RLPB 673. November Update, incl. Ethiopia and Eritrea, India, Mali, West Papua, Sudan, Uganda, Turkey in Syria

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 673 | Wed 30 Nov 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

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NOVEMBER 2022 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal

DURING NOVEMBER WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* ETHIOPIA [RLPB 670, 9 Nov], where the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have signed an ‘Agreement for Lasting Peace’. Meanwhile, the ethnic-nationalist Oromo Liberation Army (OLA / OLF-Shene) continues to wage a campaign of terror aimed at ethnic cleansing against minority Amharas in the majority Christian north-west of Oromia Region.

UPDATE OROMIA: The condition and whereabouts of nine deacons abducted from the Midre Genet St Mariam Church and the parish council members abducted of Harbu Bose St Michael church – two churches in North Shewa Zone, Oromia Region – remain unknown. Please pray for the captives and for an end to OLA terror.

UPDATE TIGRAY: Rumours abound of TPLF fighters refusing to accept the conditions of the Agreement, in particular, the requirement to disarm. Please pray for God to intervene, to infuse a spirit of / desire for peace among the many fighters who do not support the Agreement. The Nairobi declaration of 12 November – which sets outs how the Agreement (signed in Pretoria on 2 November) will be implemented – provides that disarmament of TPLF forces will be undertaken in tandem with the withdrawal of foreign [read: Eritrean] and non-ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Forces) [read: Amhara FANO] forces. The main threat here is Eritrea, which is not a party to the Agreement. [Eritrea has made peace with the Ethiopian government, not with the expansionist TPLF.] Please pray that all Eritrean troops and FANO militias will withdraw from Tigray Region in a peaceful, disciplined and orderly fashion, and that nothing will get in the way of peace; for the sake of all Ethiopians and Eritreans and the region’s precious, missional Church.

* ERITREA [RLPB 671, 16 Nov], after the authorities arrested and jailed three Catholic leaders who had highlighted Eritrea’s human rights abuses. Abba (Father) Mihretab Stefanos, Abba Abraham Habtom Gebremariam and Abune (His Excellency) Fikremariam Hagos, the first Bishop of the Catholic Eparchy (diocese) of Segheneyti, were arrested on 11,12 and 15 October respectively. Sources believe that all three Catholics are being held at the notorious Adi Abeito prison on the northern outskirts of Asmara. An estimated 500 Christians are imprisoned in Eritrea, most for their faith, some for their human rights advocacy. Some Christians leaders arrested in 2004 remain incarcerated to this day. Lord have mercy! Please pray.

* INDIA [RLPB 672, 23 Nov], where the Supreme Court had ordered the government to submit an affidavit explaining what it intends to do to curb ‘forced’ religious conversions. The next hearing was scheduled for Monday 28 November.

UPDATES

SUPREME COURT: In its affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the Indian government said it is ‘cognisant of the gravity and the seriousness’ of the issue of ‘forced’ religious conversion. The government promised that ‘the relief sought in the present petition would be taken up in all seriousness by the Union of India and appropriate steps shall be taken as the Central Government is cognisant of the matter’. According to Telegraph, India (28 Nov), ‘The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that religious freedom does not include a fundamental right to convert other people to a particular religion and that it certainly does not embrace the right to convert an individual through fraud, deception, coercion or allurement. The central government said it is “cognisant of the menace” and laws that seek to control such practices are necessary to protect the cherished rights of vulnerable sections of the society…’ Please pray for the Church in India.

CONVERSIONS IN KASHI/VARANASI (UP): According to Hindu nationalist ideology (Hindutva), Indians are members of the Hindu race. For an Indian, therefore, religious conversion into Hinduism cannot be called conversion; rather it is called Ghar Wapsi (Hindi: ‘Returning Home’). Throughout the country, Hindu nationalist organisations are working tirelessly to bring as many Christians ‘home’ as possible. According to the Nagaland Post (17 Nov), a Hindu nationalist Ghar Wapsi campaign had been slated for 6 to 20 November, for people in the 19 districts of the Kashi/Varanasi region in Uttar Pradesh, with the goal of reconverting / 'bringing home' 500,000 people (Muslims, Christians and tribals). Many Christians who convert to Hinduism or identify as Hindus do so for financial reasons; for desperately poor, low-caste and Dalit (untouchable) Indians are only eligible for benefits so long as they are Hindu. For Christians who insist on standing firm the cost of discipleship can be very high indeed. Please pray for the Church in India.


NOVEMBER 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* MALI ABANDONED AS TERROR ESCALATES

(1) GERMAN PRIEST ABDUCTED IN BAMAKO

Rev Hans-Joachim Lohre.
(Aid to the Church in Need)

On Sunday 20 November the Reverend Hans-Joachim Lohre – a German priest who has served in Mali for more than 30 years – disappeared from the Malian capital, Bamako. Lohre – known affectionately as Father Ha-Jo – was preparing to go and celebrate Mass when suspected Islamic militants snatched him, cutting the cross from his neck. It is the first abduction of a foreigner from Bamako since the Islamic insurgency began more than a decade ago. On 23 November Cardinal Jean Zerbo, Archbishop of Bamako, released a statement lamenting, ‘At the moment we have no further news [regarding the Revd Lohre] or contacts with the kidnappers…’ Aid to the Church in Need reports (22 Nov), ‘During a visit to Switzerland, less than six months ago, [Fr Lohre] told local benefactors about the situation in Mali. “The jihadists come in groups, on motorcycles, and the local communities have to make deals with them. They are forbidden from ringing church bells and drinking alcohol, and women are forced to wear the veil”.’ Now, it seems, Fr Lohre is their captive. Please pray.

(2) THE WEST ABANDONS MALI

click on map to enlarge

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) is escalating its insurgency in Mali. ISGS terror recently forced more than 60,000 civilians from Menaka (in northern Mali near the border with Niger) to flee to Gao, the regional capital. Those displaced tell of massacres, stonings and extortion. Despite the escalation in terror, Western forces are withdrawing, abandoning the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). France has already withdrawn its troops [see RLPB 607, The Sahel: Africa’s Afghanistan? Christians Imperilled (21 July 2021)]. On 14 November the UK joined Sweden in announcing that it will withdraw its troops. In the past week, Germany announced that it will withdraw its troops by May 2024, primarily because Mali has engaged Russia in the fight against the jihadists. With terrorists pushing through Burkina Faso into Gulf of Guinea states, analysts suspect Togo, Benin and Ghana might decide they need to bring their troops home. The security situation in Mali and the wider Sahel is diabolical and rapidly deteriorating; it is a Christian Crisis in the making. Lord have mercy! Please pray.

* PAPUAN PROVINCES (INDONESIA): FURTHER DIVISION

Red: new province of
Southwest Papua

On 17 November the Indonesian government unanimously passed a law to divide West Papua Province (the western region comprising the Bird’s Head Peninsula and the Fak Fak Peninsula). West Papua will be split between Southwest Papua Province, the capital of which will be Sorong; and West Papua Province, the capital of which will be Manokwari. Previously, on 30 June, the Indonesian government passed legislation to divide Papua Province into four administrative units. At that time, analysts warned that the new divisions will ‘serve to accelerate Javanese Muslim colonisation, militarisation and exploitation’, hastening the ‘end-game’ of Papuan genocide [see RLPB 661, Papua: Entering the ‘End Game’, 7 Sept 2022]. As the Lowy Institute notes, ‘The creation of new administrative districts entails the necessity to establish government apparatus, set up military posts, and construct new infrastructure – all of which might exacerbate violent conflict in the region.’ Betrayed and abandoned, exploited and persecuted, the mostly Christian indigenous Melanesians of Indonesia’s Papuan provinces long for self-determination, not only because they desire freedom, but because they hope to survive as a people. Lord have mercy! Please pray.

