RLPB 642. April Update. Incl India, Iran, Algeria, Cuba, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 642 | Wed 27 April 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.
View archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB). 

APRIL 2022 UPDATE
by Elizabeth Kendal

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:5b-6 ESV)

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* INDIA [RLPB 640 (6 April)], where Hindu nationalists are using the issue of conversion to Christianity as a wedge to divide and conquer traditionally Congress-allied tribal peoples and draw the traditionally Congress-voting tribal animists into the vote-bank of the anti-conversion BJP. We prayed especially for pastors in Chhattisgarh's south-western Bijapur District, after one of 22 named, warned, and threatened pastors, was brutally murdered at his home in front of his family. Please pray.

UPDATES

(1) ODISHA: EASTER ATTACK

A pastor in Odisha (north-east India) told International Christian Concern (20 April) how a mob of some 100 radical Hindu nationalists burst into a Christian home in Markapalli village, Malkangiri District, Odisha State (close to the border of volatile south Chhattisgarh) while an Easter worship service was in progress. The mob beat the congregation with sticks, injuring several Christians including women and children and harassed them for more than an hour before police arrived at the scene. While the church was being attacked, another group looted and ransacked three other houses belonging to the believers. Such attacks are now commonplace in today's Hindu nationalist India. Please pray.

(2) KARNATAKA: CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ACCUSED

(top) Clarence High School
(bottom) CHS Principal Jaideep George
speaks to Indian media, 25 April 2022

Founded in 1914 by British missionaries, Clarence High School in Karnataka's capital, Bengaluru (Bangalore), is unashamedly Christian. Around 75 percent of all students come from the Christian community. A Hindu nationalist outfit named Hindu Janajagruti Samithi (HJS) has accused Clarence High School of violating the Karnataka Education Act by 'forcing' non-Christian students to read the Bible in school. The issue has created a storm in Karnataka, where the parliament is considering enacting anti-conversion legislation.

The controversy revolves around a sub-section in Clarence High School's rule book. Entitled 'Parents' declarations', it states: 'You affirm that your child will attend all classes including Morning Assembly, Scriptures Class [year levels 1 through 9] and Clubs for his or her own moral and spiritual welfare and will not object to carrying the Bible and Hymn book during his/her stay at Clarence High school.' Hindu nationalists allege 'religious conspiracy and coercion', but parents and alumni refute that, telling News18 (25 April) that they signed the undertaking freely and have no objection to their children learning Christian scripture. HJS deems this a 'conspiracy for conversion of students' and is calling for 'strict action against convent schools'. HJS said it will submit a complaint to the Primary Education Minister and if the government doesn't act on the complaint, then HJS 'will file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the court.' This is nothing but a blatant attempt to sow division in, and incite opposition against, India's Christian schools. Please pray.

* IRAN [RLPB 641 (20 April)], after two Christian women - Sakineh and Fariba - commenced serving two-year jail terms for establishing and leading house-churches; and three Christian men - Ahmed, Morteza and Ayoub - were sentenced to five years' jail for 'engaging in propaganda and education of deviant beliefs contrary to the holy Sharia'. In reality, the men had done nothing more than attend a house-church for prayer and worship; they will appeal. Please pray. We also prayed concerning Iran's proposed Internet Bill which is currently being debated in parliament. If passed the bill will turn Iran into 'an internet black hole', making communications and ministry exceedingly difficult for Iran's persecuted Church.

UPDATE: ANOTHER CONVERT ARRESTED, FAMILY HARASSED

Rahmat Rostamipour

Early on Monday 18 April, in the town of Anzali on the Caspian Sea (a 39km drive from Rasht), officers from the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) raided the home of Christian convert Rahmat Rostamipour (49). They confiscated Bibles, books, phones, computers and other property and took Rahmat into custody. According to Article18 (21 April): 'the authorities had [also] intended to arrest Rahmat's wife, Azar, but refrained from detaining her because the raid had brought on a panic attack in the couple's teenage daughter.' The couple's 13-year-old son was also present during the raid. Azar was subsequently summoned to the MOIS office in Anzali where she was interrogated for several hours. Article 18 reports: 'The couple have not been formally charged, but during Azar's questioning she was informally accused of "propaganda against the regime through involvement in house-church activities".' Please pray.


APRIL 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* ALGERIA: ANOTHER CHURCH CLOSED

On 6 April leaders of the Aouchiche Church - a 300-member Protestant church in the port city of Bejaïa, in Bejaïa Province, Kabylia Region - were ordered to cease operations effective immediately, as per an administrative closure order issued by the Wali (Governor) on 21 March. A member of the officially recognised eglise Protestante d'Algerie (EPA: Protestant Church of Algeria), the Aouchiche Church becomes the 17th EPA church closed by order of the authorities since 2017. Middle East Concern notes: 'During the same time period, at least twelve Christians have been convicted on faith-related charges, including blasphemy and proselytism. They have received prison sentences between six months and five years. With increased government targeting, several other churches and individual Christians involved in court cases anticipate negative verdicts.' Please pray for the Church in Algeria.

 * CUBA: PASTOR JAILED FOR EIGHT YEARS

Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo,
with his wife Maridilegnis Carballo. CSW

When unprecedented protests broke out in Cuba in July 2021 - initially in response to the country's economic crises, but increasingly against the Communist Party's misrule - the authorities responded with a brutal crackdown. Peaceful protesters were beaten in the streets and hundreds were arrested. While most were subsequently released, Reverend Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo was not. A month after his arrest, Pastor Lorenzo was transferred to Boniato Maximum Security Prison where, as Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports (12 April), 'he and the other men in the group of transferees ... were handed over to a group of prisoners who beat and sexually assaulted them. The pastor survived the organised attack and was not sexually assaulted himself, but described it as 'one of the most terrifying and terrible experiences of his life.' In early April Pastor Lorenzo was informed that he had been sentenced to eight years in jail on charges of 'public disorder', 'criminal incitement', 'disrespect' and 'assault'. His wife, Maridilegnis Carballo has only been permitted a few brief visits. The couple have two children, David (18) and Lorena (12). Many suspect that a senior Communist Party official with a long-held vendetta against the evangelical pastor is behind the false charges and manifestly unjust sentence. Please pray.

* IRAQ: CHRISTIANITY ALIVE DESPITE STRUGGLE AND THREAT

In June 2014 Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (greater Syria) stormed and seized Mosul, the capital of Iraq's Nineveh Province, forcing around 1000 Christian families to flee for their lives. After declaring their Caliphate, Islamic State proceeded to ethnically cleanse and occupy the Nineveh Plains, forcing around 100,000 Assyrians to flee alongside withdrawing Kurdish forces, into Iraqi Kurdistan. Since the region was liberated in 2017-18, Christians have tentatively trickled back to attempt the daunting job of rebuilding. After two years of COVID restrictions, Assyrian Christians were eager to celebrate Easter in Assyria's historic heartland, the Nineveh Plains.

