RLPB 708. August Update, incl. India, Pakistan, Iraq, Nicaragua

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 708 | Wed 30 Aug 2023
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

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AUGUST 2023 UPDATE & ROUNDUP
By Elizabeth Kendal

UPDATE: DURING AUGUST 2023 WE PRAYED CONCERNING

THE MISSING [RLPB 704 (2 Aug)] and asked the Lord to shed light on the plight or fate of church leaders, missionaries and human rights lawyers who have gone missing after being abducted or arrested. We prayed specifically for a pastor and three elders abducted by troops in Burma’s Chin State; for Gratia Pello (40) theologian and apologist in Indonesia, who has not been seen since being arrested for ‘blasphemy’ in December 2022; for Reverend Hans-Joachim Lohre and Father Père Joël Yougbaré, two Catholic priests abducted in the terrorist-infested Sahel; and for Gao Zhisheng, a Christian human rights lawyer, missing in China for nearly six years since his capture in late 2017. We pray for their deliverance; but at the very least, that their loved ones would know the truth. Lord have mercy.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! (from Psalm 139:7-12 ESV)

INDIA [RLPB 705 (9 Aug)], specifically the high cost of faith in Uttar Pradesh (UP) where dozens of pastors and believers – many of them young women/mothers – are languishing in various jails as radical Hindu nationalists exploit the state’s severe anti-conversion law to persecute Christians. Like ‘blasphemy’ in Pakistan, luring people toward religious conversion is a non-bailable offence in UP; the accused go straight to jail. We prayed especially for Pastor Harendra Singh, his wife Priya and their three-year-old son who has been incarcerated with his mother. In the words of one Christian leader, ‘The situation has reached such a stage that holding a prayer service or reading the Bible at home can land you in jail.’ Please pray.

CHINA [RLPB 706 (16 Aug)], where the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) new Measures on the Administration of Religious Activity Venues will, in the words of Bitter Winter, ‘convert places of worship into branches of the CCP propaganda system.’ We also prayed specifically for Christian human rights lawyer Yang Maodong (pseudonym: Guo Feixiong). Detained in January 2021, Yang was only formally arrested in January 2022 (two days after his wife died). On 11 May 2023, Yang was deemed guilty of subversion, and sentenced to eight years in prison. However, his whereabouts remain unknown. Yang Maodong now joins the ranks of ‘the missing’. Please pray.

PAKISTAN [RLPB 707 (23 Aug)], after radical Islamic fundamentalist clerics exploited a local accusation of blasphemy to incite a mob of up to 10,000 fanatical Muslims to attack the Christian colony in Jaranwala city in Faisalabad district, Punjab province. The Jaranwala pogrom of 16 August has left the Christian community totally shattered. Tensions remain high; harassment and threats continue; Christians fear justice will elude them. Please pray. We also prayed for Christians currently languishing in prison because of vexatious blasphemy allegations – especially for those who have been sentenced to death: including Noman Masih (22), Ashfaq Masih (34) and the long-suffering and ailing Pastor Zafar Bhatti (57). Lord have mercy.

UPDATE: A RELATED ‘BLASPHEMY’ ARREST

On Saturday night 19 August, police in Sahiwal (100km southwest of Jaranwala) arrested Ehsaan Shan Masih (27) and charged him with blasphemy under Section 295-A of Pakistan’s Penal Code which criminalises ‘deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.’ Morning Star News (MSN) reports (22 Aug) that Eshaan Masih – an illiterate labourer and father of two children – reportedly uploaded images of the material that triggered the Jaranwala pogrom. Pastor Daniel told MSN: ‘[Ehsaan] came across a video on social media related to the attacks in Jaranwala that he posted on his TikTok account. Ehsaan was probably not even aware that sharing such content is a crime…’ Bishop Abraham Daniel of the Sahiwal Baptist Church told MSN that it was only due to prompt action from local police, who took Eshaan and his family into 'protective custody' [where members were subsequently beaten], that another major crisis was averted. Blasphemy is a non-bailable offence in Pakistan, and so Eshaam Masih remains in jail on judicial remand. He could face years of incarceration before his case is finally resolved. Please pray for Eshaam and for the Church in Pakistan.

AUGUST 2023 ROUND-UP – ALSO THIS MONTH

* INDIA: UPDATE ON MANIPUR
Background: RLPB 694, Manipur Burns, 17 May 2023

 David Thiek: tortured and beheaded.
screenshot from short film by Vishal Arora

During his most recent trip into Manipur (July), Indian Christian journalist Vishal Arora saw first-hand what ethno-religious hatred looks like in Manipur. While Vishal was in the area, a Meitei Hindu mob attacked a Kuki Christian community, killing a Kuki youth. A survivor told Visal how the Meitei mob tortured David Thiek (24) by severing his arms and legs before they beheaded him. They showed him where the Meitei put David’s severed head on public display to be mocked. Vishal reports that the near daily attacks on Christian Kuki-Zo communities are being perpetrated by ‘the Meitei extremist groups Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun. But what is most striking,’ says Vishal, ‘is a claim by Kuki-Zo leaders. They say the Manipur Police, including their elite commandos, and the India Reserve Battalion, or the IRB, which reports to the state government, are present alongside the Meitei groups during these incidents of violence.’ Please pray.

Recommended
Article: The Men Behind Violence in the Indian State of Manipur,
by Vishal Arora. Published by Religion Unplugged, 18 August 2023
Video (YouTube): The Men Behind Violence In Manipur, India (11:30 mins),
by Vishal Arora. Published by Religion Unplugged, 16 Aug 2023.
WARNING: video footage is graphic and distressing (recommended for adults only). 

* IRAQ: AN EXISTENTIAL CHRISTIAN CRISIS
Update to RLPB 695, Iraq: An Existential Christian Crisis, 24 May 2023
and RLPB 702, Final Solution in Iraq, 19 July 2023

Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has published a detailed report on what RLPB has been calling ‘an existential crisis’ for Iraq’s indigenous Assyrian Christians. Written by N. Moses, and dated 23 Aug 2023, the MEMRI report opens by rightly noting: ‘Although it has been five years since the Islamic State (ISIS) was defeated in Iraq, it appears that the danger to the Christians in the country remains, and is in fact escalating.’

