RLPB 457. May Update, incl. Chechnya, Egypt, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Turkey, Zanzibar.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 457 | Wed 30 May 2018

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by Elizabeth Kendal

MAY 2018 UPDATE -- this month we prayed concerning ...

* BURMA (Myanmar) (RLPB 453), where a campaign of ethnic-religious cleansing is underway in the north. Using aerial bombardment and ground forces, the Burmese Army is driving the Christian Kachin from Kachin State's most resource-rich regions. More than 15,000 Christian Kachin have been displaced since the beginning of this year. They join the more than 100,000 Kachin displaced since 2011. Pray for the Kachin and that God will intervene to bring peace to Burma.

* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (CAR) (RLPBs 454 & 456), where Islamic militias continue to threaten this mostly Christian nation. In mid-April, UN peacekeepers moved against Islamic criminal gangs in the capital, Bangui. Islamic militias vowed revenge. On 1 May heavily-armed rioting Muslims attacked Bangui's Catholic Cathedral, killing 24 and wounding over 100 (RLPB 454). On 13 May two French fighter jets conducted a show of force over the rebel-held front-line town of Kaga Bandoro to deter the Islamic militias which are regrouping there and threatening to 'march on Bangui' (RLPB 456). The state is on high alert. Pray for the Church in CAR and that God will intervene to bring peace.

* RAMADAN (RLPB 455), in particular that Christians will be safe and that Muslims will be saved.

‘The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son . . .’ (Deuteronomy 1:30-31 ESV)

MAY 2018 ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* CHECHNYA, (South Russia): ISLAMIC STATE (IS) CLAIMS CHURCH ATTACK

On Saturday 18 May four militants armed with guns, knives, axes and explosives and shouting 'Allahu Akbar' attempted to storm the Archangel Michael Russian Orthodox Church in central Grozny. Inside, some 15 believers were engaged in evening worship, while outside, the priest's young children were playing happily in the garden. The church, which was established in the late 1800s, is located in the main tourist precinct, surrounded by shopping malls and cafes. Consequently, Chechen police were quickly on the scene. They shot and killed the four militants and rescued the church-goers and children. Unfortunately the militants had seized two hostages from the church before it was barricaded shut. One believer was killed in the attack and the other was critically wounded. Two police officers were killed and two wounded. IS has claimed responsibility. Pray for the Church in Chechnya and the wider North Caucasus region.

* EGYPT: 'RECONCILIATION' LEADS TO CHURCH CLOSURE

On 14 April Muslims rioted in Beni Meinin, torching Coptic property and attacking the church. This eruption of Islamic resistance was in response to the government's proposal to legalise the village church. Police arrested 11 Muslims and 9 Christians before demanding the village hold a 'reconciliation' session to end the matter [RLPB 452 (25 April)]. With their youths in prison (essentially as hostages), Muslim and Coptic clergy, village elders, local politicians and security officials from the village participated in a 'reconciliation' session. It was agreed that all 20 arrested residents would relinquish their legal rights (meaning none can seek legal redress for arson, looting, assault and suchlike) and the church will remain closed until it is legalised. Subsequently, on 22 May the arrested Muslims and Christians were acquitted and released. Such 'reconciliation' only serves to guarantee impunity, escalate insecurity and perpetuate violent persecution.

* INDIA: ANTI-CONVERSION LAW AS WEAPON

Uttarakhand state in northern India has become the seventh Indian state to approve an 'anti-conversion law'. Governor Krishna Kant Paul signed the ironically named 'Freedom of Religion' Bill into law on 18 April. The law will come into force as soon as the state government finalises the Bill's rules.