St Kyriakos Chaldean Catholic Church,
Batnaya, Nineveh Plains, Easter 2022

Demolished by IS in 2014, the now rebuilt St Kyriakos Chaldean Catholic Church in Batnaya (north of Mosul) opened its doors this Easter for the first time in eight years. More than 500 attended the Saturday Easter Vigil. Parish deacon Pastor Basim told Aid to the Church in Need: 'We had worked so hard to get to this stage and the place was so full there were people in the aisles.' In Qaraqosh/Bakhdida (east of Mosul), an estimated 20,000 Assyrian Christians joined the 10 April Palm Sunday procession. Iraqi priest Naim Shoshandy (who now lives in Spain) told Catholic media: 'I thank God because what we saw on Sunday shows us that Christianity is alive in Iraq.' However, the situation in Mosul is 'very different', and Christians generally have not yet been able to return. He said that in Mosul they are happy just to have 'the great gift of being able to ring the bells, announcing that in our churches the faith is celebrated'.

Thousands of Assyrian Christians celebrate Palm Sunday
in Qaraqosh/Bakhdida, Nineveh Plains, 10 April 2022.
(Credit: Twitter Father Naim Shoshandy; via Crux Now 13 April)

However, as Shoshandy explained, despite the moving images from Palm Sunday in Qaraqosh, Christians in Iraq are still not safe. Indeed, according to Jamestown Foundation (22 April), an estimated 8000 IS fighters are still positioned in Iraq; around half are active and around half belong to sleeper cells. That said, the greatest threat to Christians remains systemic discrimination, violent persecution, and land grabbing, as Iraqi Arab (Sunni), Kurdish (Sunni) and Shabak (Shi'ite) Muslims, and Iranian paramilitaries exploit Assyrian weakness with impunity. Please pray.

* NIGERIA: PALM SUNDAY MASSACRE

Mass burial of 106 victims
Naija Times (14 April)

On Palm Sunday 10 April a huge contingent of armed Fulani Muslims stormed ten unsuspecting, mixed but predominantly Christian, ethnic Berom communities in Plateau State's historically peaceful Kanam Local Government Area (LGA). According to a report in Nigeria's Daily Trust (13 April), the attackers arrived at around 11am, on at least 70 motorcycles - each of which carried a driver and at least one shooter. Not only were the terrorists armed with sophisticated weapons, but they displayed sophisticated planning, in that they blocked entry/exit points and destroyed telecommunications masts before unleashing their killing spree which continued unhindered until around 3pm. The killings were not entirely indiscriminate, for the terrorists only targeted men, leaving women and children alive, albeit traumatised and vulnerable. Most men were shot dead as they attempted to flee; others were killed in their homes. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (13 April) puts the toll at more than 142 dead, 156 injured and 70 abducted. On Monday 11 April, 106 victims were given a mass burial. Nigerian media reports that more than 5000 residents have been displaced, although 'ethnically cleansed' might be a more accurate description. Please pray.

* PAKISTAN: TTP LAUNCHES SPRING OFFENSIVE
Update to RLPB 632, Christians in Peshawar Gravely Imperilled, 9 Feb 2022

On 30 March the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) announced it would launch its spring offensive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (1 April - 1 May) to target security forces and their collaborators. The TTP is based in Pakistan's north-west tribal areas, but also has sanctuary over the border in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. After numerous Pakistani police and soldiers were killed in a string of TTP attacks, the Pakistani government responded on 16 April by sending military helicopters to attack TTP safe havens in Afghanistan's Kunar and Khost Provinces. At least 36 people were killed, including 20 children. The Afghan Taliban, which has never accepted the Durand Line (the British drawn Af-Pak border) is furious. With terrorism escalating in Pakistan's north-west - particular in Peshawar and Khyber tribal district (between Peshawar and the Afghan border) - the exposed and vulnerable Christians of Peshawar desperately need our prayers. Please pray.

'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)

* SUDAN: CHURCH ATTACKED; PASTOR JAILED.

On Palm Sunday 10 April, three Islamic extremists attacked a church in Hajj Abd Allah, a town on the Blue Nile 250 km south-east of Khartoum in Gezira State. The believers were praying inside the church when the Muslims struck, destroying property and beating Pastor Estefanos/Stephanou and three women. All four required medical treatment. Middle East Concern (MEC) reports (22 April): 'A police officer among the extremists has also filed a court case against Pastor Estefanos for disturbing public order and a general noise complaint. Pastor Estefanos was detained but later released on bail.' Morning Star News reports that on 25 April, 'Judge Awad Ibrahim Kury, a Muslim, found Pastor Stephanou Adil Kujo and [the lead attacker] Ibrahim Kodi guilty of disturbing the peace under Article 69 of Sudan's 1991 penal code and sentenced them to one month in jail beginning April 25.' The Christians' attorney, Shanabo Awad, said the pastor's sentence is unfair and will be appealed. Please pray.

BASHIR LOYALISTS REHABILITATED
Al-Monitor reports (19 April) that, since the military coup of October 2021, the junta has been busy rehabilitating Bashir loyalists and re-building the former regime. Numerous loyalists, including senior officials in former president Omar al-Bashir's now banned National Congress Party (NCP), have been acquitted, been released from prison, had confiscated assets returned, been appointed to high state positions and re-instated throughout the government. Many suspect the NCP will be revived, albeit with a new name. This party will then support Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) as they lead the country back to Islamist, military rule. According to Al-Monitor, 'activists, lawyers and journalists are struggling to keep track of the process in light of the speed at which it is taking place'. The Al-Monitor article is a must-read for anyone following the situation in Sudan. Please pray.

Recommended:
Coup generals bring back party of Sudan's ousted dictator
By Marc Espanol, Al-Monitor, 19 April 2022.

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

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and 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 634. Feb. Update incl. Algeria, China, Eritrea, Indonesia, Nigeria, Uganda, Ukraine

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 634 | Tues 22 Feb 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

View archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) blog.  The RLPB is sponsored by Christian Faith and Freedom Inc. 

FEBRUARY 2022 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

INDIA [RLPB 631 (2 Feb)], where Intolerant Hindu nationalism is rising in the majority-Hindu Jammu Division of the majority-Muslim Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The rise in Hindu intolerance comes as the Hindu nationalist BJP - which has already abrogated J&K autonomy - moves to 're-organise' (i.e., gerrymander) J&K so as to get a BJP Chief Minister installed over J&K. Two very disturbing cases of persecution in Jammu Division's southern-most Kathua District bode ill for Christians. Please pray.

PAKISTAN [RLPB 632 (8 Feb)], specifically for the vulnerable and imperilled Church in Peshawar. Located just 55km from the Afghan border, Peshawar is exceedingly vulnerable to terror attacks from both the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and Islamic State (ISKP). The Sunday 30 January targeted assassination of Reverend William Siraj (75), the much-loved pastor of Shaheedan-e-All Saints' Church, has rattled the Christian community. The Church in Peshawar is probably more at risk now than at any time in Pakistan's history. Please pray.

