RLPB 415. China: 'Big Brother' Invades Church

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 415 | Wed 19 Jul 2017

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CHINA: 'BIG BROTHER' INVADES CHURCH
by Elizabeth Kendal

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to use Zhejiang Province (China's Christian heartland and President Xi Jinping's former stamping ground) as a test site for its repressive religious policies. This is particularly true of Wenzhou City, long known as 'China's Jerusalem' because of its thriving Christianity. [See Religious Liberty Monitoring (Oct 2016)]. In late March authorities in Zhejiang ordered that all churches be fitted with surveillance cameras. Amidst stiff resistance, tensions are mounting, as are the concerns of China's Christians. As the West continues to kowtow -- even in the wake of the death in custody of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo -- it signals to all that President Xi is indeed the most powerful and untouchable leader in the world today.

In Ningbo, a city with a significant population of Christians, surveillance cameras are already everywhere, including in the churches. In Wenzhou, however, resistance continues. At many churches cameras have been installed by force. Not only has this resulted in property damage, but church members resisting the forced installation have been wounded in scuffles or taken away by police. In Rui'an, a county-level city on the southern outskirts of Wenzhou, the 600-member Tuanqian Village Church was by early June the only church in the area still resisting the imposition of surveillance cameras. However, once the authorities cut the church's access to power and water, members started to doubt if they could resist much longer. It seems this has been the pattern in Rui'an. Unable to resist the installation, churches across Wenzhou are finding other ways to resist; for example, by disconnecting internal cameras or redirecting them (e.g. from the offertory box to the ceiling). Authorities have also installed surveillance cameras close to the Inner Mongolia home of Zhang Kai, the Christian human rights lawyer arrested in Wenzhou in August 2015 and imprisoned for providing the churches with legal advice [RLPB 325 (2 Sep 2015)]. Not only is he being closely monitored, he is being harassed, intimidated and threatened.

Despite the CCP's claims that the cameras will be used to enhance security, not everyone is convinced. In November 2015 the CCP released a draft of its 13th Five-Year Plan (2016 to 2020). It includes a plan to 'Improve the Social Credibility System' (chapter 71) [Full Text - pdf]. With the alleged aim of 'increasing integrity', the CCP will develop and implement 'a unified system of credit rating codes nationwide'. Data will be collected from which social credits may be earned through good behaviour, and lost through bad behaviour (such as traffic violations, over-spending, infidelity, spurious internet browsing, etc). Credit-rich enterprises and individuals will be rewarded, while the credit-poor will find themselves blacklisted, unable to travel, attend university or get jobs. It is not hard to imagine how this might impact the Chinese Church.

Much of the data collected will come from the myriad of surveillance cameras currently being rolled out nationwide supposedly to 'maintain national security' and 'prevent acts of terrorism'. Armed with sophisticated facial recognition software, these cameras are already being used not merely to catch criminals but to influence behaviour. For example, in many cities they are being used to name-and-shame jaywalkers, in real time. As the Wall Street Journal notes, 'China has access to immense amounts of data: photos uploaded by the country's more than 700 million internet users and a centralised image database of citizens, all of whom must have a government-issued photo ID by age 16.' Furthermore, 'This year [2017] China set up a government-funded laboratory to push the development of facial recognition and other forms of artificial intelligence. China hopes to become a leading innovator in those technologies.'

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT

* God will grace his precious Church with all the wisdom, faith and grace it will need to traverse the difficult days ahead.

* the Spirit of God will awaken the Chinese people to the moral failings and inherent dangers of atheistic totalitarianism; may government over-reach give rise to spiritual revival.

* our Lord Jesus Christ will continue to build his Church in China, even as the Father continues to work out his eternal purpose to unite all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10). 'Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.' (Proverbs 19:21 ESV)

'Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.' (Habakkuk 1:5 ESV).

'Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.' (Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV)


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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CHINA: 'BIG BROTHER' INVADES CHURCH 

In March, authorities in Zhejiang Province ordered all churches to be fitted with surveillance cameras. In Wenzhou, church property has been damaged and parishioners injured and arrested as cameras have been installed by force. Unable to resist the installations, some churches are disconnecting or redirecting cameras. The government claims the cameras are for security, but most are not convinced. China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) includes a plan to implement a 'social credit system' based largely on data collected from the myriad of surveillance cameras currently being rolled out nationwide. As every Chinese citizen over 16 has a government-issued photo ID card, these cameras, armed with sophisticated facial recognition software, will enable the government to reward its 'friends' and punish its 'enemies'. Please pray for China and the Chinese Church.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Advocacy at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom (CFF), and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com 

RLPB 343. China: a new cultural revolution is upon us

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 343 | Wed 10 Feb 2016

CHINA: A NEW CULTURAL REVOLUTION IS UPON US
By Elizabeth Kendal

Between 1958 and 1961 at least 18 million (and possibly as many as 45 million) Chinese died as a direct result of Chairman Mao's disastrous socio-economic campaign know as the 'Great Leap Forward'. Subsequently dissent rose within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 1966 Mao struck back, launching the socio-political movement known as the 'Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution'.  He purged opposition from the CCP and incited indoctrinated youths to purge society of 'closet capitalists'. Books were burned, art was destroyed, intellectuals were incarcerated and killed, churches were confiscated and bulldozed, foreign missionaries were expelled or executed, and Chinese pastors were murdered and condemned to decades in labour camps and coal mines. At that time the Church in China was estimated to be around one million strong. Despite being severely persecuted the Chinese Church committed herself to mission. God redeemed the suffering, using it to make hearts receptive to the Gospel. For decades Church growth was largely confined to rural regions. But then, the Tiananmen Square massacre of 4 June 1989 shattered the confidence of China's urban elite, opening the door to the spread of the Gospel in the cities and through every level of society. By the beginning of the 21st Century the Church in China was estimated to number 100 million, with Chinese Christians working and witnessing as lawyers, academics, entrepreneurs, musicians, et al. This growth has occurred in the absence of foreign missionaries, making Christianity in China an indigenous movement. The most un-Chinese thing in China today is the Marxism Mao imported from Europe!

Today it seems the cycle is repeating. Communism has failed, the economy is fragile and dissent is rising -- even inside the CCP. In this context it seems President Xi Jinping (who assumed office in November 2012) is laying the foundation for a new cultural revolution. The CCP is being purged, mostly by means of an 'anti-corruption' campaign, and Maoism is being resurrected. President Xi, increasingly the focus of a personality cult, is tightening his control over the cultural sphere while promoting solidarity around ideology as being China's only hope against foreign infiltration. [See Document No. 9, CCP policy, 2013]

From 2002 - 2007 Xi Jinping served as governor and party secretary of Zhejiang Province, where he would have witnessed the phenomenal growth of Protestant Christianity, particularly in the city of Wenzhou, known as 'China's Jerusalem' because of its many churches, Christian-run businesses and its sizable, influential Christian minority. According to a new report by Willy Lam (The Jamestown Foundation, China Brief, 4 Feb 2016) it is no accident that President Xi's campaign to ‘Sinicize Christianity’, so as to put Christianity into the service of the CCP, was launched in Zhejiang.

Youtube:
Chong-Yi Church. 

Lam comments, 'Except during the Cultural Revolution, "official" churches' -- as distinct from house churches which refuse to come under the auspices of the CCP-approved Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and the China Christian Council (CCC) -- 'have not been directly subjected to the party's ideological or doctrinal intervention.' Lam is wrong on this count for this has recently changed, as noted in RLPBs 341 and 342. Pastor Gu Yuese, arrested on 27 January, was an official with the CCC and pastor of China's largest TSPM church -- Chongyi Church in the Zhejiang capital, Hangzhou.  Now detained in a 'black jail' on charges of corruption, Gu's only offence was to criticise CCP policy in Zhejiang. The government has since appointed a new pastor to oversee Chongyi Church, having divided up and transferred out its pastoral team.

