RLPB 331. Syria: Plight of Assyrian Captives

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 331 | Wed 14 Oct 2015

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Supporting International Day of Prayer (IDOP)
   for the Persecuted Church
IDOP 2015: Sunday 1 or 8 November
   See Critical Prayer Requests (CPR)
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SYRIA: PLIGHT OF ASSYRIAN CAPTIVES
plus: Egypt and Bangladesh 
By Elizabeth Kendal

HASAKAH: On 23 February 2015 Islamic State (IS) jihadists conducted a pre-dawn raid on 35 Assyrian Christian villages along a 40km stretch of the Khabour River in Syria's north-eastern Hasakah Province. As some 3000 Assyrian Christians fled into the darkness, 253 were taken captive. [See RLPB 298 (25 Feb 2015)] Around 40 elderly and frail captives were subsequently released but the remainder, including women and children, have been in IS captivity ever since.

VIDEO 1: On 7 October IS released a video showing the execution of three Assyrian captives from Hasakah. The execution is dated 23 September 2015, Eid al-Adha (the Muslim 'Feast of Sacrifice').

source: AINA

The video shows three Assyrian men dressed in orange jumpsuits, kneeling before the camera. One by one the Assyrians introduce themselves: 'I am Christian Assyrian ...' followed by their name, date of birth and home village. Three jihadists then assume their positions, draw their handguns and shoot the Christian men through the back of the head. As the Assyrians fall forward dead, three more Assyrian men dressed in orange jumpsuits come into the frame. Kneeling between their dead Assyrian brothers and their executioners, these men introduce themselves in the same way: 'I am Christian Assyrian ...' followed by name, date of birth and home village. 'We are here and there are dozens of us,' says the third Assyrian. 'Our fate is the same as these,' he says as he points to the dead. 'If you do not take proper procedure for our release [pay the ransom estimated at $10 million] we realise the inevitable fate.'

HOMS: On 21 May 2015, soon after capturing UNESCO world heritage-listed Palmyra in Syria's central Homs Province, IS forces made an incursion into nearby Qaryatayn, kidnapping Jesuit priest Father Jacques Mourad and his companion, a deacon named Boutros. The men had been caring for hundreds of refugees in Qaryatayn's Mar Elian Monastery. [See RLPB 311 (27 May)] On Thursday 6 August 2015 IS captured Qaryatayn, taking some 230 residents captive, including around 150 Syrian Christians whose names were on an IS list of 'wanted' government supporters. [RLPB 322 (12 Aug)] IS has since demolished the fifth century Mar Elian Monastery. [RLPB 324 (26 Aug)]

VIDEO 2: IS has now released a video of its conquest of Qaryatayn. Entitled 'Fight until they pay the jizya pledging subservience to Muslim rule' ( a reference to Qur'an, Sura 9:29), the video shows the destruction of crosses and a meeting in which a group of Christians sign a dhimma contract.

Video - in Arabic

The contract stipulates that the Muslims are not to harm the Christians who secure right to life as second-class citizens, provided they submit to Islamic rule. The Christians must also comply with a list of classic Islamic demands including: they must pay jizya (protection money); refrain from public expressions of Christianity; respect all Muslims and never criticise Islam. The alternatives are conversion to Islam or death. Sources told Middle East Concern that Assyrian Christian Fahid Khazaal was martyred for his refusal to convert or submit. Visible among the Christians signing the dhimma contract is Father Jacques Mourad, although he was subsequently released in good health on 10 October. The circumstances of his release are unclear. The Christians seen signing the contract are doubtless the 'wanted' government supporters taken captive in May. Consequently, it is possible that IS already has plans to make examples of them. Lord have mercy!

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR

* the Assyrian captives -- some 200 from Hasakah and around 150 in Qaryatayn; may they fix their eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of their faith (Hebrews 12:2 ESV). May they know the powerful and glorious presence (Hebrew: miqdas, 'sanctuary') of the Lord as they walk by faith, think spiritually and fear only him [Isaiah 8:11-14; see chapter 3 in Turn Back the Battle].

'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.' (Lamentations 3:24 ESV)

* the Lord of Hosts to rise up and burst through his enemies (2 Samuel 5:17-25), intervening for his people's deliverance. 

