Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 182 | Wed 24 Oct 2012
TANZANIA: CHRISTIANS THREATENED BY ISLAMISATION
By Elizabeth Kendal
Tanzania's population is 31 percent Muslim and 54 percent Christian, although church attendance is only about eight percent (Operation World 7th Edition). According to the Catholic Bishop of Kondoa Diocese, Bernadin Mfumbusa, Islamisation is advancing. Since the mid-1980s, itinerant preachers from Saudi Arabia and the Sudan have been entering the country and spreading intolerant, fundamentalist Islam. Consequently, Muslims are becoming more assertive with their political demands and more aggressive with their verbal attacks. Demands are growing louder for Sharia Law and Kadhi (Islamic) Courts, for Fridays to be public holidays and for Tanzania to join the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC). Bishop Mfumbusa recently told the Catholic Charity, Aid to the Church in Need, that there has been a marked increase in veiled women and Qur'anic schools (madrassas), adding, 'In the church schools, which are also attended by Muslim children, we must be very sensitive and cautious to avoid any undesirable incidents.'
As in Kenya, US-mandated anti-terror laws enacted post 9/11 have fuelled division along religious lines. Christians are generally supportive and Muslims strongly object, claiming the laws purposely target them. In the lead-up to the 2005 elections the Christian-dominated Revolutionary Party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), successfully wooed the Muslim vote by promising to establish Kadhi (Islamic) courts. However, after winning the election CCM shelved its promise. Religion has since come to dominate Tanzanian politics. Tensions are rising.
On 10 October Zakaria Hamisis Mbonde (12) was walking home from Qur'anic school, carrying his Qur'an, when he came across his Christian friend, Emmanuel Mwinuka (13). When Emmanuel asked Zakaria if he could see his Qur'an, Zakaria warned him that the Qur'an had the power to turn anyone who defiled it into a dog or a snake. An argument ensued, prompting Emmanuel to disprove Zakaria's claim by urinating on his Qur'an. Naturally Zakaria's parents wanted to know what had happened to his Qur'an. As word spread through the Mbagala Ward of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city, tensions soared. To appease the mobs police arrested Emmanuel, taking him to the police station for questioning and keeping him there for his own safety. After Friday prayers on 12 October masses of enraged Muslims laid siege to the police station, demanding Emmanuel be handed over to them so they could behead him. When the police refused, the Muslims rioted, setting fire to Mbagala's Agape Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania. Over the next few days more churches, including an Anglican and a Church of Christ, were attacked: two in Kigoma and one in Zanzibar. Cars were also smashed and burnt. Subsequently, 86 were arrested for rioting and 32 for destroying church properties. Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda, the secretary general of the Council of Islamic Organisations, was arrested for inciting the violence which he blamed on the police, saying that if the police had given the matter 'its due weight' then Muslims would not have felt so 'sidelined'.
But is it a crime in Tanzania to blaspheme, defile a Qur'an or hurt a Muslim's feelings? I don't think so! Yet on 23 July 2012 a judge in the coastal town of Bagamoyo sentenced Christian teen Eva Abdullah (17) to two years in prison after Islamic fundamentalists falsely accused her of defiling the Qur'an. Eva, who had been driven from her home after converting to Christianity, had been resisting pressure from Islamic fundamentalists to return to Islam. After falsely accusing her, these radicals allegedly bribed the judge to punish Eva. Fear of the Muslims reportedly has kept local Christians from getting involved. Eva thanks the Lord that he has provided her with kind and sympathetic prison guards who are caring for her and protecting her.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --
* convict, motivate and embolden Tanzanian leaders, so they will rise to defend human rights, liberty and rule of law rather than appease the belligerent for false peace and short-term gain; may they clearly understand what is at stake.
* bring revival to the Tanzanian Church, so she might 'wake up, and strengthen what remains' (Revelation 3:2), and take the life-transforming gospel of grace to Muslims before Muslims impose repressive Islam on Tanzania.
* comfort and protect Emmanuel Mwinuka (13) and his family as they face mass Islamic wrath over a childish prank, as well as Eva Abdullah (17) as she suffers purely because of her love for the Lord Jesus; may God supply their every need.
