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by Elizabeth Kendal
JULY 2017 UPDATE -- this month we prayed concerning ...
* MALI AND THE PHILIPPINES (RLPB 413), where Islamic militants are holding a number of Christians captive, as hostages for ransom and as human shields. The situation for these Christian captives could not be more serious.
MALI UPDATE: as noted in RLPB 413, American missionary Jeff Woodke, who was abducted from his home in Niger in October 2016, was not mentioned in Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin's 2 July video. On 11 July his wife, Els Woodke, released her own video in which she spoke of her husband's service to the people of Niger and appealed to his captors to contact her directly. As explained in RLPB 413, while we rejoice to see the six captives alive, we must not disregard the context in which the proof-of-life was given. Entitled 'The Correct Equation', the video is essentially a threat in which JNIM is saying, if you (infidel forces) kill us (jihadists), then we will kill you -- and we already have six of you right here. With anti-terror operations due to commence in September, this is a matter for urgent prayer. Please, Lord, deliver the captives.
PHILIPPINES UPDATE: Nine weeks on, and the grinding street-by-street Battle for Marawi continues. Meanwhile, President Duterte has signalled he will expedite the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) which would establish an autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao, complete with its own police force and Sharia courts and to be ruled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The BBL is highly controversial and has not yet passed the parliament. Meanwhile, as rebel-held territory shrinks, the plight of some 300 civilians being used as human shields becomes ever more precarious. Please, Lord, deliver the captives.
* IRAN (RLPB 414), where a dozen believers had received 10-year (plus) jail terms in the space of a month. Sentences will be appealed. Sentenced to 15 years, Christian convert Amin Afshar-Naderi commenced a hunger strike on 5 July.
IRAN UPDATE: On 17 July Christian prisoner Ebrahim Firouzi (32) announced he was commencing a ten-day hunger strike 'in support of the rights of fellow Christians'. In jail since March 2013, Firouzi has been held in Ward 12 for political prisoners in the maximum security Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj since Oct 2014; he is not due for release until Jan 2020. On release, Firouzi must serve two years of internal exile in remote Sarbaz, more than 1600km south-east of Tehran, near the border with Pakistan's Balochistan Province. Firouzi has previously requested prayers for health and strength [RLPB 350 (30 March 2016)]. The ten-day hunger strike will doubtless leave him weak, depressed and exceedingly vulnerable. Please pray for Iran's Church, her Christian prisoners, and particularly for hunger-strikers Amin Afshar-Naderi and Ebrahim Firouzi.
* CHINA (RLPB 415), where churches in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, were resisting the imposition of surveillance cameras inside their sanctuaries. It comes at a time when the Chinese Communist Party is advancing a nation-wide roll-out of surveillance cameras armed with sophisticated facial-recognition software for the purpose of collecting data on Chinese citizens.
For more on this subject see:
'Beijing Harnesses Big Data & AI to Perfect the Police State'
by Willy WoLap Lam, The Jamestown Foundation, 21 July 2017
CHINA UPDATE: To be legal in China, Protestant churches must be registered with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) approved Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM); then they must follow the CCP's rules. One of those rules is that minors (under 18) are not permitted to participate in religious activities. Despite this, authorities have long tolerated the existence of Sunday Schools and church-run summer camps. But, as China Aid Association reports, that has now changed. Initially the Henan Provincial Three-Self Patriotic Committee and the Henan Provincial China Christian Council arbitrarily forbade churches from organising summer camps for minors and students, citing high temperatures as a possible health risk. Sunday Schools were also ordered to cease ministry. Now the crackdown has extended to Zhejiang, where all Sunday Schools and church-run summer camps are now officially banned.
JULY 2017 ROUND-UP -- also this month ...
* ASSYRIANS: ROBBED AND MURDERED
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| Assyrians march in Alqosh, 20 July, AINA. |
* EGYPT: COPTS TARGETED FOR TERROR
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| Nadra Mounir with her husband Girgis Samir (WWM) |
* INDIA: PASTOR MURDERED IN PROBABLE RSS HIT
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| Pastor Sultan Masih with wife, Sarabjit (MSN) |
On 20 July Ram Nath Kovind (71) was elected to the largely ceremonial post of President of India, receiving 65 per cent of the vote by members of India's parliament and state assemblies. It is the first time a person linked to the RSS has been elected to the presidency.
DAY OF PRAYER FOR INDIA: Recognising the need for intercession, the Evangelical Fellowship of India is inviting intercessors worldwide to join with the Indian Church on Sunday 13 August as they observe a 'Day of Prayer for the Nation'. Resources can be found here https://www.nationaldayofprayer.in/ and https://www.facebook.com/EFoIndia
* KENYA: VIOLENCE AHEAD OF 8 AUGUST POLLS
As anticipated, violence is escalating in the lead-up to Kenya's 8 August General Election [see RLPB 411 (21 June)]. The worst violence is occurring in Muslim-majority coastal and eastern regions. While the violence is being perpetrated by Islamic militants linked to al-Shabaab, local police and church leaders insist that political forces are facilitating it so as to displace Christians ahead of the elections. The worst attack occurred in Jima village, Lamu County, commencing at around 11pm on Friday 7 July and continuing into the next morning. In that incident, nine men who could not recite the Islamic shahada (profession of faith) were beheaded; many more are not accounted for. Christians in the area have fled. Some 2000 Kenyans -- including many Christians -- are now sheltering in two churches (one Catholic and one Evangelical) and a school, waiting for security to be restored. Numerous reports confirm that local Muslims are protecting and aiding the militants who are operating from a base in the dense Boni Forest which borders Somalia. Pray for Kenya.
* PAKISTAN: ANOTHER MALICIOUS BLASPHEMY CHARGE
Shahzad Masih (17) worked as a sweeper at Shamim Riaz Hospital in Dinga town, Gujrat District, Punjab Province. In mid-July he quarrelled with hospital pharmacy employee Ishtiaq Ahmed Jalali. Though a senior medical officer intervened to calm the situation, Jalali, a member of the Islamist group, Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Islam Pakistan (TTIP), harboured a grudge. Jalali shared his grudge with Nadeem Ahmed, the president of the Dinga chapter of TTIP, who then registered a blasphemy complaint against Shahzad who was subsequently arrested. Shahzad's parents do not know his whereabouts, and threats have driven the family from their home. On 16 July, outside the Dinga police station, Jalali declared that, if the court acquits Shehzad, members of Tehreek will kill him. Pray for Pakistan and its beleaguered Church.
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| The accuser (Jalali) threatens to kill the accused (Shehzad Masih, aged 17). The police response: "not our problem". |
* TAJIKISTAN: KHUJAND PASTOR JAILED FOR THREE YEARS
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| Pastor Bakhrom Kholmatov (Release International) |
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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
