the story surrounding the complicity is being given some genuineness.”

Captain Charles Ekeocha, spokesman of the task force deployed to Heipang to stop the attacks did not expressly address the allegations, but confirmed the number killed in the attack and said, “My troops went to the area to repel the attack.”

Alamveabee Efihraim Idyorough, a Christian who lives in the Jos suburb of Anaguta said his neighborhood has been attacked multiple times over the past 10 years.

“Do Christian ethnic minorities not have the right to exist in Nigeria?” Idyorough asked. “Are Christians not citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?” (Source)

Libyan Christians Remain Safe in Tripoli Amid Ongoing Battle to Oust Gaddafi

8/25/2011 Libya (Christian Post) – Christians in Libya are safe and well despite the ongoing clashes and imminent fall of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, according to a report released by Open Doors.

The report stated that following Gaddafi’s defiant call to his loyalists to fight the rebels trying to oust him, Christians met in Tripoli to pray for the country and the future of Christian populations in the region.

Gaddafi’s audio message called upon his loyalists to take Tripoli back from the “devils and traitors” that have overrun the country and fight until “victory or martyrdom.”

The call has been adding to fears expressed by global leaders and political analysts that a Tripoli “bloodbath” could be forthcoming.

However, Open Doors, a Christian persecution watchdog, has reported that Christians in the capital are coming together each day to pray and encourage each other and that thus far they have remained safe.

The group estimates that indigenous Christians in the country are very few, numbering just 150. However, the country did previously have a sizable Christian population of migrant workers prior to the protests against Gaddafi that began in February.

Most of the migrant workers that were Christian have now left the country, though pockets remain. Nevertheless, Open Doors reported them as “doing well” under the current chaotic environment.

The country coordinator for Open Doors spoke of the situation, saying, “Getting in touch with Christians in Tripoli is not easy. Phone service is off and on or not answered, but I understand that the internet is up in Tripoli again, so I expectcommunication opportunities will improve in the next few days.”

The organization is uncertain how Christians will fare in a Gaddafi-free Libya, saying in the report, “No one knows. The government will be Islamic, but the question remains how strict it will be and how strong fundamentalist influences will be shaping the new Libya(Source).”

Former Muslim Tortured in Norwegian Asylum Center

I have a lot of things to say about this article:
1. I'd like to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for drawing this guy to him and giving him the courage to leave Islam.
2. I'd also like to thank Jesus Christ for reminding us all that there are Western Muslims turning to Him even in the secular continent of Europe.
3. Muslims seem to take there month of fasting a little too seriously. Just because you're fasting doesn't mean you have to make outsiders of the faith fast as well.

NORWAY--At Hå asylmum centre, "Ali" had boiling water poured over him after converting to Christianity and not fasting during Ramadan. Now he and other converts fear for their lives.

"If you do not return to Islam, we kill you," was the message "Ali" got from other Muslims at the Hå asylum centre. He does not wish to have his face or real name published, out of fear of the Muslims at the centre. If Afghan authorities come to know about his conversion, he risks the death penalty by stoning if he is sent back to his home country(Source).

And if the Afghanis killed him they would be following their religion because the founder of their faith told them to kill anyone who leaves Islam:

Sahih al-Bukhari 6922— Allah’s Messenger said, “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.”

Sunan Abu Dawud 4337—The Apostle said: Kill those who change their religion.

Sunan an-Nasa’i 4025—Muhammad said: "After me there will be many calamities and much evil behavior. Whoever you see splitting away from the Jama’ah or trying to create division among the Ummah of Muhammad, then kill him, for the Hand of Allah is with the Jama’ah, and the Shaitan is with the one who splits away from the Ummah, running with him."

Sunan Ibn Majah 2535—It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever changes his religion, execute him.”

Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik 36.18.15—The Messenger of Allah said, “If someone changes his religion—then strike off his head!”
For more on the subject of apostasy see this video my brother in Christ, David Wood made:

Church Building in North Sudan in Ruins as Hostilities Grow

The Quran and the Hadith command Muslims to fight non-Muslims and they are to be fought because of their beliefs:

Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. Sura 9:29

And the Jews say: 'Uzair (Ezra) is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: Messiah is the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouths. They imitate the saying of the disbelievers of old. Allah's Curse be on them, how they are deluded away from the truth! Sura 9:30

Sahih Muslim 33—It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. Umar that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.