* the imperilled Assyrian remnant scattered throughout Syria and Iraq, displaced Assyrians in Iraqi Kurdistan and the refugees in southern Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and the migrant centres of Europe; may the Lord protect and preserve them ahead of that promised day when he restores them to their land: 'Assyria the work of my hands.' (Isaiah 19:25).

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SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE
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THE PLIGHT OF ASSYRIAN CAPTIVES IN SYRIA

Islamic State (IS) has released two new videos. The first shows three Assyrian Christian men from  more than 200 taken captive in north-eastern Hasakah Province in February. After these three are executed, three more appear and kneel behind the dead. They confirm IS is holding 'dozens of us' who will be killed if ransom (estimated at $10 million) is not paid. The second video shows Assyrian Christians taken captive during the August conquest of Qaryatayn in central Homs Province. They are signing a dhimma contract guaranteeing the Christians' right to life as second-class citizens, provided they pay jizya (protection money) and submit to Islam -- refraining from public Christianity, respecting Muslims and Islam. Fahid Khazaal was martyred for refusing to convert or submit. Please pray for Assyrian Christians and for Syria.

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Also --

EGYPT: Officials raided the Egypt office of Christian satellite TV broadcaster SAT-7 on 10 October, seizing cameras, computers and other equipment. Office Director Mr Farid Samir was questioned in the police station for over six hours. The charges against the office are baseless as all SAT-7's registration and licences are in good order. The Prosecutor must now determine whether the case should proceed to trial. This could take up to two weeks. Please pray for this vital ministry. 

BANGLADESH UPDATE: Just hours after last week's Prayer Bulletin on Bangladesh was posted, news emerged that a Bangladeshi pastor had just survived an attempted beheading thanks to courageous family members and neighbours who fought off the attackers. Though the injuries to Rev Luke Sarker's neck required stitching, they are not life-threatening. The Lord is merciful. Please cover Bangladesh in prayer.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).
http://www.turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Her second book, ‘After Saturday Comes Sunday’: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East, will be published by Wipf and Stock (Eugene, OR, USA) in early 2016.

RLPB 330. Bangladesh: danger looms for church. PLUS, Germany: serious plight of Christian refugees.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 330 | Wed 07 Oct 2015

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Supporting International Day of Prayer (IDOP)
   for the Persecuted Church
IDOP 2015: Sunday 1 or 8 November
   See Critical Prayer Requests (CPR)
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BANGLADESH: DANGER LOOMS FOR CHURCH (includes update)

-- also Serious Plight of Christian Refugees in Germany.

By Elizabeth Kendal

In 1947, India was partitioned and Pakistan was established as a homeland for Muslims. In 1971, Bengali-dominated secular-leaning East Pakistan secured independence from Punjabi- and Pashto-dominated Islamic-leaning West Pakistan in a Liberation War that cost Bangladeshis up to three million lives. While Pakistan subsequently Islamised, Bangladesh progressed as a secular democracy. The population being 90 percent Muslim, Bangladesh was never going to be immune from the global trend of Islamic radicalisation. Since the 1980s, masses of Muslims have been radicalised through Bangladesh's vast networks of mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools).  On 7 Oct 2001 the US commenced post 9/11 bombing raids on Afghanistan from bases in Pakistan. Fundamentalist clerics portrayed the war as a War on Islam, fuelling rage. When Bangladeshis went to the polls later that month, they threw out the secular government and voted in the pro-Pakistan, pro-Islam, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), to rule in coalition with some very radical Islamic groups. The result has been polarisation as secularists struggle against a rising tide of Islamic zeal.

In August this year a pro-secular, anti-Islamist Bangladeshi blogger was hacked to death. It was the fourth such attack in six months. Ansar Bangla (also known as Ansarullah Bangla Team), a banned terrorist organisation that is alleged to have links to Islamic State, has claimed responsibility. On Monday 28 September an Italian aid worker, Cesare Tavella, was assassinated in Dhaka's diplomatic precinct. This veterinary surgeon had been working with the Dutch church-run charity OCCI, which works to improve hygiene and alleviate poverty and food insecurity in rural Bangladesh. Then on Saturday 3 October, Japanese farmer Kunio Hoshi (coincidentally, a recent convert to Islam) was assassinated in Mahiganj Village, Rangpur District, in northern Bangladesh. The assassinations were virtually identical in that the victim was shot multiple times at close range by two gunmen who were then whisked away by a third person on a motorbike. Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for both assassinations, warning, 'There will continue to be a series of ongoing security operations against nationals of crusader coalition countries . . . they will not have safety of a livelihood in Muslim lands.'