(From left) Rajni Pradhan and
couple Sarah and Subash Kumar,
after appearing in court.
See Morning Star News: India

On Sunday 29 April some 50 Christians were worshipping together in a house church in Danapur, Bihar State, when a mob of some 60 Hindu nationalists surrounded the house. The mob harassed, intimidated and threatened the believers while hurling foul abuse. They also called the police and accused the Christians of running a 'conversion racket'. The police arrested several of the Christians, of whom Rajni Pradhan and a couple, Subash and Sarah Kumar, remain incarcerated, accused of 'forcibly converting people'. At a hearing on 8 May, a judge rejected their plea for bail. Also on Sunday 29 April, Hindu militants attacked the Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Baburia Khera, Uttar Pradesh State. They beat worshippers and threatened to kill the pastor, Kamlesh Kumar. To save her husband, Kumar's wife hid him in a locked room. Church member Ram Prasad (55) was beaten unconscious as he tried to shield other believers. A church member called police, but when they arrived the police berated the believers and advised them to 'flee from the church'; no arrests were made. Pray for the Church in India.

* NEPAL: CHURCHES ATTACKED, 'EVANGELISTS' ARRESTED

St Joseph's in better days.

Five churches were attacked in Nepal during May. St Joseph's Catholic Church in Kohalpur, in Nepal's western Banke District, was torched in the early hours of 5 May; the interior was 'entirely destroyed'. On the night of 9 May Hebron Church in Hilihang Rural Municipality, in the eastern district of Panchthar, was partly damaged after being set on fire. On the night of 10 May Emmanuel Church in Doti, in the country's far west, was set on fire; the church sustained significant damage. On 11 May Emmanuel Church in Kanchanpur was set on fire, resulting in significant structural damage. Then on the evening of 13 May Mahima Church in Dhangadhi city, western Nepal, was partly destroyed when an unidentified assailant threw an improvised explosive device through a window.  Fortunately, nobody was killed in the attacks. Police seem determined to blame Maoists, even though Christians have been receiving threats from a Hindu nationalist group. The geographically dispersed attacks were so similar that analysts suspect the perpetrators were part of a Hindu nationalist online community and that the attacks arose from online incitement.

Furthermore, two Nepali believers were arrested on 9 May for singing Christian songs in public. Four others were subsequently arrested from their homes. Charged with evangelism (prohibited in Nepal since 2015), the six faced court on 17 May where they were remanded to spend a further seven days in prison. Pray for the Church in Nepal.

* NIGERIA: CHRISTIANS APPEAL -- 'END THE KILLINGS'

On 22 May a funeral was held in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, for 19 Christians (including two priests) who were massacred on 24 April by Fulani gunmen who surrounded their grass-roofed church in Aya Mbalom village and opened fire.  [Video report by Al-Jazeera.]

Christians rally for an
end to the killings (22 May).
Courtesy: Crux 

It was the second mass funeral for Christian victims of Fulani violence in Benue this year [see RLPB 442 (14 Feb 2018)]. According to Benue State Governor, Sam Ortom, 492 people have been killed in Benue State alone so far this year (which equates to 100 per month). On the day of the funeral, rallies were held in various Nigerian cities where Christians urged the government (in the words of Cardinal John Onaiyekan) to 'end the killings'. Bishops spoke of 'massacres', 'ethnic cleansing' and described people living in 'palpable fear'. Pressure is mounting on President Buhari, a Fulani Muslim from the north.

At 12:30am on Monday 28 May Fulani gunmen attacked Sacred Heart Minor Seminary in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State. Students were wounded and cars destroyed. The rector, Father Emmanuel Atsue, told Catholic media: 'They shot and injured one of the priests, Father Cornelius Pobah, in the leg, [and] beat up Father Stephen Bakari.' It seems Father Pobah was targeted because he had refused to allow Fulani herdsmen to graze their cattle inside the seminary grounds. The fact that nobody was killed could imply that the Fulani were issuing a warning and that this is far from over. Please pray.

* PHILIPPINES: BOMB EXPLODES OUTSIDE MINDANAO CHURCH

On Sunday 29 April in Koronadal City in South Cotabato, Mindanao, two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were detonated in the city. The first IED exploded at noon, just outside the Christ the King Cathedral along Rizal Street, injuring three. The other IED was found in a trash can two kilometres away and detonated by police. Two suspects have since been arrested. Pray for the Church in the southern Philippines.