Cardinal Sako vs Al-Kildani

A major struggle is underway over leadership of Iraq’s Chaldean Christian community and control of its resources. The struggle pits Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, the Patriarch of Baghdad and head of the Chaldean Church, against challenger Rayan Al-Kildani. A fellow ethnic Chaldean/Assyrian, Al-Kildani commands the Babylon Brigades (a militia within the Iran-backed Shi’ite-dominated Popular Mobilization Units (PMU)) and leads its political arm, the Babylon Movement. The crisis attracted international attention on 3 July when Iraq’s president, Abdul Latif Rashid – whose Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is the more pro-Iranian of Iraq’s two main Kurdish political parties – entered the fray on the side of Rayan Al-Kildani. MEMRI rightly concludes: ‘These internal conflicts over the identity of Iraq’s Christian community are likely to further weaken it and endanger the future of this historic group in the country… The involvement of President Abdul Latif Rashid, which harms Sako, does not bode well for the future of the Chaldean Church and Christianity in Iraq generally… Iran’s man Al-Kildani seems to be following a pattern seen elsewhere, in both Syria and Lebanon, where Shi’ite militias and their non-Shi’ite front-men push for advantage against vulnerable religious minorities.’ An existential Christian crisis indeed! Lord have mercy.

Recommended
In Iraq, Struggles Over Power and Control of the Chaldean Catholic Church’s Resources and Identity; Iraq’s Interim President Sides With Patriarch Sako’s Rivals.
By N. Mozes, for MEMRI, 23 August 2023

* NICARAGUA: JESUITS TARGETED
Background: RLPB 660, Ortega Moves to Silence the Church, 31 Aug 2022.

On Tuesday 15 August the government of President Daniel Ortega ordered the confiscation of all assets belonging to the prestigious, Jesuit-run, Central American University (UCA) in the capital, Managua, after a judge labelled it a ‘centre of terrorism organised by criminal groups.’ Then, on Wednesday 23 August, the government banned the entire Society of Jesus (Jesuits) – from the country and ordered the confiscation of all its assets, claiming the religious order had failed to comply with tax reporting. At the time of writing, only 11 Jesuits remained in the country. The government has been pursuing the Catholic Church since April-May 2018, after it opened its doors to shelter the victims of deadly state violence. Reuters notes (23 Aug) that, since the anti-government protests of 2018, the government has ‘outlawed or closed more than 3000 civic groups and non-governmental organisations’. In its report, The Tablet notes (16 Aug), ‘Since 2021 the government has imposed restrictions on 25 private universities, including the Protestant Martin Luther King University.’ In May of this year, the government ordered the Nicaraguan Red Cross shut down, accusing it of ‘attacks on peace and stability’. In June, the government confiscated properties belonging to 222 forcibly exiled political prisoners, comprising church leaders, rights activists, journalists and lawyers [see RLPB 681, Forced Exile and Imprisonment, 22 Feb 2023]. Please pray for the Church in Nicaragua.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (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 see www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 703. July Update, incl. Vietnam, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 703 | Wed 26 Jul 2023
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Sign up for the RLPB at www.ElizabethKendal.com  
View RLPB archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog.
For bite-size: follow religiouslibertyprayer on Instagram.

JULY 2023 UPDATE & ROUNDUP
By Elizabeth Kendal

UPDATE: DURING JULY WE PRAYED CONCERNING

VIETNAM [RLPB 700 (5 July)], after the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam deployed massive military force into the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak in response to the deadly 11 June attack on two government offices in Dak Lak’s Cu Kuin district. We prayed specifically for the Central Highlands’ indigenous, predominantly Christian hills tribes who feared the deployment could herald an escalation in ethno-religious persecution and displacement. We also prayed for imprisoned Protestant Pastor and religious liberty advocate Nguyen Trung Ton (51), whose health continues to deteriorate as the authorities continue to withhold medical care.

UPDATE: On 21 July the Director of Dak Lak’s provincial police announced that all six suspected ringleaders of the 11 June attacks had been arrested. In total, more than 90 people have been arrested on multiple charges including terrorism. Please pray that the situation will now settle and that the government will withdraw its forces. Pray that no innocent, wrongly arrested person will be condemned; may justice prevail. Pray that the government will not exploit the situation to advance the ethno-religious persecution and displacement of the Central Highlands’ Montagnard/Degar Christians. Pray for the Church in Vietnam.

PHILIPPINES [RLPB 701 (12 July)], where the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Vice President Sara Duterte appear set to continue the dangerous practice of ‘red-tagging’ its critics. Since the May 2022 elections, religious workers – including priests, bishops and missionaries – associated with the Protestant Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI, an independent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion), the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and the Roman Catholic Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) have been ‘red-tagged’ – i.e. falsely accused of recruiting for or financing the New People’s Army (NPA; the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines). Victims of ‘red-tagging’ are often arrested, murdered or disappeared – mostly at the hands of the Philippine Armed Forces, and mostly for doing nothing more than criticising government policy. Please pray.

AZERBAIJAN AND IRAQ [RLPB 702 (19 July)], where remnant indigenous Armenians in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh (N-K) and remnant indigenous Assyrians in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains now face political (as distinct from military) efforts to drive them from their lands. While the besieged Christians of N-K face a government-induced humanitarian catastrophe, the displaced Christians of the Nineveh Plains face a political conspiracy of dispossession. If these Christians are forced to surrender their lands – lands they have inhabited for millennia – they will be replaced by land-grabbing Muslims backed by colonising governments. Those colonising Muslims will move quickly to erase millennia of Armenian, Assyrian and Christian heritage, as if it never existed. For up to 400,000 already traumatised Armenians and Assyrians, this is a Christians crisis of existential proportions. Please pray.