Muhammad (SAW) is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. Sura 48:29

O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites! Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a hapless journey's end. Sura 9:73

Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their properties; for the price that theirs shall be the Paradise. They fight in Allah's Cause, so they kill (others) and are killed. Sura 9:111

Muslims are even forbidden from being friends with unbelievers:

O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk. Sura 5:51

Fortunately many Muslims ignore such commands of their Holy book, but there is a majority that takes these commands seriously:

08/23/2011 Sudan (CDN)-More than seven months after Muslim extremists burned its church building, a Presbyterian Church of the Sudan (PCOS) congregation is still afraid to meet for worship, according to Christian sources.

The Rev. Maubark Hamad said his church in Wad Madani, 138 kilometers (85 miles) southeast of Khartoum, has not been able to rebuild since the Jan. 15 devastation due to the congregation’s meager resources.

“Nothing has been done for the burned church building; so far it has not been rebuilt,” he told Compass by phone.

Christian sources said they are increasingly fearful as Muslim extremists pose more threats against Christians in an attempt to rid what they call Dar al Islam, the “Land of Islam,” of Christianity.

“The increased challenges now faced by many Christians in North Sudan are something for which we need to pray very hard for the Lord to intervene,” said another church leader on condition of anonymity.

The PCOS building in Wad Madani was burned after a series of threats against its members by Muslims extremists, sources said.

“These anti-Christian activities continue to be growing these days, aiming to cause fear among the believers in North Sudan,” said the church leader.

When PCOS leaders reported the case to police in Wad Madani, they were surprised to find officers reluctant to investigate. At press time the assailants had not been arrested.

Property damages to the church building were estimated at 2,000 Sudanese pounds (US$740); destroyed items includedChristian literature, Bibles in local languages, chairs, tables and a pulpit.

“Muslims target our church because they don’t want anything that is related to the church,” one church member said.

Christians in North Sudan are living beneath a blanket of fear since South Sudan seceded on July 9. Just one month after the South voted for independence from the predominantly Islamic North, pressures on churches and Christians have increased, with Muslim groups threatening to destroy churches, kill Christians and purge the country of Christianity.

One anti-Christian newspaper with strong ties to the North’s ruling party continuously advocates that North Sudan become a purely Islamic state and a purely Arab country. The Al Intibaha Arabic daily is well-known for provoking Muslims against Christians in Sudan.

North Sudan’s predominantly Arab population has intermingled with several indigenous peoples, leading some other Arab nations to regard it as not “pure Arab,” according to Operation World. Besides striving for an Arab-based ethnic-religious purging in North Sudan, Islamists may also be trying to counter estimated losses among adherents to Islam, with some estimating the Muslim population of the formerly unified Sudan recently dropping to about 55 percent from 61 percent.

Hostilities toward Christians by the Islamic government in Khartoum began to increase last year following a statement by President Omar al-Bashir, when he asserted that his second republic would be based on sharia (Islamic law) and Islamic culture, with Arabic as the official language(Source).

Tensions Rise Between Malaysian Muslims and Christians

8/22/11 Malaysia (Asian Correspondent) - Tensions between the Muslim and Christian communities in Malaysia are rising after a Malay doctor facing marital problems is reported to have rejected sending his children to Muslim organisations for care. The man is said to have preferred to seek childcare from a church in Petaling Jaya, a suburb ofKuala Lumpur, instead.

A Malay-language tabloid reported that an official from the Selangor state Islamic Affairs department (JAIS) had claimed that the Malay doctor had committed an offence that could lead to a prison sentence of up to three years, a fine of not more than RM5,000 (US$1,700), or both.

The country’s population is 60% Muslim, which comprise mainly of Malay ethnics. The Federal Constitution upholds the freedom of religion of other faiths under Article 11, but it disallows them from proletysing to Muslims.

In recent weeks, allegations of Christians proletysing to the Muslim community have increased tensions between the two faiths, following a church raid conducted by JAIS during a thanksgiving dinner held at the church premises on Aug 3.

JAIS had claimed that it had the right to conduct a raid on the church, following a complaint received that the church had attempted to convert the 12 Muslims that attended the dinner.

Subsequently, a witchhunt on Christians attempting to convert Muslims, as well as Malay Muslims believed to have converted to Christianity, is said to be more rampant as well.

...

Political analysts say while the recent church raid is not likely to initiate winds of change in votes among the Christians in East Malaysia, heightened religious tension does not sit well with Najib who is expected to call for general elections by the first quarter of 2012(Source).