Authorities have also arrested Li Guanzhong: the chairman of the China Christian Council (CCC) in Pujiang County, Zhejiang, and senior pastor of Puyang Christian Church in the city of Jinhua. Arrested on 29 January, Li and his wife, Zhang Shuzhen, now also are detained in China's 'black jail' system where, like Pastor Gu, they are being held incommunicado, without access to legal representation, on charges pertaining to corruption. Like Gu, Li had protested CCP policy in Zhejiang. In July 2014 he resisted CCP pressure to destroy his own church's cross. More recently he resisted the CCP's order that all TSPM churches fly the Chinese flag.

Eighteen crosses have been toppled from churches in Zhejiang since 1 January (some 1800 since February 2014) and eight TSPM pastors are now detained. Furthermore, the authorities have abducted five booksellers out of Hong Kong and a journalist out of Thailand; formal charges have been brought against nearly 20 human rights lawyers; and coerced 'confessions' are once again being broadcast on state television. This year, 2016, marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of Mao's Cultural Revolution and many observers suspect that a new cultural revolution is upon us. Just as the last one failed, so too will this one. In fact it could even facilitate revival and result in the collapse of the CCP, but not before much suffering has been unleashed. The Church in China needs our prayers for wisdom, for endurance and for mission.


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT 

* China's imprisoned pastors and Christian human rights lawyers will have full assurance that nothing can separate them from the love of Christ Jesus (Romans 8:35-39) who has promised to be with them to the end of time (Matthew 28:20) and to give them rest/peace (Matthew 11:28; John 14:27) and strength (Isaiah 40:31; 2 Corinthians 12:9).

* the Spirit of God will restrain evil hands and act to protect his faithful ones imprisoned in secret detention, where cruel treatment is highly likely (Psalm 10).

* God will redeem all suffering; may the blood of the martyrs and the tears of intercessors be redeemed that many hearts will be prepared to receive the Gospel of grace, the hope of nations.

'Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.' (Promise: Psalm 126:5,6 ESV)


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE
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A NEW CULTURAL REVOLUTION IN CHINA?

This year, 2016, is the 50th anniversary of Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution and it seems there is now a new cultural revolution. Not only is President Xi purging the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of all opposition, he is reviving Maoist ideology and strengthening CCP control over everything, including the Church. President Xi's campaign to force the Church into the service of the CCP is focused at present on the southern coastal province of Zhejiang. For the first time since Mao's Cultural Revolution of 1966 - 1977 the CCP is targeting official, CCP-approved churches. In recent weeks two of Zhejiang's most senior registered pastors have been imprisoned, essentially for criticising CCP policy and resisting CCP orders. The situation in China is extremely serious. Please pray for China and its Church.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks toChristians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 342. Mexico: needing a word from Pope Francis (plus China update)

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 342 | Wed 03 Feb 2016

MEXICO: NEEDING A WORD FROM POPE FRANCIS
-- Plus China Update: Pastor Gu Yuese arrested.
By Elizabeth Kendal

Pope Francis will visit Mexico for a six-day tour over 12-17 February. His itinerary will include visits to poor and indigenous communities and his message will 'highlight issues of economic justice, migration, drug-related violence and the rights of indigenous peoples'.

source

His tour will commence in the south and end in the far north, in Ciudad Juárez, from where he will enter the US, apparently in solidarity with migrants. While in Ciudad Juárez, Pope Francis will visit a prison to meet with prisoners. Though not on the agenda, hopefully he might also get to meet Ciudad Juárez’s angels: poor Protestant youths, from a small evangelical church known as 'Psalm 100', who have risked their lives to present a message of repentance and righteousness to Ciudad Juárez’s drug-trafficking murderers, and in doing so changed their city. [See Religious Liberty Monitoring (Feb 2012)]

Though Mexico is overwhelmingly Catholic (around 80 percent of the population), the Catholic Church is in decline, riddled as it is with the rapidly growing Satanic cult of Santa Muerle (Saint Death) and the syncretism so prevalent in historically animist indigenous communities. In this context, Protestant Christianity has grown from 4.9 percent of the population in 1990 to 7.6 percent in 2010, arousing jealousy and angst in the Catholic Church. Though Mexico has excellent religious freedom laws, the situation on the ground is far from satisfactory and Protestants are in the firing line. Sometimes the persecution is incited by jealous Catholic clergy. At other times it is driven by fear that Protestant refusal to participate in idol worship or animist rituals will attract the wrath of belligerent spirits. More often than not it is a mixture of both.

In the most recent case, Baptist officials have confirmed that ten Baptist families, comprising 18 adults and 10 children, have been expelled from Tuxpan de Bolanos, an indigenous Huichol community in the north of Jalisco State. (Some reports give double these numbers.) In December the village assembly adopted a resolution vowing to expel the Baptists if they did not return to Roman Catholicism, which the assembly described as 'the traditional faith'. Even though state and federal government officials and the Jalisco State Human Rights Commission were alerted, no action was taken to save the believers from forced displacement. On 26 January the Protestants were informed a truck would come to their homes to take them away. They were warned that if they failed to co-operate they would be lynched. According to the National Baptist Convention of Mexico (NBCM), after being taken away by the truck the group was 'abandoned' in the mountains. The NBCM collected the believers and transported them to safety in Puente de Camotlan, in neighbouring Nayarit.

Such persecution occurs frequently in Mexico, especially in indigenous communities. Despite Mexico's excellent religious freedom provisions, persecution persists primarily because the country's laws are not upheld and the persecutors are never punished but are protected by Catholic officials. If Pope Francis really believes in justice and really cares about indigenous peoples and the poor, then he should raise his voice of authority and call for an end to Roman Catholic persecution of Mexico's Protestant Christians, most of whom are poor and indigenous.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT 

* God, our merciful father, will provide for the displaced Baptists of Tuxpan de Bolanos, supplying all their needs and securing justice on their behalf.

'Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. . . . For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.' (Psalm 100:3,5 ESV)

* Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, will lead and guide Mexico's Protestants, especially their local shepherds/pastors, as they risk much to offer life and hope to a troubled land and a desperately needy people.  Lord, in your grace and mercy, continue to bless their courageous, sacrificial and costly witness.

* the Holy Spirit will move Pope Francis to raise his authoritative Catholic voice in defence of religious freedom and in the cause of justice, for the sake of Mexico's mostly poor and indigenous, persecuted Protestants.


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE
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PROTESTANTS PERSECUTED IN MEXICO

Mexico's population is 80 percent Roman Catholic, but that Church is declining while Protestant Christianity is growing. Despite excellent legislation for religious freedom, Mexico's laws are not upheld and Roman Catholics who persecute Protestants are never punished. The problem is most severe in indigenous communities where Catholicism is blended with traditional animist beliefs and practices. On 26 January ten Baptist families who refused to return to Catholicism were forcibly expelled from their indigenous community in Jalisco. Despite the authorities being alerted, no action was taken to protect the Protestants who were loaded into a truck, driven into the mountains and abandoned. The National Baptist Convention of Mexico went and took them to safety. Such persecution is frequent in Mexico, especially in indigenous regions. Please pray for Mexico and its Church.