JULY 2023 ROUND-UP – ALSO THIS MONTH

* ERITREA: PASTORS MARK 7000 NIGHTS IN PRISON

On Saturday 22 July, as noted by Voice of the Martyrs (USA), Pastors Haile Nayzgi and Kiflu Gebremeskel spent their 7000th night in detention. Arrested on 23 May 2004, the pastors were leaders in the Full Gospel/Kale Hiwot Church of Eritrea, one of the many Protestant denominations banned in May 2002. Pastor Haile Nayzgi also served as chair of that denomination, while Pastor Kiflu Gebremeskel also served as chair of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance. While Pastor Nayzgi is reported to be in good health, Pastor Gebremeskel has been seen ‘visiting hospital frequently under tight security’. Neither man has ever been charged with any crime. Both are believed to be held in the maximum-security Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Interrogation Centre. An estimated 400 Christians in Eritrea are currently imprisoned for their faith, many in appalling conditions in shipping containers in military camps, in unsanitary over-crowded prisons, and even in underground cells in the desert [see also RLPB 671, The Horror of Eritrea, 16 Nov 2022]. Please pray for the Church in Eritrea; and may God intervene to deliver Eritreans from tyranny.

Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! (Psalm 70:1 ESV)

* INDIA: MANIPUR TEARING APART

On 19 July footage emerged from Manipur showing a mob of hundreds of ethnic Meitei Hindu men parading two naked ethnic Kuki Christian women through the streets. The horrific crime, which took place on 4 May (one day after the violence erupted), went far beyond mere humiliation. According to a report by British Asian Christians (21 July), the terrified women – aged 50 and 19 – were abused, groped and assaulted, before the younger woman was taken into a field and gang raped. When her father and brother tried to rescue her, they were bludgeoned to death. It is alleged (unconfirmed) that the women – who had been hiding in the bush as the Meitei burned their village – were betrayed by police who, instead of helping them as promised, led them into the hands of the mob.

Kuki 'Rally for Separate Administration',
Churachandpur, 20 July. (India Today)

The human toll – which is overwhelmingly Kuki – now stands at: at least 140 dead and 60,000 displaced; with over 4400 Kuki homes and 357 churches (Kuki and Meitei) burned, many razed to the ground. Convinced their relationship with the Meitei Hindus of the Imphal Valley is now damaged beyond repair, the Christian Kuki of the Manipur hills are demanding a separate state. On Thursday 20 July some 10,000 ethnic Kuki gathered in Lamka Public Ground in Churachandpur (in the hills, 63km south-west of Imphal) for the ‘Rally for Separate Administration’. Please pray!

Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be turned back and brought to dishonour who delight in my hurt! Let them turn back because of their shame who say, “Aha, Aha!” (Psalm 70:2-3)

* IRAN: 50 CONVERTS ARRESTED IN A WEEK

Article18 reports (18 July): ‘More than 50 Christian converts have been arrested in a rash of new incidents across five Iranian cities over the past seven days, with fears the number could rise much higher as fresh reports keep coming in. At least 51 of those arrested at their homes or house-churches – in the cities of Tehran, Karaj, Rasht, Orumiyeh and Aligoudarz – remain in detention on unknown charges, while others have been released on bail.’ The evident crackdown on converts and house-churches comes as the Shi’ite regime re-instigates (after a brief pause) its aggressive policing of Islamic norms. On Sunday 16 July the regime announced its morality police patrol units would resume operations. Of particular concern to the regime is women’s compliance concerning the hijab, which has been compulsory since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Christian fear this wave of arrests heralds the beginning of a renewed effort to crush dissent, enforce Islamic norms and revive the values of the Islamic Revolution. Please pray for the Church in Iran.

May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, 'God is great!' (Psalm 70:4)

* NICARAGUA: BISHOP CHOOSES JAIL OVER ROME

Having already chosen jail over exile in the USA, Bishop Rolando José Álvarez (56) has now chosen jail over Rome. Bishop Álvarez was arrested on 19 August 2022, ostensibly for his outspoken criticism of the regime of President Daniel Ortega. On 9 February 2023 the Nicaraguan government forcibly exiled 222 political prisoners, stripping them of their citizenship and putting them on a flight to the USA. Despite being given the option of exile, Bishop Álvarez chose to stay in his native country to be with the Catholic community under repression by the Ortega regime. The next day, on 10 February, the regime stripped Bishop Álvarez of his citizenship and sentenced him to 26 years in prison [see RLPB 681, 22 Feb]. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports that, on 4 July, Bishop Álvarez was taken from prison to meet with a mediator ‘assigned by the Vatican who tried to persuade him to go to Rome. The bishop refused the offer and called on the government to grant his unconditional release and that of five other imprisoned priests, to unfreeze the bank accounts of Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the country and to halt its targeting of religious groups and leaders.’ The next day, on 5 July, Bishop Álvarez was returned to La Modelo Tipitapa prison, where he will continue to share in the suffering of the Nicaraguan Church. Lord have mercy! Please pray.

But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay! (Psalm 70:5)

* NIGERIA: CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN PLATEAU STATE

Since mid-May, Christians in central Plateau State have been under sustained attack as large bands of Muslim Fulani herdsmen have attacked village after village, seemingly with impunity. Morning Star News (MSN) reports (7 June) that between mid-May and early June at least 300 Christians, including two pastors, were killed and 30,000 residents were displaced, while some 2,000 homes and 28 churches were destroyed in Mangu Local Government Area (LGA), central Plateau. In June the killings continued and spread west to Barkin Ladi and Riyom LGAs in Plateau’s north-west bordering some of the most conflict-stricken LGAs of south-east Kaduna. On 4 July, Truth Nigeria warned that ‘several hundred terrorists’ were ‘massing in the Fulani ethnic settlement of Bangai [in Riyom LGA] … They are moving on motorbikes, 3 men to a bike and may number as many as 800.’ On Sunday 9 July the new governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang imposed a 24-hour curfew on Mangu LGA in an attempt to restore order as the army sent reinforcements.

