RLPB 629. Faith: the secret of positive, enduring, hope-fuelled prayer.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 629 | Wed 22 Dec 2021
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

View archives at: Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB). The RLPB is sponsored by Christian Faith and Freedom Inc. 

This is the final RLPB for 2021. It includes (1) a reflection on the relationship between faith and hope; (2) a 130-word item for use in bulletins or prayers; (3) updates on Ethiopia (the TPLF retreats to Tigray), Haiti (all hostages safe and free) and Indonesia (a new blasphemy case).

The RLPB will return on 26 January with the January 2022 Update.
Thank you for your continued faithfulness.

FAITH: THE SECRET OF POSITIVE, ENDURING, HOPE-FUELLED PRAYER.
by Elizabeth Kendal

Amos 9:13
as paraphrased in The Message
 

One of my favourite historical sermons to read or listen to is Charles H. Spurgeon's January 1860 Revival Sermon on Amos 9:13. 'Behold, the days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it' (ESV). 'Originally,' notes Spurgeon, 'the land of Canaan was very fertile; it was a land that flowed with milk and honey... "A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and honey" [from Deut 8:7-10].' So, he laments, 'It is somewhat surprising to find that now [1860] the land [then under Turkish/Ottoman rule] is barren, that its valleys are parched, and that the miserable inhabitants gather miserable harvests from the arid soil. Yet the promise still stands true, that one day... Palestine shall be as rich and fruitful as ever it was.' Difficult as this was to believe in 1860, Spurgeon was certain that our sovereign God would prove faithful. Today we stand on the other side of the temporal fulfilment of that promise; a restored Israel has indeed, 'made the desert bloom'.

As Spurgeon explains, it is normal for the promises of God to have temporal and spiritual, as well as imminent and eschatological, application. As for the spiritual application of Amos 9:13 - that is, the promise of spiritual revival - Spurgeon was certain he was witnessing the early days of something extraordinary. Revivals in Britain and Great Awakenings in America had given birth to the era of Protestant missions. Compelled by William Carey's May 1792 sermon on Isaiah 54:2-3 ['Enlarge the place of your tent . . .'], Protestants were stepping out in faith to 'expect great things from God [and] attempt great things for God!' Based on the promise of Amos 9:13, Spurgeon likewise exhorted believers to anticipate a harvest and 'exert' themselves for God.

Much has changed since Spurgeon's day! Then, most Christians lived in the Judeo-Christian West, and persecution was limited largely to the indigenous Christian peoples of the Ottoman Empire. By the year 2000, after some 200 years of Protestant missions (initially from the West, but now [since the 1960s] increasingly indigenous), most Christians live in the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, traditional or atheistic non-Western world. Multitudes exist as counter-cultural religious minorities in states with appalling human rights records and little to no religious liberty, amidst escalating intolerance. The reason persecution has grown to be a global phenomenon is because Christianity has grown to be a global faith! God is fulfilling his promises!

While praying for the persecuted week after week can prove challenging, we have God's assurance given not only through the prophets but also through the angels on that first Christmas Day; the promise of 'good news of great joy which will be for all people'; the promise of 'a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord'; the promise that inspired the angels to sing: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!' (see Luke 2:1-20 NKJV). Filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah prophesied the same saying, 'because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.' (Luke 1:79 ESV)

Peace on earth? Are they kidding? Should I have hope for peace on earth? The word translated 'peace' here in Luke 1:79 and 2:24 is εἰρήνης (eirēnē). It can refer to either a temporal state of national tranquilly, absent rage and war; of harmony between individuals; of a state of security with prosperity; OR of a spiritual state resulting from peace with God or assurance of salvation, or even the eternal peace the believer inherits upon death [Strong's G1515]. Can we who know of the horrible persecution occurring in this world, and of the wars being waged against God's peoples, really hope for temporal peace on earth, a world not dominated by war or persecution? I can barely imagine such a thing!

In 1860, Spurgeon would have struggled to imagine the Israel that we know today. But he believed God's promise! He also believed the temporal fulfilment would prefigure the spiritual fulfilment: that of a great spiritual harvest. Dare we image a future in which churches in China and Iran are freely sending out missionaries all over the world? Dare we believe that the day may be coming when instead of Islam pressing southwards through Africa, a spiritual harvest might be reaped in Sudan, across the Sahel, and throughout West and North Africa as the Holy Spirit sweeps north unleashing revival among the Hausa, the Fulani and the Arabs? Dare we imagine a mostly Christian India or Japan or Afghanistan? Dare we trust God to be faithful to his word? 'I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it' (Jesus, in Matthew 16:18 ESV).