* SUDAN: PASTOR ARRESTED

On Monday 21 November Pastor Abdalla Haron Sulieman led a prayer service for his ailing mother, Aisha Adam (60), at the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church in El Hasahisa town, Al Jazirah state. Locals told Morning Star News (27 Nov) that during the service Pastor Sulieman’s mother was healed, leading area Muslims to flock to the church requesting prayer for themselves. Furious, Islamic fundamentalists persuaded police to arrest and jail the pastor on a charge of ‘witchcraft’. MSN lists the case as ‘Case No. 6737/2022 under the Sudan Criminal Code of 1991’. NOTE: I (Elizabeth) cannot find any reference to witchcraft in the criminal code. Consequently, I am wondering if the accusation of witchcraft will be tied to something like ‘fabricating false evidence’ or ‘criminal mischief’ or ‘insulting religious creeds’. It will be interesting to see how the court handles this case of a Christian pastor who has not committed any crime at all. MSN reports that after the arrest Sudanese Christians took to social media demanding the pastor’s release and protesting the persecution of Christians in Sudan. Please pray.

* UGANDA: ‘WE ARE SUFFERING FOR PASTORING CONVERTS FROM ISLAM.’

On Friday 18 November Pastor Jude Sitaalo (56) and his wife, Naisiga Sitaalo, were meeting with 10 other church members in the Believers’ Church in Nansonko village, Kibuku District, Eastern Region, when a mosque leader led a group of Muslims to attack the gathering. The attack was in response to an evangelistic event in August in which five young Muslim men put their faith in Jesus Christ. The pastor and his wife received multiple knife wounds. Pastor Sitaalo told Morning Star News, ‘We are suffering for pastoring converts from Islam.’ On 8 November Muslim fundamentalists in Katantala village, Kiboga District, Buganda Region beat Pastor Agaba Ezera and demolished his church in retaliation for his leading 23 Muslims to Christ. Pastor Ezera was hospitalised with leg, back, arm and head injuries – most due to blunt-weapon trauma. He believes he only survived because the militants thought they had killed him. [See Morning Star News, 29 Nov.] Please pray for the Church in Uganda.

* TURKEY IN SYRIA

Background: On 23 May Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Turkey was preparing to re-invade northern Syria to resume its effort to create a ‘safe zone’ 32km deep along the entire Turkey-Syria border. [For full details see RLPB 654 (20 July).] Because Turkey failed to get the necessary ‘green light’, the invasion did not eventuate. As the US, Iran and Russia all agreed, Turkish aggression in northern Syria would enable a revival of Islamic State [RLPB 655 (27 July)].

Recommended:
David Eubank of Free Burma Rangers
reports from Takl Bukl, south of Derik
in Syria's far north-east.
20 Nov 2022

On Sunday 20 November Turkish warplanes launched a series of air raids across North and East Syria, from Afrin (just 60km northwest of Aleppo) to Kobanî (Ayn al-Arab) in the north, to Al-Malikiyah (also known as Derik) in Syria’s far north-east. These air-strikes – part of ‘Operation Claw-Sword’ – resulted in deaths, injuries and great material damage. Turkey (a NATO member and US ally) also bombed several areas deep inside northern Iraq, including in Sinjar (125km west of Mosul), Dohuk (74km north of Mosul), Qandil (70km north-east of Erbil) and Sulaymaniyah (110 km east of oil-rich Kirkuk). In Syria, the air-raids were followed by shelling. Having blamed Kurdish terrorists for the 13 November terror attack in Istanbul, Turkey claims to be acting in self-defence. All these areas have Kurdish majorities and significant remnant communities of indigenous Armenian and Assyrian Christians. Declaring the air-strikes to be ‘only the beginning’, Erdoğan is yet again threatening to launch a ground invasion into northern Syria. Everyone agrees, a Turkish invasion of northern Syria would enable a revival of Islamic State and risk igniting a whole new war in Mesopotamia. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church.

Elizabeth 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). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

The RLPB is a donor-funded ministry. For more information on Elizabeth's books, global persecution, or how to provide financial support, visit www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 670. The Battle for Ethiopia: From Two Fronts to One

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 670 | Wed 09 Nov 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Sign up for the RLPB at www.ElizabethKendal.com
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THE BATTLE FOR ETHIOPIA: FROM TWO FRONTS TO ONE
- TPLF surrenders; OLA abducts church leaders in Oromia Region
By Elizabeth Kendal

Ethiopia map, showing location of
reported OLA attacks.
(click on map to enlarge)
map source

ETHIOPIA vs OLA: On Saturday night 22 October, gunmen believed to be from the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA – formerly known as ‘OLF-Shene’) stormed the Midre Genet St. Mariam Church in Gebre Guracha. Inside the church – which is located around 160km north-west of Addis Ababa in North Shewa Zone, Oromia Region – were priests, deacons and a church administrator who had gathered for an all-night prayer service. One deacon was killed in the attack and 11 others were abducted. By 4 November, one priest and the church administrator had been ransomed. To date, the whereabouts and condition of the other nine captives remain unknown. North of the capital, Addis Ababa, with three sides adjoining Amhara Region, North Shewa Zone (Oromia) is 84 percent Oromo, 15 percent Amhara, 5.3 percent Muslim and 94 percent Christian. A priest from North Shewa Selale Diocese Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) told the Addis Standard (4 Nov) that most of the churches in North Shewa Zone’s eight districts have stopped providing services due to insecurity. According to the diocesan head, members of the parish council of Harbu Bose St. Michael church have also been abducted and the diocese is working with security forces to free them. Another local priest confirms that militants ‘taking hostages and asking for money’ has ‘become more common in this area’.

Religion in Ethiopia
(Click on map to enlarge)
map source

As RLPB has long reported, the Christian Crisis is especially severe throughout Oromia Region’s majority Christian north-west where militant Oromo ethnic nationalists and separatists are waging a campaign of terror aimed at driving out the minority Amhara [see RLPB 652 (6 July 2022)]. On Sunday morning 6 November, OLA militants entered Nekemte, a market town around 330km west of Addis Ababa in East Welega Zone. East Welega Zone is 89 percent Oromo, 10.5 percent Amhara, 8 percent Muslim and 78 percent Christian. Having targeted a military base, the militants opened fire on Ethiopian government soldiers. Days earlier in West Welega Zone, OLA militants took control of Mendi, Kiltu Kara and Leta Sibu towns, looting property and abducting officials. West Welega Zone is 77 percent Oromo, 21 percent Amhara, 19 percent Muslim and 79 percent Christian. The terrorists also ambushed a vehicle as it travelled through Bengua town, 20km west of Mendi town. The vehicle was carrying medical and other supplies as well as students, who were travelling home to Kamashi after sitting their national exam in Assosa. The terrorists looted all the supplies and abducted 16 students, who remain missing as security forces endeavour to locate and free them.