CHINA [RLPB 633 (16 Feb)], where new draconian Measures on the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services herald a further tightening of repressive control. From Tuesday 1 March only people who have acquired an Internet Religious Information Services Licence from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) may engage in 'religious information services' (i.e., may provide or disseminate religious information via the internet). After 1 March, anyone found posting religious information to the internet without a licence will have their internet service shut down and they will be categorised as a person with no social credit, limiting their ability to access to many essential goods and services. Please pray.

FEBRUARY 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* ALGERIA: ANOTHER CHURCH THREATENED WITH CLOSURE

On 2 February officials in Tizi Ouzou Province commenced proceedings against the pastor of a church and his father who owns the land in Ait Atteli village where the church is located. No date has been set for the court to hear the case. Middle East Concern reports (4 Feb): 'The church was established in 2006 and joined the EPA (Eglise Protestante d'Algerie), the legally recognised umbrella of Protestant churches in Algeria, in 2011. It has more than 90 members.' In February 2006, in line with President Bouteflika's Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, the Algerian government amnestied thousands of Islamic militants. Then, in March 2006, Bouteflika signed presidential order 06-03 regulating non-Muslim religion in Algeria. The repression of Christianity is mostly driven by the need to appease Islamic fundamentalists. These days, post-Bouteflika, with Algerian politics being hotly contested, it is also driven by politicians and officials eager to establish their Islamic credentials. Pastors, evangelists and churches are in the firing line. If the repression continues to escalate, it could drive the Algerian Church underground. Pray for the Church in Algeria.

 CHINA: MORE CHRISTIANS SENTENCED

Gao Heng holding a sign that reads, 
'June 4, pray for the country.'

(1) On 11 February Gao Heng of Guangzhou Bible Reformed Church, faced a secret trial charged with 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble'. Gao's crime was to stand in a station of Guangzhou Subway Line Two, on 4 June 2021 (the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre) holding a sign that read, 'June 4, pray for the country.' He also posted a picture of himself holding the sign to several social media sites. Alongside the image he posted these words: 'People usually attribute the cause of all social sufferings to the ugliness of politics and social systems. The root cause, however, evolves from the sinful nature of human beings. In terms of the sinful nature, no fundamental difference exists between us and decision makers, directors and executors. I say, Thank you, God. We are all sinners. But because of Your amazing grace, we have the opportunity to repent, accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, and become Your children.' In a totalitarian surveillance state like China, it would only be a matter of hours before Gao Heng would disappear. Though the trial has concluded, no verdict has been announced. Please pray for Gao Heng.

Pastor Hao Zhiwei and her
late husband Zhang Youwu.

(2) On 11 February, after more than two and half years' imprisonment, Pastor (Mrs) Hao Zhiwei (51) faced Echeng District Court in Ezhou city, Hubei Province and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Her lawyer, Mr Si Weijiang, has visited Pastor Hao in prison; he confirms she will appeal. Mrs Hao graduated from the CCP-approved Zhongnan Theological Seminary in 2001. She was subsequently hired to preach in the CCP-approved Egangqiao Church in Ezhou city. Mrs Hao's troubles only began after she objected to the way the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) managed the church. In a totalitarian state like China, it would not be long before those who demand a 'united front' would step up efforts to remove her.

In 2007, the CCP's RAB rejected Mrs Hao's application for pastor certification. When the local government banned the church, the members resisted and continued to meet as an unregistered 'house church'. In 2013, following house church tradition, the church invited three house church pastors to ordain Mrs Hao as their pastor. In early 2018 the local authorities requested the church building be demolished; the members resisted. Later that year, Pastor Hao's husband, Zhang Youwu died of liver cancer. In July 2019 Pastor Hao was arrested and charged with 'fraud' for preaching and receiving financial offerings without CCP approval. In August 2019 the Egangqiao church building was demolished. Now a widow, Pastor Hao has two teenage children: Paul (18), who has left home to study in Zhejiang Province and Moses (14), who remains at home in Ezhou and is reportedly suffering severe depression. Unsurprisingly, Pastor Hao's health has deteriorated markedly in prison. Please pray.

* ERITREA: PATRIACH ANTONIOS DIES IN HOUSE ARREST
Meanwhile, hundreds of believers remain incarcerated.

Patriarch Antonios, pictured in 2020.
(press release CSW)

On 9 February Patriarch Abune Antonios of the Eritrean Orthodox died aged 94 [see Church in Chains, 10 February]. In many ways, Patriarch Antonios had come to epitomise the suffering of the Eritrean Church. In May 2002 Eritrea's totalitarian dictator Isaias Afwerki launched a crackdown on religion. First he moved against the country's many small, independent, Protestant mission churches. Then he moved against a renewal movement, known as Medhane Alem, blossoming inside the Eritrean Orthodox Church, arresting three of its leaders. In January 2006, after Patriarch Antonios protested the persecution, the government had him deposed and replaced with a government-appointed administrator.

Patriarch Antonios spent the last 16 years of his life under house arrest - mostly incommunicado and regularly in isolation - in the servants' quarters of a villa which was occupied by two pro-government bishops. In a message smuggled out in 2019 he lamented that fellow clergy had abandoned him; some had even denounced and betrayed him - maybe because they objected to Medhane Alem, or maybe because they wanted to avoid persecution. Patriarch Antonios has been buried in the grounds of the Abune Andreas monastery where he grew up. Please pray for the Church in Eritrea. Pray especially for many imprisoned believers, some of whom have been detained since 2004. According to the US Department of State's Religious Freedom Report 2020 (published May 2021), 'the [Eritrean] government continued to detain 345 church leaders and officials without charge or trial, while estimates of detained laity ranged from 800 to more than 1,000.' Lord have mercy!

* INDONESIA: UPDATE ON CHRISTIAN APOLOGIST'S BLASPHEMY CASE

The blasphemy trial against Christian apologist Muhammad Kece [RLPB 619 (13 Oct 2021)] was twice postponed in January while Kece spent time in the Ciamis Regional Hospital, first with dengue fever, and subsequently in a critical condition with Diabetes Mellitus and low platelet count requiring a blood transfusion. The blasphemy trial continued in the Ciamis District Court on 10 February. The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday 24 February. Please pray.

* NIGERIA: UPDATE ON LAST BETHEL BAPTIST HIGH SCHOOL CAPTIVE

Of the 121 Bethel Baptist High School students kidnapped on 5 July 2021, one remains in captivity. Aged 12, the boy was the youngest child in the group, and it seems its captors may have groomed and manipulated him. On 6 February Nigeria's 'Vanguard' reported that the terrorists had demanded a ransom for the boy's release. However, when the negotiator arrived with the ransom, the boy allegedly refused to leave. The negotiator - a member of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) - was himself taken captive. Rev Joseph Hayab, the Chairman of CAN in Kaduna State said, 'It's a very complicated situation that we are praying and managing with care. The man who has been helping us to deliver the money all this while went to deliver the money to free this boy they were confusing, and they kidnapped him. So, the whole thing is taking a different dimension and we need to be careful.' Please pray; and not only for this situation, but for all those impacted by Nigeria's Islamic jihad, gross insecurity, and never-ending kidnapping crisis. Lord have mercy!