Almighty God our Heavenly Father,
Please merciful God, increase our faith so that we will never tire of interceding for and supporting your persecuted Church as she serves you on the front line of an increasingly intense spiritual battle.

See Prayer: 'I believe, help my unbelief', from Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (by Elizabeth Kendal, Deror Books, Melbourne Australia, 2012). 

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REMEMBER THE PERSECUTED THIS CHRISTMAS

For many Christians, Christmas is increasingly a time of elevated risk. This is certainly the case where fundamentalist Islam is empowered (e.g. Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey); where Islamic jihadists are active (e.g. Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Mozambique); where Hindu or Buddhist nationalism is ascendant (e.g. India, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Burma/Myanmar); where terrorism is escalating (e.g. Burkina Faso and the wider Sahel; Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa); and where hostile totalitarian regimes hold power (e.g. China, Vietnam, Iran). Meanwhile, in the world's churchless dark corners - Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Afghanistan, Tibet, Somalia - secret Christians will acknowledge Christmas quietly with trusted contacts over safe channels. For them and the many Christians currently in prison, there will be no singing, no gathering and no celebration - except in the heart. Please remember to pray for the persecuted.

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UPDATES

ETHIOPIA: TPLF RETREATS TO TIGRAY AND APPEALS FOR CEASEFIRE
-- Praise God who has turned back the battle in answer to prayer!

The head of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Debretsion Gebremichael, has written to the United Nations explaining that he has ordered all units of the Tigray Defence Force outside of the borders of Tigray to withdraw to Tigray. As the TPLF retreats it leaves in its wake 'a trail of abuse', including a multitude of displaced and massacred civilians, looted aid warehouses and vandalised empty hospitals. But this conflict was always about much more than TPLF ambitions. Foreign elements want to weaken, divide, and rule Ethiopia (by proxy [the TPLF]) so they can dominate the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea Region. But as RLPB has pointed out repeatedly from the outset, the collapse of Ethiopia would trigger a Christian crisis of monumental proportions. Please continue to pray that God will fulfil all his purposes for Ethiopia.

'The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands' (Psalm 138:8 ESV).

HAITI: ALL 17 HOSTAGES FREE
-- 'Praise God for answered prayers'

Praising God for safe return.
Christian Aid Ministries, 20 Dec 2021

Founded in 1981, Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) describes itself as 'a foreign-aid outlet for Amish and Mennonite and other conservative Anabaptist groups and individuals to minister to physical and spiritual needs around the world.' On 9 October a criminal gang seized 16 American and one Canadian CAM missionaries/supporters in Haiti, where they had been visiting a CAM-run orphanage. The gang demanded one million US dollars ransom per captive and threatened to kill them if it was not forthcoming [see RLPB 621 (27 Oct)]. Two missionaries were released on 21 November and three more were released two weeks later. Then, on the night of 15 December, the remaining 12 hostages made a daring night-time escape, walking for hours in the dark over rugged terrain until the dawn when they approached someone who phoned for help. On 20 December, under a banner declaring, 'Praise God for answered prayers', CAM General Director David Troyer gave a press conference, rich in gracious thankfulness, announcing the safe return of all 17 hostages. Praise God and continue to pray that Haiti will be delivered of its spiritual darkness.

INDONESIA: ANOTHER BLASPHEMY CASE

Joseph Suryadi, charged with blasphemy.

Over the course of five years, Herry Wirawan, the principal of a girls-only Islamic boarding school in Bandung, West Java, raped at least 12 of the young girls under his charge. Of the 12 known victims (all minors), nine have given birth and two are in an advanced stage of pregnancy. The case against Wirawan (36) is being heard in the Bandung District Court. Since around 10 December, when news of the case became public, public outrage has exploded. Then, on 14 December, Indonesian police arrested Joseph Suryadi (39), a Christian from Tangerang (a city near Jakarta) and charged him with blasphemy. Joseph stands accused of uploading a caricature of Islam's prophet Muhammad with a young, veiled girl (representing his prepubescent child-wife Aisha), along with a message noting that, just like Herry Wirawan, Muhammad too had a penchant for young girls. The post quickly attracted more than 7000 complaints. Suryadi denies uploading the message, insisting it happened while his phone was missing. If found guilty, Suryadi faces five years in a very hostile prison simply for giving public expression to one of Islam's most enduring stains: that Muhammad (aged 53) married Aisha when she was six years old and consummated the marriage when she was nine. Please pray.

[Indonesia's Criminal Code, Article 156 (a) reads: 'By a maximum imprisonment of five years shall be punished any person who deliberately in public gives expression to feelings or commits an act. (a) which principally have the character of being at enmity with, abusing or staining a religion, adhered to in Indonesia.']