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CHINA UPDATE: PASTOR GU YUESE ARRESTED

Pastor 'Joseph' Gu
(source:shanghiist)

Last week's RLPB 341 reported that the Three Self Patriotic Movement (China's official Church) and China Christian Council (official organisation) had dismissed Pastor 'Joseph' Gu Yuese as pastor of the 10,000-strong TSPM Chongyi Church in the Zhejiang capital, Hangzhou, after he criticised the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) policy of removing crosses in Zhejiang. On 27 January police arrested Pastor Gu at his home and placed him in secret detention where he is reportedly being investigated for corruption. According to reports, 'The incident has sparked significant uproar in the Christian community in China.' As China Aid head Bob Fu told the BBC, the charges are nothing more than 'political revenge' for disloyalty to the CCP. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today 
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 325. China: Attorney Zhang Kai 'Disappeared'.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 325 | Wed 02 Sep 2015

CHINA: ATTORNEY ZHANG KAI 'DISAPPEARED'
By Elizabeth Kendal

In January 2014 the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secretary in the southern coastal province Zhejiang, Xia Baolong, suddenly noticed Zhejiang's many 'conspicuous' churches and crosses. [RLPB 255 (9 April 2014)] To 'rectify the problem', a campaign was launched to de-Christianise the skyline under the guise of a safety and beautification project. By August 2015 between 1200 - 1500 churches had been impacted [RLPB 324 (26 Aug 2015)], several pastors had been arrested and numerous believers had been wounded in scuffles with police. In April 2015, as the campaign lurched into its second year and casualties were mounting, prominent Beijing-based Christian lawyer Zhang Kai (37) wrote on his blog: 'Seeking justice, promoting reconciliation and advancing rule of law are an historic mission, called for by God, that Christian lawyers must answer and cannot shirk. Confronted with cases of oppression of Christian belief, more Christian lawyers are willing to withstand the pressure and walk alongside those who suffer.'

In early July CCP authorities launched a massive crackdown against human rights lawyers and activists. [RLPB 318 (15 July 2015).] Within days, some 230 prominent human rights lawyers and activists had been detained and harassed, some were being held incommunicado and others had 'disappeared'. Amongst the lawyers were some who have defended religious cases, including the churches under attack in Zhejiang. By this time, Zhang was residing in Xialing Church, Wenzhou, advising churches and formulating a legal strategy. On 10 July state security police took him away, interrogated him through the night and warned him not to get involved. An officer sought to remind Zhang that he did not have any powerful connections. 'You're wrong,' he replied. 'I have God as my backer.'

On 14 July -- as the CCP was rounding up prominent human rights lawyers -- Zhang Kai announced the formation of 'Lawyers for Protection of the Cross', a group of some 30 Christian lawyers from across the country who would be taking on the Zhejiang church cases. [RLPB 319 (22 July 2015).] By this stage, Zhang was providing pro bono legal advice to more than 100 Protestant churches facing the removal of their crosses and the detention of pastors, lay preachers and church members.

Zhang Kai (centre) on 25 Aug.
Source: RadioFreeAsia

On Tuesday 25 August Chinese security forces conducted simultaneous night raids in Wenzhou in which they seized Zhang Kai, his assistant Liu Peng and several Wenzhou pastors. Yang Xinquan, the director of Beijing Xinqiao Law Firm and Zhang Kai's employer, has posted a full report of Zhang's activities. Yang also confirms that nobody has been informed of Zhang's condition or whereabouts -- not even his family. He believes the government is sending a message that this is what happens to lawyers who work against the CCP. Local people report that at least eleven pastors and preachers have been detained in Wenzhou in the past week. On 25 August Pastor Yan Xiaojie forwarded prayer requests regarding the situation in Zhenjiang on the Chinese messaging service WeChat. The next day he was arrested and given an eight-day administrative sentence (no formal charges required). The authorities accused him of 'disturbing the public order' by spreading 'fiction' and attacking the government.

Previously, on 8 August, Zhang had shared his thinking with his friends on WeChat: 'I've made up my mind,' he said, 'the most they can do is jail me. But if I stay silent, I'll regret it my whole life.' Unfortunately we know from the experience of another prominent, internationally acclaimed Christian human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng (51), that jail is not 'the most they can do'. When the CCP released Gao in August 2014 he was a totally broken man -- pale, skeletal, limping, his teeth and hair falling out, unable to string a sentence together because of years of torture, starvation and solitary confinement. The message from the CCP: 'This is what happens to lawyers who work against the CCP.' [RLPB 275 (27 Aug 2014)]

Yang Xinquan (Zhang's employer) is assembling a legal team for Zhang Kai's defence. Citing information from police and Christians in Wenzhou, Yang said Zhang reportedly has been charged with endangering state security and assembling a crowd to disrupt social order, leading to an order being issued that could see Zhang spend six months in secretive detention. Grave concerns are held for his safety.


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT

* wherever Zhang Kai is, God's promised presence will be palpable, the Holy Spirit's counsel will be comforting, and Christ's love will be all-consuming. 'And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' (Jesus in Matthew 28:20b ESV)

The Steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion', says my soul, 'therefore I will trust in him.' (Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV)

* the sovereign Lord will take up Zhang Kai's cause (Lamentations 3:58).

* God will sustain, protect and bless all the human rights lawyers and pastors presently jailed, 'disappeared' and under threat in China.

* the God of the Cross will redeem this evil and turn it to good. May the Lord open eyes, that more and more Chinese might reject the dangerous, amoral vacuity of atheistic consumerism. May the Lord open hearts, that more and more Chinese might find wisdom, goodness and truth in Jesus Christ.


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE
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IN CHINA, ATTORNEY ZHANG KAI 'DISAPPEARED'

On 25 August Chinese police conducted night raids in Wenzhou (also known as 'China's Jerusalem') in which several pastors were seized along with prominent Christian attorney Zhang Kai and his assistant Liu Peng. In July, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was rounding up human rights lawyers, Zhang announced the formation of a group of some 30 Christian lawyers who would defend churches under attack in the southern coastal province of Zhejiang. He called the group 'Lawyers for Protection of the Cross'. Citing information from police and Christians in Wenzhou, Zhang's employer Yang Xinquan said Zhang reportedly has been charged with national security offences. This could see Zhang spend six months in secretive detention. Grave concerns are held for his safety. Please pray for China, its believers and Christian lawyers.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 324. August Update, Incl. Nepal, Syria, Burma, China, Egypt, Northern Ireland (UK), Pakistan

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 324 | Wed 26 Aug 2015

By Elizabeth Kendal

AUGUST 2015 UPDATE -- During August we prayed concerning ... 

* NEPAL (RLPB 321), where religious freedom is under threat as the new constitution looks set to ban religious conversion.

UPDATE: The final draft has been tabled in the Constituent Assembly and a meeting of the House scheduled for 8 am on Wednesday 26 August. Whilst Christians are pleased that Christianity will now be recognised as a religion in Nepal, they are deeply concerned about the proposed anti-conversion provisions. The Catholic Church in Nepal numbers less than 10,000 in a population of 30 million, but Protestantism has grown significantly in the past decade of freedom, now accounting for well over one million. Tensions are high; the Church is on edge.

* SYRIA (RLPB 322), where Islamic jihadists are advancing, putting Christians, other minorities and loyalists at extreme risk. The Turkey/Saudi/Qatar-backed al-Qaeda-led Jaish al-Fatah is pressing south into loyalist north-west Hama bordering Latakia. Meanwhile, Islamic State (IS) is pressing west through the Homs Governorate. It has over-run Palmyra, Qaryatyn and the Assyrian village of Hawwarin as it advances towards the M5 Highway, forcing thousands more Christians from their homes and taking another 150 Christians captive.