The government of Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina is rejecting claims that IS has made inroads into Bangladesh, preferring to blame her political opposition in the BNP. This is even though in September 2014 a British man of Bangladeshi origin was arrested in Dhaka and charged with recruiting Bangladeshis for IS. More IS recruiters have been arrested this year, including Sakhawatul Kabir, who was subsequently identified as the IS regional commander of operations in Bangladesh. Released in February 2015, issue 7 of Dabiq (the official IS magazine) includes an article lambasting Japanese policy and exhorting 'soldiers and patrons of the Khilafah everywhere' to target 'Japanese citizens and interests -- wherever they may be found.' If IS is indeed seeking to recruit and raise its profile in Bangladesh, then danger looms for the Church. Just as 'nationals of crusader coalition countries' are easy targets because they are easily identifiable, the same is true of Christians. Christians are already known to the radicalised masses, who despise them as infidels, kafir (unclean) and apostates deserving death; and they gather together in homes and easily identifiable churches. We must be vigilant in prayer for the Church in Bangladesh.

UPDATE 
It has just been reported that a Protestant Bangladeshi pastor has narrowly survived an attempted beheading. On Monday 5 Oct, three Muslims visited the home of Rev. Luke Sarker (52), pastor of Faith Bible Church in the district of Pabna, in the country’s northwest. Two men came into the house under the pretext of wanting to convert to Christianity; the third man remained outside on his motorbike. Once settled, one of the men locked the door; then they attacked. Rev Sarker screamed, help came quickly and the attackers fled. Rev Sarker received non-life-threatening cuts to his neck requiring stitching. It seems to me [E Kendal] that the attackers were amateurs -- i.e. new local recruits, not experienced jihadists -- possibly responding to an IS request for the head of a pastor/missionary. [Report by Morning Star News, 11 Oct 2015]
Please cover Bangladesh in prayer.
  
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT

* the Lord of hosts will surround and protect his precious people. 'Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.' (Psalm 17:8-9 ESV)

* the rule of law will prevail in Bangladesh; may there be unity -- as distinct from politicisation or appeasement -- in the face of escalating Islamic violence and threat. Pray for Prime Minister (Ms) Sheikh Hasina (Awami League) and for the Opposition leader (Ms) Khaleda Zia (BNP), 'the warring widows'.

* the God of salvation, the hope of all the earth, will intervene in Bangladesh to 'still ... the tumult of the peoples.' (Psalm 65:5-8)

'By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth ... who stills ... the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.' (from Psalm 65:5-8 ESV)

Also 

SERIOUS PLIGHT OF CHRISTIAN REFUGEES IN GERMANY

Migrant flood (photo: Der Spiegel)

With up to 10,000 mostly Muslim migrants arriving each day, police are warning that tensions are soaring in Germany's massively over-crowded migrant centres. Islamic Law is being enforced, while violence and rape are endemic, much of it driven by racial and religious hatred and a culture of violence. Christian refugees, who are particularly vulnerable, are being abused and threatened. The head of the German police union wants migrants separated according to race and faith before someone is killed. The German government is resisting, wedded as it is to the idea of a multicultural utopia. While some politicians insist that distinguishing between migrants would go against Germany's values, others write it off as a logistical impossibility. PLEASE PRAY for a change in policy, and that God will intervene on behalf of his people.

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SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE

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BANGLADESH: DANGER LOOMS FOR CHURCH

Bangladeshi society is polarised and at war with itself. Islamic zeal is soaring among masses of Muslims who have been radicalised since the 1980s. Secular Bengalis are struggling to maintain their fading rights and a veneer of security. Persecution is escalating. Bloggers who criticised Islam and advocated secularism have been murdered by a group with ties to Islamic State (IS), which is recruiting and seeking a foothold in Bangladesh. IS has claimed responsibility for the recent assassinations of an Italian aid worker in Dhaka and a Japanese farmer in the north, warning it is targeting 'nationals of crusader coalition countries'. If IS is indeed seeking to recruit and raise its profile in Bangladesh, this seriously elevates the risk to the Church. Please pray for Bangladesh and its Church.

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