TVC News Nigeria, 13 July 2023,
video 3:13mins

On 17 July Governor Mutfwang labelled the wave of killings ‘a clear genocide’, adding, ‘what we are seeing is a deliberated and orchestrated plan to wipe out numbers of people’. As he noted, these killings cannot be described as ‘herder-farmer clashes’, for the villages are attacked at night and the residents are slaughtered in their beds. On 20 July Truth Nigeria warned that the ‘mother of all invasions’ was being prepared. According to intelligence they had received, the ‘invasion’ would start in Mangu LGA, and spread into neighbouring Barkin Ladi, and on through Riyom, Jos South and Bassa, employing not only Fulani herdsmen, but jihadists and mercenaries recruited from across Nigeria and the Sahel. By 24 July officials were reporting that Mangu LGA was housing some 80,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in eleven makeshift camps, relying mostly on donations from local churches. One IDP, Grace Emmanuel (70) laments: ‘The crisis has made us homeless, our farmland has been destroyed and we have to manage to live in this primary school. It’s not easy, we don’t have anything to eat. We go and fetch water from the well, [but] sometimes the water is not enough for thousands of us.’ Lord have mercy! Please pray.

Make haste, O God, to deliver me! … O Lord, do not delay! (first and last words of Psalm 70).

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (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 see www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 681. February Update incl. Nigeria, Artsakh, USA, D.R.Congo, Ghana, India, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Sudan

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 681 | Wed 22 Feb 2023
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Sign up for the RLPB at www.ElizabethKendal.com
View RLPB archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog.
For bite-size: follow religiouslibertyprayer on Instagram.

FEBRUARY 2023 UPDATE & ROUNDUP
By Elizabeth Kendal

DURING FEBRUARY WE PRAYED CONCERNING

NIGERIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

This Saturday, 25 February, Nigeria’s presidential election will be held amidst soaring ethno-religious tensions, gross insecurity and the threat of widespread election-related violence. Nigeria has a population of 220 million, around half of whom identify as Christian. Those most at risk are minority Christians in the Muslim North and all ethnic Igbo living outside the South East. [The Igbo are Nigeria’s most Christian (98 percent), most industrious and most widely dispersed tribe.] The Nigerian Church is one of the world’s leading missionary-sending Churches.

‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armour of God [described in vs13-17] … [and] keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication [earnest prayer] for all the saints.’ (From Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV)

RLPB 678. Nigerian Elections (1): The Candidates, 1 Feb 2023
RLPB 679. Nigerian Elections (2): Insecurity and the Igbo, 8 Feb 2023
RLPB 680. Nigerian Elections (3): Buhari’s Legacy, 15 Feb 2023

UPDATE: A Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll conducted over 10-12 February showed Labour’s Peter Obi – an ethnic Igbo Christian from the long-marginalised South East – well out in front. Excerpts from the R&WS poll results: ‘Peter Obi (Labour Party) 62 percent; Bola Tinubu (All Progressives Congress) 22 percent; Atiku Abubakar (Peoples Democratic Party) 12 percent; Rubi’u Musa Kwankwaso (New Nigeria People’s Party) 3 percent; another candidate, 1 percent. … While enthusiasm for Obi is said to be driven by younger voters, majorities of voters across all age groups say they intend to vote for Obi. … Peter Obi is the only major candidate in the upcoming election who is viewed favourably by a majority of Nigerian voters…’

However, Peter Obi’s campaign has not been without its challenges. In recent weeks several of the Labour Party’s Northern Muslim gubernatorial and state assembly candidates have abandoned Obi and Labour and defected to the APC and PDP, both of which are running Muslim candidates. The defecting candidates accuse Obi of running a ‘non-inclusive’ campaign and pandering to the Igbo, something his campaign and his supporters deny. Ndi Kato, a spokesperson for Obi’s campaign, told The Africa Report (15 Feb) that she does not believe the high-level political defections will have any impact on the polls. ‘Our foot soldiers are the people of Nigeria. They are volunteering … this election is between the people and the political class.’

Kato’s analysis hits the target! This is an election between the people (i.e. those who have been impoverished) and Nigeria’s political and military elites (i.e. those who profit from systemic corruption). However, it will also be fought between those advancing ethnic (e.g. Fulani) and/or Islamic hegemony, and those demanding religious freedom and tolerance, education and jobs, health, peace and prosperity in a ‘New Nigeria’. The battle is about to begin!

Nigeria is entering a very challenging and indeed pivotal period of its history. Please, keep alert and pray.

ROUNDUP: ALSO IN FEBRUARY

* AZERBAIJAN: ARMENIANS FACE ETHNIC CLEANSING

Armenians under siege.
Photos by Ani Balayan,
Armenian Weekly 15 Feb 2023

Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) – an ethnic-Armenian Christian enclave in Turkic Muslim Azerbaijan – has been in a state of siege since 12 December when Azerbaijani agents blockaded the Lachin Corridor (the road that links Artsakh to Armenia). On 15 February the Armenian Weekly warned: ‘It is beyond any doubt that the actions’ of these Azerbaijani agents ‘serve as a consistent tool for Azerbaijan’s hybrid warfare tactics and systematic policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh. … Cut off from the outside world, the 120,000-strong population of Artsakh is inching closer to an inevitable humanitarian catastrophe every single day. There are extreme shortages of food, medicine and other basic necessities. There is a lack of proper heating in harsh winter conditions.’ Rich in ancient Armenian Christian architecture (which Azerbaijan doesn’t want), Artsakh is also rich in minerals, in particular gold and copper. Complicating matters, Baku – Azerbaijan’s capital, located on the shore of the Caspian Sea – is rich in oil and gas. That gas – which is desperately needed in Europe – is now flowing through the Southern Gas Corridor. Consequently, we should not expect any Western government will challenge Baku – at least not with anything more than a few meaningless words! The situation is dire. Please pray.