Mar Elian monastery, Qaryatyn.
For photos of demolition,
click here

UPDATE:  On Thursday 20 August IS demolished the Assyrian fifth-century Mar Elian monastery in Qaryatyn which had become home to many displaced Assyrians. and from where IS had previously kidnapped Jesuit priest Father Jacques Mourad and a deacon named Boutros [See RLPB 322]. On Friday 21 August IS conducted a mortar attack on the city of Marea in Aleppo Governorate, northern Syria. At least half the 50 shells fired were laced with mustard gas and dozens of affected civilians were hospitalised. Russia is continuing to talk to Arab leaders in the hope of brokering a peace that will leave the Syrian government in place to avoid a power vacuum such as opened up in Iraq with the removal of Saddam Hussein. Meetings are presently taking place behind Russia's MAKS-2015 aerospace show. Though the Arabs do not care about the plight facing Alawites, Christians and other minorities, they are concerned about the adverse repercussions of jihadist empowerment ('blowback'). Christians in Syria are gravely imperilled. Lord have mercy.

* UGANDA (RLPB 323), where persecution -- particularly of converts from Islam -- is on the rise in Easter Province. The persecution is extreme and the government needs to act.

AUGUST 2015 ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* BURMA PASSES RELIGIOUS CONVERSION BILL

On Friday 21 August Burma's parliament passed a controversial law designed to stop people leaving Buddhism. [For details see RLPB 267 (2 July 2014).] In short, anyone wanting to convert would have to apply to a board for a certificate of conversion, risking a two-year jail sentence in the process. Created to 'protect' the majority religion, Burma's Religious Conversion Law mirrors anti-conversion laws now common across Asia. The Buddhist Women's Special Marriage bill was passed in July. Denied freedom to convert, Buddhist women will now be constrained by law to marry a Buddhist man. Non-Buddhist men will have to convert to Buddhism to marry a Buddhist woman. A non-Buddhist man who marries a Buddhist woman contrary to the law is liable to 10 years in prison. Created primarily to counter Islam, the inter-faith marriage law is nothing other than a Buddhist version of Islamic marriage law. Please pray that President Thein Sein will refuse to sign these bills into law. No matter what he does, the spark has been lit and the Church will have difficult days ahead.

* CHINA: REMOVAL OF CROSSES TO CONTINUE

Between 1200 and 1500 crosses have been forcibly removed from churches across Zhejiang since January 2014. Christians wanting to protect the cross have been beaten and pastors arrested, charged and jailed. In late July Christians in China's eastern Zhejiang Province launched a peaceful protest against the local Communist Party's campaign of clearing crosses from the Zhejiang skyline. Christian groups made thousands of wooden crosses painted red to be displayed by Christians. Undeterred, Chinese officials confirmed on 11 August that the cross removals will continue. For Christians in Zhejiang this is very distressing. For some it brings back memories of Mao's Cultural Revolution.

* EGYPT: CHRISTIAN ARRESTED FOR WITNESSING

Medhat Ishak (35), a Christian from Ebid Village, Minya Governorate, Upper Egypt, was arrested on 7 August while handing out Bibles outside a shopping mall. According to Morning Star News, Ishak was arrested by mall security guards, who turned him over to national police, who accused him of evangelism. The next day a judge amended the charge to 'defamation of a revealed religion' and ordered him to be held for 15 days. On 24 August his detention was extended for another 15 days. Ishak's attorney, Rafik Rafaat, expressed concern that the judge might keep extending the detention until the case fades from public awareness, at which time he could hand down a one- to five-year prison sentence. Harassment and jailing of Christians for witness and 'blasphemy' has increased in recent years. In July three Coptic youths were charged with evangelism for handing out notes on the love of God. They were released on bail and their case is yet to come to court.

It just so happens that repressing Christians is one of the best ways to appease belligerent Muslims.

* NORTHERN IRELAND (UK): PASTOR ON TRIAL

James McConnell (78), pastor of an evangelical mega-church in northern Belfast, appeared at Laganside Magistrates Court in Belfast on 6 August, to face charges of offending Muslims in a sermon he delivered in May 2014 which was broadcast on-line. [See RLPB 320 (28 July)] More than 1,000 people turned out to support the pastor who is strenuously contesting the case. As the pastor's attorney told the court: 'He [McConnell] did not incite hatred or encourage violence against Muslims.  He simply expressed his view about another religion, not in a personalised manner but in an entirely generalised way. He believes freedom of speech ... should mean he has every right to criticise Islam and other religions, just as Islamic clerics have the right to criticise him and Christian clerics.' The case was adjourned to 3 September.

* PAKISTAN: PASTOR AND OTHERS CHARGED WITH BLASPHEMY

From left: Aftab Gill, Latif Masih
and Shafqat Gill (UCA)

Organising a conference for 15 August, Pastor Aftab Gill of the Biblical Church of God (Protestant) in Gujrat, Punjab, printed posters and leaflets honouring the church's founder, his late father, Fazal Masih, whom Gill described using the Urdu word 'rasool'. A local Muslim named Umar Butt protested on the grounds that the word 'rasool' (which means prophet) cannot be applied to anyone beyond Muhammad, the last prophet according to Islam. Accompanied by a local Islamic jurist and a TV reporter, Butt registered a complaint at the local police station. Subsequently, Pastor Gill, Latif Masih and Shafqat Gill voluntarily presented themselves to police. Though they offered an apology and asked for forgiveness, they were arrested and charged with blasphemy, along with the unnamed Muslim owner of the printing press. Rioting Muslims prepared to burn Christians alive and set their houses and church on fire and only the timely intervention of the police brought the situation under control. Some 100 or more families live in the area, many of whom have now fled.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 319. China & Laos: 'Remember those in prison . . .'

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 319 | Wed 22 Jul 2015

CHINA & LAOS: 'REMEMBER THOSE IN PRISON ...'
By Elizabeth Kendal

China and Laos are at once very alike and very different. Politically, both are Communist Party ruled and totalitarian. Geographically and economically, China is a seemingly untouchable rising giant while landlocked Laos is one of the poorest and neediest countries in the world. In China, Christians exist in significant numbers (at least 7.8 percent of the population) and at every level of society. Aided by numerous Chinese Christians in the West, China's persecuted Christians will never be 'invisible' or 'voiceless'. On the other hand, Christians in Laos comprise only 3.4 percent of the population and most are tribal. Consequently, persecuted Christians in Laos are amongst the most 'invisible' and 'voiceless' of all persecuted Christians.

The CCP versus the Cross
9 June 2015
source: China Aid

For decades now, Western politicians have subscribed to the belief that poor human rights are a consequence of poverty and backwardness. To this end, the West has focused almost exclusively on economic development in the belief that human rights will follow naturally. This is essentially a theological error. Human rights abuses arise not from without (poverty and backwardness) but from within: from sin (especially greed and megalomania); from the belief that human life is of little value; and from the arrogance that rejects God and boasts, 'You [God] will not call to account' (Psalm 10). Economic development has not brought rights in China, it is not bringing rights in Vietnam and it will not bring rights to Laos. As requested by the Lao Movement for Human Rights (November 2014), 'International donors should make their future aid commitments to Laos contingent upon the government's tangible progress in addressing key human rights issues.' Above all, the Church should pray.

CHINA: As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wields its new National Security Law [see RLPB 318 (15 July)] the number of human rights lawyers and Christian leaders in prison will escalate. As noted in RLPB 275 (25 Aug 2014) when the CCP released Christian human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng on 7 August 2014, it was telling human rights lawyers, 'Not only are we prepared to torture and destroy you, but we are so confident of impunity that we no longer need to hide it.' Of the more than 230 prominent human rights lawyers harassed and detained over the past 10 days, 13 are being held incommunicado and six have 'disappeared'. As Human Rights Watch cautions, the risk of torture is high. Some have already 'confessed' to being members of a 'criminal gang'. 