* TURKEY: PASTOR FACES COURT A SECOND TIME

Update to RLPB 452 (25 April): American hostage of the Turkish regime, Pastor Andrew Brunson returned to court on 7 May. His lawyer Cem Halavurt protested the use of 'secret witnesses', noting that their outlandish accusations were presented without a shred of evidence. At the close of the 10-hour hearing, Brunson (50) was led back to his cell in a maximum-security prison. The next hearing is set for 18 July. World Watch Monitor has a detailed report on the 7 May hearing, while an article by Mindy Belz in World Magazine provides further insight, including a powerful, encouraging and deeply moving account of how our merciful God intervened for Brunson in the courtroom in answer to specific prayer. Both articles are highly recommended. Please continue to pray that God will uphold Andrew Brunson and intervene for his release. Pray for the Church in rapidly-changing Turkey.

Also, for those who are interested: On 29 May 1453, Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine [Greek-speaking Christian] Empire fell to Ottoman forces. Now, every 29 May, the Turkish government celebrates 'Conquest Day'. This year President Erdogan released a short but grandiose film, rich in computer-generated imagery, which links the conquest of Constantinople with the defeat of the ANZACs at Gallipoli (1915) and the rise of neo-Ottoman, imperialist, 'Sultan' Erdogan today.

* ZANZIBAR, (Tanzania): CHURCH UNDER PRESSURE

Bishop Daniel Kwileba Kwiyeya.
(Morning Star News)

A church in Kisauni, in mostly-Muslim semi-autonomous Zanzibar, has been facing pressure from local Muslims unhappy about its presence. When Muslims lobbied for the church to be closed, local authorities complied and issued the church with a notice. The church, which belongs to the Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa, is resisting and worshipping as usual. On Sunday 6 May plain-clothed police officers walked into the morning worship service and arrested the preacher, Bishop Daniel Kwileba Kwiyeya. Believers tried to intervene, but to no avail. The bishop's distressed daughter also tried to intervene and was taken away with her father. The distressed believers returned to the sanctuary to pray for Bishop Kwiyeya and his daughter. The pair were released later that day; no charges were laid. Tensions remain; please pray.

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

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 249. February Update, Incl. Nigeria, Aceh (Indonesia), Iran, Zanzibar (Tanzania), Ukraine, Vietnam

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 249 | Wed 26 Feb 2014

By Elizabeth Kendal

May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him. Summon your power, God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before. (Psalm 68:1,28 NIV)

FEBRUARY 2014 UPDATE -- During February we prayed concerning . . . 

* NIGERIA (RLPB 246), where the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Boko Haram (which regularly targets the Church) is waging a jihad against the Nigerian government with the aim of making Nigeria an Islamic state and northern Fulani Muslims (backed by Boko Haram and rogue military units) are waging a jihad to colonise and extend control deeper into the Christian-dominated south. 

UPDATE: In mid February, Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, warned that Boko Haram is better armed and more motivated than the Nigerian military. The government wrote off the governor's comment as 'civilian perception' and insisted it was winning the war against Boko Haram,

However, the killings continue and indeed have escalated, especially in Borno State where some 500 people have been killed in recent weeks. On the night of 15 February Boko Haram militants shouting 'Allahu Akbar [God is greater]' targeted the mostly Christian village of Izghe in Borno. The jihadis gathered the men of the village together and then turned on them. At least half the 106 men or more who were killed were Christian. The jihadis also looted and destroyed homes and shops. A week later Izghe was raided again and this time the militants burnt it to the ground. On Tuesday 25 February Boko Haram militants raided the boarding house at the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi in neighbouring Yobe State at 2 am and massacred at least 59 teenage boys. The militants also assembled the female students, ordering them to abandon their education and get married.