‘It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes’ (Psalm 118:9 ESV).
Prayer for Artsakh – Psalm 118:5-17

Recommended: ‘Do you know what is happening in Armenia?’ by Craig Simonian, World Evangelical Alliance’s Peace & Reconciliation Network (PRN), 13 Feb 2023.

MEANWHILE: ARMENIANS IN BEVERLEY HILLS

Flyers posted around Beverly Hills,
28 Jan 2023.

On Saturday 28 January police in Beverly Hills, California, USA, declared that flyers inciting a new Armenian genocide ‘fall within the protection of the First Amendment of the US Constitution’ (i.e. they are protected as free speech). The flyers, which read – ‘Azerbaijan + Turkey + Pakistan + Israel = 4 BROTHERS WILL WIPE Armenia OFF the MAP, Inshallah !!!!’ – had been posted throughout the city on 28 January, ahead of the Armenian Youth Federation Western United States’ March for Artsakh. [NOTE: Israel is a key ally and weapons supplier to Azerbaijan.] As Melody Seraydarian notes, ‘At a time when our homeland [Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic-Armenian Christian enclave in Turkic Muslim Azerbaijan] is undergoing a humanitarian crisis, this kind of rhetoric – especially at a protest intended to call national attention to the Artsakh blockade – is alarming.’ It might have taken a whole week, but on 7 February, Beverly Hills Police Department did remove their statement from social media. However, an anxious Armenian community is still waiting for an explanation. Please pray.

* DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC): TERROR IN NORTH-EAST

Islamic State Democratic Republic of Congo (ISDRC: the DRC chapter of Islamic State Central Africa Province) continues to consolidate and expand in the DRC’s north-east. This is the same group that on 15 January bombed a church baptism service in North Kivu Province, killing 14 worshippers and wounding around 70 [RLPB 677 (25 Jan 2023)]. Since then ISDRC [formerly known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)] has continued to wreak terror in DRC’s north-east. On Sunday night 22 January, ISDRC terrorists killed 23 civilians in Beni, North Kivu. Before dawn on Sunday 28 January, the group launched simultaneous attacks on three villages in neighbouring Ituri Province (north of North Kivu) leaving more than 20 dead. On Sunday 12 February and Monday 13 February, ISDRC terrorists killed at least 22 civilians and burned homes and medical facilities in two districts of Ituri Province. On Wednesday 15 February they killed five more civilians in Ituri. ISDRC is only one of several militias wreaking havoc in DRC’s north-east where some 6.8 million Congolese have been displaced [UNHCR, Feb 2023] and services – most of which are provided, not by the state but by the Church – have been disrupted. It is a full-blown Christian crisis. Please pray for DRC, for DRC President Felix Tshisekedi (described as a devout Christian), and for DRC’s suffering and imperilled Church.

* GHANA: BAWKU CONFLICT; OPPORTUNITY FOR JIHADISTS

Map showing location of Bawku.
(click on map to enlarge)

A high-risk situation has emerged in Ghana’s far north-east as conflict returns to Bawku. The conflict – between the non-Muslim, mostly-Christian indigenous ethnic Kusasi and the Muslim ethnic Mamprusi who migrated from Togo and established the town in the 18th Century – has ethnic, political and religious dimensions. Power struggles between the Mamprusi (who dominate the urban centre) and the Kusasi (who live on the periphery) are nothing new. However, while the groups used to fight with sticks, now they fight with automatic weapons, making this power struggle far more deadly. What’s more, the consolidation and expansion of jihadist terror groups in the Sahel makes any destabilisation far more dangerous.

After 13 years of peace, conflict erupted in Bawku in November 2021 after a rumour spread that the Mamprusi were ‘planning to install their own regent as chief, in a direct challenge to the current Kusasi ruler’. On 6 February Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were used in an attempt to blow up a bridge, causing alarm in the security forces as it was the first time an IED had been deployed in Ghana. On 15 February the Mamprusi did install a parallel king/chief in Bawku, an act the government in Accra condemned as ‘illegal and a threat to national security’. Fierce gun battles ensued, and the town is now totally polarised along ethnic and religious lines. The government has announced it will send an additional 5000 troops to Bawku to stem the escalating violence. According to Ghana’s defence minister, Dominic Nitiwul, ‘Unknown elements are sowing seeds of radicalisation in the area …’ Critically, security analysts report that ‘foreigners have infiltrated Bawku and they are being aided by the locals to kill’. These foreigners ‘are the agents of the locals’ who invite them in and give them sanctuary [The Africa Report, 15 Feb]. There is a huge risk that jihadist terror groups based in Burkina Faso and the wider Sahel might exploit the situation to get a foothold in northern Ghana. Please pray.

* INDIA: ARSON IN NARMADAPURAM, MADHYA PRADESH

On Sunday 12 February members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Narmadapuram district, in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, arrived for morning prayers only to find that Hindu nationalists had broken into their church and torched the interior. The furniture, carpets, appliances, musical instruments, Bibles and prayer books had been dowsed in flammable liquid and burned. The six-year-old church – which has a seating capacity of 1000 – had only recently been repainted. On 14 February, police arrested three suspected arsonists. While Pastor Mahesh Kumre thanked and praised the police for their prompt action, another Christian leader, Dennis Jonathan lamented that the arsonists will only be charged with ‘hurting religious sentiments’ which, unlike arson, only attracts a minor penalty. The police suspect the accused – who had a list of Christian and Muslim places of worship to target and claimed that they were only defending their religion – are also responsible for two other church arson attacks in Narmadapuram district in January. Christians make up a mere 0.29 percent of Madhya Pradesh’s 72 million population. Please pray for India, for the vulnerable Church in Madhya Pradesh, and that the accused arsonists (three young men in their early 20s) might ‘repent and believe the good news’ (Mark 1:15 NIV).

* NICARAGUA: FORCED EXILE AND IMPRISONMENT
- Church endures most severe crackdown in decades.