ETHIOPIA vs TPLF: On 2 November 2022 – one day before the two-year anniversary of the TPLF’s massacre of the Northern Command (the massacre which triggered the war) – the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed an ‘Agreement for Lasting Peace Through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities…’ [FULL TEXT]. The Agreement is, as one analyst put it, ‘more akin to a complete surrender than a compromise reached between two exhausted warring parties that find themselves in a stalemate or quagmire'. In late August, after the TPLF relaunched its war against the federal government, Prime Minister Abiy sent his forces on the offensive with orders to pursue the TPLF inside Tigray. With Abiy standing firm and the USA largely out of the picture, two months was all it took. Encircled, depleted and without supply, ‘the TPLF had no choice but to swallow the harsh, bitter, and unpalatable terms of the Agreement’.

The Agreement – which now enters the implementation phase – includes a comprehensive Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) program for the TPLF, as the parties recognise that Ethiopia has ‘only one defence force’ [Article 6]. The parties agree to respect the ‘sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’ [Article 2]. Having fought to reclaim their ancestral lands in Welkait and Raya (farmlands the TPLF annexed into Tigray during its nearly 30-year rule), the Amhara are anxious that Articles 5.3 (on the return of the displaced) and 10.4 (on ‘resolving issues of contested areas’) will favour the TPLF at the expense of the original Amhara landowners [see RLPB 651 (29 June 2022)]; this will make for difficult negotiations. While a truce heralds the commencement of a long and difficult peace process, a rebel surrender is a great place to start. We praise and thank God for his mercy in preserving Ethiopia in answer to the prayers of many. The biggest issues facing the federal government now are: implementation of the Agreement – especially the disarmament of the TPLF and negotiations over ‘contested areas’, defeating the terrorist OLA (which is backed by Egypt and Sudan’s Islamist military) and, the most critical issue of all, Constitutional reform to address toxic ethnic nationalism and separatism. All this will take place within the context of the greatest battle of all: the spiritual Battle for Ethiopia (Ephesians 6:12).

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
worship in Afan Omoro (language)
in East Welega, 2016.
(EOTC Channel, YouTube)

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR MERCIFUL GOD WILL:

* intervene to sustain, protect and ultimately liberate the youths, officials and Christian leaders currently held hostage by the Oromo Liberation Army; Lord have mercy!

* grace Prime Minister Abiy and the entire Ethiopian government with wisdom, boldness and resolve to defeat the terrorist Oromo Liberation Army; may every person impacted by OLA terror seek and find their shelter in the Lord.

* sustain and strengthen Prime Minister Abiy and the entire Ethiopian government as they work to implement the Agreement made with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front; may the Holy Spirit, ‘the Lord and giver of life’, soften hearts and direct minds in favour of peace, reconciliation and Ethiopian unity – for the sake of Ethiopia’s mission-focused Church and every lost and needy soul who needs her, be they Ethiopian or otherwise.

* intervene to energise, guide and aid the process of constitutional reform and peace-making for the benefit of Ethiopia and the whole Horn of Africa. Lord have mercy!


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
------------------------------------------
THE BATTLE FOR ETHIOPIA: FROM TWO FRONTS TO ONE

On 2 November 2022 the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed an ‘Agreement for Lasting Peace Through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities’. Encircled, depleted and without supply, the TPLF had little choice but to surrender. Now the difficult work of implementation (which includes disarming the TPLF) and negotiation (including over ‘contested areas’) begins. Please pray! Meanwhile, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) continues to wage terror across Oromia Region’s mostly Christian north and west, targeting the Amhara minority. Numerous students, local officials and church leaders are currently being held hostage. In North Shewa Zone, security is so bad that churches have ceased services. Nine deacons abducted from a prayer meeting on 22 October remain missing, as do members of a church council abducted around the same time. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The RLPB is a donor-funded ministry. To support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com.

Elizabeth 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). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information visit: www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 657. Islamic State Seeks Recruits; Calls for Attacks on Churches

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 657 | Wed 10 Aug 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

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ISLAMIC STATE SEEKS RECRUITS; CALLS FOR ATTACKS ON CHURCHES
By Elizabeth Kendal

In the past two months, the transnational Islamic jihadist organisation known as Islamic State (IS) has released three propaganda videos in non-Arabic languages. On 14 June IS West Africa Province (in Nigeria) released a video in Hausa (the largest ethnic/language group in West and Central Africa). On 1 July IS in Iraq released a video in Kurdish (spoken in Iraqi Kurdistan, north and east Syria, and much of eastern Turkey). On 30 July IS in Somalia released a 25-minute video in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. Then, on 3 August, IS in Khorasan Province (greater Afghanistan) released a fatwa calling for attacks on Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Shi’ite places of worship.

According to ‘The New Arab’ (18 June), ISWAP’s Hausa-language propaganda video (with Arabic subtitles) calls on Muslims to make ‘hijrah’ – migration and permanent settlement – to IS controlled territory, where IS promises to ‘protect’ and defend them. ISWAP is now the strongest Islamic terror/jihadist group in Nigeria. The federal capital, Abuja, is on high alert, especially after the 6 July jail break [see RLPB 655 (27 July)]. On 8 August, IS released a poster in English and Arabic versions titled 'Harvest of African Christians' (pictured) boasting 13 churches burned, hundreds of homes burned, and 190 Christians killed in June-July 2022 amidst ethno-religious cleansing campaigns in D.R.Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Meanwhile, IS in Iraq and Syria is ready to exploit any breach in the already fragile security situation. It is clearly seeking to divide the Kurds and recruit Islamist Kurds into its ranks, which would be catastrophic for Christians in northern Iraq and eastern Syria [see RLPB 654 (20 July)].

The Amharic video was released just a week after Islamic State forces from Somalia were routed in Ethiopia’s eastern Somali region [see RLPB 655 (27 July)]. 

The video – which is entitled ‘On the Path of the Conquerors,’ includes Arabic subtitles and is narrated by a jihadist named Abu ‘Isa Al-Ethiopi – has been analysed by MEMRI’s Jihad and Terrorist Threat Monitor (JTTM). Abu ‘Isa opens with a narration on the long 1400-year struggle between Muslims and ‘unbelieving Christians’ in the Horn of Africa. The key take-away is Abu ‘Isa’s claim that Abyssinian Christians not only reject and resist Islam, but have always hated, persecuted and plotted against Muslims. He blames ‘hypocrite’ Muslims (i.e., Muslims who neglect jihad) for the decline of Islam in Ethiopia, saying it was only after the Muslims abandoned jihad in the 17th Century that the Christians were able to regain the ascendancy. He laments that today Christians rule Ethiopia and have ‘caused people to leave Allah’s religion in droves’. He derides Ethiopia’s parliament as a ‘parliament of polytheism’ and condemns Muslim clerics who support the government as ‘apostate clerics’. He then exhorts Ethiopian Muslims to reject humiliation, relocate to Islamic State territory and ‘fight for your religion’. He tells Muslims that if hijrah is not possible, then ‘wage war on the unbelievers wherever you are’. A trainee jihadist further extends that invitation to all ‘the Muslims of East Africa’.