On 19 February Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video statement, claiming responsibility for the killings and threatening more, saying, 'The reason why I will kill you is you are infidels. You follow democracy. Whoever follows democracy is an infidel.' Shekau also threatened to attack the oil-rich Niger Delta. 

* BURMA (RLPB 247), where the war between the autonomy-seeking Christian Kachin and the resources-craving Burman-Buddhist regime in Naypyidaw rages on.

* NORTH KOREA (RLPB 248), where Christians continue to suffer extreme persecution for refusing to bow to the cult of Kim.

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

* ACEH, INDONESIA: SHARIA FOR EVERYONE

Aceh's provincial administration and legislative council have approved a new by-law that will force everyone in Aceh to abide by Sharia (Islamic) Law. The Qanun Jinayat (the by-law governing behaviour) will apply to the territory of Aceh as distinct from applying to Muslim individuals. Muslims and non-Muslims, local population and visitors, will all have to observe Sharia, following Islamic codes of dress and behaviour. Christians who violate Sharia will be tried under Islamic law and punished accordingly (usually  lashing). Councillor Abdulah Saleh said it was important to have one law for all so that Muslims did not feel they were being treated unfairly. Clearly Saleh fears that Christian liberty could cause fitna (strife or temptation for Muslims) and accordingly Christian liberty must end so that everyone suffers equally.


* ERITREAN REFUGEES IN SINAI: ALERT

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a new report: 'Egypt/Sudan: Traffickers Who Torture', HRW 11 Feb 2014. [Many if not most Eritrean refugees are Christians fleeing from persecution in Eritrea seeking religious freedom in Israel or in Europe.]


* IRAN: PASTOR IRANI RETURNED TO PRISON AFTER SURGERY

Sentenced to five years in jail on charges of 'crimes against national security', Pastor Behnam Irani (40 - photo) has since come close to death due to internal injuries caused by routine beatings and severe stress. There has been much prayer for his life. We thank God that on 22 February Pastor Irani finally received surgery to treat his internal injuries and painful bleeding stomach ulcers. He was returned to Ghezal Hesar Prison on 25 February. Please pray for Behnam Irani, his wife, children and congregation. Please pray for Iran's Christian prisoners and that God will continue to build his Church in Iran.

'. . . I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' (Matthew 16:18 ESV)


* TANZANIA: CHURCHES TARGETED IN ZANZIBAR

On Sunday 23 February a home-made bomb reportedly containing a mixture of ball bearings and chemicals exploded at an Evangelistic Assemblies of God Tanzania (EAGT) Church in Zanzibar. The explosion shook the building just as worship was concluding and there were no casualties. The next day a bomb was remotely detonated outside Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in Stone Town, Zanzibar, about 1 pm. Minutes later, another bomb exploded at a nearby seafront restaurant popular with tourists. The attacks may or may not be connected to the news on 19 February that British police will now join the hunt for the attackers who doused two teenage British girls (both Jews) in acid while on a gap-year in Zanzibar in August 2013. The girls had been working in a local Catholic nursery school and were volunteering at a local charity.


* UKRAINE: JEWS THREATENED IN KIEV

Conservative Rabbi Reuven Stamov comments that, whilst anti-Semitism is not an official policy of the protest movement nor of the new government in Kiev, anti-Semitism is indeed flourishing as anti-Semitic elements exploit the chaos and advance their ideology.  Some Jews in Kiev have been threatened and some have received letters telling them to leave; many are afraid. Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman, a Chabad rabbi in Ukraine, has advised his congregation to leave Kiev and the country, if possible. Representatives of Ukrainian Jewry report that they feel a general sense of unease. This is fuelled mostly by the prominent presence of the far-right, neo-Nazi Svoboda Party, as well as scattered sightings of swastikas spray-painted on walls and the emergence of anti-Semitic vigilante groups. Nevertheless, Jews in Ukraine plan to celebrate Purim on 15-16 March. [Purim celebrates the deliverance of the Jews in Persia at the time of Esther.] Despite the insecurity and volatility, the Ukrainian Church must speak out against anti-Semitism. Please pray for Ukraine.