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Research at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom Inc (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 621. October Update: Indonesia, Burma (Myanmar), Chile, China, Haiti, India, Lebanon, Sudan.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 621 | Wed 27 Oct 2021
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

To subscribe (free) or view archives, visit: Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RPLB) blog. The RLPB is sponsored by Christian Faith and Freedom Inc. 

OCTOBER 2021 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal

DIARY
* International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the Persecuted Church: 7 November 2021.
See: Critical Prayer Requests (CPR).
* Nepal: parliamentary elections, Friday 12 and 19 November.
* Chile: general elections (presidential, parliamentary and regional) Sunday 21 November.

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* NIGERIA [RLPB 618 (6 Oct)], where Boko Haram and its Fulani proxies have expanded and consolidated in eastern Niger State while wreaking havoc in southern Kaduna and Kogi, three regions which border the Federal Capital to the west, north and south respectively. It is a Christian crisis of monumental proportions. Please pray.

Muhammad Kece

* INDONESIA [RLPB 619 (13 Oct)] after Muhammad Kece - a former Muslim cleric who converted and became a Christian apologist - was accused of blasphemy, arrested, and jailed. On his first night in prison, Kece was violently assaulted in his cell by a group of Islamists led by an Inspector General of Police.

UPDATE: CASE AGAINST MUHAMMAD KECE

The Attorney General's Office is gathering evidence for the criminal prosecution of Muhammad Kece. Kece is suspected of using his Christian apologetics YouTube channel to violate laws on (1) Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE), (2) hate speech in relation to SARA (ethnicity, religion, race and other) and (3) blasphemy. Please pray for Muhammad Kece (Matt 10:16-20), for his lawyers, and that God will redeem this situation for the awakening of many in Indonesia (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

* PAKISTAN [RLPB 620 (20 Oct)], after the 22-member Parliamentary Committee to Protect Minorities from Forced Conversions rejected draft legislation prepared by the Ministry of Human Rights. Though the draft Prohibition of Forced Conversion Act (2021) would have protected underage non-Muslim girls from forced conversion (usually done for the purpose of forced marriage), Islamist clerics, scholars and legislators condemned it as 'un-Islamic', contrary to the Quran and Sharia, and 'dangerous'. The bill now lapses and will not be presented to parliament. In Pakistan today, no Christian girl is safe. Lord have mercy! Please pray.

OCTOBER 2021 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* BURMA: CHIN CHURCHES BURNED; OPERATION ANAWRAHTA LOOMS

MORE CHIN CHURCHES BURNED: As was reported in RLPB 617 (29 Sep) and RLPB 602 (16 Jun), the Tatmadaw (Burmese military) is conducting 'sweeps' in Chin State - which is estimated to be at least 90 percent Christian - burning, killing and looting as they go. On 13 October Burmese troops attacked Rialto village, setting fire to everything, including the Baptist church. On 19 October they attacked Tlang Rau village, torching homes and occupying the Baptist church. Forced to flee into the forest, thousands more ethnic Chin are struggling to survive the rain, cold and hunger. Baptist Pastor Thawng told Fides news agency that the targeting of churches only proves the 'fanatic and anti-religious behaviour of the military'. Catholic priest Fr Noel Hran Tin Thang adds: 'In the general atmosphere of violence, we see attacks on Christian churches, but no destruction of Buddhist pagodas. Why?' Could it be that the junta intends not simply to 'clear' Chin State, but to repopulate it with ethnic Burman/Bama Buddhists?

click on map to enlarge

OPERATION ANAWRAHTA LOOMS: According to veteran defence analyst, Anthony Davis, the Tatmadaw (Burmese military) is currently preparing for Operation Anawrahta (Asia Times, 19 Oct 2021). Troops (increasing from 30,000 to more than 120,000) and materiel (including attack helicopters and jets) are being moved into forward positions. Burma's dry season has just begun. As soon as the ground is dry enough, Operation Anawratha will commence. The main theatre will be Chin State (estimated to be more than 90 percent Christian), along with the Divisions of Sagaing and Magway in the mostly ethnic-Burman Irrawaddy valley heartland. The goal of Operation Anawrahta is to crush the ethnic Burman 'People's Defense Forces' (PDFs) that have proliferated throughout the heartland, along with those who support, train, supply and shelter them: in this case, the Chin. Davis expects the Tatmadaw will conduct 'sweeps' and major 'clearance operations' applying the strategy of the 'three alls': 'burn all, kill all, loot all'.