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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CHRISTIANS IN TANZANIA THREATENED BY ISLAMISATION
Tanzania's population is 31 percent Muslim and 54 percent Christian, although only about eight percent attend church. Fundamentalist Islam has advanced as preachers from Sudan and Saudi Arabia spread their radical creed. Muslims are becoming more assertive with their political demands and in their attacks. On 10 October reports spread in Dar es Salaam that a 13-year-old Christian boy had desecrated a Qur'an. To appease the mobs, police arrested the boy. After Friday prayers on 12 October Muslims besieged the police station, calling for the boy to be handed over for beheading. When the police refused the Muslims rioted, burning five churches. In July Eva Abdullah (17), a convert from Islam, was imprisoned for two years after Islamic fundamentalists falsely accused her of desecrating a Qur'an. Please pray for Tanzania.
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With persecution escalating and intensifying globally, please consider participating in International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the persecuted church in the week 4-11 November.
'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood . . .' (Ephesians 6:12).
See: Critical Prayer Requests (CPR)
Monday, October 22, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
RLPB 181. Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), Eastern Indonesia: Sweeping Wamena
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 181 | Wed 17 Oct 2012
PAPUA (formerly Irian Jaya), EASTERN INDONESIA: SWEEPING WAMENA
-- plus URGENT UPDATE on Pakistan
By Elizabeth Kendal
The Dutch first brought the gospel to Dutch (West) New Guinea, along with health care and education, gradually transforming the coastal towns. When Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) USA arrived in the mid-1900s, the previously inaccessible interior was opened to pioneer missionaries, several of whom lost their lives in the service of the gospel. In a relatively short space of time (in history), endless tribal war and shamanism came to be replaced with worship of the Lord -- Papua was transformed. (For an interview with one of those pioneer missionaries, see here: Peace Child.)
When Indonesia gained independence in 1949, the Dutch retained control of Irian Jaya believing the Melanesian Christians were simply too distinct from Javanese Muslims to be under Indonesian rule. Indonesia, however, invaded the resource-rich region in 1961 and, with the complicity of the UN and USA, annexed it in 1969. Ever since, Papua's Melanesian Christians have suffered while their spectacular land has been militarised, exploited, colonised and Islamised. What we are witnessing is the slow genocide of a Christian people. The West ignores this, deeming good relations with Indonesia to be more in line with Western economic and geo-strategic interests. Surely God is not pleased.
West Papua National Committee (KNPB) is a pro-independence advocacy group committed to peaceful activism. Because 'Special Autonomy' has failed, the KNPB is calling for the UN to oversee a referendum on self-determination. In early June Indonesian soldiers rampaged (photos) though the KNPB stronghold of Wamena, the largest town in the central highlands. Then on 14 June Indonesian police shot KNPB deputy, Moses Mako Tabuni, in a Jayapura street. Shot in the hip, he died in police custody en route to hospital. Police allege Tabuni was 'resisting arrest', but human rights groups doubt this and local witnesses deny it. UK-based Papuan activist Benny Wenda has labelled it an 'assassination'.
On 29 September, after a couple of minor bombing incidents, Indonesian authorities launched a sweep through Wamena and its surrounding villages. They claim they found explosive materials in the homes of KNPB members, nine of whom have been arrested. Papua is a deeply Christianised culture and many Papuan civic leaders are also church leaders. One such leader, the Moderator of the Papuan Baptist Church, Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman, is certain the bombings were the work of Indonesian security forces who are now using them to justify launching anti-terror operations against peaceful, pro-independence activists. Human rights monitors agree with that assessment. The director of the Papua branch of Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham), Ferry Marisan, comments: 'We observed their [KNPB's] activities in Papua . . . they never staged violent acts, let alone kept firearms or explosives.' Actually, it is the modus operandi of the Indonesian security forces that is all-too-familiar. (See TNI 'sweeps' Puncak Jaya, July 2010 & Evidence of Human Rights Abuses, Aug 2010.) Driven by racial and religious hatred and greed, the Indonesian security forces (who make a lot of money in Papua) routinely provoke or fake Papuan separatist incidents to justify launching vastly disproportionate, violent anti-terror measures against the separatists.
