RLPB 566. India: Christian Crisis in Koraput, Odisha.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 566 | Wed 09 Sep 2020
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INDIA: CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN KORAPUT, ODISHA.
by Elizabeth Kendal

click on map to enlarge

BACKGROUND
Dr Raghumni Naik is a history professor in the north-east Indian state of Odisha. In 2012 Dr Naik published a paper in which he describes the transformative and civilising impact of Christian missionaries on the tribal 'aboriginals' of Koraput district, Odisha (formerly known as Orissa), during the 19th Century. Previously illiterate, superstitious, downtrodden and 'untouchable', the tribals were offered 'a ray of hope'. The missionaries, he says, had to overcome a mountain of bureaucracy and opposition, not from the tribals but from 'the high caste people'. [Blessed with hereditary privilege, most high caste Hindus usually resist any threat to the status quo.] Commending the missionaries for their endurance, Dr Naik writes: 'Thereafter, the history of Koraput witnessed a tremendous transformation in the social, economic, educational, health and religious spheres. There was in fact a historic leap from tradition to modernity, darkness to light, superstition to reason, illiteracy to literacy, ignorance to knowledge, enmity to fraternity, unhealthiness to salubrity, violence to non-violence, immolation to prayer, isolation to assemblage, and casteism to social mobility.' He concludes: 'The tribal and Dalit people will remain indebted forever for the selfless services rendered by the Christian missionaries.'

Source:
'Christian Missionaries and their Impact on Socio-Cultural Development - Undivided Koraput District a Study', By Dr Raghumni Naik, IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (JHSS), Volume 2, Issue 3 (Sep-Oct. 2012), pp 01-05.

Dr Naik could not have foreseen the impact the Modi government's divide and conquer strategy would have on the tribal and Dalit peoples (formerly Untouchables) of Koraput.

INDIA: CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN KORAPUT, ODISHA.

In early 2019 in the lead up to the April-May 2019 federal elections, India's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used data-analytics and micro-targeted messaging - mostly through Facebook and WhatsApp - to revive its flagging fortunes and secure an absolute majority. One data analyst described the strategy as 'creating a customised enemy for every group', and then positing the BJP as the solution. By this means, the BJP was able to lure even tribal non-Hindus - who traditionally have allied with Christians against Hindu caste discrimination - into voting BJP, according to whom their enemy is not caste, but Christianity. [See RLPB 506 'Christian Crisis in North India' (12 June 2019).] This strategy of fuelling communal divisions so as to secure political conversions has served to facilitate violent persecution. Whilst Hindu nationalism (hindutva) has been around for a century, the rise of the BJP (since the late 1980s) and its popularisation under the charismatic Narendra Modi (since 2014) has essentially normalised and legitimised communalism and persecution, transforming it into a seemingly unstoppable force.

Pastor Ayuba Khora has been leading a house church of around 55-60 Christians from 12 families in Badaguda village in Odisha State's southern Koraput district for the past two years. Previously, around 40 Christians would gather to pray every Friday, but now the intimidation and violence has made that impossible. The villagers are tribal animists who believe their own gods are angered by the prayers of Christians. To prevent conversions and force Christians to return to Shamanistic and animistic practises, hostile villagers violently persecute believers (including children) and destroy their homes. Earlier this year the Christians were told they could only meet outside the village. So they built a makeshift shelter 'outside the camp' (Hebrews 13:13), but in March hostile villagers burnt it down. The police are no help. Pastor Ayuba told Morning Star News, 'The 12 Christian families have faced opposition almost every day since the day they decided to follow the Christian faith.'

Persevering through persecution:
Ms Chachiri Muduli (75).

On 21 July - first at 1am and then again at 8am - angry miscreants attacked the home of Deba Bhoi (55) and violently assaulted the 55-60 Christians sheltering there. Eight believers required hospitalisation for serious injuries. Suffering head trauma, Ms Chachiri Muduli (75) will lose her sight if she does not receive further medical attention. At the head of this 100-strong mob are two village youths, Siba Muduli (Ms Muduli's only grandson) and Butia Jani. Siba Muduli is furious that his father, sisters and grandmother have become followers of Jesus Christ. Another area Christian leader, pastor Sudhakar Khosla, told Morning Star News that Siba and Butia are not the main force behind the attacks on the Christian families. Rather, they are only part of a larger contingent of tribal animist villagers who are brainwashed and incited by members of the Hindu nationalist paramilitary organisation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSS is a member of the Sangh Parivar, the Hindu nationalist body of which the ruling BJP is the political arm.