Libya: Change likely to favor Christians

Then let the change come and let the number of Libyan brethren in Christ grow:

8/23/2011 Libya (Mission Network News) – Now that rebels have stormed Tripoli, there are growing rumors hinting that Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi could flee to Venezuela or Cuba.

In the meantime, the European Union welcomed the advance and called for Gaddafi to step down. Whether or not the state of Libya will remain the same over the next 72 hours is yet to be seen.

What makes this advance particularly significant in the six months of civil war is the absence of key leaders who defected over the last few weeks, leaving Gaddafi increasingly isolated. Could another assault force a reset of the conflict? That's unknown.

However, says Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs, change is likely to favor those seeking freedom, specifically, the Christians. Libya is ranked 25th on the Open Doors World Watch List, a spot earned because "there was heavy persecution, particularly of Muslim converts. There were some churches in the city of Tripoli that were allowed to be open, allowed to operate, but primarily they dealt with foreigners."

Libya adheres to Islamic law, and all citizens are Sunni Muslims "by definition." Conversion to Christianity is forbidden, and there are few native Libyan believers. Nettleton explains that "where you run into persecution is where a Muslim changes [his or her] faith and comes to Jesus Christ. Those are the people who face really heavy persecution."

The National Transitional Council is urging Libya to start an "all-inclusive" dialogue leading to democratic elections. Watchdog groups warn that the transition could bring more violence with it. Nettleton says, "There's just a lot of questions at this point, and we need to pray that Christians will be protected, that whoever ends up in government authority will provide protection, will recognize the rights of minority groups like Christians."

Currently, most Libyan Christians are forced to believe in secret and are afraid to meet with other believers. Small Christian communities do exist, mostly consisting of sub-Saharan migrants and Western expatriate workers. They've remained active throughout the longest periods of oppression. Nettleton says because of this, "In some cases, Bibles have been able to be delivered into Libya because of some of the upheaval. Maybe the border is not being as tightly monitored as in previous years. "

That's nothing new. With Gaddafi's strict control of the country, evangelism has been difficult and anyChristian literature that got into the country was smuggled in. At the crossroad of change, could there be more freedom? Nettleton indicates it's too early to know yet, but "we can pray about that as well, that Scriptures will go in and that Christian work can fill some of the voids(Source)." 

Iran: Christian Convert Arrested in Tehran

8/18/2011 Iran (Mohabat News) – These days we are hearing a lot about the increasing pressure on the Christian community inside Iran. In this connection, the security police have recently arrested a Christian woman in her home east of Tehran and transferred her into an unknown location.

The Iranian Christian News agency, Mohabat News reports that on Saturday July 30, 2011 at 10:30 pm security officersraided Leila Mohammadi's home and began to thoroughly search. They seized anything related to her Christian activities including Christian literature, DVDs as well as her personal computer. According to eye-witnesses, Leila was forced into a police van and taken to an unknown place.

Mohabat News has learned that the next day her family in a private telephone call was informed that she was in a detention center called "Hor". This center belongs to the regular Iranian police force and is located near the Hor square in Tehran.

It has also been reported that another person named "Parviz – G" has been arrested in relation to this case. His house was also searched and officers seized his personal computer. The man was held in custody for 3 days and after signing a disclaimer was temporarily released. Apparently he was arrested because of his wife's involvement with Leila Mohammadi's Christian activities90(Source).

Christianity Growing in Closed-Off Bhutan Through Radio Evangelism

Thank the Lord Jesus Christ for technology!!!!! If it weren't for that, I don't I would have as many Bhutanese brethren there, as there are right now.

8/22/11 Bhutan (MNN) - There are conflicting reports over what's changing in the spiritual climate in Bhutan. On one hand, Bhutan ranks 14th on the Open Doors World Watch List. The listing is a compilation of the 50 countries where persecution of Christians is the worst. In this case, it's not one particular faith that has been targeted.

Although Bhutan's constitution states that Buddhism is the "spiritual heritage" of the country, Lee DeYoung with Words of Hope says, "It's one of the few countries in the world where it is said there are no open mosques, Hindu temples, Christian churches or Jewish synagogues."

One the other hand, after 100 years of rule by absolute monarchy, the first elections were held in 2008, and Bhutan emerged as a parliamentary democracy.