PRAYER FOR BURMA

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. Break the arm [mechanism of action] of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none. O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. (Psalm 10:12,15,17,18 ESV)

Operation Anawrahta will be a major focus of the RLPB ministry in the months ahead.

Background: RLPB 590, 'Christian Crisis Looms', 24 March 2021.

* CHILE: CHURCHES BURNED AMIDST SOARING TENSIONS

A highly polarised Chilean electorate will go to the polls on 21 November to vote for a new president. In recent years, churches have been targeted in anti-government protests, both by urbanites protesting chronic poor governance and by indigenous peoples demanding self-determination. On 18 October 2019 anti-government protests erupted in the capital, Santiago. As violence escalated, a Catholic church was looted and vandalised, its statues beheaded and smashed in the street. On 18 October 2020 the first anniversary of the protests, two churches were torched in Santiago: the Church of the Assumption and the St Francis Borgia Church.

On the night of 18 October 2021 unidentified persons ransacked and torched the premises of the Bishopric of the Diocese of Talca, 255 km south of Santiago, in central Chile's Maule region. Central Chile is home to one of the Americas most enduring self-determination struggles and churches are repeatedly targeted. In the early hours of 12 October two churches were destroyed by fire in Tirúa Commune, Arauco Province, Biobίo region: the Nuevo Pacto Pentecostal Cristiano (New Covenant Pentecostal Christian) and a Catholic church. In June the Evangelical Army Mission church of Canete was torched in the same area. According to the president of the Regional Coordination of Evangelical Churches, Héctor Luengo, more than 60 churches have been burned in the past two years. As tensions soar ahead of the 21 November presidential election, the church is calling for calm and an end to the violence. Please pray.

* CHINA: BROTHER CHEN ARRESTED AGAIN

Chen Wensheng

On 11 October authorities released Chen Wensheng from his sixth detention in 2021. A former drug addict, the now passionate evangelist was arrested early on Sunday 26 September and held for 15-days administrative detention in the Hengyang detention centre. Upon his release Chen wrote on WeChat, 'Hallelujah! Thank you, God, for your grace and presence. Thank you for your prayers. After being detained at Hengyang detention centre for 15 days, police officers and officials of the Unit[ed]-Front Department accompanied me home. They have left. Now I can go out to spread the Gospel again' (see: China Aid Association, 14 Oct). As noted in RLPB 585 (17 Feb 2021), brother Chen was 'one evangelist destined to fall foul of the [Chinese Communist Party's] new Administrative Measures. As was made evident in RLPB 608 (30 July 2021), Chen is not going to stop witnessing, meaning the arrests will continue with ever increasing pressure. Please pray.

* HAITI: PRAYING FOR DELIVERANCE

On Saturday 9 October the '400 Mawozo' criminal gang seized 16 Americans and a Canadian in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince. The visiting missionaries from Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries were snatched while travelling to the airport after visiting an orphanage. Among the captives are four children and an eight-month-old baby. Neatly groomed, wearing a royal blue 3-piece suit and sporting a large cross, gang-leader Wilson Joseph issued his demands via video on social media. The gangster demanded one million US dollars ransom per captive, adding, 'I swear by thunder that if I don't get what I'm asking for, I will put a bullet in the heads of these Americans.' There have been at least 628 kidnappings in Haiti so far this year, three times last year's total. Please pray, not only for the captive missionaries, but that Haiti might be delivered of its spiritual darkness.

NOTE: Haiti is often credited as being 95 percent Christian (predominantly Catholic) but100 percent Voodoo. The main opposition comes from the small but growing evangelical Church. In April 2003 President Aristide made voodoo an official religion in Haiti declaring it to be 'an essential part of national identity'. [See: Boukman, Aristide, Voodoo and the Church, by Elizabeth Kendal, Religious Liberty Monitoring, 26 August 2003.]

* INDIA

(1) KARNATAKA ORDERS INVESTIGATION INTO CONVERSIONS

In light of the fact that
Christian apologist Muhammad Kece
was formerly a Muslim cleric, and 
Christian evangelist Chen Wensheng
was formerly a drug addict . . .
Please pray for Goolihatti Shakhar, that he might
one day be a former Hindu nationalist.
 

On 21 September MP Goolihatti Shekhar, of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), addressed Karnataka's legislature appealing for anti-conversions laws to put an end to the 'rampant religious conversions' plaguing the state. He told of the embarrassment caused to his family by the conversion of his own mother who had stopped wearing vermilion on her forehead, abandoned idol worship and downloaded a Christian song as her ringtone [see: RLPB 617 (29 Sept)]. The BJP-led state government agreed and, on 13 October, ordered an investigation into all churches, ministers and missionaries. The Chief Justice of Karnataka will hear a Public Interest Litigation challenging the motive and purpose behind the exercise. Church in Chains reports (21 Oct) that on 11 October, Shekhar's mother participated in [very possibly under duress] a Ghar Wapsi ('homecoming') ceremony and returned to Hinduism. On 25 October, thousands of Christians participated in a peaceful rally to protest escalating persecution and the proposed anti-conversion law. Please pray.