* UGANDA: PERSECUTION WITH EXTREME VIOLENCE
- three cases of great concern from Morning Star News.

(1) On Monday 24 January Christian apologist Charles Kamya (43) debated Muslims in Jinja, 80km east of Kampala. He used the Quran Sura 72 (https://quran.com/72) to teach about evil jinn (demons), before assuring his listeners that Issa (Jesus) is greater than all jinn. To the horror of a local sheikh, many Muslims turned to Christ. On Saturday 29 January Kamya was scheduled to participate in a debate about Christianity and Islam in the Bwaise area of Kampala, organised by Bwaise area churches. But as Kamya approached the debate site, Islamic fundamentalists ambushed his car and beat and cut him almost to death. One of the assailants told him, 'You have been terrorising our religion. Today Allah has called you, and you are going to meet him.' Knocked unconscious by a blow to the head with an iron bar, Kamya was left in a pool of blood until a passer-by found him and called the police. Because the assailants were monitoring his movements, Kamya could not remain in hospital, but had to be removed to a secure location. Please pray.

Malingumu Bruhan, 6 Feb 2022
(Morning Star News)

(2) On Sunday 6 February Christian evangelist Malingumu Bruhan (34) - who converted from Islam in 2017 - was in Kaliro District, Eastern Region, having returned home to attend his grandfather's funeral. After the funeral, Bruhan accepted his uncles' invitation to stay for a visit. When the mourners had all left, Bruhan's uncles started rebuking him. Bruhan told Morning Star News that they 'accused me of being an infidel by converting to Christianity and that Allah will reward them in Jannah [garden paradise] if they kill me.' While some of Bruhan's uncles started beating him, others gathered firewood, while another went for petrol. Meanwhile, a convert who had accompanied Bruhan to the funeral came looking for him. Finding nothing but a shoe, he phoned his friends who helped in the search. When they found Bruhan beaten and bound on a stack of firewood they called the police. Despite being hospitalised with head injuries, Bruhan had to be transferred to secret location for his own security. Concerning Bruhan, MSN reports: 'An evangelist well-known in Mbale, Iganga, Jinja and Kampala for his public debates with Muslims about Christianity and Islam, Bruhan has survived 11 murder attempts.' Please pray.

(3) On Sunday 6 February a Muslim youth named Sadi Bwanga (20) attended a church service in Kadama, Kibuku District, Eastern Region, where he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. After the service the evangelist was driving Bwanga home on his motorcycle, when they were ambushed by Sadi's Muslim relatives who seized Sadi and sent the evangelist away. Waiting at a distance, the evangelist could hear Sadi scream and cry as his family beat him. The evangelist called his pastor, who immediately organised two vehicles to attend the scene. Church members found Sadi lying half-naked outside his cottage in a pool of blood with serious head and leg injuries. The believers rushed Sadi to hospital, while his relatives demolished his cottage. Church leaders reported the attack to the area chairperson, a Muslim who took no action. The pastor told MSN, 'We need prayers on the next course of action to take.' Please pray.

* UKRAINE: PRAYING FOR A BREAKTHROUGH - AGAIN

Ukraine Language Map
(click on map to enlarge)

For background and prayer points see: 'Ukraine: praying for a breakthrough' [RLPB 274 (20 Aug 2014)]. The conflict that commenced in 2014 was supposed to have ended with the Minsk Agreement (2015) which would have granted Ukraine's eastern Russian-speaking regions of Luhansk and Donetsk greater autonomy within Ukraine. Unfortunately, it was never implemented and peace never materialised. So yet again we fall to our knees to pray for a breakthrough in Ukraine. For while this is not strictly a religious liberty issue, the conflict will pit traditionally Christian Slavic peoples and Christian denominations against each other, which will impact religious liberty in the long run. 

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

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Research at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom Inc (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 625. November Update, incl. Algeria, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Burma (Myanmar), North Koreans, Togo and Burkina Faso, Sudan, Uganda.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 625 | Wed 24 Nov 2021
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

View archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) blog.  The RLPB is sponsored by Christian Faith and Freedom Inc. 

By Elizabeth Kendal

DIARY

Pastor Salah Chalah, June 2021.
Evangelical Focus, 14 July 2021

5 December: An Algerian pastor and two members of his congregation will face court on 5 December charged with 'calling for the disobedience of laws by a clergyman', 'practising non-Muslim rites without permission' and 'calling to organise an unarmed assembly' (a demonstration). Pastor Salah participated in a peaceful demonstration in October 2019 in front of municipal offices in Tizi Ouzou to protest the forcible sealing of his church [See RLPB 531 (3 Dec 2019)]. He also led protests in June 2021 after three more churches were sealed. If deemed guilty, the maximum penalty is a fine plus 5 years in prison. Please pray.

19 December: Chile's potentially explosive presidential runoff will be a contest between two anti-establishment politicians from opposite ends of the political spectrum: the right-wing conservative lawmaker Jose Antonio Kast (55) and left-wing former student protest leader Gabriel Boric (35). Kast is regarded the front-runner as most centrists are ideologically much closer to Kast than to Boric. Please pray for peace: that, no matter the outcome, there will be no resumption of violent protests and church burnings [RLPB 621 (27 Oct)].

24-25 December: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for Catholic and Protestant Christians; a time of joyous celebration and, for many, elevated risk of terror attack. Please pray.

NOVEMBER 2021 UPDATE

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* ETHIOPIA [RLPB 622 (3 Nov)], as rebels belonging to the US-trained, Marxist, separatist Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) and the ethno-nationalist Oromo Liberation Army (OLA, formerly OLF-Shane) advanced towards the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, killing, looting and displacing hundreds of thousands as they went. By the end of October, the TPLF had seized control of the strategic towns of Dessie and Kombolcha (where it summarily executed over 100 youths) while the OLA had seized control of Kemise, 53km south of Kombolcha and just 325km north of Addis Ababa. What needs to be understood is that Ethiopia's TPLF is no different to Sudan's al-Bashir regime: human rights abusers par-excellence, ousted by popular uprisings, yet deeply invested at every level, supported by a well-entrenched deep state and totally unwilling to accept their demise. Ethiopia's Future Hangs in the Balance (RLM 11 July).