Zhang Kai

Pastor Zhang Shaojie (RLPB 275), church leader Ms Yang Rongli and Uyghur house church leader Alimujiang Yimiti are amongst numerous pastors and Christian leaders currently detained in China. They have been arrested for protesting the illegal acquisition of church land, for appealing about being labelled a 'cult', or for resisting the forced removal of crosses. On 14 July, amidst the massive nation-wide crackdown on human rights lawyers, a group of Christian human rights lawyers, led by attorney Zhang Kai, announced the formation of the 'Lawyers for Protection of the Cross' group.  According to China Aid, these lawyers have declared their willingness to pay any price for their beliefs.

LAOS:  Several church leaders are currently languishing in appalling conditions in Laotian prisons.  Amongst them are pastors (Mrs) Kaithong, Puphet, Muk and Hasadee, as well as lay-leader Tiang [RLPB 298 (25 Feb 2015)].  These church leaders had prayed with a terminally ill Christian lady who later died. The authorities then arrested the Christians and charged them with her murder. Subsequently the church leaders were found guilty of practising medicine without a licence. This ruling that equates prayer with medicine will have profound implications for the Church in Laos. After their lawyer filed an appeal in March, the prisoners' families were threatened with their loved-ones' prison time being extended. Torture is routine in Laos prisons and prisoners are routinely held in stocks. 

'Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them ...' (Hebrews 13:3a ESV)

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR

* Christians and human rights lawyers imprisoned in China, where risk of torture is high; may they look to the Lord for absolutely everything they need and may God restrain violent hands and pierce hardened consciences.

* the courageous Christian human rights lawyers of the 'Lawyers for Protection of the Cross' group, especially for Zhang Kai, its leader; may their courageous efforts not be in vain and may God bless everything they do as they put their liberty and their bodies on the line in defence of the Cross. 

* Christians imprisoned in truly appalling conditions in Laos where torture is endemic; may they look to the Lord for absolutely everything they need and may God restrain violent hands and pierce hardened consciences.

* God the sovereign king to intervene in seemingly untouchable China and desperately needy Laos; may the Lord Jesus Christ continue to build his Church and may the Holy Spirit sustain, comfort, encourage and strengthen his vulnerable, threatened and persecuted people.

~ ~ ~ ~

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE
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REMEMBER THOSE IN PRISON IN CHINA & LAOS

China and Laos are very alike and very different. Whilst both are totalitarian and Communist Party ruled, China is a seemingly untouchable rising giant and landlocked Laos is one of the poorest and neediest countries worldwide. Not only are numerous Christian leaders and human rights lawyers already incarcerated in China, that number is about to rise markedly as the Chinese Communist Party asserts its authority in a nationwide crackdown. Furthermore, the risk of torture is higher now than it has been for some time. Meanwhile in landlocked Laos, persecuted Lao Christians are amongst the most 'invisible' and 'voiceless' persecuted people in the world. Several Lao Christian leaders are currently languishing in appalling prisons where torture is routine.  Please pray for China and Laos and for Christians imprisoned there. (Hebrews 13:3)

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 271. July Update, Incl. Indonesia, Sudan, India, Central African Republic (CAR), China, Iraq, Macedonia

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 271 | Wed 30 Jul 2014

By Elizabeth Kendal

'Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear ...' (Isaiah 59:1 ESV)

JULY 2014 UPDATE -- During July we prayed concerning ...

* BURMA (Myanmar) (RLPB 267), where an anti-conversion law is being drafted that could put those seeking to change their religion, as well as those spreading non-Buddhist religion, at risk of imprisonment.

* INDONESIA (RLPB 268), where reformist leaders have historically faced serious resistance from powerful forces, specifically Islamic fundamentalists and military elites whose interests lie in preserving the status quo.

UPDATE: A NEW ERA APPROACHES
A NEW PRESIDENT FOR INDONESIA (population 245 million)
A NEW GOVERNOR FOR JAKARTA (population 9.8 million)
In October Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will be inaugurated as President of Indonesia. Jokowi may prove to be more sensitive than previous presidents to issues of religious freedom and minority rights. As Governor of Jakarta, Jokowi's deputy was Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok), a Chinese-Indonesian Christian. Together they were known as team 'Jokohok', and their willingness to tackle Jakarta's systemic problems made them extremely popular. Ahok will now ascend to the position of Governor of Jakarta, something the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) have opposed from the beginning and are vowing to resist. According to Jakarta City Council regulations, the Governor of Jakarta is also chief patron or chairman of eight Islamic bodies. Pray for Indonesia, and that God will use Jokowi and Ahok for his purpose. May God frustrate the schemes of the wicked (Psalm 146:9).

* SUDAN & SOUTH SUDAN (RLPB 269), where, because of Islamisation and persecution in Sudan and civil conflict and famine in South Sudan, the Church's suffering seems never-ending.

UPDATE: MERIAM IBRAHIM AND FAMILY SAFE AND FREE
'In answer to the prayers of many' (2 Corinthians 1:11), Meriam Ibrahim is now safe and free. Meriam, along with her husband Daniel and their two children Martin and Maya flew into Rome on Thursday 24 July, in an Italian government plane, accompanied by Italy's vice minister for foreign affairs, Lapo Pistelli. They were greeted at the airport by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The family subsequently enjoyed a private audience with Pope Francis, who thanked Meriam for her 'courageous witness to perseverance in the faith', in the face of possible death. The family will soon fly to the US where they start a new life close to Daniel's extended family. Sudan may now be less willing to have apostasy dealt with through the courts, preferring instead to leave Sharia implementation in the hands of vigilantes. What will not change is the fact that Islam demands death for apostasy. Please remember Faiza Abdalla (37) who is facing the same fate that Meriam had faced: lashes for adultery and death for apostasy, only without her husband, who fled from persecution to South Sudan some time ago [see RLPB 266 (June update)].

* INDIA (RLPB 270), where more than 50 rural villages in the northern state of Chhattisgarh, have followed the advice of Hindu nationalists to ban all non-Hindu religious practice by exploiting a law that facilitates rural self-governance. Christians are being attacked and denied food rations and water. As every level of government in Chhattisgarh is Hindu nationalist, the situation appears hopeless. Pray that God will intervene for these faithful believers and that this will not create a precedent that will spread around the nation. Pray for India, and that Western nations might care as much about Indian lives as they do about making money using cheap Indian labour.

UPDATE: HINDUTVA versus CHRISTIANITY
VHP leader Suresh Yadav blames the Christians, accusing the Christian families in Sirisguda (the first village to ban Christianity) of instigating the unrest by refusing to give donations to the Hindu temple. Yadav says he cannot understand why tribals are still converting to Christianity when there is such a strong VHP and RSS presence in the area; he accuses the Christian missionaries of deception. BJP Rajya Sabha (Upper House) member Ranvijay Singh Judeo says he will resume the Ghar Wapsi (lit. homecoming) campaign soon, to 'return' Christian tribals to the Hindu fold. (source: Outlook India magazine, 28 July 2014) [For background on Hindu nationalism, see Hindutva! Religious Liberty Monitoring, 23 July 2014.]

JULY 2014 ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: PEACE BUT NO PEACE

On Wednesday 23 July, at the end of a three-day regional summit in Brazzaville, Congo, leaders representing Seleka and Anti-Balaka forces signed a cease-fire. In reality, the deal is next to meaningless. Not only is it unenforceable, but each side is profoundly splintered and the representatives at the talks did not represent all the factions. Critically, the sides did not manage to agree on a disarmament process. The talks were nearly derailed when the Seleka representative Mohamed Dhaffane demanded the partition of CAR. Only after serious pressure did Dhaffane back down, drop the demand and sign the cease-fire. The next day however, Seleka military chief Maj-Gen Joseph Zoundeiko denounced the deal saying his forces would ignore the cease-fire and continue to fight for CAR's partition. Pray for the Church in CAR.