On 3 August MEMRI’s Jihad and Terrorist Threat Monitor (JTTM) ran the headline: ‘Fatwa by Islamic State’s Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) Orders Attacks on Places of Worship of Christians, Jews, Hindus…’ The 18-page Pashtu-language fatwa (legal order) refers to these places of worship as ‘Masjid-e-Zarar,’ or Mosques of Dissent, in reference to a masjid/mosque (place of prayer) established by a Christian monk named Abu ‘Amir al-Rahib, with the backing of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, for the purpose of subverting Islam and opposing Muhammad. When Muhammad became aware of the plot, he had the masjid burned [see Quran, Sura 9:107-110 https://quran.com/9/107-110]. Ever since then, this incident has been used to legitimise the destruction of Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Shi’ite places of worship. After the fatwa was released, attacks on Shi’ite mosques in Kabul began almost immediately. IS Khorasan [Greater Afghanistan] Province (ISKP) is based in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar and Nangarhar Provinces, which border Pakistan’s north-western tribal areas. As RLPB has repeatedly noted, while the Afghan Church is and has long been an ‘underground’ Church, the Pakistani Church just over the border is not and never has been ‘underground’. As warned in RLPB 632 (9 Feb 2022), ‘Peshawar’s churches and Christian communities may be more at risk now than at any time in Pakistan’s history.’


PLEASE PRAY THAT THE LORD OF HOSTS WILL

* send his heavenly hosts (angelic forces) to watch over and protect all churches and Christian communities at risk of Islamic terror attack. We pray especially for Christian churches and communities in regions where Islamic State is pursuing gains, in particular Nigeria, Iraq and Syria, Ethiopia, and Pakistan (especially Peshawar). May the Lord draw his people close, and thwart all evil plots hatched against them.

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me (Psalm 17:8-9 ESV).

* intervene to prevent the consolidation and expansion of Islamic State sanctuaries in Nigeria, Iraq and Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan; may the Lord of Hosts fight with all who seek to defeat Islamic jihadists; may security be restored.

But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenceless! Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers! Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. (Psalm 141:8-10 ESV)


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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ISLAMIC STATE SEEKS RECRUITS; CALLS FOR ATTACKS ON CHURCHES

Recently Islamic State (IS) has released three propaganda videos in non-Arabic languages. IS in Nigeria released a video in Hausa, IS in Iraq released one in Kurdish and IS in Somalia released one in Amharic. The Amharic-language video specifically calls for jihad against Ethiopia’s Christians and government. The videos call for recruits to migrate to Islamic State-controlled territory or, if that is not possible, ‘wage war on the unbelievers wherever you are’. On 3 August Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) – based in eastern Afghanistan – issued a fatwa in Pashtu-language calling for attacks on Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Shi’ite places of worship. Please pray that the LORD will protect Christian churches and communities at increased risk of terror attack. Pray especially for the Church in Nigeria, Iraq and Syria, Ethiopia, and Pakistan.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church.

Elizabeth 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). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information, or to support this ministry, visit www.ElizabethKendal.com.

RLPB 655. July Update, incl. Ethiopia, Pakistan, Turkey in Syria, China, Nigeria, Sudan, Togo, Turkey, Uganda.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 655 | Wed 27 July 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.
 
Subscribe (free) or support RLPB at www.ElizabethKendal.com
View RLPB archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog.
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JULY 2022 UPDATE
by Elizabeth Kendal

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* ETHIOPIA [RLPB 652 (6 July)], after the 18 June massacre in Gimbi Woreda (which claimed the lives of some 1600 ethnic Amhara) was followed by a massacre on 4 July in Hawa Gelan Woreda, which claimed the lives of around 300 ethnic Amhara in western Oromia Region. The massacres were perpetrated by Oromo ethno-nationalist militants. Authorities blamed the ‘Shene’ group, which denied responsibility, blaming instead a group linked to the Oromia regional government.

UPDATES

(1) MASSACRES LINKED TO OROMIA REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

On 6 July Hangaasa Ahmed Ibraahim, an ethnic Oromo member of the Ethiopian Parliament and member of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party, publicly denounced Oromia regional authorities, blaming them for the insecurity in Oromia Region. In a live video message posted to Facebook, Hangaasa Ahmed claimed there are ‘two Shene groups’: the original group now known as the Oromo Liberation Army, and a group he calls ‘Sabotage Shene’, which he maintains is organised by the Oromia Regional Government. Claiming he has abundant proof, Hangaasa Ahmed warned that the massacres will continue unless the Oromia regional state president, the Oromia Prosperity Party head, and the Oromia Police Commissioner are all removed from their positions. Ethnic cleansing (targeting Amhara generally) and ethno-religious massacres (targeting Amhara Christians specifically) have been occurring in Oromia Region for years now. Violence is escalating. Please pray.

(2) AL-SHABAAB NO MATCH FOR A STRONG UNITED ETHIOPIA

President of Ethiopia's eastern Somali region,
Mustafa Mohammed with Special Forces.
Twitter 25 July 2022

On 21 July al-Shabaab militants crossed from Somalia’s Bakol zone into Afdheer zone in Ethiopia’s eastern-most Somali region. The jihadists took control of Hulhul town where they battled government forces for three days before ultimately being forced to retreat, having lost around 100 fighters, 13 vehicles and many weapons. Analysts believe al-Shabaab was ‘testing the waters’ to see if Ethiopian forces were still capable of repelling a jihadist attack. Regional officials believe al-Shabaab harbours plans to reach Oromia Region and join forces with the Oromo Liberation Army. However, as Mustafa Mohammed, the president of Ethiopia’s Somali Region said on 25 July, ‘A united people and functioning state can never be intimidated by ragtag outfits like Al-Shabaab.’ RLPB has long warned that a destabilised Ethiopia would be vulnerable to Islamic jihadist infiltration and terror – not only via Somalia but also via Sudan. May God enable Ethiopia to grow in strength and unity for the sake of the Church and the whole Horn of Africa. Please pray.

* PAKISTAN [RLPB 653 (13 July)] where, despite a few acquittals, Christians continue to languish in prisons and rot on death row because of malicious blasphemy accusations. We prayed especially for Christian mechanic Ashfaq Masih (34), Christian brothers Amoon and Qaisar Ayub (aged 42 and 45), and the ailing Pastor Zafar Bhatti (57).

Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body (Hebrews 13:3 ESV).

UPDATE: Christian security will not improve while the Pakistani state continues to promote religious hatred and appease Islamic terrorists. On 20 July, at a press conference in Lahore, the Catholic Bishop’s National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) expressed its concerns about the Islamic content in textbooks under the country’s Single National Curriculum (SNC). ‘Religious minorities demand textbooks devoid of hate material,’ said Kashif Aslam, the NCJP deputy director. Please pray for this initiative. Meanwhile, just weeks into the Pakistani Taliban’s (TTP) devastating Spring Offensive, the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is desperately seeking a peace agreement. Talks are underway and a temporary ceasefire is in place. The trouble is, peace talks with the TTP not only legitimise the terrorists, they threaten to further the Islamisation of Pakistan, for the TTP’s demands are anything but moderate. The TTP has warned that if it doesn’t get what it wants – including the release of TTP prisoners and control of the tribal areas (FATA) – then jihad will resume. Pray for the Church in Pakistan.

* TURKEY IN SYRIA [RLPB 654 (20 July)] as Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and President Ibrahim Raisi, seeking a ‘green light’ to re-invade northern Syria.

Nabil Warda of the Khabour Guards;
maintaining the Christian presence in N-E Syria.