UPDATE: URGENT PRAYER REQUIRED

By 20 November the TPLF-OLA had captured Shewa Robit, a highly strategic town only 200 km from Addis Ababa. Reportedly, the rebels freed over 3,000 hardened criminals from Shewa Robit prison and are marching them to Debre Berhan, the new frontline, 120km from Addis. Some reports suggest that the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) has collapsed and Debre Berhan is surrounded. Others report fierce fighting on the road between Shewa Robit and Debre Sina, 60km north of Debre Berhan. On Monday 22 November Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (45) announced: 'Starting tomorrow, I will mobilise to the front to lead the defence forces.' On Tuesday 23 November the US Department of State warned of the possibility of a terrorist attack in Ethiopia. The breakup/Balkanisation of Ethiopia would result in a Christian crisis of monumental proportions. Parts of the country would be devoured by Ethiopia's salivating, irredentist, politically troubled neighbours, Islamic jihadists would flood in, and ethno-religious genocidal aggression would be unleashed on the Christian Amhara. Please pray that Baal-perazim - the Lord of the breakthrough (2 Samuel 5:17-20) - might intervene to 'turn back the battle at the gate' (from Isaiah 28:5-6).

And [David] said, 'The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.' Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim' [the Lord who breaks through] (from 2 Samuel 5:17-20).

* NIGERIA [RLPB 623 (10 Nov)], where the Christian crisis in central, Middle Belt state of Kaduna continues and shows no signs of abating.

UPDATE: A CHRISTIAN CRISIS OF NO PARTICULAR CONCERN

Of the 121 children taken captive from Bethel Baptist High School in the early hours of 5 July, four remain in captivity. Of the 66 believers abducted from Emmanuel Baptist Church on Sunday 31 October, five were shot (two killed and three critically wounded) on 6 November. It appears that one of those wounded has died, while the other two have been discharged from hospital. The 'bandits' have threatened to starve the captives to death unless food is supplied. Community representatives have been delivering food supplies and are negotiating with the kidnappers. Please pray.

Meanwhile, contrary to the recommendation of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, the US Department of State has removed Nigeria from its list of 'Countries of Particular Concern' (CPC) with regards to religious freedom. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the new CPC list on Wednesday 17 November, the day before he departed on a tour of Africa. On Thursday 18 November Mr Blinken met with Nigerian President Buhari in Abuja, where he 'reaffirmed with President Buhari the strong partnership between the United States and Nigeria, which is founded upon shared democratic ideals and a spirit of transparency and co-operation'. In a speech delivered in Abuja on Friday 19 November, Mr Blinken referred to Nigeria as a global leader, 'deserving of a prominent seat wherever the most consequential issues are discussed'. He vowed an overhaul of the US approach to Africa that will treat the continent as a 'major geopolitical power' and that will boost development 'with no political strings attached'. Mortified by the inexplicable back-flip, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has requested an explanation. Please pray for the Church in Nigeria.

Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation...Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God... (Psalm 146:3,5 ESV).

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes (Psalm 118:8-9 ESV).

* IRAN [RLPB 624 (17 Nov)], where peaceful Christians - particularly those who are Persian converts from Islam - continue to be repressed, persecuted and jailed by the Islamic regime.

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

NOVEMBER 2021 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* BURMA: OPERATION ANAWRAHTA UNDERWAY
Update to RLPB 621, Operation Anawrahta Looms, 27 Oct 2021

Background: The goal of Operation Anawrahta is to crush the ethnic Burman 'People's Defence Forces' (PDFs) that have proliferated throughout the Burman heartland, along with those who support, train, supply and shelter them: in this case, the overwhelmingly Christian ethnic Chin.

CHRISTIAN TOWN TORCHED IN CHIN STATE

Thantlang burns, 29 October.

On 29 October the Tatmadaw (Burmese military) returned to Chin State's predominantly Christian Thantlang Township. Virtually all the town's some 10,000 residents fled after troops first attacked the town on 18-19 September [see RLPB 617 (29 Sept)]. The only residents still living in the town were 20 orphan children who, along with their teachers, remained in the orphanage. The Chinland Defence Force was monitoring the situation when a Chin soldier shot and killed a Burmese soldier who was caught looting stores. The Tatmadaw responded with a barrage of artillery: the Church on the Rock, the Presbyterian church and a building attached to the Thantlang Baptist Church - the town's largest congregation - all caught fire in the shelling. Burmese troops then moved in and set fire to some 200 homes, ensuring the town residents would have nothing to return to.

MILITARY VIOLENCE UNLEASHED ON CHRISTIAN CHIN

On Thursday night 11 November Burmese troops raided and looted at least five homes in Tedim Township, 200km north of Thantlang Township. In one home, three soldiers repeatedly gang-raped a 27-year-old mother of three, including a four-week-old infant. They beat her husband around the head and forced him at gunpoint to squat in the toilet while his wife was repeatedly raped. The family has been evacuated to safety. Devout Christians, the Chin are collectively distraught that such a crime should be inflicted on a Chin family. In another home, soldiers tied up a pregnant woman and beat her husband in front of her. Such atrocities, committed with impunity, have long been the Tatmadaw's trademark. Please pray.

PRAYER FOR BURMA

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. Break the arm [mechanism of action] of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none. O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. (Psalm 10:12,15,17,18 ESV)

* NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES IN CHINA
Update to RLPB 612, China Arrests North Korean Wives, 25 Aug 2021

As noted in RLPB 612, 'Many Chinese and Korean Christians chose to live and work [on the China side of the China-North Korea (NK) border] precisely so they might help and witness to NK refugees.' According to Radio Free Asia (15 Nov), China is preparing to repatriate 1170 North Korean refugees. The refugees, who are already in Chinese custody, include an unknown number of NK wives and at least two children. Some of these NK refugees will doubtless have become Christians in China. Once back in NK, they will be incarcerated, severely mistreated and possibly even executed. Please pray that God would intervene in grace and mercy to redeem North Korea. Please pray that NK refugees who have settled in China will not be repatriated. Please pray that if any Christian is repatriated, the Lord will sustain them and bless their testimony with effective power.

SAHEL: TERROR ATTACKS IN TOGO AND BURKINA FASO
Update to RLPB 607, Africa's Afghanistan? Christians Imperilled, 21 July 2021)

Regional map,
showing the location
of Togo's Kpendjal Prefecture.
Click on map to enlarge.

Background: As France is withdrawing from the Sahel, jihadist groups are preparing to fill the security void, consolidate and even expand south into the countries of the Gulf of Guinea: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin, all of which border Burkina Faso.

On the night of 9 November, Togo suffered its first jihadist terror attack on its territory. The jihadists - reportedly members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for Supporters of Muslims and Islam (JNIM) - are believed to have crossed from southern Burkina Faso into northern Togo's Kpendjal Prefecture where they attacked a security post. While the Togo military prevailed without casualties, the nation is now on alert for future border clashes and terror attacks as jihadists seek to expand towards the Gulf of Guinea. On 14 November JNIM militants attacked a security post in northern Burkina Faso's Inata town, a gold mining centre in the Sahel region, close to the border with Mali, killing four civilians and at least 49 military police officers, essentially wiping out the Burkinabe base. The Burkina military is being forced to focus on the crisis in the Liptako tri-border (Mali-Niger-Burkina Faso) region, leaving the southern border largely unprotected. 