* VIETNAM: CHRISTIAN LAWYER-BLOGGER JAILED

One of Vietnam's most prominent Catholic dissidents and human rights lawyers lost his court appeal on 18 February and will be jailed for 30 months for alleged tax evasion. In 2006-07, Le Quoc Quan (43) spent five months in Washington, DC, as a Fellow of the National Endowment for Democracy. He was first arrested in March 2007, four days after returning to Vietnam, for alleged subversion. He was subsequently disbarred. Quan was arrested again in December 2012 after the BBC published an article he wrote criticising the Communist Party's place in Vietnam's constitution. Quan was sentenced in October 2013 and on 18 February lost his appeal. On 2 February he began a hunger strike to protest the fact that he is not being permitted access to his religious books or to a priest for confession and communion. Outside the court, Quan's supporters sang hymns and prayed. Catholics held prayer vigils for Quan the following Sunday across Hanoi. Please pray for the Church in Vietnam.

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

RLPB 191. From Christmas to New Year: persecution calls for faith

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 191 | Wed 02 Jan 2013

FROM CHRISTMAS TO NEW YEAR: PERSECUTION CALLS FOR FAITH

By Elizabeth Kendal 

Before Christmas we prayed for God's divine hand to be over several regions where gathered Christians risked terrorism and mob violence. While Christmas was not without incident, we can thank God that the violence was minimal and that the heightened security was effective.

UPDATING RLPB 190

NIGERIA: Despite increased security, gunmen (presumed Boko Haram) managed to attack two churches in the north-east: one in Yobe and one in Borno. In each case, the pastor and five worshippers were killed: a total of 12 believers slain in worship. Pray for the bereaved and for the traumatised congregations. 'Weep with those who weep' (Romans 12:15b ESV). Pray for God to intervene in Nigeria.

INDONESIA: Security in Indonesia was high, with police protection provided to 38,499 registered churches throughout the religious 'hot-spots'. While there were no casualties, rioting Muslims were able to prevent members of the Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant Church gaining access to their land in Bekasi, West Java, where the local authorities refuse to allow them to build. More than 380 police did little to uphold religious freedom and stop the Muslims from hurling rotten eggs and bags of sewerage at the believers. However, the police did convince the Christians eventually to abandon Christmas celebrations and return to their homes.

OTHER CHRISTMAS PERSECUTION

SUDAN: KHARTOUM. Just days before Christmas, the racist and Arabist-Islamist regime in Khartoum arrested two Coptic priests for baptising an Arab convert from Islam. A group calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Nilien States has threatened violence against Copts in Sudan unless the woman convert is 'returned', claiming she has been 'kidnapped'.

SUDAN: SOUTH KORDOFAN. Christian villages in South Kordofan spent Christmas Day under aerial bombardment, with at least eleven fatalities. A Nuba Christian leader told Morning Star News, 'We are surprised why the international community is so silent about the killing in South Kordofan.'

LIBYA: MISRATA. After Christmas, on Saturday 29 December two Egyptians were killed and others wounded when a bomb exploded in Mar Girgis (St George) Coptic church in the town of Dafniya in Misrata Province just as believers were emerging from evening mass. Reports indicate that a home-made bomb or grenade may have been thrown into the church.

TANZANIA: ZANZIBAR. A few months ago the Islamist separatist group Uamsho issued a death threat against all Zanzibar's Christian pastors. On Christmas Day, militants (presumed to be Uamsho) ambushed and shot Rev. Ambrose Mkenda through the face as he arrived at his home in Tomondo on the outskirts of Zanzibar city. He is now fighting for his life in intensive care in Dar-es-Salaam.