On 10 February Bishop Rolando José Álvarez (56) – who was arrested on 19 August 2022 [see RLPB 660 (31 Aug 2022)] – was stripped of his citizenship and sentenced to 26 years in prison after the court deemed him guilty of undermining the government, spreading false information, obstruction of functions and disobedience. A leading Catholic, Bishop Álvarez has been an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega. It is the longest sentence given to a political prisoner in years.

One day earlier, on 9 February, the Nicaraguan government forcibly exiled 222 political prisoners, stripping them of their citizenship and putting them on a flight to the USA without informing their families. The CSW press release of 10 February lists the church leaders forcibly exiled: they include numerous Catholics and one Protestant pastor. Bishop Álvarez was supposed to be among them. However, as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom noted in its condemnation of the bishop’s 26-year sentence: ‘Authorities reportedly gave Bishop Álvarez the opportunity to join the exiled prisoners, but he chose to stay in his native country to be with the Catholic community under repression by the Ortega regime.’ Lord have mercy! Please pray.

‘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).

* PAKISTAN: RELENTLESS PERSECUTION

Sunita Masih after acid attack.
(Morning Star News,
courtesy of family)

KARACHI: On 1 February a Christian girl named Sunita Masih (19) left home to go to work. While at the bus station, a Muslim neighbour, Kamran Allah Bux threw acid over her, burning her face, eyes, arms and legs. Sunita, who belongs to the local Salvation Army church, will be permanently scared, physically and emotionally. Bux (who is married) had long been harassing Sunita, pressuring her to convert to Islam and marry him – advances she repeatedly rejected. Bux has been arrested and police have registered a case against him.

PUNJAB: On 4 February police in Faisalabad finally registered a case against Rana Tayyab, a 60-year-old Muslim man who had, on 15 December, kidnapped a 15-year-old Christian girl named Sitara Arif (also known as Saira). Saira’s father, Arif Gill had spent nearly two months trying in vain to get the police to register a case. On 3 February, when attorney Akmal Bhatti – Gill’s lawyer and chairman of the Minorities Alliance Pakistan – learned of Gill’s plight, he intervened and demanded immediate action from the police. By now Saira will have been forcibly converted to Islam and forcibly married to Tayyab who is rumoured to have taken Saira to Islamabad. Lord have mercy!  

On 6 February a Muslim landowner accused Christian labourer Emmanuel Masih (48) of stealing oranges from his orchard. He, along with five Muslim labourers, then beat Masih to death as he pleaded his innocence. Masih leaves behind a wife and six children; no-one expects to see justice. Lord have mercy! Please pray for the Church in Pakistan.

* SUDAN: ASSASSINATION AND PERSECUTION

On 23 January Ibrahim Kander (or Gebeira) – a pastor with the Sudan Church of Christ – was assassinated in a drive-by shooting by suspected members of Sudan’s State Intelligence. Pastor Ibrahim – a US citizen from Grand Island (a city in Nebraska, USA) – was with his wife, Nafisa Awad Toto, and son, Luis Ibrahim Kander (3) visiting family in the Nuba Mountains when he was shot and killed. While Pastor Ibrahim’s wife and son survived the attack, three of his nephews who were also present did not. Please pray.

On 9 February, Ahmad Adam Mohamad (49) of North Darfur in western Sudan, fled into hiding after his extended Muslim family – who had accused him apostasy – sent Muslim militants to kill him. Mohamad, who has been a follower of Jesus for 10 years now, told Morning Star News: ‘The situation is extremely difficult – I am not safe at all. I urge all the brothers to pray and help me get out from this area to a safer place.’ On Friday 17 February authorities in Sudan’s south-eastern Blue Nile State arrested Yousif Ayoub Hussein Ali for preaching to Muslims at an open-air worship event. Preacher Ali had not violated any Sudanese law and no-one is suggesting that the Muslims were not there of their own free will. Please pray for these our brothers: Ahmad Adam Mohamad and Yousif Ayoub Hussein Ali.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (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 see www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 660. August Update incl. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Nicaragua, Pakistan

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 660 | Wed 31 Aug 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

To support or sign up to the RLPB visit www.ElizabethKendal.com
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AUGUST 2022 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* BURKINA FASO [RLPB 656 (3 Aug)], where terrorism continues to escalate, particularly in the north and east, where Islamic terrorists have infested vast regions. They destroy telecommunications, control the roads, enforce Sharia (Islamic law) and terrorise populations. Many thousands are displaced and many Christian ministries — schools, health clinics, churches — have been forced either to close or restrict their services to major cities. Around 95 percent of parishes in the terrorist-infested regions live amidst terror and without pastoral support. It is a full-blown Christian crisis. Please pray.

Hausa language map
(click on map to enlarge)

* ISLAMIC STATE [RLPB 657 (10 Aug)], after the resurgent terror group released three propaganda videos in languages other than Arabic: one in Hausa (a language either spoken or known by most Muslims across Northern Nigeria, Southern Niger and the Gulf of Guinea littoral states); one in Kurdish (spoken by Kurds in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey); and one in Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia). Furthermore, on 3 August, Islamic State Khorasan Province (greater Afghanistan) released an 18-page Pashtu-language fatwa (legal order) calling for attacks on Christian, Hindu, and Shi’ite places of worship. Wherever IS operatives or sympathisers lurk, the church now faces an increased risk of terrorism. Please pray.

* AFGHANISTAN [RLPB 658 (17 Aug)], 12 months after the Taliban takeover.

UPDATE: Heart4Iran’s new initiative — Heart4Afghanistan — has reportedly delivered 923 Dari (Afghan Persian) language Bibles in one month. It has also launched a Dari Virtual Church and streams weekly online services. Further to this, it has established a Dari-language call centre through which it provides prayer and trauma counselling 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Please pray.

* BURMA (MYANMAR) [RLPB 659 (24 Aug)], where the junta’s military operation against the predominantly Christian ethnic Chin of Burma’s western Chin State has reached genocidal proportions. It is a full-blown Christian crisis. Please pray.