According to Father Etienne Tandamba, a priest in the diocese of Fada N’Gourma, in eastern Burkina Faso, 120 km due north of the Togo border:  'The security situation in the country is worsening day by day, armed groups are advancing . . . they are subordinating the population to their will... Kidnappings and confiscations are the order of the day... Schools remain closed, as do some chapels, and the state of the city administration is precarious.' The Sahel and Gulf of Guinea states have mixed populations and a tradition of communal harmony, religious freedom and respect for Christian mission. Please pray. 

* SUDAN: HOPES FOR RELIGIOUS REFORMS DASHED
Update to RLPB 621, Hopes of 'New Sudan' Crushed in Military Coup, 27 Oct 2021.

In 2013 the racist and Islamist regime of President Omar al-Bashir, seized administrative control of the Sudanese Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) in Khartoum, ordering the Ministry of Guidance and Endowments, which regulates religious affairs in Sudan, to appoint a committee to administer the church's affairs. This occurred in the context of escalating Islamic belligerence and persecution in the wake of the secession of South Sudan [see RLPB 200 (6 March 2013)]. In 2015 the Supreme Court ruled the move illegal and ordered the illegally-constituted committees be dismissed and administrative control be returned to the churches. The regime ignored the order.

Following the April 2019 ouster of the al-Bashir regime, SPEC filed a case before the administrative court against the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Affairs and the illegitimate committee, seeking the implementation of the supreme court's 2015 decision. In July 2021 the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Affairs agreed to implement the decision, although an administrative court review was required before any action could be authorised. But, on 25 October, the Sudanese military staged a military coup and ousted the civilian members of Sudan's transitional government. Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports (18 Nov): 'On 15 November an administrative court judge decided to dismiss the case to return power to the legitimate church committee as the one with the legal authority to act on behalf of the church, rejecting both the [July 2021] agreement and the 2015 Supreme Court decision. The judge failed to give any reasoning for the decision, indicating that the action was political.' The decision may indicate that the religious reforms of recent years are about to be rolled back. Please pray.

* UGANDA: TERROR COMES TO KAMPALA
Update to RLPB 616, D.R.Congo (DRC): Jihad and Conversion, 22 Sept 2021.

Background: Before 2017, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was just a criminal militia whose origins were in Uganda and whose base was in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In 2017 its Ugandan leader, Musa Baluku, forged connections with Islamic State (IS). In 2019 the ADF pledged allegiance to IS and became the DRC chapter of IS-Central Africa Province (ISCAP). Since then, ADF violence has escalated markedly. As noted in the more detailed RLM post of 21 September, it seems 'Islamic State is working to consolidate and expand in the remote north-east border regions of DRC. If successful it may well move to expand further, not only into Uganda, but possibly, in the future, into South Sudan and the wider "Christian" region.'

On 23 October Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) claimed responsibility for two minor, low casualty terror attacks in central Uganda: one targeting a pork eatery and one targeting a passenger bus. Then, on Tuesday 16 November, ISCAP suicide bombers perpetrated a far more sophisticated twin terror attack in the heart of Kampala. At around 10am, a suicide bomber detonated himself outside Kampala's Central Police Station. Minutes later, two suicide bombers on motorbikes detonated themselves outside the entrance to the Parliament. Police foiled a third attack, shooting the potential suicide bomber. In all, five people were killed and 33 hospitalised with injuries (21 of whom are police officers). Security has been heightened and President Museveni has warned the public to 'maintain vigilance of checking people at entry points to bus parks, hotels, churches, mosques, markets'. Please pray that God will protect Uganda's churches this Christmas season, not only from ISCAP terrorists, but also from the radicalised fundamentalist Muslims who are escalating their persecution of minority Christians - especially converts from Islam - in Uganda's Eastern Region [see Morning Star News / Uganda].

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

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. . . For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this (the promise of Isaiah 9:2,6,7 ESV).

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

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Research at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom Inc (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 604. June Update: Incl. Algeria, Azerbaijan, China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 604 | Wed 30 JUNE 2021
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

To subscribe (free) or view archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) blog. The RLPB is sponsored by Christian Faith and Freedom Inc. 

JUNE 2021 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal 

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* AFGHANISTAN [RLPB 600 (2 June)] and its imperilled Church, as the West withdraws, Islamic State plots, and the Taliban (still closely aligned to al-Qaeda) advances. Please continue to pray: may the Lord preserve and continue to build his Church in Afghanistan.

* PAKISTAN [RLPB 601 (9 June)] after the Lahore High Court accepted the appeal of Christians Shafqat Emmanuel (49) and his wife Shagufta Kausar (52) and acquitted them of the charge of blasphemy citing a lack of evidence. Aware that the acquittal would trigger Islamic rage, prayer was requested for safety – for Shafqat and Shagufta, and their lawyer Saif ul-Malook. 

UPDATE: KILL THE BLASPHEMERS AND GO TO PARADISE!

On 15 June, Morning Star News reported that Islamic extremists had started a campaign calling for Shafqat and Shagufta to be killed when they are eventually released from prison. Included in the incitement is the promise that whoever kills Shafqat or Shagufta or their attorney Saif ul-Malook, will be assured of paradise. ‘The social media are being flooded with hate posts against us and the two judges who ordered the couple’s release,’ Malook said. ‘The lives of all of us involved in the case are at great peril.’ Malook told the BBC that he considered the current threats against him the ‘most dangerous’ he had ever received. He also criticised the government for not providing him with adequate security; ‘Not even a clerk from the Pakistani government has contacted me,’ he said. Clearly, Malook and the judges need to be granted security. Meanwhile, Shafqat, Shagufta and their family need to be granted asylum, for as long as they are in Pakistan, their lives are gravely imperilled. Please pray.

* BURMA [RLPB 602 (16 June)] as the junta – which has long been at war with the Karen and Kachin – expands its war to the Chin and Karenni. Military aggression saw some 42,000 Chin and 103,500 Karenni displaced in June. As the Tatmadaw (Burmese military) advances, it leaves in its wake a trail of devastation, including destroyed property (including homes, clinics and churches) and torched and ruined food stocks. With the junta also blockading food and medical aid, it is a Christian crisis of monumental proportions. Please pray.

* PAPUA (INDONESIA) [RLPB 603 (23 June)], as the indigenous ethnic Melanesian, predominately Christian Papuans face Islamic terror at the hands of jihadists, and state terror at the hands of the Indonesian military. Please pray.