Indonesian police, the Australian-trained anti-terrorism squad Detachment 88 and the TNI (Indonesian military) have been sweeping Wamena and surrounding villages, forcing thousands of Papuans to flee into the bush. (See here for 6.29 min news report by ABC's 7.30 Report - 4 Oct 2012 - film and transcript.) On 10 October one pastor, who hopes his presence with the displaced will provide them with a degree of protection and a means of communication, made an urgent appeal for prayer. Mass rallies protesting Indonesian repression and human rights abuses will be held across Papua on Wednesday 24 October.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --
* intervene for his displaced and traumatised people; may he in indignation fight for them and compensate them, and in love gather, lead, carry and comfort them. 'Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.' (Isaiah 40:10,11 ESV)
* magnify, sharpen and empower the voices of Papuan church leaders who risk their lives to speak out against cruelty and injustice; may their words not only enter ears and be heard, but pierce consciences and compel action.
* effect a breakthrough to prevent genocide and restore the dignity of his people, that the LORD might be praised and glorified in Papua.
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SWEEPING WAMENA (PAPUA, EASTERN INDONESIA)
Papua's Melanesian Christians suffer under Indonesian rule as their land is militarised, exploited, colonised and Islamised by Javanese Muslims. This is the slow genocide of a Christian people. Driven by racial and religious hatred and greed, Indonesian security forces routinely provoke or fake Papuan separatist attacks to justify launching violent anti-terror measures against Papuan civilians. Since June, Indonesian security forces (including Detachment 88) have been 'sweeping' Wamena, the largest town in the central highlands, on the pretext of fighting terrorism. Thousands of Papuan civilians have been driven from their homes into the inhospitable jungle. Nine members of the pro-peace, pro-independence advocacy group, the West Papua National Committee, have been framed as 'terrorists'. Church leaders are appealing for help, and especially for prayer.
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URGENT UPDATE:
PAKISTAN: ANOTHER CHRISTIAN CHILD FRAMED
Ryan Stanten (16) lives in the middle class district of Mobina in Karachi. As the only Christian in his class at school, Ryan is regularly pressured by Muslim classmates to convert to Islam, something he steadfastly refuses to do. On Tuesday 9 October Ryan received a text message on his mobile phone for forwarding to Muslim friends. He forwarded it to his Muslim school friends without bothering to read it and suddenly he was being accused of blasphemy. The family fled that night. The next day local Muslims, led by a local Islamic cleric, thoroughly ransacked the family's home, dragging out and burning all their property, despite it being in a supposedly secure compound. No-one has been arrested. The family's name has been put on an Exit Control List so they cannot leave the country. This is NOT the handiwork of the Taliban! It is the work of Muslim school 'friends' and middle class 'neighbours' with the tacit approval of the State. Please pray for Ryan Stanten and his family, and for the Church in Pakistan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
With persecution escalating and intensifying globally, please consider participating in International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the persecuted church in the week 4-11 November. 'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood . . .' (Ephesians 6:12). See: Critical Prayer Requests (CPR)
PAPUA (formerly Irian Jaya), EASTERN INDONESIA: SWEEPING WAMENA
-- plus URGENT UPDATE on Pakistan
By Elizabeth Kendal
The Dutch first brought the gospel to Dutch (West) New Guinea, along with health care and education, gradually transforming the coastal towns. When Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) USA arrived in the mid-1900s, the previously inaccessible interior was opened to pioneer missionaries, several of whom lost their lives in the service of the gospel. In a relatively short space of time (in history), endless tribal war and shamanism came to be replaced with worship of the Lord -- Papua was transformed. (For an interview with one of those pioneer missionaries, see here: Peace Child.)
When Indonesia gained independence in 1949, the Dutch retained control of Irian Jaya believing the Melanesian Christians were simply too distinct from Javanese Muslims to be under Indonesian rule. Indonesia, however, invaded the resource-rich region in 1961 and, with the complicity of the UN and USA, annexed it in 1969. Ever since, Papua's Melanesian Christians have suffered while their spectacular land has been militarised, exploited, colonised and Islamised. What we are witnessing is the slow genocide of a Christian people. The West ignores this, deeming good relations with Indonesia to be more in line with Western economic and geo-strategic interests. Surely God is not pleased.
West Papua National Committee (KNPB) is a pro-independence advocacy group committed to peaceful activism. Because 'Special Autonomy' has failed, the KNPB is calling for the UN to oversee a referendum on self-determination. In early June Indonesian soldiers rampaged (photos) though the KNPB stronghold of Wamena, the largest town in the central highlands. Then on 14 June Indonesian police shot KNPB deputy, Moses Mako Tabuni, in a Jayapura street. Shot in the hip, he died in police custody en route to hospital. Police allege Tabuni was 'resisting arrest', but human rights groups doubt this and local witnesses deny it. UK-based Papuan activist Benny Wenda has labelled it an 'assassination'.