AUGUST 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* BANGLADESH: UN DENIED ACCESS TO CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS
Background: RLPB 393, ‘Hidden Genocide in Chittagong Hill Tracts,’ 8 Feb 2017.

Languages of Bangladesh
CHT = eastern green region;
includes Mizo and Chin tribes.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, visited Bangladesh from 14-17 August. The government, however, did not allow Bachelet access to the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) – the mountainous forested region which borders, and has more in common with, India’s Mizoram State and Burma’s Chin State. The indigenous peoples of the CHT — the Paharis (hills tribes) — comprise a mere one to two percent of the population of Bangladesh. As in India’s Mizoram and Burma’s Chin, the indigenous Paharis of the CHT are Tibeto-Burman; although, while most Mizo-Chin are Christian, most CHT Paharis are Buddhist, while three percent are Christian.

The CHT is the most militarised region of Bangladesh. The Paharis suffer appalling human rights abuses at the hands of Bengali Muslim settlers and their protectors in the military. According to indigenous leaders, violations include extrajudicial killings, disappearances, abductions (including child trafficking), land dispossession, and the rape and torture of women. The mass transmigration of Bengali Muslims into the CHT is a government-sponsored, military-enabled, mosque-driven Bengali-Muslim colonisation and land-grab, through which the Paharis are being driven from their lands. ‘The government does not want peace in the Hill Tracts and hence has prevented the UN top official from coming here,’ said Raphael Tripura, a development worker from Shanti Raj Church of Bandarban district. ‘I strongly condemn it.’

Apart from acknowledging ‘the continued allegations of human rights violations [in CHT], linked with land disputes and the need for demilitarisation’, Bachelet’s report (dated 17 Aug) essentially ignored the plight of Bangladesh’s critically imperilled Paharis, around three percent of whom are Christians. Please pray.

* EGYPT: SIX CHURCH FIRES IN EIGHT DAYS

On Sunday 14 August fire erupted in Abu Sefein Coptic Orthodox Church in Imbaba village, Giza Province, during a worship service. Forty-one Coptic Christians — including the priest and 18 children — died in the smoke and stampede. The fire was caused by an electrical fault in an externally fitted second floor air-conditioning unit. It is the most deadly church fire in recent memory. Calls rang out for changes to Egypt’s discriminatory laws which make renovating churches extremely difficult.

According to The New Arab (22 Aug), that fact that Egypt has seen six church fires in the space of eight days — in Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria — led Egyptian security to suspect ‘foul play’. A high-level source told The New Arab, ‘After inspecting and analysing the crime scenes of the burned down churches, and the operations carried out against Christians in Egypt, it turned out that the perpetrators were the same in each one, carrying out similar steps each time.’ Consequently, the ‘state security agency has launched “a state of high alert” in search of “a terrorist group allegedly responsible for the recent systematic attacks against Coptic Orthodox churches across Egypt”.’

As explained in RLPB 557, ‘Islamic State Calls for Attacks on Churches,’ 10 Aug 2022, the IS fatwa (legal edict) of 3 August, ordered that Christian, Hindu and Shi’ite places of worship be destroyed. Furthermore, the IS fatwa referred directly to an incident in the life of Muhammad when he ordered the ‘Masjid-e-Zarar’ – or ‘mosque of dissent’, a Christian place of worship — be burned. Which begs the question: are Islamic State operatives or sympathisers burning churches in Egypt? Please pray for the Church in Egypt.

* INDIA: THE BATTLE FOR HIMACHAL PRADESH

In August 2019 the Himalayan north Indian State — famous for its capital, Shimla (the summer capital of British India) — passed the HP Freedom of Religion Bill, 2019, which replaced the 2006 Bill while broadening its scope and increasing its penalties [see RLPB 522 (2 Oct 2019)]. On 13 August 2022 the state’s ruling Hindu nationalist Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed the HP Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which bans ‘mass conversions’ and further increases penalties. As is increasingly the case across India, ‘mass conversion’ is defined as ‘two or more people converting at the same time’. Any person found to have contravened the law ‘in respect of mass conversion’ may be liable for a fine and sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The United Christian Forum (UCF), a Delhi-based umbrella body of various Christian organisations, told Times of India (29 Aug) that UCF lawyers were preparing to challenge the new law in the courts, on the grounds that it is ‘an attack on religious freedom and could become a tool to create fear among minorities.’ Please pray.

* IRAN: CHRISTIANS FINED, IMPRISONED AND PUNISHED

Sara and Homayoun

(1) HOMAYOUN AND SARA. Homayoun Zhaveh and his wife, Sara Ahmadi, were first arrested in June 2019. Whilst Homayoun was subsequently released on bail, Sara was held and mistreated for a total of 67 days, including 33 days in solitary confinement. In November 2020 Judge Iman Afshari sentenced Sara to 11 years in prison for her leadership of a house-church, and Homayoun to two years for membership of the group. The couple appealed and, in December 2020, Sara’s sentence was reduced to eight years in prison, along with other deprivations. In April 2021 their lawyer applied for a retrial with Iran’s Supreme Court [RLPB 595 (28 April 2021)]. On 9 June 2021 the couple were notified that the Supreme Court had rejected their appeal for a retrial. However, the couple was never taken into custody, presumably due to Iran’s COVID crisis. On 13 August 2022 Homayoun (64) and Sara (44) answered a summons to an administrative office of Evin Prison. They were hoping their confiscated property would be returned; instead, they were both detained. Iranian Christians and advocacy groups are extremely concerned about the couple’s well-being, especially as Homayoun suffers from advanced Parkinson’s disease. Lord have mercy!