IRAN: RASHT. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani (35) was released from death-row in September after spending nearly three years in prison on charges of apostasy. On Christmas Day he was taken back into custody when authorities maliciously decided that the remaining 45 days of his 3-year sentence for evangelising should be spent in prison rather than on probation. This is nothing but pure harassment, doubtless aimed at driving the family from Iran and also sending a message to all Iranian Christians that the regime can and will persecute them with impunity. This includes those presently in prison, one of whom is US citizen Pastor Saeed Abedini. Two more Christians, Behzad Taalipasand and Mohammadreza (Johann) Omidi, were arrested in Rasht on 31 Dec.

IRAN: TEHRAN. Middle East Concern reports that regime authorities raided a Christmas celebration in Tehran on 27 December. Some 50 believers, mostly converts from Islam, were interrogated and forced to provide numerous personal details including computer passwords and social media accounts. They also had to state how they came to convert from Islam to Christianity. Phones were confiscated and the believers were advised that they would be summonsed individually when investigations were complete. Pastor Vruir Avanessian, an ethnic Armenian, was taken into custody. His home was subsequently raided by security agents, causing great distress to his wife and children. Pastor Avanessian, who has chronic kidney disease, has been incarcerated in Evin Prison.

PAKISTAN: ISLAMABAD. At noon on Christmas Day, riotous Muslims attacked believers as they emerged from various churches in Iqbal Town, Islamabad. While no fatalities were recorded, numerous believers received bullet wounds and various blunt force injuries. Christians of Iqbal town spent the rest of Christmas Day under siege until Mr Basharat Khokhar, a human rights activist, came to their aid. Muslim clerics had issued a fatwa banning any Muslim participation in Christmas celebrations 'because it is against the concept of monotheism in Islam'.

SPEAKING OF CHRISTMAS FATWAS -- A number of Islamic clerics in free (non-sharia) states also issued fatwas banning Muslims from participating in Christmas in any way. In Indonesia a fatwa from the Ulema Council was over-ridden by the government. In Australia a fatwa from Lakemba Mosque was withdrawn after an outcry. Muslim clerics will doubtless learn from this and be better prepared to make their fatwas stand in 2013. Failing to comprehend the Christian doctrine of the One God as a Trinity, Islam regards Trinitarian Christianity as both polytheism and blasphemy. (See Qur'an Sura 5:72-75)

PERSECUTION CALLS FOR FAITH. As we prepare to face another year of advancing enemies and escalating persecution with soaring casualty rates and death tolls, may 2013 also be a year of advancing faith and increasing prayer. A mighty flood of persecution is upon us and we cannot turn back the battle in our own strength. Persecution calls for faith! And so we stand firm, exalt the Lord and pray! '. . . blessed are all those who wait for him.' (Isaiah 30:18)

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --

* bring comfort and healing to those who start this new year filled with grief, trauma and anxiety. May the Lord comfort and encourage their hearts and provide all their material, emotional and spiritual needs.

'For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.' (Romans 8:38-39)

* fan our fragile, flickering faith into flame and fill our hearts with his love, that we as followers of Jesus Christ might stand as one body, firm in faith against the flood, that the devil might have no victory over us; may the Church of Jesus Christ entrust her security to Christ alone who lives and loves, sees and hears, answers prayers and intervenes with grace in response to faith.

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO NEW YEAR: PERSECUTION CALLS FOR FAITH

Having endured State and vigilante terrorism, war and violent persecution, multitudes of Christians will enter 2013 filled with grief, trauma and anxiety. Over Christmas, Christians were violently attacked in Nigeria, Zanzibar and Pakistan; bombed in Sudan and Libya; arrested in Iran and abused in Indonesia. This was the tip of the iceberg. Furthermore, 2013 holds no promise of relief. Rather, the situation is set to escalate further with Christians in South Kordofan (Sudan) and right across the Middle East at risk of genocide. A mighty flood of persecution is coming upon the Church and we cannot turn back the battle in our own strength. Yet Christ is building his Church! And he lives and loves, sees and hears, answers prayer and intervenes with grace in response to faith.
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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books, Dec. 2012)

RLPB 161. May Update; Incl. Mali, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait, UK, Zanzibar

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 161 | Wed 30 May 2012
By Elizabeth Kendal

MAY 2012 UPDATE -- During May we prayed concerning . . . 