UPDATE: The US, Iran and Russia all agree that any Turkish aggression in northern Syria would enable a revival of Islamic State. Frustrated but not deterred, Erdogan vowed to carry out the invasion anyway, saying he doesn’t need anyone’s permission to advance Turkey’s interests. Analysts suspect Turkey is preparing to invade in early September. Kurds, Assyrian and Armenian Christians, and the Syrian Arab Army are preparing for that eventuality. In the north-west, Aleppo would be gravely imperilled. In the north-east, Christians across the entire Jazira region (the largest and most populous part of Hasakah Governorate) would be imperilled. After 10 years of war against the US-backed Sunni Axis, Islamic State, the Turkish state and its jihadist proxies, a remnant of Christians remains determined to maintain the Christian presence in the north; they desperately do not want to be erased from the map. However, as Nabil Warda of the Khabour Guards warns: ‘The Turkish occupation threatens the existence of the Assyrian people.’ The Christians will resist to their last breath. Please pray it does not come to that. Lord in your mercy, intervene for your people.

JULY 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* CHINA: JAILED PASTOR (MRS) YANG RONGLI IN FAILING HEALTH

(left) Yang Rongli leaves prison, Oct 2016.
(right) Demolition of Golden Lampstand Church, Jan 2018

Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen city, Shanxi Province, has been under sustained attack by the Chinese Communist Party since 2009, when its pastors Wang Xiaoguang and his wife, Yang Rongli, were first arrested and sentenced to three years' and seven years' jail respectively. Pastor (Mrs) Yang Rongli was released in October 2016. In January 2018, the CCP demolished the unregistered church. On 7 August 2021, police in Linfen county detained nine church members, including Pastors Wang Xiaoguang and Yang Rongli [see RLPB 610 (11 Aug 2021)]. On 27 September seven church members were charged with ‘fraud’ and formerly arrested; they are awaiting trial. Prayer is requested as the imprisoned church members are suffering various degrees of maltreatment. Grave concerns are held for Pastor (Mrs) Yang Rongli (67) who is reportedly in failing health in Linfen’s Yaodu District Detention Centre. Yang Rongli’s sister, Yang Kai, told China Aid Association that her sister was being starved, denied visits from family members and denied treatment for her severe diabetes. Please pray.

* NIGERIA: ZERO SECURITY

Terror on the outskirts of Abuja.
(click on map to enlarge)

ABUJA: On the night of 6 July Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) raided the maximum security Kuje Prison on the southern outskirts of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. According to locals, around 100 terrorists arrived on motorbikes at about 10pm and used high powered explosives and firearms to breach the facility. While some security personnel fought and were killed or wounded, most simply fled. Critically, no-one came to assist. A total of 879 of the 994 inmates escaped. While 400 have been recaptured, 443 remain at large, including 69 high-profile Islamic terrorists. The prison break bodes ill for security in Nigeria.

KADUNA-ABUJA: On Sunday 24 July terrorists (suspected ISWAP) released a video showing their fighters flogging captives from the 28 March Kaduna-Abuja train attack. After threatening to kill and sell the captives, they name President Muhammadu Buhari and Kaduna Governor Malam Nasir Rufai as their next targets. On Monday 25 July three elite security officers from the Guards Brigade were wounded when they were ambushed by terrorists on the Bwari-Kubwa road on the northern outskirts of Abuja. Analysts believe the terrorists – who were repelled – were planning to attack the Nigerian law school in the Federal Capital Territory’s Bwari LGA.

KADUNA: On Friday 15 July, in what is become a familiar scenario and emerging trend, two young Catholic priests were kidnapped from church property. The Rev John Mark Cheitnum and the Rev Donatus Cleopas Sulaiman were kidnapped at gunpoint from the parish rectory of Christ the King Catholic Church in Yalding Garu, Lere LGA, in southern Kaduna. Sulaiman managed to escape, but Cheitnum was killed; his body was recovered on 19 July. According to sources, 18 Catholic priests have been kidnapped for ransom thus far in 2022; four have been killed.

Pastor Daniel Umaru with his family
in happier times.

ADAMAWA: At around midnight on 5 July, three militants attacked the home of Rev Daniel Umaru in Mararaba Mubi, in Adamawa state’s northern Hong LGA, just 12km from the southern border of terror-wracked Borno State. Daniel Umaru pastors an EYN (Eklesiya Yan’uwa a Nigeria / Church of the Brethren) church in Jairi, a village on the outskirts of Mubi. As they struggled to gain entrance to the home, the terrorists shot dead the pastor’s two sons – Kefrey Daniel (19) and Fanye Daniel (24). After telling Pastor Daniel they had been sent to kill him, they (mysteriously) shot him through the knee, and abducted his daughter Ijagla (16). Pastor Daniel was hospitalised with bullet wounds and his wife was hospitalised with trauma. On Sunday 10 July, two days after the family buried their sons (images), their daughter Ijagla was released upon payment of ‘a huge ransom’. 

Please pray for the Church in Nigeria.

* SUDAN: FOUR BELIEVERS CHARGED WITH APOSTASY

On 22 June Sudanese police raided a Baptist church in Zallingei in central Darfur, arresting the four Christian men (aged 20-22) praying there. The men – four of nine believers the authorities were hunting for apostasy – were beaten and released. On 28 June they were summoned to the police station to collect their belongings. Instead, they were charged with apostasy under Penal Code Article 126, as if the police had forgotten that the civilian administration (ousted in October 2021) had repealed the article [see RLPB 559 (22 July 2020)]. The four believers were bailed on 3 July, on a relative’s guarantee; they had all been tortured. Then, because the law against apostasy has been repealed, the case had to be closed. Though glad to be out of prison, threats from fundamentalist Muslims have forced the converts to retreat into hiding. Please pray for the Church in Sudan.

* TOGO: FIRST TERROR ATTACK TO TARGET CIVILIANS

On 13 July jihadists from Burkina Faso abducted a suspected informer from Bombengou village in Togo’s northern Kpendjal Prefecture; his body was found later, riddled with bullets. Then, on the night of 14 July, the jihadists launched almost simultaneous attacks on Togo’s northern villages of Kpemboli, Blamonga, Lalabiga and Sougtangou, killing around 30 civilians. On 15 July, as the commissioner of Mandouri, the seat of Kpendjal, travelled to the scene, his vehicle ran over an Improvised Explosive Device. The commissioner and two of his aides were wounded and one person was killed. This is the first attack to target civilians. Previous attacks have targeted a security post [RLPB 625 (24 Nov 2021)] and a military base [RLPB 646 (25 May 2022)]. The terrorists are reportedly working hard to recruit disaffected youths to the Islamist cause. Please pray: especially for Togo’s Christian churches and ministries that are working to address disadvantage in the region and influence youths for good. May the Lord protect them, bless them, and use them for his glory.

* TURKEY: ETHNO-RELIGIOUS HATRED ON DISPLAY

On 15 July the Jewish community in Istanbul, woke to the news that Hasköy Jewish Cemetery in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district had been attacked. Not only had 81 marble headstones been broken, but some of the graves had been excavated. The perpetrators – five children, aged 11-13 years – have been detained. Just two weeks earlier, on 29 June, Assyrian Christians visiting the cemetery in the Mor Fetrus and Mor Favlus Chapel, in the Yemişli (Enhil) Neighborhood of Mardin’s Midyat district (south-eastern Turkey), found that headstones had been destroyed (some 1000 years old) and graves had been opened and the bones scattered. These hate crimes emanate from a society that is increasingly ethno-religious (Turkic-Muslim), nationalist and intolerant. The Turkish curriculum is rife with Turkic-Muslim supremacism, and hatred of ethnic and religious minorities. Turkey is a ‘tinderbox’. Please pray for the Church in Turkey.