* CHINA: MORE CHURCHES TARGETED IN WENZHOU

In their continuing efforts to de-Christianise the Zhejiang skyline, officials have removed more crosses from the tops of churches. Early Monday 28 July a crane arrived at Longgang Huai En Church in the city of Wenzhou and removed the cross.

UCAnews (28 July 2014)

Since the campaign started in January 2014, at least 130 churches have been impacted, mostly through the removal of their crosses, but some through the demolition of their entire property. On 21 July thousands of Christians rallied to prevent the demolition of Kau Yan church in Wenzhou. Police beat their way through the protesters, leaving dozens wounded and many requiring hospitalisation (photo). The protest was successful (for the time being) as the demolition crew ultimately did withdraw. Pray for China, and for the Church in Wenzhou.

* IRAQ: MOSUL NOW EMPTY OF CHRISTIANS

Formerly home to the highest concentration of Christians in Iraq, Mosul, the provincial capital of Nineveh, the ancient historic homeland of the Assyrian nation, is now devoid of Christians.

AINA - timeline Mosul

As the last Christians left, ISIS marked their homes with a large red Arabic letter 'n' for 'Nasrani' (the Arabic word for Christian), indicating that their homes were to be forfeit to the Islamic State. The fleeing Christians were met at checkpoints by ISIS militants who took their phones, passports, cash and jewellery -- everything but the clothes on their backs. Most of the displaced Christians are now in Kurdistan, being cared for by local churches. The time has surely come for the West to share this burden of care. Western churches should start giving sacrificially to organisations that can get aid to displaced believers and the churches that care for them. Above all, PRAY.

Meanwhile back in Mosul, ISIS is busy destroying the city's cultural heritage. On 4 July ISIS fighters dug up what is purported to be the tomb of Jonah. They also torched 11 of the more than 35 churches and monasteries scattered throughout the city, and demolished statues of literary and historic figures. Three Sunni clerics who tried to resist ISIS were executed. On 24 July ISIS militants returned to the Prophet Younis [Jonah] Mosque, and used explosives to complete the demolition. Muslims who protested the bombing were arrested and summarily flogged. A pastor from Northern Iraq has reported (with photographic evidence) that in al-Raqqa, Syria some time ago, eight young men were publicly beheaded allegedly after being accused of being apostate converts to Christianity. The eight heads were then suspended from an overhead powerline. 'Please pray for us,' he said.

Genocide In Iraq Floor Speech by Rep. Frank Wolf Jul 22, 2014
(Video 4.42 mins); and again:
Wolf Speaks Out Again About Fate Of Christians In Iraq Jul 24, 2014

* MACEDONIA: PROTESTS AND PLANS FOR AN 'ALBANIAN CALIPHATE'

Predominantly Eastern Orthodox Macedonia is 25 percent ethnic Albanian and 33 percent Muslim. Tensions soared in Macedonia through July after a Skopje court issued its judgment against seven ethnic Albanian Islamists charged with murdering five Macedonians in April 2012. The Islamists, all advocates of a Greater Albania, were charged with killing four young 'Christian fisherman' at Smilkovci Lake on Good Friday 2012, before killing a witness. When  they were arrested in 2012 'about 1,500 radical Islamists' protested in Skopje, demanding their release, calling for a Greater Albania and chanting Islamist slogans including 'Allahu Akbar' and 'Death to Christians'.

On 30 June 2014 the court sentenced six of the ethnic Albanian Islamists to life in prison. The following Friday (4 July) some 2000 Muslims, many carrying Albanian and Saudi flags, clashed with police in Skopje with 20 police injured. A planned counter-demonstration by ethnic Macedonians failed to materialise. Ethnic Albanian Muslims demonstrated again the next Friday 11 July, chanting 'UCK' (Ushtria Clirimtare Kombetare / National Liberation Army). [The UCK is the Albanian guerrilla force that fought the Macedonia Armed Forces in 2001.] The situation in Macedonia is volatile. Albanian security expert Ilir Kulla estimates that thousands of ethnic Albanian Muslims from across the Balkans have received military training with al-Qaeda in Syria. Furthermore, they are returning with plans for an 'Albanian Caliphate'. Pray for the Church in Macedonia.

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

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' 
(Deror Books, Dec. 2012)

RLPB 262. May Update, Incl.North Korea, Sudan, Pakistan, Iraq, China, Iran, Mozambique, Somalia, Nuba Mts

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 262 | Wed 28 MAY 2014

By Elizabeth Kendal

MAY 2014 UPDATE -- During May we prayed concerning ...

* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (CAR) (RLPB 259), where anti-balaka militias are still driving local Muslims out of the capital Bangui, while ex-Seleka Islamic rebels are still terrorising Christian communities across the north. The country is tearing apart. Pray that God will bless the Church's peace-making efforts.

* KOREA (RLPB 260), where tensions are rising and rhetoric is increasingly belligerent, leading the North Korean regime to tighten controls and increase isolation, escalating the suffering and the risk for the North Korean Church.

UPDATE: On 13 May, a 23-storey apartment block in the capital Pyongyang collapsed, entombing more than 80 families. Despite a public apology from senior regime figures, locals are 'disappointed' and resentful, blaming regime corruption for both the collapse and the high death toll. There is considerable fear that other apartment blocks throughout the city might not be safe. Additionally, it has emerged that in March the regime executed Ri Kyung Ho (49), a stage-lighting engineer from the remote northern border city of Hyesan. Ri had been caught speaking by mobile phone to relatives in South Korea. Under interrogation, he allegedly revealed that he was assisting defectors. His family has been condemned to the gulag. The Church in North Korea needs our prayers.

* SUDAN (RLPB 261), where 8 months pregnant Meriam Ibrahim had been sentenced to death for apostasy, as well as to 100 lashes for adultery (after the court refused to recognise her marriage to a Christian man).

UPDATE: IT'S A GIRL  In the early hours of Tuesday 27 May, in the Health Centre Clinic of Omdurman Federal Prison for Women, Meriam gave birth to a baby girl, naming her Maya. Neither her husband Daniel, nor her lawyer have been permitted access to see them.

ANOTHER APOSTASY CASE:  Morning Star News (MSN) reports (27 May) that Sudan has imprisoned another Christian woman, similarly accused of apostasy and adultery. Faiza Abdalla (37) was arrested on 2 April after Immigration/Citizenship officials questioned her right to a Christian identity on the grounds that Abdalla is a Muslim name. On 8 April, a Sudanese court annulled Faiza's marriage to a South Sudanese Catholic and accused her of adultery. Faiza's parents converted before she was born, meaning they too might yet be accused of apostasy.

More on Sudan below.

[NOTE: Islam rejects the UN's definition of religious freedom, maintaining it is nothing more than a 'secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition' (which it is) that violates Sharia Law.]


MAY 2014 ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* GIRLS AT RISK 
As fundamentalist Islam takes root in many Muslim majority communities and nations, female children are increasing at risk of under-age forced marriage to Muslim men. It also means that Christian girls being kidnapped for forced conversion and marriage -- trafficked across religious lines -- will be younger as well.

In Pakistan, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII -- a Sunni, government-funded advisory body) has decreed that Pakistan's marriage laws are 'un-Islamic'. The CII is recommending that the minimum age for girls to marry be abolished, saying girls may be married 'if the signs of puberty are visible'. The ruling has sparked intensive debate in Pakistan (including satire!).

In Iraq, the minimum age of marriage for girls is set to be lowered from 18 to 9 in accordance with Shia Islam. In February, the Maliki government approved a draft law, allegedly for political gain ahead of elections. Known as the Ja'afari Personal Status Law, the draft law says girls reach puberty at age nine and are therefore ready for marriage. It also states that a girl under nine may be married with the consent of her male guardian, for a price. [The law would also legalise marital rape and unrestricted polygamy (not requiring consent).] Now that the elections are over [30 April] and the Maliki regime is back in power, the stage is set for the law to be enacted.