* AFRICA (RLPB 157), where Christians are at risk from Islamic terrorism from one side of the continent to the other.

UPDATE: Al-Qaeda-linked rebel forces (which includes elements of Nigeria's Boko Haram) that are controlling northern Mali have seized a key underground weapons and ammunition depot of the Malian Army in Gao. A regional security source confirmed the seizure, saying the vast cache of weapons will greatly boost al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's (AQIM's) striking power, adding that the group 'is today more armed than the combined armies of Mali and Burkina Faso'.  See RLPB 157 for critical prayer points, particularly that supply-lines will be cut off.
For an update on Mali see:
"Islamist's weapons siezure will greatly boost AQIM's striking power "
Religious Liberty Monitoring 6 June 2012

* INDIA (RLPB 158), where militant Hindu nationalism, which is advancing unchallenged and with impunity, is bringing great suffering to the body of Christ.

* ACEH, INDONESIA (RLPB 159), where a new Islamist governor is acquiescing to Islamic hard-line fundamentalists and escalating repression against the church.

* SYRIA & LEBANON (RLPB 160), where sectarian violence is escalating and spreading, leaving large Christian minorities in great need of divine refuge and deliverance.

'The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.' (Psalm 18:2,3 ESV)

MAY 2012 ROUND-UP -- also this month . . .

* EGYPT: ISLAMISTS BLAME CHRISTIANS
Over 23-24 May, Egyptians voted to elect a president from amongst 13 candidates. There was a low turnout of only 46 percent. The two front-runners will go head-to-head in a run-off over 16-17 June. They are the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi who polled 25.3 percent, and Ahmed Shafiq who polled 24.9 percent. Shafiq, a former air force commander, was former president Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister. For many, the run-off presents an unthinkable dilemma: to risk the feared Islamists or to return to the reviled regime? This choice leaves many Egyptians very angry and deeply conflicted. The Islamists are blaming the unexpected rise of Ahmed Shafiq on the 'unfortunate' and 'sectarian' vote of Christians who, they falsely claim, were following directions from Coptic Church leaders. In reality, the Copts were totally free to vote according to conscience and Shafiq -- who campaigned on a platform of stability and security -- won most of his votes in the Delta provinces where Copts number only about 5 percent. As Egyptian media fuel the rumours, the Copts are finding themselves under fire from both the Islamists and the young 'revolutionaries'. On Monday 28 May rioting Egyptian youths ransacked and set fire to Shafiq's campaign headquarters in Cairo. Similar protests erupted in other cities. The fear now is that the run-off will accelerate the fracturing of Egyptian society and that the Christians will be slandered as spoilers of the revolution so that all anger might be deflected on to them. Pray for Egypt's threatened Christians.

* INDONESIA: THE MYTH OF RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE
On Thursday 17 May, some 100 members of the Philadelphia Batak Christian Protestant Church in Bekasi, a suburb of Jakarta, in West Java, met for prayer and worship, surrounded -- as they are every week -- by a large angry Muslim mob. In direct violation of a Supreme Court ruling, local authorities refuse to let the church construct a building. Consequently the believers are forced to meet in the open air where they are vulnerable to weekly abuse and violence from members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). As soon as Pastor Palti Panjaitan began speaking, the 600-strong Islamist mob began pelting the believers with stones, frogs and plastic bags filled with urine, forcing the believers to disperse. The police on guard did nothing to intervene and nobody has been arrested. Three days later (Sunday 20 May) the Islamists repeated the abuse, throwing mud, rotten eggs and cups of drainage water at the believers, forcing them to disperse after only five minutes.  Pray for the Church in Indonesia.