On 19 August the Christians were informed that the magistrate had extended for six months the Code of Criminal Procedure 107 banning all breaches of the peace. Police warned the Christians that if their worship creates disturbances then they (the Christians) will be arrested. [Full report: Morning Star News (6 Sep 2020).]


PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR ALMIGHTY GOD WILL

* intervene in Koraput to provide his beloved children with all their needs, including shelter, food and water, medical treatment and security; may peace and justice reign.

' ... fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. […] For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you' (Isaiah 41:10,13 ESV).

* pour out his Holy Spirit in Koraput and in grace and mercy awaken those who have been brainwashed and incited against the Church which historically has given them so much (including literacy, health care, dignity and hope); may the miscreants experience conviction of sin and be drawn to repentance; may the hearts of the villagers be opened to the Prince of Peace and his Gospel of grace.

We pray especially for mob-leader Siba Muduli, whose father, sisters and grandmother - as followers of Jesus - are no doubt praying for him right now. May the God of all grace hear their prayers and 'reveal his Son' to Siba, so that God might be glorified in Koraput. (Galatians 1:11-24)

'...children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake' (from Matthew 10:16-25 ESV).

'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you' (from Matthew 5:43-45 ESV)


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN ODISHA, INDIA

Pastor Ayuba Khora has been leading a house church of around 55-60 Christians from 12 families in Badaguda village, Koraput district, Odisha State, for the past two years. He says these believers 'have faced opposition almost every day' since they decided to follow Jesus. As animists, the villagers believe their own gods are angered by the prayers of Christians. Brainwashed and incited by Hindu nationalists, a large mob of animists has launched a campaign of violent persecution against the Christians, destroying their homes and meeting place. On 21 June a mob of miscreants attacked a home in which all the believers were sheltering together. Eight believers were hospitalised with serious injuries. On 19 August police warned the Christians that if their worship creates disturbances they will be arrested. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Advocacy at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom (CFF) and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com 

RLPB 565. Uzbekistan: Religion Law Under Review

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 565 | Wed 02 Sep 2020
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Please forward this prayer bulletin widely and encourage others to sign up to the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog. "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)

UZBEKISTAN: RELIGION LAW UNDER REVIEW
By Elizabeth Kendal

Central Asia's Forgotten Gem
 (Virtual Vacation)

Uzbekistan's repressive Religion Law is currently under review. The law - which has its roots in the Soviet era - was adopted in 1998 during the rule of Islam Karimov. A ruthless autocrat, Karimov ruled over the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic from 1989, before being elected as the first president of an independent Uzbekistan in 1991. Karimov administered Uzbekistan as a Soviet-style police state wherein suffocating repression was enforced by a brutal security apparatus. When Karimov died in September 2016, the Supreme Assembly appointed Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev as Acting President. In December 2016 Mirziyoyev was elected as Uzbekistan's second President. Since then, President Mirziyoyev (63) has been leading Uzbekistan on a path of transformative political and economic reform. His desire to engage and trade with both East and West requires religious liberty to be addressed.

On 19 August 2020 a draft new Religion Law was made available for 'public discussion' on the parliamentary website, which also gave notice that the Law had reached the Oliy Majlis (Legislative Assembly). In June 2020 President Mirziyoyev issued a decree outlining a 'Road Map' for human rights, giving 1 October 2020 as the date for a new Religion Law. But as Forum 18 explains, the decree does not say whether 1 October is the deadline for the draft or for parliamentary approval. Sadly, the draft is deeply disappointing. Virtually all the oppressive measures integral to the 1998 law are retained in the 2020 draft. Despite enshrining the principle of separation of religion and state, the draft law perpetuates the state's repressive interference in religion. All religious activity outside state-approved, registered organisations and without permission from the authorities, remains 'illegal'. Article 11 bans 'any forms of missionary activity and proselytism capable of destroying inter-religious accord and religious tolerance in society'. Religious education and the importation of religious literature remain enmeshed in crippling regulations and vulnerable to repressive, arbitrary prohibitions and confiscations.