(2) FIVE PLUS ONE MORE. Article 18 reports (17 Aug) that an Iranian court of appeal has upheld the fines and prison sentences awarded to five Iranian believers from Tehran. As an Iranian-Armenian pastor who witnesses to Persians, Joseph Shahbazian (58) [see RLPB 564 (26 Aug 2020)] was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by two years internal exile and work restrictions. Persian converts Mina Khajavi (59) and Malihe Nazari (48) were both sentenced to six years in prison. Somayeh (Sonya) Sadegh and her mother, Masoumeh Ghasemi, were both permitted to pay fines instead of serving custodial sentences. Two other converts, Farhad and Salar, who had been sentenced to one and four years in prison respectively, were not part of the appeal. On 29 August Pastor Joseph was given 24 hours to hand himself in to the authorities at Tehran’s Evin Prison. He commenced his sentence on 30 August. Mina has been granted a six-week stay to recover from a badly broken leg. Article 18 could not confirm if Malihe had been summoned to commence her sentence. Please pray.

Meanwhile, on 30 July, Christian convert Mohammad Golbaz (34) was arrested by plainclothes intelligence agents while working in his motorcycle repair shop in Karaj. He has not been charged with any crime. When loved ones inquired as to his whereabouts, they were told that Mohammad was an ‘apostate’ and would held ‘for a while’. It seems Mohammad is being punished (mistreated, possibly tortured) for daring to leave Islam to follow Jesus Christ. Please pray.

left to right: Malihe, Mina, Pastor Joseph, Somayeh, Masoumeh, plus Mohammad

* IRAQ: CHRISTIAN CRISIS IS EXISTENTIAL

Iraq’s Chaldean Church held its Synod from 21-27 August. In his opening remarks, the Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans, Cardinal Raphael Louis Sako, warned that in the absence of major systemic political, social, and economic changes, Christians in Iraq are heading for extinction. ‘Iraqi Christians,’ he said, ‘and perhaps Christians of other nations as well, are heading towards disappearance... The Islamic heritage makes Christians second-class citizens and allows the usurpation of their assets…’. He exhorted the Church to move forward in its mission of, ‘helping our people to open themselves to hope, and to arm themselves with faith, to face challenges with the same courage as Christ’. Cardinal Sako requests prayer that Iraq and its Church will be kept ‘under the protection of the Lord’. Please pray.

‘Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfils his purpose for me’ (Psalm 57:1-2 ESV).

* NICARAGUA: ORTEGA MOVES TO SILENCE THE CHURCH

In predominantly Catholic Nicaragua, the Marxist-Leninist former Sandinista Revolutionary now President Daniel Ortego has ramped up measures to silence the Catholic Church. The situation has been escalating since April-May 2018 when the Church opened its doors to shelter the victims of deadly state violence. In the words of the exiled Rev Rafael Bermúdez (26 Aug), ‘The church is in favour of justice. When there is unjust persecution, when silence is imposed, when all freedoms are taken away, it becomes a total social crime.’ In such situations, the Church has a duty to lead with hope, faith, and courage.

On 1 August, the Ortega regime ordered the closure of seven radio stations owned by the Catholic Church. On 3 August, authorities confined Bishop José Álvarez (55) of Matagalpa to the episcopal complex where he lives, as punishment for protesting the closure of the radio stations. The bishop subsequently took to Facebook to live broadcast the Mass for Catholics. On 13 August hundreds of Nicaraguans attended a large-scale Mass at the Cathedral in the capital, Managua, under a heavy police presence after the government prohibited a religious procession, citing ‘internal security’. At 3am on Friday 19 August, security officials abducted the bishop, along with others, including three priests, two seminarians, a deacon and a photographer. While Bishop Álvarez was placed under house arrest, the other seven were sent to El Chipote, a prison notorious for torturing opponents of the regime. Please pray.

* PAKISTAN: CHRISTIANS IMPERILLED AT EVERY TURN

(1) KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: THE TALIBAN RETURNS.

Residents of north-west Pakistan’s tribal areas are alarmed to find that militants belonging to the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) are not merely moving around openly in several areas of mountainous Swat’s Matta tehsil (subdivision) but have set up a check-post in Balasoor Top. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) — the Pakistan military’s media wing — insists that only ‘a small number of armed men’ have been observed ‘on a few mountain tops’ located ‘far away from the population’. However, alarmed locals with long memories are not so sure. Residents of Swat (north-west of Peshawar) and North Waziristan (south-west of Peshawar) report a dramatic increase in TTP activity, including kidnappings and targeted assassinations. Peace talks have faltered. Fear is rising. Pray for the Church in N-W Pakistan.

(2) PUNJAB: PLAYING THE RELIGION CARD FOR POLITICAL GAIN.

On 30 July, Malik Ilyas Awan, the Vice President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) in Punjab, applied to the Deputy Commissioner of Khushab District to have the Ahmadiyya community expelled and ghettoised in Chenab Nagar, the only Ahmadi-majority city in Pakistan. Critically, he demanded that their protection be withdrawn, leaving them exposed to Islamic jihad. Ahmadiyya Muslims follow a subsequent prophet named Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a Muslim reformer from the late 1800s. Like the Baha’is of Iran, and the Alevis of Turkey and Syria, the Ahmadiyya reject intolerance and jihad. However, their greatest sin is to reject the fundamental doctrine that Muhammad was the final prophet. That makes them not mere ‘hypocrites’ (the Quran’s term for Muslims who reject jihad), but heretics, apostates and infidels, to be killed. According to Awan, granting protection to Ahmadiyyas makes a mockery of Pakistan’s Islamic Constitution. ‘It is requested,’ writes Awan, ‘that their security must be lifted immediately, and enquiry be held in this regard. Those who don’t have faith in the finality of prophet-hood must be ousted from the district.’

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan strongly condemned Awan’s move. Analysts suspect that Awan is playing the religion card for political gain. Of course, it is very possible that after the Ahmadiyya, it could be the Christians. After all, Christians deny the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad, insisting Jesus is God’s Son and final Word and Muhammad is actually no prophet at all. Are Christians to be stripped of protection and herded into ghettos too? If this goes ahead it will bode ill for the Church in Pakistan. Please pray.

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

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