Now, the government requires a license for the construction of religious buildings, which seems to hint that such buildings would be approved. Some religious freedom watchdog groups allege that those licenses are withheld, which gives force to the idea that Christianity would still be on the "black list." DeYoung agrees. "Although it is still technically illegal to be openly operating as a Christian, nevertheless, the number of believers in Bhutan is clearly growing, and they are gathering in house fellowships secretly."

Compass Direct News issued a report at the beginning of the year that indicated hopeful prospects of change. DeYoung explains that "some believe that the government may be very close--perhaps maybe later this year--to officially recognizing at least one Christian group. That would mark a milestone in which the government of Bhutan would make an open declaration that Christianity is permitted."

At the same time, movement on that issue seems to have stalled out for the last six months. Even though it seems there has been some movement toward freedom, evangelism is still forbidden in the country. This is where radio comes in. Radio has played a significant role in making the Christian presence felt in Bhutan, a country that is otherwise closed for Christian activities.

Programming in Dzongkha--the official language of Bhutan--occurs three days a week with a 15-minute program which includes health topics, music, and a Christian message. The programming not only encourages the existing believers, but also takes the message of Christ to others who are looking for answers.

They're responding, too, although DeYoung notes that "for the foreseeable future, the Bhutanese that are coming to Christ newly as believers would probably still tend to maintain a relatively low profile."

What's exciting is that "people widely believe that the government is well aware of many of those house fellowships and has chosen not to interfere, has not to gotten involved in trying to stop their activity," says DeYoung.

Although the atmosphere feels freer, DeYoung says, "It's the question of evangelism that would be still a very sensitive one(Source)."

Christian Genocide in Somalia

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, said that a day will arrive that when people persecute them, the persecutors will think they are obeying God:

A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. John 16:2b

Islam seems like the fulfillment of those words, since it commands Muslims to persecute, attack and oppress our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus:

Fight those who believe not in Allah nor in the Last day, nor hold forbidden that which has been forbidden by Allah and his Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of truth, from among the people of the book (Christians and Jews), till they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued. Sura 9:29

Therefore it should come as no surprise to us that Somali Muslims are trying to obliterate Our Somali brethren in Christ Jesus.

8/19/2011 Somalia (FrontPageMag) – The Islamist terrorist group al Shabab is intentionally starving Somali Christians in territory it controls. It’s just the latest incident in the terror group’s systematic efforts to eradicate all of Somalia’s Christians. According to the International Christian Concern (ICC), al Shabab’s intentional denial of humanitarian aid has resulted in the deliberate starvation of 18 Christians in the Somali cities of Afgoye, Baidawa, and Kismayo. As ICC spokesman Jonathan Racho said, “Any Somali that is suspected of being a Christian, or a friend of a Christian, does not receive any food aid.”

Unfortunately, the ongoing and purposeful elimination of the small Somali Christian community at the hands of al Shabab has gone largely unrecognized and unreported, eclipsed by the other horrors of rape, torture and murder perpetrated upon most of Somalia’s Muslim population by the Islamist terrorist group.

It goes without saying that al Shabab’s brutality has been well documented, most recently in a report issued by Human Rights Watch, which found the terror group continuing to carry out public beheadings and floggings; forced recruitment of children into its forces; and the denial of humanitarian assistance to the 2.2 million starving Somalis in al Shabab-controlled territory.

So, it shouldn’t surprise that al Shabab, which has openly professed its intention to rid Somalia of a Christian presence, is focusing its particular brand of barbarity on Somali Christians. After all, this is the same group that in August 2010 banned 3 Christian Aid Groups that it stated were “acting as missionaries under the guise of humanitarian work” while at the same time spreading what they termed as “corrupted ideologies in order to taint the pure creed of the Muslims in Somalia.”

Of course, it should be noted that the persecution of Christian Somalis pre-dates the rise of al Shabab. That assault arose from the outset of Somalia’s 1991 civil war and has gone unabated ever since. During that time it is estimated that over a thousand Somali Christian adults have been killed in this overwhelmingly Muslim country, with thousands of others forced to either flee Somalia or deny their faith to save their lives.

While Somalia’s Transnational Federal Government ostensibly grants religious freedom, it is either unable or unwilling to enforce those rights. As such, the enforcement of Islamic law is carried out from area to area and clan to clan, often with brutal consequences. The result has been to reduce the Christian population down to an estimated 1,000 and drive the remaining worshipers underground.