JUNE 2021 ROUND-UP - also this month:

ALGERIA: CHURCH FACES DIFFICULT DAYS

ELECTIONS: On 12 June, around 23 percent of eligible voters participated in Algeria’s parliamentary elections. It was the lowest voter turnout in at least 20 years for legislative elections; the previous lowest turnout being 40 percent 2017. Supporters of the ‘Hirak’ pro-democracy protest movement boycotted the polls, as did the traditional opposition parties, and virtually the whole indigenous (non-Arab) Berber-dominated Kabylie region. The ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) secured the most seats, winning 98 of 407 seats (down from 164 in 2017, and 208 in 2012). Having failed to secure a majority, the FLN will need to form a coalition with at least three minor parties in order to govern. Meanwhile, the Islamist Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) party secured 65 of 407 seats (up from 33 in 2017). The ‘old guard’ (in power since 1962) might have managed to retain its grip on power, but disillusionment is soaring. Consequently, it is highly likely that repression will escalate, especially in Kabylie region. A desire to appease Islamists could also fuel an escalation in repression and persecution of Christians, many (or most) of whom live in the Kabylie region. Please pray.   

PERSECUTION: THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
Update to RLPB 588, ‘Fragile State; Intense Spiritual Struggle’, 10 March 2021. 

Pastor Rachid Seighir

On Sunday 6 June, Pastor Rachid Seighir of Oratoire Church in the coastal city of Oran, and Nouh Hamimi, the salesman who managed Pastor Seighir’s Christian bookshop in Oran, were sentenced on appeal to one-year in prison (suspended) and a fine of 200,000 dinars (US$1,494). They had previously been sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 500,000 dinars (US$3,745). Their crime: ‘distributing publications or any other propaganda undermining the faith of a Muslim’; a charge many Christians would be guilty of! Refusing to submit to injustice and persecution, Pastor Rachid will appeal all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. Just days earlier, on Wednesday 2 June, the administrative court of Oran issued an implementation order to close Pastor Rachid’s Oratoire Church, along with two other churches, one in El-Ayaid (35 km east of Oran) and one in Ain-Turk (35 km west of Oran). This brings the number of churches shuttered in Algeria to 16. Everything indicates that the persecution is coming from the highest levels of government. Please pray for the Church in Algeria.

‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (Ephesians 6:10-12 NIV). 

AZERBAIJAN: RELIGION LAW AMENDMENTS APPROVED
Update to RLPB 595, ‘Escalating Repression’, 27 April. 

On 16 June, President Ilham Aliyev signed into law Religion Law amendments that will make it even more difficult (if not impossible) to conduct Christian ministry legally in Azerbaijan. For the first time in Azerbaijan’s short history, non-Islamic religious communities will be required to get permission from a State Committee to appoint individuals as religious leaders. The first test will come soon, for the Russian Orthodox Diocese is due to name a new Archbishop to replace Archbishop Aleksandr (Ishchein), who died on 10 June. Many of the amendments simply add to the Church’s burden. For example, as in the original law, local religious communities still require 50 adult citizens as founders. However, an amendment adds that these founders must live in one administrative district. Then, before a religious group can register a ‘religious centre’ (i.e., headquarters), the group must have at least five registered communities, located in at least five different towns, making it highly unlikely that any group other than the Russian Orthodox will be able to establish a ‘religious centre’. Furthermore, once registered, a ‘religious centre’ may only operate one religious school. It seems the increasingly Turkic-nationalist and Islamist government is determined to drive non-Turks and non-Muslims from Azerbaijan. Full report: www.forum18.org (17 June). Please pray for the Church in Azerbaijan; specifically for grace, wisdom, solidarity and creativity.  

CHINA: CHENGDU CHURCH ENDURES FIERCE PERSECUTION
-- the persecution of Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) Chengdu, Sichuan. 

Pastor Wang Yi (ERCC)
left: at home pre-Dec 2018,
right: in prison March 2020
June 2021: health deteriorating

PASTOR WANG YI of ERCC, Chengdu, was arrested in December 2018 and sentenced in December 2019 to nine years in prison for ‘inciting subversion of state power’ and ‘illegal business operations’. A photo taken secretly in March 2020 and leaked to Wang’s appointed lawyer showed a thin and pale Wang, handcuffed in a cell [RLPB 548 (2 May 2020)]. China Aid Association (CAA) reports, ‘It looks as if Pastor Wang Yi is being treated very badly in prison right now… kept in solitary confinement in [Chengdu’s] Jintang Prison, with two other prisoners guarding him.’ It appears that the authorities are preventing family members and lawyers from visiting, withholding medical treatment, and feeding him ‘mouldy rice’. CAA founder Bob Fu suspects the authorities are engineering Wang’s ‘medical deterioration’. Please pray.

Pastor Wu Wuqing

PASTOR WU WUQING of ERCC, Chengdu, has been repeatedly arrested and persecuted since the authorities shuttered the church in December 2018; he lives under 24-hour surveillance. On 4 June, Chinese officials forcibly detained Pastor Wu, his wife Xiong Meifang, and their two children, in their apartment, chaining their door and posting a security guard in the hallway. The family is not permitted to leave, and visitors are not permitted to enter. Church members have only been permitted to deliver supplies of food and water to the door. It seems the authorities are working to either subjugate Pastor Wu or drive him away from Chengdu. CAA anticipates that Pastor Wu’s imprisonment will end after Thursday 1 July – i.e. after the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. The persecution, however, will only get worse. Please pray.

ERITREA: GOVERNMENT SEIZES CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

In June 2019, the repressive government of President Isaias Afwerki (who has ruled Eritrea since 1993) seized control of 22 medical clinics belonging to the Catholic Church [RLPB 508 (26 June 2019)]. In September 2019, the government seized control of seven mostly Catholic secondary schools. On 21 June 2021, Catholic media reported, ‘procedures have begun for the confiscation or, alternatively, the closure of our remaining educational institutions, from pre-schools to intermediate primary schools, scattered throughout the Country’. Some of the schools being seized were built by Italian missionaries more than 70 years ago. The government seizure of Church-owned and run schools and health clinics is a terrible blow to the Church, which stands to lose assets and influence. Critically, it is also a terrible blow to Eritrea’s poor and needy who have long benefited from these services. Please pray for God to intervene in Eritrea.

ETHIOPIA: THE BATTLE CONTINUES

ELECTIONS: On 21 June, Ethiopians living in non-conflict zones voted to elect a new parliament in what PM Abiy noted was the country’s ‘first attempt at a free and fair election’. Due to insecurity, elections were not held in around one-fifth of the country’s 547 constituencies, including all 38 seats in Tigray and 64 others across Ethiopia. Most of the delayed polling is scheduled for 6 September, although no date has been set for voting in Tigray. The turnout was high, and the election was peaceful; results are yet to be announced. Then, on Monday 28 June, a re-grouped and re-armed Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) force stormed the Tigray capital, Mekelle. Surprised and overwhelmed, government forces were forced to retreat as TPLF forces took control of the city. Along with the military, Tigray’s interim administration – which has suffered a string of assassinations – is also on the run. A unilateral ceasefire has been declared so that humanitarian needs can be addressed. 