(2) UTTAR PRADESH: PASTORS ARRESTED

On 10 October seven pastors were arrested during a prayer meeting in Northern India's Uttar Pradesh. Despite being charged with 'unlawful assembly', it is believed the pastors have been accused of violating the state's draconian anti-conversion law. Police also detained some 50 believers in attendance at the prayer meeting. They did not, however, arrest anyone from the fanatical Hindu mob that attacked the prayer house. Furthermore, the police detained two Catholic nuns who were waiting at a bus stop near the prayer house despite their not being involved in the prayer meeting. The pastors intervened and the nuns were released, while the lay believers were detained until later that evening. Three female pastors were released on bail on 13 October. Pastor Dinanath Jaiswal told UCA news (14 Oct) that the three women had been traumatised by their ordeal. Pastor Abraham Shakil told UCA: 'We are scared as [fanatical Hindu nationalists] can attack us any time and put the blame on us. The police and political leadership side with the attackers. Many pastors have stopped conducting prayer services.' Please pray.

* LEBANON: SECTARIAN TENSIONS IGNITE AGAIN

On 14 October supporters of the Shi'ite movements, Amal and Hezbollah, took to the streets, demanding the removal of Tarek Bitar, head of Beirut's criminal court and the judge in charge of the investigation into the August 2020 explosion at the port of Beirut. They want him removed because he has ordered the detention of numerous officials, including Ali Hassan Khalil, a former finance minister and high official of the Shiite Amal Party, a close ally of Hezbollah. The black-clad Shi'ite protesters descended on the 'Green Line' - the road between the Christian neighbourhood of Ain al-Remmaneh and the Amal stronghold of Chiyah. Gun fights erupted as Shi'ite protesters claimed to have been targeted by Christian snipers. The Christian party 'Lebanese Forces' rejected the claim, insisting that some Christians had been forced to defend their properties from Shi'ite invaders. The clashes - the worst in years - left six people dead and 30 wounded. By Friday 15 October, calm had been restored. Shi'ite agitators last stormed Ain al-Remmaneh in June 2020, angry that Hezbollah had been asked to disarm [see: RLPB 556 (1 July 2020)]. Ain al-Remmaneh has long been a hot-spot for Muslim-Christian clashes. The clashes demonstrate how delicate is the sectarian situation in Lebanon. Please pray.

* SUDAN: HOPES OF 'NEW SUDAN' CRUSHED IN MILITARY COUP
UPDATE to RLPB 516, Divine help needed if 'New Sudan' is to be realised, 21 Aug 2019.

After a week of massive pro-military and then pro-government rival demonstrations, the Sudanese military has seized power in Khartoum. Security forces arrested Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok early on 25 October. Other members of the civilian government have also been arrested. Military head, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, announced on state TV that he had declared a state of emergency and was dissolving the transitional government. Thousands of Sudanese poured onto the streets to protest the theft of their 'revolution'. At least seven people have been killed and 80 wounded in the protests, most from gunshot wounds as military forces fired into the crowds. Army and paramilitary forces have closed major roads and are patrolling the cities. Internet access has been cut. Members of the Sudanese Professionals Association are planning to strike. The Forces for Freedom and Change has split into factions. Stratfor Intelligence (26 Oct) warns that the military takeover could trigger months of unrest. Many fear that fighting could erupt throughout the periphery, including in the Nuba Mountains [see: RLPB 567 (15 Sep 2020)]. Please pray.

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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 595. April 2021 Update. Inc. Ramadan, China, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iran, Papua (Indonesia), Saudi Arabia, Somaliland

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 595 | Wed 28 Apr 2021
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Please forward this prayer bulletin widely and encourage others to sign up to “Follow by email” on the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) blog. ‘For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds’ (2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV). 

DIARY
Ramadan (Muslim month of fasting): 12/13 April to 12 May.
Orthodox Easter: Friday 30 April to Sunday 2 May.

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APRIL 2021 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* RAMADAN [RLPB 592 (7 April)], and the elevated threat that Ramadan brings to some of the world's most vulnerable Christian communities. We prayed specifically for the Church in Iraq, against which Islamic State (IS) has issued a direct threat. We also prayed concerning Syria, where analysts anticipate IS will attempt a Ramadan offensive and Armenia, where observers believe a new war is imminent as belligerent, Turkey-backed Azerbaijan demands a 'Zangezur Corridor' through southern Armenia.