In a disturbing report gathered from Open Doors, a British-based Christian aid organization, Somali Christians gather secretly at pre-arranged meeting places to worship. According to the report, “These believers dare not meet for longer than three hours. Careful not to leave any tracks, they abandon the meeting place separately at intervals…

When caught with a Bible, Christians face certain death.”
One of these underground believers said, “We know that anyone suspected of being a Christian will be tortured or even killed. So we pray secretly. We have prayed in mosque prayer rooms but despite our precautions many of our friends have been killed. We now live in fear.” Another Christian said he converted from Islam and told his family who then kept him in a dark room for 13 days without food until his mother begged the father to let him go.

One truly horrifying incident occurred in December 2010, when a 17-year-old girl who converted to Christianity was shot to death by relatives. The young girl had escaped her village after her parents had shackled her to a tree and tortured her for leaving Islam. Yet, while persecution has been the norm for Somali Christians, al Shabab has taken it to a whole new and brutally disturbing level.

In 2008, al Shabab members sliced the head off of Mansuur Mohammed, a 25 year-old convert to Christianity. According to witnesses, the insurgents took a video of the slaughter and circulated it in Somalia purportedly to instill fear among those contemplating conversion from Islam to Christianity.

In July 2009, al Shabab beheaded seven prisoners it accused of abandoning the Muslim faith; in August 2009 four Somali Christian women working for an NGO orphanage were beheaded after refusing to renounce their faith; and in July 2009 a 40-year-old Christian mother of 10 and her 23-year-old daughter, who was six months pregnant at the time, were both raped and held captive for five days before the terrorists left them for dead(Source).

Islam on Killing Apostates

Somalia: Muslim terrorists put chokehold on food to Christians

I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will provide my Somali brothers and sisters in Christ with food, even though Muslims are trying to deprive them of it.

8/19/2011 Somalia (World Net Daily) – Members of Somalia's jihadi group al-Shabaab are on a campaign to starve the country's Christians by preventing food from being delivered to them, according to ministry groups working in the chaotic region.

While reports from a number of analysts say Mogadishu's population is swelling daily with people coming to the city to escape the famine-ravaged countryside, Christian human rights groups offer additional details.
According to the Barnabas Fund, it is the al-Qaida-affiliated group al-Shabaab whose members are putting a chokehold on international food aid that is being dispatched to Somalia but is not reaching the people.
International Christian Concern analyst Jonathan Racho says no aid gets through without al-Shabaab's consent.

"There are different kinds of people in al-Shabaab. There are those who came from other countries, Islamic citizens who joined al-Shabaab. There are also those Somalis who are in al-Shabaab," Racho said.
"In general, the members of al-Shabaab who are from other countries don't let aid food get into the other territories where they are in control. But, al-Shabaab members who are from Somalia, they feel something for their own country and they want the aid to come in," Racho said.
"So there are divisions in al-Shabaab as to whether they should allow the food aid to come in," he said.

The National Counterterrorism Center says al-Shabaab is a "clan-based insurgent and terrorist group" that "has continued its violent insurgency in southern and central Somalia."
"The group has exerted temporary and, at times, sustained control over strategic locations in southern and central Somalia by recruiting, at times forcibly, regional sub-clans and their militias, using guerrilla asymmetrical warfare and terrorist tactics against the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and its allies, African Union peacekeepers, and nongovernmental aid organizations," the center report said.
Al-Shabaab is reported to exercise strict control over large parts of the country. Racho said that in areas controlled by al-Shabaab, terror group members simply decide who gets food.
"Al-Shabaab is the government in those areas. So when the food is distributed, they have a lot of influence over who should get the food aid. That's how they discriminate against people that they suspect are members of the underground church in that country," Racho said.
Racho said the group uses control of certain areas of the country to deliberately prevent aid from reaching Christians.

"For aid to get to an area, the aid workers have to get permission from al-Shabaab. So once they get permission, there are people in al-Shabaab who allow the aid to come in. There are those who do not allow the aid to come in," Racho said.
Racho said the al-Shabaab militia groups that control certain areas ensure that the food goes only to Somali Muslims.

And he said the conditions for Christians are more severe than most of the world realizes.
"Thousands of people have died through starvation. We know that. We want to call on the international community to increase their help," Racho said.

Racho said 18 Christians recently have died as a result of al-Shabaab's tactics.
"That number, 18, may not seem like many, but because there are so few Christians in Somalia, 18 people makes a bigger percentage than in many other countries," Racho said(Source).