* KUWAIT: CHURCHES EVICTED AS ISLAMISTS CONSOLIDATE
On 2 February Kuwaitis went to the polls to elect a new parliament. All four female MPs lost their seats and hard-line Islamists (including Salafis and members of the Muslim Brotherhood and conservative Popular Action Bloc) secured 34 of the 50 seats. As reported in RLPB 151 (March 2012) the new parliament is drafting a law that will ban the construction of new churches. On Thursday 3 May, the parliament ruled to amend the penal code to impose the death penalty on any Muslim who insults God, Mohammad and his relatives or the Qur'an. (Such blasphemy is essentially akin to apostasy). If the accused repents, the sentence is reduced to five years in prison plus a fine. Non-Muslims found guilty of insulting Islam will be sentenced to 10 years in prison. Two house-churches affiliated with the National Evangelical Church in Kuwait recently found they were unable to renew their leases. Whilst both have found temporary accommodation, they fear it will be impossible to find permanent meeting places as pressure is applied to landlords not to lease to church groups. Expatriate Christians are beginning to fear for their safety. Kuwaiti converts will doubtless find their already tenuous security diminishing too. Pray for Christians in Kuwait.

* UK: CHRISTIANS TO CHOOSE -- CONSCIENCE OR JOB
After hearing Christian counsellor Lesley Pilkington (61) speak at a Christian conference on sexuality, Patrick Strudwick approached her for counselling. He claimed to be 'a believer' who was unhappy about his homosexuality and interested in the 'reparative therapy' involving counselling and prayer that she had spoken about. After two sessions Mrs Pilkington discovered that Strudwick was actually a fake client: a homosexual activist-journalist working undercover in a 'sting'. After Strudwick's 'story' hit the mass media, Mrs Pilkington was charged with professional malpractice. The British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) has now informed Mrs Pilkington she will lose her senior accredited status as a counsellor. Mrs Pilkington told the Telegraph, 'There is a wider agenda that diversity and equality, which is supposed to be what our society upholds, is upheld for everyone except for those who have traditional Judeo-Christian values. I think that is very disturbing.' As noted by the CEO of the Christian Legal Centre, Andrea Minichiello Williams: 'Lesley has been penalised because she was targeted as a Christian and because she believes that people are free to choose to change their behaviour if they wish.'  

In the UK, as in the USA, Christians unable to affirm homosexual lifestyle are increasingly being forced to choose between their conscience and their jobs. If this situation does not change, then submission to a totalitarian state ideology will ultimately be a requirement that will force many Christians out of many roles and professions. Pray for an awakening, and that Western Christians will stand firm in faith, trusting the Lord in all things. 'If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.' (Isaiah 7:9b ESV)

* ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA: CHURCHES TORCHED AS MUSLIM SEPARATISTS RIOT
Jumuiya ya Uamsho na Mihadhara ya Kiislamu (Swahili for the Association for Islamic Mobilisation and Propagation) is a radical separatist group in Zanzibar.  Muslims belonging to Uamsho rioted in Zanzibar across the weekend of 26-27 May as they called for the release of Mussa Juma, an Uamsho leader. Clashes with police erupted in the historic commercial and tourism centre of Stone Town and two churches were torched. Rev Ambrose Mkenda of St Michael's Roman Catholic Church said rioters invaded the church, poured petrol on the structures and set the place alight, stoking the fire with burning tyres. The church was razed. Bishop Dickson Maganga of the Tanzania Assemblies of God church in Kariakoo said that rioters broke into the church and burnt plastic chairs before setting fire to his car which was 'reduced to a shell'. The police and fire brigade put out the fire before it spread. Senior members of Uamsho were arrested, as were scores of rioters. Tanzania's government has pledged to have a new constitution in place by 2014. Uamsho is demanding a referendum on Zanzibar's secession from Tanzania and this is expected to be a major issue in the constitutional debate. Tensions are high.