RAMADAN UPDATE: ORTHODOX EASTER THIS WEEKEND

This weekend, Ramadan will coincide with Orthodox Easter compounding, the risk of Islamic terrorism and/or Muslim communal violence against vulnerable Orthodox Christian churches and communities. Countries where Christians will be at risk most significantly this Orthodox Easter include Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, as well as aggressively anti-Armenian Azerbaijan and neo-Ottoman Turkey. Please pray.

* CHINA [RLPB 593 (13 April)], where Christians are increasingly being 'disappeared' into 'mobile transformation facilities' - also known as 'Residential Surveillance at a Designation Location' - where they are mistreated until they 'break' and renounce their faith. We prayed especially for Elder Zhang Chunlei of the long-persecuted Ren'ai [Love] Reformed Church in Guiyang, who has been arrested and placed in criminal detention as a 'fraud suspect'; for Pastor Wang Yi of the long-persecuted Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, who was sentenced in December 2018 to nine years in prison; and for long-persecuted lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, who has been 'disappeared' for more than three years. Please continue to pray.

* TURKEY [RLPB 594 (20 April)], where Father Sefer Bilecen (known as Father Aho) - the Assyrian caretaker-priest at Mor Yakub Monastery in Tur Abdin region, Mardin Province - has been jailed for 25 months charged with 'aiding and abetting a terrorist organisation'. His crime was to give food to two armed militants who came to the monastery asking for food. We also prayed for a resolution on the fate of Mr Hurmuz Diril, an Assyrian Christian abducted from neighbouring Sirnac Province in March 2020. Please pray for the Church in Turkey.

UPDATE: Al-Monitor has released a short two minute but excellent video on the sentencing of Father Aho, which highlights how and why Turkey's Assyrian population has declined so markedly in recent years. Excerpt: 'At one point in the 1980s, the Assyrian population in Turkey was around 70,000. Today however, that number is closer is 20,000 with less than 3,000 in Tur Abdin [region, where Mor Yakub monastery is located]. Many of these families continue to feel pressure to leave ...' Note: Dotted with Christian monasteries, 'Tur Abdin' is Aramaic for 'the mountain of the servants of God'.

APRIL 2021 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* AZERBAIJAN: ESCALATING REPRESSION

According to Forum 18, a bill proposing amendments to Azerbaijan's already highly restrictive Religion Law was due to have its first reading in parliament on 23 April. If passed, the amendments will make it even more difficult for non-Islamic religious communities to function legally. It is already the case that, before a local religious group can be registered (legalised), it must have 50 adult citizens as founding members. An amendment would require that all 50 adult citizens reside in the one administrative district. Furthermore, before a religious group can register a 'religious centre' (i.e., headquarters), the group must have at least five registered communities, located in at least five different towns. Once registered, a 'religious centre' may only operate one religious school. Critically, a State Committee would acquire a veto over non-Islamic religious communities' appointments of leaders. While these and other amendments would cause considerable problems for all Christian communities, they would be catastrophic for small Jewish and Protestant fellowships. Please pray.

* EGYPT: IS-SINAI EXECUTES COPTIC CHRISTIAN
-- another Islamic State message signed in blood

Nabil Habashy Salama

On 18 April, Islamic State Sinai Province uploaded a 13-minute video to social media showing the execution of Christian Copt, Nabil Habashy Salama (62). A hardworking, popular and successful businessman, Mr Salama had built the only church in his hometown of Bir al-Abd, in the northern Sinai region. Militants snatched Mr Salama off the street on the early evening of 8 November 2020 [RLPB 577 (25 Nov 2020)]. Initially the terrorists demanded payment of two million Egyptian Pounds (approx. US$127,550) as jizya (protection money) for Bir al-Abd’s Copts. They later increased the jizya to five million Egyptian Pounds (approx. US$321,000). Unable to raise the funds and after numerous death threats, the family accepted advice from security officials and fled the Sinai. 

In the video, Mr Salama introduces himself and 'confesses' to having built a church which supported the Egyptian military. He is then shown kneeling and bound before three armed terrorists. Speaking into the camera, the terrorist spokesman sends a message to Egypt's Christians: 'We thank the great Allah who ordered his followers to kill, and the kafirs [apostates/infidels] to be subjugated until they pay the jizya [protection money] while down on their knees [see https://quran.com/9/29 ]. This is a message to Crusaders in every spot on earth: as you fight you will be fought, and as you capture you will be captured. As for you, Egypt's Nassaara [a derogatory word for 'Christian', meaning those who follow the Nazarene (i.e., Jesus of Nazareth)], this is your reward for supporting the Egyptian army.' He then shoots Mr Salama through the head at close range. In its statement, in which it claimed responsibility, IS-Sinai confirmed, 'He kept the faith till the moment he was killed.'