Nepal’s Churches Fight for Legal Recognition and Equal Rights

My brethren in Christ here in Nepal are serious about getting their religious freedom. However, it comes to no surprise to me that they are the most ignored out of all religious groups. I just hope and pray they get the right to worship freely over there.

8/18/11 Nepal (CDN) — Defying pouring rain and flooded streets, over two dozen people have gathered faithfully at the Putalisadak Church in the heart of capital city Kathmandu for the regular Thursday evening Bible study class, bringing a smile of satisfaction on the face of Pastor Dev Kumar Chetri.
 
The smile fades, however, when he talks about the problems that Nepal’s second-oldest church has faced due to government discrimination. Hundreds of other churches scattered through the former Hindu kingdom have faced the same problem.

“As per the old laws, churches were not allowed to register as religious institutions,” said Chari Bahadur Gahatraj, a Protestant pastor. “They functioned either as Non-Governmental Organizations [NGOs] or personal properties. In 2006, when Parliament formally declared Nepal secular, we thought it would change and churches would be recognized as religious institutions.”

Five years later, however, discrimination against Christians continues, Gahatraj said.
 
“We have not even been mentioned in the new policies and programs of the government proposed in Parliament this year,” he said.
   
“When our congregation started growing, in 2006 we started building a bigger hall to accommodate them,” said Pastor Samuel Karthak. “But it was opposed by a neighbor, who went to court. The dispute went up to the Supreme Court before it was resolved. We would have felt so much more secure if the churches had been recognized as religious institutions. However, we are still regarded as second-class citizens, and churches as places that exist only to convert people. We still don’t have a voice.”

Stung by government apathy, Christians this month joined forces with other excluded religious communities like Buddhists and Muslims to begin a campaign seeking an end to religious discrimination.
The campaigners are demanding that the government amend the draft of a new penal code that has triggered widespread controversy and condemnation over the inclusion of clauses that make conversions a punishable offense. Instead, they are asking for a new Religion Act as well as Religion Commission to resolve religious disputes.

For the first time, Christians and other religious minorities are seeking proportional representation in all state organs such as the army, judiciary and civil service on the basis of population. Though Nepal’s new Parliament has 601 seats with the provision that the prime minister should nominate representatives from unrepresented communities, the stipulation has been virtually ignored. Most ignored have been Christians.

This Month in Muslim Persecution of Christians

8/12/2011 Middle East (FrontPageMag) – Because the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is endemic, on its way to reaching epidemic proportions, I begin with this article a new series called “This Month in Muslim Persecution of Christians,” wherein some—by no means all—of the foulest instances of persecution that surface each month will be collated and assessed.

The purpose of this series is two-fold:
1) Intrinsically, to document that which the MSM does not: Muslim persecution of Christians.
2) Instrumentally, to show that such persecution is not “random,” but systematic and interrelated—that it is ultimately rooted in Sharia.

As will become evident, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; sexual abuse of Christian women and misogyny; apostasy and blasphemy laws; theft and plunder in lieu of jizya; and over all expectations for Christians to behave like cowed dhimmis.
Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the west, to India in the east—it will also become clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Sharia, or the supremacist culture borne of it.
The vilest anecdote to surface in July comes from Pakistan, a hotbed of anti-Christian sentiment, even though Christians make up less than 2% of the population: a 2-year-old Christian girl was savagely raped when her father refused to convert to Islam.  Because her anatomy has been disfigured, she has undergone five surgeries and suffers several permanent complications; her family lives in fear and hiding.

Attacks on Churches

Egypt: Muslims angered by the installation of a church bell—under Sharia, churches must not offend Muslims by ringing bells—went on a violent spree, attacking among others a 5-month pregnant Christian woman and others who were “beaten with iron rods and pipes.”

Indonesia: Christians were forced out of a church building and hounded even as they tried to worship at the side of the road.

Nigeria: Two churches were bombed simultaneously; at least three Christians died, several were injured.
Pakistan: Under accusations of “blasphemy,” and with the help of a local politician, Muslims attempted to annex a Christian hospital established in 1922 by missionaries.

Tanzania: Muslims burned down two churches to cries of “away with the church—we do not want infidels to spoil our community,” and vows not to befriend “infidels.”