* UGANDA: DEATH FOR APOLOGETICS

In what is becoming a common occurrence in Uganda, Muslims have responded to an open-air debate about Christianity and Islam, not by doing their homework and presenting answers or better arguments, but by violently attacking the Christian apologists. Morning Star News (MSN) reports that, on 6 July, Robert Bwenje (28) accompanied Assistant Pastor Ambrose Mugisha (25) of Elim Pentecostal Church in Nyamiringa village, Kiboga District, to an open-air debate about Christianity and Islam in Sirimula village, in neighbouring Kyankwanzi District, 140km north-west of Kampala. After the debate, eight Muslims put their faith in Jesus Christ. As Bwenje and Mugisha were returning home they were ambushed by a mob of angry Muslims shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ (Allah is greater). The Muslims forced Bwenje and Mugisha to hand over their Bibles and Christian literature, which they burned while beating the believers with sticks. Mugisha managed to escape; but by the time Bwenje was rescued, he had sustained serious injuries. Both men were hospitalised, but on 10 July Bwenje succumbed to serious head injuries. Police have arrested and charged the lead instigator and are searching for the other assailants. The MSN report includes several cases of serious persecution in the same area. Please pray for Uganda – which is around 82 percent Christian with religious freedom – that it will rise to the challenge posed by escalating Islamic radicalisation and intolerance.

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

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church.

Elizabeth 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). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

See www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 652. Ethiopia: More Amharas Massacred

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 652 | Wed 06 July 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

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ETHIOPIA: MORE AMHARAS MASSACRED
preparing for an Amhara sacrifice
by Elizabeth Kendal

On Monday 4 July Oromo ethno-nationalist militants slaughtered at least 150 predominantly Christian ethnic Amhara in Hawa Gelan Woreda (district) in Kellem/Qellem Wollega Zone, Oromia Region. As was the case in the 18 June massacre in Gimbi Woreda, in neighbouring West Wollega [see RLPB 651, Amharas Massacred, (June Update, 29 June)] minority ethnic Amharas were specifically targeted. Lamenting the prevalence of ‘ethnically targeted killing’, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has called for an ‘urgent reinforcement’ of government security forces to prevent further civilian deaths. While the official toll is at least 150, one survivor told the Amhara Media Corporation, ‘They [the attackers] have left, and bodies are now being picked up; so far 300 [bodies] have been collected. But it’s still early, there are many others whose whereabouts we don’t know.’

massacre sites circled in red
(click on map to enlarge)

The 4 July massacre in Kellem Wollega, bears many similarities to the 18 June massacre in neighbouring West Wollega. Concerning the 18 June massacre, three eye-witnesses told The Africa Report (23 June) that the killers were ‘Afaan Oromoo-speaking militants’, and ‘referred to them as Shene, a nickname for the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA)…’ Two of the three witness ‘also accused Oromia regional officials of colluding with the gunmen. One said: “The administration was a part of it, because when we called for defence, no one responded. They said there is no conflict.” The second said the militants “spoke Oromo, they are Shene, they just came with the woreda (district) and zonal officials”.’ Meanwhile, the OLA denies responsibility, claiming the attack was a false flag perpetrated by Gaachana Sirna, a local militia created by Oromia regional authorities. Similarly, on 5 July, Prime Minister Abiy blamed the Kellem Wollega massacre on OLA ‘Shene’, the Oromo ethno-nationalist militia allied to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the war against the Abiy government. As on 18 June, no group has claimed responsibility for the 5 July massacre and the OLA has again blamed forces aligned with the Oromia regional government.

The massacres of minority Amharas in Oromia Region come in the wake of the Abiy government’s May crackdown on dissent in Amhara Region and the disarming of FANO, an ethnic Amhara volunteer militia established in late 2021 to defend Amhara Region and Addis Ababa from advancing TPLF forces [see RLPB 622, Christian Crisis Looms as Rebels Advance, 3 Nov 2021]. More than 30 protesters died in the May crackdown which resulted in more than 12,000 arrests: including 20 journalists and 62 political opposition, as well as activists, lawyers, professors, military personnel and thousands of FANO. In its condemnation of the 18 June massacre, the Amhara Association of America (AAA) noted that ‘at least 1,688 Amharas were killed and 62 abducted in 2021 by the OLA alone’. Consequently, Amharas fear that the crackdown on dissent and disarming of FANO will work to facilitate an Amhara genocide.

Many analysts believe PM Abiy is preparing the ground ahead of talks with the TLPF aware the TPLF will demand (in exchange for peace) the return of ‘West Tigray’. Known to Amharas as Welkait, ‘West Tigray’ comprises Amhara farmlands annexed into Tigray by the TPLF after 1991 and liberated by the Amhara in 2021 [see map: RLPB 651 (29 June)]. Control of ‘West Tigray’ would restore the TLPF’s direct corridor to its main regional ally, Sudan’s Islamist military. Along with this, the TLPF will demand a referendum on independence, something neither the Amhara nor Eritrea can abide. [The TPLF Manifesto envisages an independent ‘Republic of Greater Tigray’ which includes lands from Amhara, Afar and Eritrea (see RLM, 11 June 2021).]

As noted in last week’s RLPB, PM Abiy is under intense pressure to do whatever it takes to broker peace with the Egypt-Sudan-US-backed Marxist-Leninist and separatist TPLF. Fears abound that this may involve sacrificing the Amhara. The pro-TPLF US Biden-Blinken administration is ready to enact crippling sanctions if the TPLF and US don’t get what they want: a US-allied Greater Tigray on the Red Sea. The threat of civil war, national disintegration, ethnic cleansing and Amhara genocide – i.e. a Christian crisis of monumental proportions – continues to linger over Ethiopia.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR SOVEREIGN GOD WILL

* comfort and sustain all who have been impacted by the recent massacres of ethnic Amhara in Oromia Region; may the Lord comfort those who grieve – especially those who have lost their entire family - and sustain those who are displaced by providing them with secure shelter and all the humanitarian assistance they require. Lord have mercy.

* protect and sustain his precious Church in Ethiopia, a missional Church which includes the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Church, as well as Catholics and Protestants, and an ever increasing number of converts from Islam; Lord have mercy.

‘Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me’ (Psalm 17:8-9 ESV).

* grant Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (a convert to Christianity) wisdom and strength as he seeks to lead the nation into a new era of unity, peace and prosperity; may he not be lured or forced from that path and may he look to the Lord for direction and strength.

* intervene to thwart all evil plots designed to break-up Ethiopia; may God’s good plans for Ethiopia prevail.

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
------------------------------------------
MORE AMHARA MASSACRED IN ETHIOPIA

Whilst the threat to Addis Ababa has diminished, the ethnic cleansing of predominantly Christian minority Amharas in Oromia Region appears to be gaining pace. On Monday 4 July Oromo ethno-nationalist militants slaughtered at least 150 – possibly more than 300 – predominantly Christian ethnic Amhara in Hawa Gelan Woreda in Kellem/Qellem Wollega Zone, Oromia Region. The massacre comes just a couple of weeks after the 18 June massacre of as many as 1600 ethnic Amhara in Gimbi Woreda in neighbouring West Wollega Zone. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has called for an ‘urgent reinforcement’ of government security forces to prevent further civilian deaths. Prime Minister Abiy is under intense pressure to broker peace with the Egypt-Sudan-US-backed Marxist-Leninist and separatist TPLF. Fears abound that this may involve sacrificing the Amhara. Please pray.