On 29 September, after a couple of minor bombing incidents, Indonesian authorities launched a sweep through Wamena and its surrounding villages. They claim they found explosive materials in the homes of KNPB members, nine of whom have been arrested. Papua is a deeply Christianised culture and many Papuan civic leaders are also church leaders. One such leader, the Moderator of the Papuan Baptist Church, Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman, is certain the bombings were the work of Indonesian security forces who are now using them to justify launching anti-terror operations against peaceful, pro-independence activists. Human rights monitors agree with that assessment. The director of the Papua branch of Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham), Ferry Marisan, comments: 'We observed their [KNPB's] activities in Papua . . . they never staged violent acts, let alone kept firearms or explosives.' Actually, it is the modus operandi of the Indonesian security forces that is all-too-familiar. (See TNI 'sweeps' Puncak Jaya, July 2010 & Evidence of Human Rights Abuses, Aug 2010.) Driven by racial and religious hatred and greed, the Indonesian security forces (who make a lot of money in Papua) routinely provoke or fake Papuan separatist incidents to justify launching vastly disproportionate, violent anti-terror measures against the separatists.
Indonesian police, the Australian-trained anti-terrorism squad Detachment 88 and the TNI (Indonesian military) have been sweeping Wamena and surrounding villages, forcing thousands of Papuans to flee into the bush. (See here for 6.29 min news report by ABC's 7.30 Report - 4 Oct 2012 - film and transcript.) On 10 October one pastor, who hopes his presence with the displaced will provide them with a degree of protection and a means of communication, made an urgent appeal for prayer. Mass rallies protesting Indonesian repression and human rights abuses will be held across Papua on Wednesday 24 October.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --
* intervene for his displaced and traumatised people; may he in indignation fight for them and compensate them, and in love gather, lead, carry and comfort them. 'Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.' (Isaiah 40:10,11 ESV)
* magnify, sharpen and empower the voices of Papuan church leaders who risk their lives to speak out against cruelty and injustice; may their words not only enter ears and be heard, but pierce consciences and compel action.
* effect a breakthrough to prevent genocide and restore the dignity of his people, that the LORD might be praised and glorified in Papua.
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SWEEPING WAMENA (PAPUA, EASTERN INDONESIA)
Papua's Melanesian Christians suffer under Indonesian rule as their land is militarised, exploited, colonised and Islamised by Javanese Muslims. This is the slow genocide of a Christian people. Driven by racial and religious hatred and greed, Indonesian security forces routinely provoke or fake Papuan separatist attacks to justify launching violent anti-terror measures against Papuan civilians. Since June, Indonesian security forces (including Detachment 88) have been 'sweeping' Wamena, the largest town in the central highlands, on the pretext of fighting terrorism. Thousands of Papuan civilians have been driven from their homes into the inhospitable jungle. Nine members of the pro-peace, pro-independence advocacy group, the West Papua National Committee, have been framed as 'terrorists'. Church leaders are appealing for help, and especially for prayer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
URGENT UPDATE:
PAKISTAN: ANOTHER CHRISTIAN CHILD FRAMED
Ryan Stanten (16) lives in the middle class district of Mobina in Karachi. As the only Christian in his class at school, Ryan is regularly pressured by Muslim classmates to convert to Islam, something he steadfastly refuses to do. On Tuesday 9 October Ryan received a text message on his mobile phone for forwarding to Muslim friends. He forwarded it to his Muslim school friends without bothering to read it and suddenly he was being accused of blasphemy. The family fled that night. The next day local Muslims, led by a local Islamic cleric, thoroughly ransacked the family's home, dragging out and burning all their property, despite it being in a supposedly secure compound. No-one has been arrested. The family's name has been put on an Exit Control List so they cannot leave the country. This is NOT the handiwork of the Taliban! It is the work of Muslim school 'friends' and middle class 'neighbours' with the tacit approval of the State. Please pray for Ryan Stanten and his family, and for the Church in Pakistan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
With persecution escalating and intensifying globally, please consider participating in International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the persecuted church in the week 4-11 November. 'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood . . .' (Ephesians 6:12). See: Critical Prayer Requests (CPR)
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