The Battle for Ethiopia pits the government’s vision of a strong, prosperous, and united Ethiopia against ethno-nationalists who would tear Ethiopia apart for personal (political and economic) gain. Leading the ethno-nationalist cause is the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TLPF, which dominated, terrorised and robbed Ethiopia for three decades) and the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Not only are these groups working together, but they receive support in the form of arms, funding and training from Egypt and the Sudanese military. During the Cold War, the US backed the Marxist TPLF against the Soviet-backed Derg; and ties remain strong. The US administration also backs Egypt against Ethiopia because it needs Egypt to mediate in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and because Egypt buys a lot of US weapons (whereas Orthodox Ethiopia buys from its long-time ally, Orthodox Russia). Citing the war in Tigray, the US has imposed sanctions on Ethiopia (one of the poorest countries in the world). If Ethiopia were to collapse it would trigger a Christian crisis of monumental proportions. Please pray for Ethiopia.

INDIA: REPRESSION TO ESCALATE IN GUJARAT 

On 1 June, a law came into effect in India’s north-western state of Gujarat which Christians fear will erode the Christian character of church-own schools, and eventually bring them under the control of the Hindu nationalist state government. The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (Amendment) Act stipulates that the appointment of teachers and principals in church-owned school will now be undertaken by a Central Recruitment Committee rather than by the schools themselves. On 7 June, Gujarat’s religious minorities jointly filed a petition in the state’s High Court challenging the new law. Church leaders suspect that if the Gujarat state government succeeds in taking control of Church-run schools, then other BJP-ruled states will follow suit. In April, Gujarat amended its 17-year-old anti-conversion law to define sponsorship of a child’s education as an attempt at religious conversion, a crime that can be punished with up to 10 years in jail. Please pray.

IRAN: CHURCH FACES DIFFICULT DAYS

ELECTION: On 18 June, 48.8 percent of eligible voters participated in Iran’s presidential election. It was the lowest voter turnout ever for an Iranian presidential election, below the previous low of 51 percent in 1989. The entire process had been engineered to ensure that Ibrahim Raisi would be elected. As was expected, Raisi won with 62 percent of votes. Second place went to informal votes (mostly blank), with the other candidates lagging far behind. In 1988, Raisi served as deputy prosecutor of the Revolutionary Court which oversaw the execution of more than 30,000 dissidents over a four-month period. Journalist and author Amir Taheri incisively explains, ‘Raisi’s victory is the victory of a coterie that cares neither for Iran nor for revolution as long as it can advance its position of power and protect its ill-gained assets.’ And as Taheri explains, now that coterie has their man in the presidency, they will have no-one to blame but themselves if the domestic situation deteriorates and disillusionment skyrockets. Christians might be anxious, but they know that God is at work in their nation. INcontext International quotes a ministry leader in Iran: ‘The new Iranian president will [undoubtedly] start cracking down and arresting Christians. It’s going to be a dark time in Iran, but God will move even more powerfully.’ Please pray.

‘The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord’ (Proverbs 16:33 ESV) ‘who works all things according to the counsel of his will’ (from Ephesians 1:11 ESV).

 Milad, Amin and Alireza

PERSECUTION: On 21 June, three members of the ‘Church of Iran’ (a non-Trinitarian Branhamite sect) faced court in the 4th Chamber of the Revolutionary Court of Karaj. [As the late Nabeel Queshi explains, the Trinity can be an especially difficult hurdle for Muslims, who are taught from birth that Allah is ‘one and indivisible’ (https://quran.com/112) and that belief in a Trinity is polytheism.] Milad Goudarzi, Amin Khaki, and Alireza Nourmohammadi – all converts from Islam – are the first known examples of Christians being charged – and now convicted – under the newly amended Article 500 [see RLPB 586, ‘President Signs Law to Facilitate Persecution’ (24 Feb)]. They were denied a lawyer. The men were informed of the verdicts on 26 June: each will serve five years in prison and pay a fine of 40 million tomans (US$1,800) for ‘engaging in propaganda that educates in a deviant way contrary to the holy religion of Islam’, a charge most Christians would be guilty of! They will appeal. Please pray for the Church in Iran.

MEXICO: COUNTER-REFORMATION CONTINUES IN CHIAPAS 

Pastor Alejandro Jiménez and his sons – five families comprising 30 people – were expelled from the indigenous community in Mitzitón, San Cristóbal de las Casas, in Mexico’s southern state of Chiapas on 10 January 2021. The Catholics accused them of establishing a Protestant church and refusing to participate in Catholic festivals. Since then, Alejandro and his family have been living in the Alas de Águila [Eagles Wings] refuge house in San Cristóbal de las Casas. On 17 June, Pastor Alejandro returned to Mitzitón to visit his ailing mother. When the Catholics learned that he had arrived, they proceeded to arrest him and transfer him to the town centre, where he was imprisoned for an hour. The Catholics then proceeded to destroy and burn five houses belonging to Pastor Alejandro and his sons. Since 1982, Catholics in Mitzitón have staged five attacks in which 180 houses of evangelicals have been destroyed. The 180 families have all relocated and established churches elsewhere. The anti-Protestant persecution is driven by superstitious fear and jealousy, and fuelled by impunity. Please pray. 

PAKISTAN: GOVERNMENT SEIZES CHURCH SCHOOL

Church of Pakistan (Anglican) Bishop
Humphrey Peters of Peshawar (centre)
at Peshawar Press Club, 11 June.
 

Founded by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1853, Edwardes College in Peshawar is the oldest missionary education institution in Pakistan’s north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It has been managed by the Church for 180 years. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government took over the college in 2019 through an administrative action validated by the provincial High Court. On 3 June 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa government. On 11 June, Protestants took to the streets in protest. ‘The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has committed a hate crime against the church,’ Church of Pakistan (Anglican) Bishop Humphrey Peters of Peshawar told a press conference. The bishop called for the college to be returned to the Church and denounced its nationalisation as ‘a violation of the constitutional rights of the weak religious minorities’. As rights activist Zeeshan Yaqub of Peshawar explained to Fides, ‘the Christian community in Pakistan is making great efforts in the fields of education, health and other humanitarian services, which benefit the entire population, people of all religions. We ask for the protection of the rights of minorities, as provided for by the Constitution of Pakistan, even in their properties.’ Pray for the Church in Pakistan.

NO JUSTICE YET FOR PASTOR ZAFAR BHATTI
Update to RLPB 568, ‘'Blasphemy', a sword over the neck’, 23 Sep 2020. 

Pastor Zafar Bhatti

Pastor Zafar Bhatti has been in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Central Jail since July 2012 when an Islamic cleric accused him of sending blasphemous text messages; a charge the pastor strongly denies. In May 2017, a court deemed Pastor Zafar guilty, but instead of sentencing him to death (as is mandatory for blasphemy) the judge sentenced him to life imprisonment because there was ‘no concrete evidence’ against him. As is common in Pakistan, his appeals have been repeatedly adjourned. In September 2020, Pastor Zafar (then 56) suffered a heart attack in his cell. Though treated and stabilised, his health is clearly fragile. On Tuesday 22 June, an additional sessions judge in Rawalpindi District upheld Bhatti’s life sentence despite there still being no evidence against him. His lawyers will now appeal to the High Court. 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