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

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. To support this ministry visit ElizabethKendal.com

Elizabeth 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). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information visit: www.ElizabethKendal.com

(re-send) RLPB 651. June Update Inc. India, Nigeria, Burma, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Uganda

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 651 | Wed 29 June 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

RLPB 651 is being re-sent as the HTML version that went out yesterday came through slightly mangled. If this causes any inconvenience (or annoyance), please forgive me; I am in the process of moving to a new e-mail delivery system and have not as yet ironed out all the glitches.
thank-you for your patience
Elizabeth Kendal
-------------------------

ANNOUNCEMENT

The ElizabethKendal.com website has been renovated and repurposed. While a few pages still await content, much information has already been uploaded. As always, my aim is not to simply deliver news in the manner of a journalist. Rather, my aim is to generate the understanding required to facilitate a strategic response.

Consequently, rather than reporting news, my work involves gathering news; as such, I am indebted to journalists everywhere. I also gather analysis and intelligence, most of which requires expensive subscriptions. All news gathered is analysed in the context of worldview, history, domestic politics, and international geopolitics. Only by that means can we hope to see the big picture. Only by seeing the big picture can we hope to formulate a strategic response. And while the Church’s response to the problem of persecution might start with journalists/reporters and move through analysts, ultimately it falls to pastors, small group leaders, prayer leaders, mission leaders, aid groups, politicians, and other individuals to act upon that information, and ‘Speak, Pray, Give’.

Because I am now working independently, the repurposed website includes a facility through which people can contribute financial support. There is also a facility through which people can sign up for the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB). Please forward the RLPB widely and encourage others to sign up, for ‘The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective’ (from James 5:13-18 NIV).

In the hope of drawing in more youths, and people who are only nominally interested in religious liberty or persecuted Church issues, I have set up an Instagram account. While the issues posted to Instagram will relate to material in the RLPBs, the text will be short (120-250 words) and written in a different style, designed primarily to grab interest. Please recommend the religiouslibertyprayer Instagram to anyone you believe might benefit from this form of communication.

Thank-you
from your sister in Christ and partner in the Gospel,
Elizabeth Kendal

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JUNE 2022 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* INDIA [RLPB 647 (1 June)], after authorities threatened pastors in Basti district of Uttar Pradesh; and pastors were arrested for ‘conversions’ in Karnataka (which has an anti-conversion law) and Goa (which does not – yet). As noted in RLPB 647, Goa is ‘a former Portuguese colony on India’s west coast; Christians: 26.7 (census) - 41.5 percent (Operation World 2010), virtually all Roman Catholic’.

UPDATE: PROPOSALS ARISING FROM THE HINDU NATIONALIST CONVENTION IN GOA

On 15 June Goa’s BJP Governor, PS Sreedharan Pillai, proposed promoting Goa as ‘a destination for spiritual tourism’, a proposal that could see Gao host more Hindu festivals and new Hindu infrastructure. Outlook India reports (16 June): ‘On the same day, just some 30-odd km away, a Hindu Rashtra Sansad (Hindu National Parliament), part of the Akhil Bharatiya [an RSS affiliate] Hindu Rashtra Adhiveshan [Hindu nationalist convention] held at the Ramnathi temple grounds in the temple town of Ponda [in north Goa], demanded the deletion of the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ from the Indian Constitution.’ High on the list of topics discussed was that of religious conversions. While Goa is preparing to table a law against conversions, the delegates – reportedly comprising ‘hundreds of representatives from Hindu organisations based out of the US, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Fiji, Nepal and 26 Indian states’ – insisted, ‘The issue of religious conversions exists at the national level. To stop this, Article 25 of the Constitution needs to be amended and the words “propagate religion” removed from it.’ They also raised the issue of boycotting non-Hindus: ‘When you are fighting against an opponent, you have to cut all his financial links,’ insisted a delegate from neighbouring Karnataka. The author wondered whether the Adhiveshan/convention in Goa was just ‘an exercise in mere fulmination by the fringe’, before concluding that ‘the lines between mainstream and fringe, may well have blurred beyond recognition.’ Please pray for the Church in India.

See: Hindu Adhiveshan and the Changing Political Face of Goa
by Mayabhushas Nagvenhar, for Outlook India, 16 June 2022.

* NIGERIA, after Christians were massacred in terrorist attacks in Owo, Ondo State and Okpokwu LGA, Benue (both on Sunday 5 June); and Kajuru LGA, Southern Kaduna (Sunday 12 June) [RLPBs 648 (8 June)] and 649 (15 June)].

UPDATE: NIGERIA’S CHRISTIAN CRISIS CONTINUES

KADUNA: On Sunday 19 June a large contingent of gunmen on some 30 motorcycles looted and terrorised their way through three villages in Katura Community, in Kajuru LGA, in predominantly Christian Southern Kaduna. When they subsequently arrived in Rubu village at around 7am, church was just commencing. The terrorists attacked Maranatha Baptist Church and St Moses Catholic Church, killing three worshippers and wounding at least two. They also abducted 36 worshippers,mostly Catholics, for whom they are demanding N100 million ransom. 

On Saturday 25 JuneFather Vitus Borogo (50) was visiting the Prison Farm in Kujana town, in Chikun LGA, when terrorists raided the farm. The terrorists stole all the farm’s sheep and cattle and murdered Fr Borogo. Along with his church and pastoral duties, Fr Borogo also served as the chaplain of the Catholic community of the Kaduna State Polytechnic and was Chairman of the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association, Kaduna state chapter.

EDO: On Sunday 26 June Father Christopher Odia of the diocese of Auchi was abducted from his rectory at around 6:30am and subsequently murdered. He had been preparing to lead Sunday Mass at St Michael Catholic Church Ikabigbo, Uzairue, in predominantly Yoruba Edo State, in Nigeria’s South-east region. Please pray for the Church in Nigeria.

* VIETNAM [RLPB 650 (22 June)] where the publication of two draft decrees on religion show the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam is moving (as China has done) to tighten control over, and escalate persecution of, Vietnam’s registered Church.


JUNE 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* BURMA: KARENNI CHURCH SHELLED, TORCHED AND MINED

Free Burma Rangers in Daw Nye Ku,
15 June 2022

In early June, Tatmadaw (Burma Army) troops attacked the Karenni village of Daw Nye Ku, shelling and burning homes, sending the villagers fleeing into the hills. On 15 June they burned the new church. As the local People’s Defense Forces (PDF) forced the troops out, Free Burma Rangers medics entered the village to see if anyone required assistance. As they approached the church they noticed an exposed landmine on the edge of the path. FBR reports (19 June): ‘We then carefully retraced our steps out of the church compound and told everybody where the landmine was and said there were probably more. Just as we started to walk away, we heard an explosion, then a scream of pain and anguish. We went back to the church and there are on the ground was a young Karenni volunteer aged 16. His foot was completely gone and his lower leg was a mangled mess... He had stepped on a different mine than the one we had seen and we again realised that the Burma Army had seeded this yard with destruction.’ Please pray for Burma’s long-persecuted, gravely imperilled Christians.