Sexual Abuse of Christian Women and Misogyny:
Egypt: Muslims “severely sexually harassed” a Christian woman in front of her husband at a bus terminal; when her husband tried to defend her honor, he was violently beaten.  Soon afterwards, thousands of Muslims in the region began looting and torching Christian property, screaming “Allahu Akbar!” and “cursing the cross.”  Also, a Muslim ring using sexual coercion to convert Christian girls was exposed.
Pakistan: Newlyweds run for their lives, because the man is Christian, the woman Muslim.  Under Sharia, the leader of the household, the man, must be Muslim.  Says a Pakistani Muslim scholar: “I condemn this marriage, I call it illegal, these two could be killed for what they did.”

Apostasy and Proselytizing
Iran: A Christian pastor faces the death penalty for “convert(ing) to Christianity” and “encourag(ing) other Muslims to convert to Christianity.” Even if he is found innocent of apostasy, the charge of evangelizing Muslims will still carry a severe penalty.

Saudi Arabia: A captured Christian pastor is set to be deported to Muslim Eritrea, where he faces the death penalty.

General Killing of Christians
Ivory Coast: Muslims crucify two Christian brothers on “the example of Christ” and in accordance to Koran 5:33: “The pair were badly beaten and tortured before being crudely nailed to cross-shaped planks by their hands and feet with steel spikes (Source).”

Christians Assaulted for Watching “Jesus” Film Near Bin Laden’s Compound

Is it just me or are Muslims making the place where Osama Bin Laden in a holy site. It says alot about how they view the guy. Unfortunately, watching a Christian film is seen as defiling the so-called holy site of Osama's death.

08/16/2011 Pakistan (The Christian Post)- A group of Christians have been attacked by a mob of Muslims in a park near where Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan. The Christian group was gathered to watch a 1979 movie called “Jesus,” depicting the life of Christ when they were set upon by the extremists.

The August 12 assault on the church workers included a beating as well as a smashed projector before the police intervened, UCANews.com has reported. According to Full Gospel Assembly members, no arrests were made for the brutal attack and public disturbance.

Now clerics have warned members of the Catholic Church that the attacks seem to stem from an incident that occurred a week before that the Muslim mob was not happy with. A week before the attack, the local Catholic priest was interrogated for looking at Osama bin Laden’s compound, where the successful May 2 raid that killed the al-Qaida leader had taken place.

Tajikistan: Children’s participation in Christian worship and other religious activities will be banned “once Ramadan is over”

It makes me angry that Muslims are preventing my Tajikistani brethren in Christ from worshipping during their stupid month of fasting. In Bangladesh and in other countries, they're making my brethren in Christ, as well as all other non-Muslims, fast along with the Muslims; in Tajikistan they're going so far as to prevent worship of other religious groups. They're doing it so that Muslims wouldn't "be offended." Ramadan really bring out the worst of Muslims living in Majority Muslim countries.

8/16/2011 Tajikistan (Forum 18 News Service) – Although the highly controversial Law on Parental Responsibility for Education and Upbringing of Children has entered into force, state Religious Affairs officials have failed to explain to religious communities how its near-complete ban on children's participation in religious activity will be enforced. The head of the government's Religious Affairs Committee, Abdurahim Holikov, has been travelling around Tajikistan to explain the new Law to imams, together with the government-backed head of the Islamic Centre Saimukarram Abdukodirzoda, but what they said remains unclear. Several Christian communities tried to find out from the Committee at a 12 August meeting.

"Officials explained that the Law exists, but didn't explain how it will be put into practice," one Catholic told Forum 18 News Service. Hikmatullo Sayfullozoda of the Islamic Renaissance Party told Forum 18 he had heard that "the President gave a verbal instruction to local administrations not to touch people during [the Muslim holy month of] Ramadan". Sayfullozoda fears that the authorities will act once Ramadan is over at the end of August(Source).