Watching the footage, Mr Salama's son Peter was distressed to see that father's teeth were broken, indicating he had been tortured. Peter's sister, Marina, told Egypt's Watani News that, following the initial shock and grief, she felt proud of her father. 'He lived and died a great man,' she said. 'He is now in a better place, with Jesus whom he loved and served.' Please pray.

* ETHIOPIA: CHRISTIANS MASSACRED; RISK OF WAR GROWS.

On Tuesday evening 30 March at least 28 ethnic-Amhara Orthodox Christians were killed and some 12 wounded when gunmen from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) Shane faction attacked Babo Gambela district, West Wollega Zone, in western Oromia Region. A report from Amhara Mass Media Agency put the death toll at over 40. It is the latest in a string of massacres of ethnic Amhara Christians by OLF-Shane militants in western Oromia Region.

Then, on 16 April, deadly violence erupted in southern Amhara Region's North Shoa Zone after OLF-Shane attacked Ataye town (although OLF-Shane denies involvement). The militants rampaged, killing and wounding residents, releasing prisoners from jail, burning houses and torching a church. When Amhara's security forces killed a Oromo shopkeeper and administrator from neighbouring Oromo Special Zone (an area in Amhara Region classed as 'special' because its residents are majority ethnic Oromo), all hell broke loose. Over the next four days armed Oromo civilians engaged in battle with Amhara security forces. As violence spread and numerous other towns came under attack, the Ethiopian Defence Forces and Federal Police forces were simply overwhelmed. By 25 April, authorities were putting the death toll at around 200. Some 250,000 people have been displaced across North Shoa Zone and up to 25 percent of all homes have been burned. Addis Ababa has declared a state of emergency in southern Amhara Region.

Tadesse Gerbretsadik, the head of North Shoa administration, said the OLF-Shane militants were well organised and well armed. Anger is rising against Prime Minister Abiy, who is blamed for failing to end the attacks. But in reality, a complex alliance of local and international enemies - the Egyptian government, the Sudanese military, the Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front and the Oromo Liberation Front - are co-ordinating and working together to break up Ethiopia; something that would trigger a Christian crisis of monumental proportions! Please pray.

* HAITI: CRIMINALS TARGET THE CHURCH

Mired in poverty, crippled by corruption, thoroughly infested with voodoo, hopelessly dysfunctional and increasingly lawless, Haiti is a nation in crisis. Recently, kidnapping for ransom has grown to be a major industry, causing the Catholic Church to lament the situation as 'a descent into hell'. Previously, kidnap victims were nearly always doctors or wealthy business people. But that changed in April when churches were targeted in two mass kidnappings. On 1 April four members of the Seventh-day Adventist Gospel Kreyòl Ministry Church in Diquini, Carrefour, on the southern outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, were abducted during a Maundy Thursday service being broadcast live on Facebook. The church's pastor, pianist and two technicians were held as hostages until Easter Sunday (4 April), when they were released upon payment of ransom. Then, on Sunday 11 April, 10 Catholics - five priests, two nuns, and three laypeople - were abducted at Croix-des-Bouquets, on the eastern outskirts of Port-au-Prince, while en route to attend the installation of a parish priest. Two of those abducted - one priest and one nun - are French citizens. The kidnappers have demanded a $1m ransom. Three of the seven clergy were released on 23 April, leaving seven Catholics in captivity. Please pray.

* IRAN: MORE CONVERTS ARRESTED; HOPES FOR RETRIAL

(1) MORE CONVERTS ARRESTED

On 19 April Iranian intelligence agents arrested four Christian converts in the south-western city of Dezful: Hojjat Lotfi Khalaf, Esmaeil Narimanpour, Alireza Varak-Shah, and Mohammad (Davoud) Ali Torabi. The following day a number of other Iranian converts were summoned for interrogation. On 21 April Hojiat, Esmaeil, Alireza and Mohammad (Davoud) were released because of the COVID pandemic. Esmaeil had been beaten during detention. All must remain available for questioning. This is not Davoud's first arrest. He spent a month in jail in 2017, before being released on bail, at which time he was also forced to sign a blank document. There are concerns that Davoud's signature could have been attached to a 'confession' or a renunciation of faith that could complicate his situation today. Between 10 and 15 other converts were summoned for questioning between 19 and 22 April in connection with the arrests of the four men. Please pray.