For the sake of the children, the Church must pray for a great awakening amongst Muslims; may the light of Christ break through the darkness. (John 1:5)

* CHINA: WENZHOU CHURCHES UNDER FIRE
Updating RLPBs 255 & 258 (April 2014)

CAA

On 20 May China Aid Association (CAA) published a list of 64 churches across China's eastern business hub of Wenzhou city that have been 'rectified', demolished or issued notices since the crackdown began in February. In virtually every case it is the cross that is deemed offensive and 'rectification' usually involves the cross being removed. So this has nothing to do with building regulations: the authorities are not opposed to having impressive buildings in their city; they are only opposed to the crosses that identify those buildings as places of Christian worship. These 'rectifications' are about de-Christianising the skyline before people get the impression that Christianity is acceptable, inviting and growing. In addition, some 40 people have been summonsed by police or detained in connection with the protest at the Sanjiang church demolished on 28 April (RLPB 258). A serious battle has begun. Please pray, ' For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood . . .' (Ephesians 6:12-18 ESV)

* IRAN: SAEED ABEDINI BEATEN IN HOSPITAL, RETURNED TO PRISON

Pastor Saeed Abedini (34) is a US citizen who has been imprisoned in Iran since September 2012. In March (prior to Iran's nuclear talks with the US) Abedini was admitted to hospital for treatment for stomach injuries sustained during prison beatings. On 21 May (just after nuclear talks concluded) Abedini was seized violently and dragged out of the hospital by agents who beat and electrocuted him in front of distressed family members. Abedini has been returned to the maximum security Rajai Shahr Prison which houses violent criminals. [See RLPB 238 (26 Nov 2013).] In the US, Abedini's wife, Naghmeh, and advocate Jay Sekulow of the American Centre for Law and Justice told Fox News (news video) they feared that Iran is using Abedini as a political pawn.

* MOZAMBIQUE: SEEKING FIRMER FOUNDATIONS

Operation World lists Mozambique's population as being 46 percent Christian (half Catholic, half Protestant), 32 percent ethno-religious, and 19 percent Muslim. Mozambique's amazing church growth has come in the wake of decades of suffering. Mozambique has had religious freedom only since 1990 when it was written into the new constitution after decades of civil war and brutal Marxist repression and persecution. Christian leaders in this emerging democracy have drafted a submission to the national parliament requesting the formulation of a specific law to protect freedom of religion and worship. The aim is that 'the churches will have a better legal framework in which to operate'. They request our prayers. May God bless their efforts, build his Church and heal their land.

* SOMALIA: CHURCH LEADER MARTYRED

On 23 September 2008 Mansuur Mohammed (25), a humanitarian aid worker, became Somalia's first indigenous Christian martyr when al-Shabaab Islamic militants declared him a 'murtid' (traitor to Islam) and publicly beheaded him for refusing to renounce Christ. He had been a Christian for just three years. Since then, al-Shabaab has hunted down and executed dozens of Somali believers. On 23 May Morning Star News reported that a prominent convert, Abdishakur Yusuf, who oversaw five underground Christian fellowships, had been assassinated at his home on the outskirts of Mogadishu on Sunday 16 March. Mogadishu's gravely imperilled underground Christian community is absolutely shattered. For months after Yusuf's assassination they were too traumatised and afraid to speak out, but now they are requesting our prayers. Yusuf leaves a widow and three young children. Pray for the Church in Somalia.

* SUDAN: CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL BOMBED

The Government of Sudan (GoS) continues its aerial bombardment of displaced Nuba. On 1 May citizen journalists from NubaReports were filming a worship service at the Mother of Mercy Hospital in Gidel -- the only hospital in the Nuba Mountains -- when it came under aerial bombardment. [See film here]. The five bombs dropped on 1 May were followed by more the next day. While nobody was killed, hundreds disappeared into the bush, several sustained serious shrapnel injuries and buildings were damaged. In the days before the bombings, drones were observed flying over the area three times. As noted by Tom Catena, a US doctor with the Catholic Medical Mission Board who serves as the hospital's director, the bombing serves no other purpose than to disperse the Nuba and destroy their only hospital. Then on Monday 26 May GoS war-planes dropped eight bombs on the compound of the Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation and Development Organization (NRRDO). Though there were no casualties, the buildings sustained significant damage. [NRRDO's projects serve over 650,000 Nuba citizens living in areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N).]