* CHINA: MORE LEAPS BACKWARD

(1) CITIZEN INFORMANTS

On 6 June China’s ruling Communist Party (CCP) issued a directive encouraging and incentivising citizens to inform on one another. The Ministry of State Security has set up a public hot-line through which citizens can provide either real-name reports or anonymous tip-offs, by phone or over the internet, regarding citizens they suspect may be a threat to ‘national security’. As Radio Free Asia reports (9 June), ‘“national security” [is] a broadly defined concept that criminalises overseas contacts and fund-raising, criticism of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and peaceful political opposition.’ Depending on the value of the information, informants may receive a ‘spiritual reward’ (a certificate of appreciation) or varying degrees of financial reward. Please pray for the Church in China.

(2) TRIAL OF PASTOR GENG ZEJUN

In early June, Mrs Hao Ying, wife of Pastor Geng Zejun, published on social media that a trial will be held against her imprisoned husband at the end of June. Pastor Geng leads the Church of the Rock in Shizuishan city’s Huinong district in China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a remote far north region on the border of Inner Mongolia. Authorities raided the church on 5 December 2021 and sentenced Geng to 15 days administrative detention, and his wife and four others to 10 days. After their release, church gatherings resumed. On 4 January police summoned Pastor Geng for questioning; he never returned home. Pastor Geng and two other members – Luo Shiping and Wang Sufang – were charged with ‘organising illegal religious gatherings’. Bitter Winter reports (27 June) that Pastor Geng has been committed to trial and his sentencing has been scheduled for 13 July. Please pray.

* EGYPT: COPTS MURDERED

The Copts are the indigenous people of Egypt, the true descendants of the Pharaohs. At the time of the Arab invasion and conquest (from AD 639) the Copts were already predominantly Christian. The Copts are now an ethnic-religious minority, imperilled by systematic discrimination and persecution. On Sunday 5 June, in the village of Arab Mahdy in Akhmim, Sohag, some 500km south of Cairo, a Copt named Kirollos (Cyril) Megally (30) was brutally murdered by an extremist Muslim with a long history of harassing Christians. Megally was riding his motorbike when Abdullah Hosni obstructed him, pushed him off, and then hacked into him with a meat cleaver. Megally died in hospital on 7 June. Hosni has confessed to the crime and been charged with intentional murder. Please pray.

On 11 June, a decision was handed down in an Egyptian court that Copts hope will herald an end to impunity. On 7 April Father Arsenius Wadid (56) was enjoying a picnic with church youths on a popular seaside promenade in Alexandria when he was set upon and stabbed to death by a knife-wielding Islamist named Nehru Tawfiq (60). Tawfiq’s defence ran the usual line, that the perpetrator was mentally ill. However, a mental health assessment concluded Tawfiq – a former member of Gamaa Islamiyah who has previously spent time in jail on terrorism charges – had ‘no signs of psychological disorder’ and was ‘fully cognisant’ during the attack. Tawfiq appeared in court confidently flashing V for victory signs, chanting Allahu Akbar, and quoting the Quran. On 18 May Tawfiq was deemed guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Before it can be enacted, a capital punishment must be approved by the Grand Mufti. On 11 June Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawky Allam indicated ‘no objection’. While the death sentence can be appealed, the fact that punishment – as distinct from ‘reconciliation’ – is being demanded, is a positive step towards the ending of impunity. Please pray.

* ETHIOPIA: AMHARAS MASSACRED

Gimbi Woreda/district
(encircled, in red)
Click on map to enlarge.

 Also known as Abyssinians, the Amhara are overwhelmingly Christian, with most being members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, established in the 4th Century. On Saturday 18 June at around 9am, Oromo militants descended on the predominantly ethnic Amhara village of Tole in Gimbi Woreda (district), West Wollega zone, Oromia Region (435 km by road due west of Addis Ababa). During the four-hour assault the terrorists fired indiscriminately at residents and reportedly torched several houses. On 20 June Borkena reported: ‘While the effort to locate and bury the bodies of victims is still ongoing, our sources confirmed at least 378 Amharas were killed...’ Days later, Addis Insight reported ‘that more than 1600 people had been killed in the attack and that 900 bodies had been buried’. A further 2000 have reportedly fled their homes. The militants also abducted an unspecified number of people, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Map of northern Ethiopia, showing
Welkait (all lands west of the Tekeze River)
and Raya.
source: Horn Africa Insights (10 Aug 2021)

Whilst the threat to Addis Ababa has diminished, the ethnic cleansing of minorities appears to be gaining pace. Those most at risk are the overwhelmingly Christian ethnic Amhara, especially those Amhara who live as ethnic minorities outside of Amhara Region or in the 'disputed territories' of Welkait and Raya (Amhara farmlands annexed into a Greater Tigray by the TPLF after 1991, liberated by the Amhara in 2021). Tensions between the Amhara and the Abiy government are at boiling point, especially as the government moves to disarm the Fano (an Amhara volunteer defence force established in 2021) and arrest more than 4000 Amhara dissenters. Many fear the Amhara are being sacrificed as PM Abiy works to appease his Oromo base, and broker a deal with the TPLF and its backers in the US Biden-Blinken administration which is ready to enact sanctions if it does not get what it wants (which seems to be the Balkanisation and disintegration of Ethiopia). Either way, the Amhara lose! Please pray for Ethiopia, for PM Abiy and for Ethiopia’s imperilled Amhara Christians.

* PAKISTAN: DEATH FOR BLASPHEMY

On 8 June Christian brothers Qaiser Ayub (45, father of three)and Amoon Ayub (42, a music teacher), were informed that their appeal against their death sentences had been rejected. The brothers from Lahore will remain on death row. A case was registered against the brothers in June 2011, after Muhammad Saeed told police that he had found blasphemous content on the brothers’ website. The brothers were arrested and jailed in 2014. Their appeal, which had been pending since December 2018, was finally heard on 28 February, but the verdict not released until 8 June. The brothers, have always maintained their innocence, insisting Muslim associates Zaryab Sheikh and Sheraz Qureshi – with whom the brothers had a dispute – revived an old website under Amoon’s name and posted the blasphemous content to frame the Christian brothers on a false charge. There is no evidence to indicate the brothers ever posted any blasphemous content. According to their lawyers – Khurram Maan, of the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ), and Tahir Bashir of the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) – the judge simply refused to believe that another person could have done it. Please pray that the Lord will sustain the Ayub brothers, grant wisdom to their lawyers, pierce the conscience of their persecutors, and embolden Pakistan’s judges to rule justly.

* UGANDA: DEATH FOR APOSTASY

On 29 May, (Miss) Hawa Amoti (28) of Nansana, Wakiso District, on the outskirts of Kampala, in Uganda’s Central Region, died due to injuries inflicted by her father. After having several dreams about the Lord Jesus, Hawa visited a Christian neighbour on the morning of Sunday 29 May. After learning about Jesus and embracing the Gospel, Hawa went to church and worshipped her Saviour with fellow believers, staying with them for the rest of the day. When Hawa arrived home, her Muslim father, Haji Shariifu Agaba, flew into a rage, grabbed a knife and stabbed her in the eyes to ‘stop [her] seeing churches forever’. Neighbours rushed to Hawa’s aid and got her to hospital where she subsequently succumbed to her injuries. Morning Star News reports, ‘Community leaders in Nansana condemned the attack and vowed to arrest and charge Agaba.’ No amount of justice will bring Hawa Amoti back. However, fewer Christian converts, pastors, evangelists and apologists will die if impunity were to end and justice prevail. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church.

Elizabeth 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). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

See www.ElizabethKendal.com