Top:  Homayoun and Sara
Below: Sam and Maryam with Lydia 

(2) HOPES FOR RETRIAL

Iran's Supreme Court is considering two retrial petitions. One relates to the prison sentences given to Homayoun Zhaveh (62, with advanced Parkinson's disease) and his wife Sara Ahmadi (43), for belonging to a house-church [see RLPB 591 (31 March)]. The other relates to a court's decision to remove special-needs child Lydia (2) from her adoptive parents, Sam Khosravi and Maryam Falahi, because they are Christian converts and Lydia is considered Muslim [see RLPB 584 (10 Feb)]. Hossein Ahmadiniaz, an Iranian human rights lawyer now based in Europe, explained to Article18 that, because these cases are considered 'security' cases, they are overseen by the Ministry of Intelligence. This, he notes, 'undermines the principle of judicial independence and undermines a fair and just trial.' He adds: 'However, if the judges act with honour, there is still the possibility they may accept the retrials and overturn the verdicts.' Please pray.

* PAPUA (INDONESIA): MILITARY CRACKDOWN LOOMS

As noted in RLPB 578 'Update on the Papuan Provinces' (2 Dec 2020), 'The situation in Indonesia's Papuan Provinces is coming to a head; tensions are soaring; a clash is looming; a Christian crisis may be imminent.' Since then, Papuan militants have further escalated their attacks on Indonesian interests. On Sunday 25 April a small detachment of Indonesian security personnel was patrolling a crime scene in the Central Highlands Puncak Regency when it was ambushed by Papuan rebels. A firefight ensued and Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) provincial intelligence chief Brig. Gen. I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha was shot dead in what appears to have been a planned assassination. The long-persecuted, mostly Christian, indigenous Papuans of Papua's Central Highlands are now bracing themselves for yet another massive military crackdown. Please pray.

* SAUDI ARABIA: CONVERT TO FACE COURT

On Thursday 22 April an Arab convert - whom Middle East Concern (MEC) identifies only as 'A' - faced court in Saudi Arabia. Several years ago, A's sister suffered abuse from her husband's family after they discovered she had become a Christian. After A helped her flee the country with her children, the family charged A with stealing money and threatened violence against his wife and children. While A has been dealing with charges of apostasy and spreading Christianity for years now, the theft case was due to be heard on 22 April. If found guilty, A would have ended up in a Saudi prison. MEC rallied supporters to prayer. During the trial, a dispute arose between the judge and the two lawyers representing the accuser and then between the two lawyers themselves. Frustrated and furious, the judge concluded (rightly) there was no evidence against A and acquitted him. MEC reports: 'This answer to prayer was a great encouragement, not only to A, his wife and children, but also to the wider convert community in their city.' Note: God answers prayer and there are convert communities inside Saudi Arabia! MEC reports: 'A. still faces two other court cases. He is accused of trying to convert Muslims to Christianity and of helping his sister leave the country against the wishes of her husband and the wider family. In the past few years A. has faced several prison sentences and flogging due to his faith and his assistance to his sister.' Please pray.

* SOMALILAND: CONVERTS TO FACE COURT

Officially part of Somalia, Somaliland is a self-declared independent state on the Gulf of Aden. A former British protectorate, Somaliland is routinely praised as a beacon of democracy. That may be so, but its constitution is profoundly Islamic and Islamic conservatism has been rising for years. On 4 April, six converts - four of whom were arrested in January and two in February - were charged with offences against the state religion (Islam) and inciting others to disobey laws relating to public order. Among them were Mohamed and Hamdi, a young couple arrested with their new-born baby. On 14 April three of the believers - two women (one from Somalia and one from Ethiopia) and an Ethiopian man - were released and deported. However, Mohamed, Hamdi and one other Christian, were additionally charged with apostasy and spreading Christianity. Their trial was to resume on Tuesday 27 April. Please pray.

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There is simply more persecution than the RLPB can cover, much of which is continuous. Consequently, RLPB endeavours to prioritise unreported or little-known persecutions, along with new trends, pivotal events, and looming or unfolding crises.

FOR INFORMATION ON
* the continuous stream of killings and abductions of Christians in Nigeria;
* the endless accusations of blasphemy against poor Christians in Pakistan;
* the non-stop systematic violent and legal persecution of poor Christians in India;
* the horrors increasingly facing Christian minorities in Uganda's impoverished and majority-Muslim Eastern Region
-- (none of which have been covered in this RLPB) -- please visit, sign up to (free) and support the various Christian news and aid organisations that specialise in providing news on the persecuted 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