NubaReports: Gidel

The GoS wants the Nuba dead and the regime is adept at using starvation as a weapon of mass destruction. In pursuit of genocide, the GoS is escalating its aerial bombardments of aid centres ahead of the rainy season, when getting supplies is almost impossible.  The GoS wants to ensure the Nuba are displaced and without means of survival. A delegation of the European Union to Sudan expressed its concern in a press release, noting that the deliberate bombing of the hospital is a 'war crime'. Doubtless Sudan's President -- the indicted war criminal Omar al-Bashir -- dismisses this EU statement for what it is: mere words.

~~~~

Lift your hands and pour out your hearts to the one who has real power and genuine interest! 

'The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He ... was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. [...] According to what they have done, so will he repay . . . From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the Lord drives along.' (From Isaiah 59:14-19 NIV)

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

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today 
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 258. April Update, incl. China, Nigeria, Syria, CAR, Iran, Pakistan

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 258 | Wed 30 Apr 2014

By Elizabeth Kendal

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (2 Cor 10:3-4 ESV)

APRIL 2014 UPDATE -- During April we prayed concerning . . . 

* ELECTIONS IN INDIA AND INDONESIA (RLPB 254).
UPDATE: Voting continues in India until mid May. Meanwhile, Indonesia's Election Commission reports that it may not be ready to announce results on 9 May as scheduled. However, voting trends indicate that the next Indonesian government will be much like the previous government, i.e. restricted by coalition politics and compromises. Secular nationalist parties won 68 percent of the vote while Islamic parties won 32 percent (up from 29 percent in 2009) and parties with an overtly Islamist position are coming in last. Pray that Islamists will be marginalised as they ought to be and not empowered through quid pro quo deals.

* CHINA (RLPB 255),

where officials in Zhejiang province have moved to 'rectify' the problem of too many large churches and crosses corrupting the skyline. Since early April the struggle has centred on the Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou, where some 3000 local Christians rallied together to save the church that had been threatened with demolition because leaders refused to remove the cross.

UPDATE: SANJIANG CHURCH DEMOLISHED
After a long stand-off, the local Communist authority and the church negotiated a deal whereby the church agreed that two levels of a newly built, seven-storey annex could be removed. However, the government removed four floors, not two, angering church members. Nevertheless, the main church building and its prominent cross was to remain untouched.

Then on Monday 28 April, armed Special Task Force officers blocked the roads leading to the church so that heavy equipment could move in and demolition of the main sanctuary begin. According to local sources, at least six leaders were arrested -- five from the Sanjiang Church and one from the nearby Tengqiao Church. While local authorities are defending the demolition, local Christian leaders have expressed outrage. Chen Yilu, the head of the Government-approved Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, slammed the provincial government for its 'crude and hard-line' handling of the Sanjiang Church crisis. He said the incident would damage the Communist Party's image and risk 'social stability'. Religion expert Fenggang Yang warned of an escalating struggle between the rapidly growing Chinese Church and the ruling Communist Party which is determined to rein it in. According to reports, orders have been issued for cross removals and partial demolitions ('rectifications') at 10 (and possibly more) churches in the area.

UPDATE: Excellent report and video from the BBC
China's city of churches brought to heel
By Carrie Gracie BBC China editor, 4 May 2014

* BORNO, NIGERIA (RLPB 257), where Boko Haram had abducted more than 200 teenage girls from a secondary school in the Christian enclave of Chibok.

UPDATE: GIRLS MARRIED TO FOREIGN JIHADIS
The mass abduction of schoolgirls has rocked the nation and triggered widespread outrage. According to reports, most of the abducted schoolgirls have already been married to third parties abroad -- mostly other Boko Haram militants in Cameroon and Chad. Dowry payments of 2,000 Nigerian Naira (US$12.50) per 'bride' were paid to the abductors.

distressed fathers (Osun Defender)

 The Chibok community is traumatised and frustrated by government inaction. Locals who witnessed girls being taken towards Cameroon tried in vain to alert the local senator before going directly to the local army barracks where they were told to put their concerns in writing. Of course this gave the militants time to escape across the border. Women from across Nigeria will stage a 'One Million Women' march in Abuja on Wednesday 30 April, under the banner 'Free Our Girls'. The women are also calling for prayer and fasting that God might 'touch the hearts of the insurgents to release the girls'. At this point, the use of force is simply too dangerous. Muslims and Christians are coming together for the children of Nigeria.

* SYRIA (also RLPB 257), where the Battle for Aleppo has entered a new phase as jihadists and rebels intensify efforts in the north-west, seizing Kessab (RLPB 253) and surging deeper into Aleppo, where the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is pushing back.

ALEPPO UPDATE: LIFE TENUOUS FOR ALEPPO'S CHRISTIANS
On Sunday 27 April Aleppo was shaken by several massive explosions. Jihadist seeking to advance into government-held areas had tunnelled into the heart of the Old City and detonated explosives underneath the Chamber of Industry, where government forces have their headquarters. Dozens were killed and wounded. After the bombing, heavy clashes ensued between jihadists and the SAA. Rebels have increased their shelling of government-held areas too, causing many casualties. Pray for Christians trapped in Aleppo.

APRIL 2014 ROUND-UP -- also this month . . .

* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (CAR): INSECURITY CONTINUES
On Saturday 26 April Muslim rebels attacked a medical clinic run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Nanga Boguilla in north-west CAR, killing at least 16 people, including three MSF staff. While some rebels looted the clinic, others stormed the open area where MSF staff and community members had gathered for a meeting and opened fire with automatic weapons. Seleka leader Mohamed Moussa Dhaffane denied that the killers were Seleka, asserting that Muslim rebels from Cameroon were operating in the area. The central region of Bossangoa is still wracked with insecurity. 'There is a situation of total chaos in my diocese,' says Mgr Nestor Désiré Nongo-Aziagbia, Bishop of Bossangoa. He was seized by Seleka rebels on Easter eve, a day after one of his priests was killed on Good Friday. 'The rebels continue to kill and plunder,' he says. 'Last weekend in a village on the border with Chad, four people were killed, among them two catechists.' Mgr Nongo-Aziagbia says jihadists have infiltrated Bangui (the capital). 'It is public knowledge,' he says, 'that the Central Mosque of the city has become a powder keg, because the extremists have transformed it into their arsenal.' Instead of fulfilling their mandate -- disarming fighters and protecting the vulnerable -- French and African peace-keepers are escorting Muslims to the north, where CAR authorities fear they will eventually establish a Seleka-run state within the state.

* IRAN: EASTER RAID AND ARRESTS
According to Mohabat News, human rights news sources in Iran have reported that on 18 April plain-clothed security officers raided the private apartment of Nazi and Maryam Asadi, breaking up a Good Friday worship service taking place there. The Asadi's, Ehsan Sadeghi, Vahid Safi and Amin Mazloomi were all arrested and taken into custody. The security personnel also searched the home and smashed the satellite dishes on the roof of the apartment block.

* NIGERIA: CHURCH TORCHED IN ADAMAWA
Late on Monday 28 April Boko Haram militants attacked Gubla village in Madagali Local Government Area in Adamawa State, killing four residents. More than ten homes were torched, as was an EYN (Brethren) Church, including the pastor's official quarters. Many more villagers would have been killed had they not fled so quickly into the bush.

* PAKISTAN: SOME 700 CHRISTIAN GIRLS STOLEN/TRAFFICKED ANNUALLY
The Movement for Solidarity and Peace (MSP) in Pakistan has released a report entitled 'Forced Marriages & Forced Conversions in the Christian Community of Pakistan' (published April 2014). According to this report around 1000 minority girls -- some 300 Hindus and 700 Christians -- are forced to marry Muslim men in Pakistan every year. Furthermore, the MSP acknowledged that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as most cases either go unreported or fail to progress.

According to MSP, the forced marriages follow a distinct pattern: a Christian girl aged between 12 and 25 is abducted, 'converted' and married to the abductor or a third party. The victim's family files a report with the police, accusing the abductor. The abductor files a report with the police accusing the Christian family. The case goes to court where the girl -- who normally remains in the custody of her abductors -- is asked to testify whether or not she left home, converted and was married of her own free will. When the girl testifies that she acted of her own free will (making a false testimony to protect her family) the case is settled. These girls are subjected to violence, rape, forced prostitution, trafficking and sale. [The same pattern exists in Egypt where Coptic girls are routinely abducted, 'converted' and married to Muslim men.]

Article: 1000 Minority Girls forced in marriage every year (Dawn)
FULL MSP REPORT (April 2014)

This is human trafficking across religious lines. Such large scale systematic abuse could not endure without the tacit consent and overt co-operation of Islamic clerics, law enforcement officers and government officials. This shameful reality leaves Christian girls in a state of permanent insecurity.

* SYRIA: 'YOUR RUIN IS VAST AS THE SEA' (Lam 2:13)

1) DAMASCUS: ANOTHER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TARGETED
On 15 April one child died and 61 people -- children, parents and teachers -- were injured when a rebel rocket hit an Armenian Catholic School in Damascus. This was not the first time rebels have targeted a school full of children. On 11 November 2013 rebels fired mortar rockets at the Armenian Christian Tarkmanchats High School in Damascus just as the children were leaving for the day. Their school bus was hit and four first-graders and the bus driver were killed.

2) MAALOULA LIBERATED
On 4 Sept 2013 jihadists with the Free Syrian Army and al Nusra Front launched a surprise attack on SAA soldiers guarding the ancient, predominantly Christian town of Maaloula, 60km north of Damascus.  Some 20 soldiers and 25 civilians were killed in the assault that forced about 3000 locals to flee. The town was then systematically looted and vandalised. On Monday 14 April the Syrian government declared the town liberated. Praise God! On Easter Sunday 20 April Syrian President Bashir al-Assad visited Maaloula. Syrian media footage shows him touring the town with church leaders, inspecting ancient churches, Bibles and icons ruined by jihadists, and being mobbed by grateful locals. (Other reports: CBS, Reuters)

3) RAQQA: DISAPPEARANCES, EXECUTIONS AND CRUCIFIXIONS
(Updating RLPB 250, 4 March 2014.) Every day, mothers of Raqqa's growing number of 'disappeared' gather outside the ISIS headquarters (formerly the Armenian Church) weeping and begging for information. Sema Nassar, a prominent human rights activist, says ISIS is believed to be holding 'over 1000 Syrians in Raqqa province', adding that those suspected of opposing ISIS or violating Sharia Law simply vanish without a trace or are publicly executed. A group of courageous dissidents has launched a campaign called 'Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently' and is using Facebook and Twitter to share photos and raise awareness of abuses. One photo dated 26 March is of a young Christian man who had been accused (without evidence or witnesses) of killing a Muslim. The Christian was executed and left tied to a cross in a public square for three days for all to see. A set of crucifixion photos dated 29 April show four young men all crucified in a public place. Please pray for God to intervene in Syria.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).