Abduvohid Yakubov, an independent rights defender from Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, laments the lack of progress. 'The State must not be afraid of giving full religious freedoms,' he told Forum 18. In saying this, Yakubov has touched on the very thing that makes religious freedom in Uzbekistan so fraught: the state is afraid, very afraid, and not without reason! After Uzbekistan declared independence in 1991, Islam literally flooded into the largely Russified and secular state, filling the spiritual void left by decades of enforced, atheistic communism. Funded mostly by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, mosques sprang up everywhere, Islamist missionaries poured in, and Qurans arrived by the tonne. Before long, Uzbekistan was simmering with revolutionary and jihadist, pro-Caliphate, pro-Sharia fundamentalist Islam. Though millions of ethnic Russians, Germans, Koreans and other non-Uzbeks have since left, God has raised-up an authentically Uzbek Church, comprised mostly of Muslim-background new believers. So yes, the government is afraid. But the government is not alone! Not all Uzbeks are happy about their nation's Islamisation. Despite identifying as Muslims, they enjoy their modern lives and are excited by Uzbekistan's new openness and growing prosperity.

Currently the Religion Law exists to enable the government to retain control and maintain order: i.e. if radicalised Muslims are going to riot at the sight of a church, then the church must go! Instead, the law's purpose should be to protect the fundamental human rights of every human being; in which case religious totalitarianism, intolerance and violence must go! Though Uzbekistan is no longer part of the long-dead Soviet Union, the Soviet spirit remains embedded in Uzbekistan. For many in government and the security sector, violent repression is the default position. Changing this will require a profound transformation in culture by way of visionary leadership and extensive education which holds out the prospect of a new and better way to live.

For an extended version of this RLPB, providing a little more insight into the politics and religious history of this fascinating region, please see:
Uzbekistan's Religion Law: Currently Under Review, 
Religious Liberty Monitoring, 2 Sept 2020

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR ALMIGHTY GOD WILL

* intervene in Uzbekistan, to restore the freedom that once existed before the arrival of Islam, when Uzbekistan's Silk Road cities welcomed Christian (Assyrian) missionaries, as well as peoples and trade from East and West; may the Lord God be jealous for this land! (Joel 2:18-29)

* 'send out labourers' into Uzbekistan's dangerous yet fertile fields, for the sake of Uzbekistan's persecuted Church and her 'harassed and helpless' masses; may the Spirit of our merciful and gracious God blow through that land. (Jonah 4:10-11; and Matthew 9:35-38)

* use as his instruments President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, Justice Minister Ruslanbek Davletov and Senator Sodiq Safoyev as they navigate the delicate and treacherous path to freedom and openness; may the Lord grant them vision, clarity, conviction, authority and plenty of support. May they be a collective 'Cyrus' (Isaiah 45:1-13).

'Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it' (Isaiah 45:8 ESV).

* protect and preserve his precious persecuted Church in Uzbekistan; may he grant her leaders wisdom, grace and endurance as they lead the Lord's people through testing times; may their eyes be fixed on Jesus always. (Hebrews 12:1-3)


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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UZBEKISTAN'S RELIGION LAW UNDER REVIEW

Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, elected December 2016, is leading the state through transformative reform. His desire to engage and trade with both East and West requires religious liberty to be addressed. Consequently, Uzbekistan's repressive, Soviet-inspired 1998 Religion Law is currently under review. Unfortunately, the draft new Religion Law made public on 19 August is deeply disappointing. Instead of eliminating repression, it would perpetuate it. The government is afraid that religious freedom would enable pro-Caliphate fundamentalist Islam to spin out of control. Furthermore, after a century of Soviet and Soviet-style social control, violent repression is for many the default position. But while the government is afraid, it is not alone! Many Uzbeks are excited by Uzbekistan's new openness and growing prosperity. Please pray for Uzbekistan and its persecuted yet growing Church.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Advocacy at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom (CFF) and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com