Muslim Radicals Target Christians In Fatal Stealth Attacks

08/13/2011 Nigeria (WND)-There's no pattern and little evidence, but periodically, and without warning, another Christian is shot or stabbed – almost always fatally – in the Nigerian town of Maiduguri.
Experts on the persecution of Christians in that part of the world say the Nigerian Muslim terrorist group Boko Haram has been implicated in the murders, which have happened intermittently in the Christians' own homes.
Open Doors USA President Carl Moeller says Boko Haram's motive for the killings is simple: The Muslim group wants to take over in the north.
...
"Our co-workers in the city have said basically [Boko Haram] continues to use attacks to disrupt the public peace and have people literally flee, particularly the Christians, flee from these cities," Moeller said.
...
"It's more specifically something like religiocide or religious cleansing. They recognize no other possibility of society based on anything other than Shariah law," Moeller said.
International Christian Concern analyst Jonathan Racho agrees that the group wants to establish Islamic law in the north. He also says that while Boko Haram pushes Shariah, they also try to win influence by portraying Christianity as a "foreign religion."
...
But Racho added that Boko Haram has an even more sinister purpose.
"One of their goals is to eliminate Christianity," Racho said.
Moeller agrees that one of Boko Haram's objectives is to eliminate Christianity from Nigeria. He also says the group's level of extremism pits them against the government of Nigeria.
"They're at odds with the government of Nigeria and other parts of Nigeria where even moderate Muslims would admit the presence of Christianity. Boko Haram is truly one of those groups that wants to see Christianity eliminated from the country of Nigeria," Moeller said.
Racho added that Christians aren't Boko Haram's only target.
"Even moderate Muslims have been killed by this group," he said.
...
Moeller agreed that Boko Haram is using fear as a weapon on the region's Christians.
"There's a great deal of ongoing tension and Boko Haram continues to exploit and play on the fears of people in the area," Moeller said.
Moeller also believes that many Americans don't understand the dynamics of Nigeria's religious rivalry.
"The question of motivations is almost lost on us in America because we don't really grasp the intensity of the religious hatred that goes on in the division between [Muslim] northern and [Christian] southern Nigeria," Moeller explained.
While both Moeller and Racho agree that the aim of the terror campaign is to force Christians out of northern Nigeria, Racho believes the one-at-a-time method has another purpose.
...
Moeller said the terrorist group is more than willing to take advantage of the departure of more Christians.
...
Moeller added that the terror group has its sights on the predominantly Christian southern half of the country as well. He saaid that's especially tragic because of the growth of the Christian church in the south.

"The southern part of that country is one of the most vital, powerful, growing churches in all the world. So, this is a formula for an extreme amount of confrontation, violence and death in the area," Moeller said.
...
Moeller added that the government is attempting to prosecute the perpetrators when they are able to find and capture them. However, he said Nigeria's Christian president Goodluck Jonathan is acting to avoid the appearance of showing favoritism to Christians.
"He has to promote general peace because extremists in his country would exploit any support that he would show to Christians as confirming their inaccurate statements that the president is actually trying to eliminate Islam from the country," Moeller stated (Source).

Somali Islamists Prevent Starved Christians From Receiving Food Aid

I can't believe that Muslims are trying to starve our brethren during Ramadan. However, they might using their holy month of fasting as an excuse to do something like this.


Washington, D.C. (August 15, 2011)– A famine in Somalia has resulted in the death of thousands of people and millions more in urgent need of food aid. Aid is reaching some affected areas but radical Islamists are controlling its distribution and preventing Christians from receiving help and causing many to starve to death.

Members of the radical Islamist group, Al-Shabaab, which is fighting to establish Sharia law across Somalia, are openly seeking to eliminate Christianity from the country. In the past few years, Al-Shabaab members have killed many Christians, including one Christian whose beheading was caught on film. [Warning: this video contains disturbing images http://www.persecution.org/awareness/videos/]

“So far we are aware of 18 Somali Christians who have died of starvation in the last three months in the cities of Afgoye, Baidawa, and Kismayo. There are reports from other Al-Shabaab-controlled areas that more Christians are starving as they are denied of food aid or the opportunity to move to government-controlled territories where they can get help,” said a Somali church leader who is based in a neighboring country.

Christians in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu have a better chance of receiving food aid since the city is under the control of the internationally recognized transitional government of Somalia, but Christians in southern Somalia remain the most vulnerable group.

Speaking to ICC from Somalia, a leader of an underground church said, “Any Somali that the Islamists suspect to be a Christian or even a friend of Christians does not receive any food aid. However, denying us food aid is not really the worst thing they could do to us. These Islamists have previously killed many of our church members and they could kill more and get away with it.”

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, “We are extremely concerned about the famine in Somalia. Al-Shabaab has exacerbated the plight of the Somali Christians by denying them food aid. Al-Shabaab’s actions have affected both Muslims and Christians, but Somalia’s Christian minorities are suffering the most because of Al-Shabaab’s senseless killings and intentional starvation. The international community must realize the vulnerability of this minority and take decisive action to alleviate their suffering.” (Source)