RLPB 681. February Update incl. Nigeria, Artsakh, USA, D.R.Congo, Ghana, India, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Sudan

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 681 | Wed 22 Feb 2023
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FEBRUARY 2023 UPDATE & ROUNDUP
By Elizabeth Kendal

DURING FEBRUARY WE PRAYED CONCERNING

NIGERIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

This Saturday, 25 February, Nigeria’s presidential election will be held amidst soaring ethno-religious tensions, gross insecurity and the threat of widespread election-related violence. Nigeria has a population of 220 million, around half of whom identify as Christian. Those most at risk are minority Christians in the Muslim North and all ethnic Igbo living outside the South East. [The Igbo are Nigeria’s most Christian (98 percent), most industrious and most widely dispersed tribe.] The Nigerian Church is one of the world’s leading missionary-sending Churches.

‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armour of God [described in vs13-17] … [and] keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication [earnest prayer] for all the saints.’ (From Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV)

RLPB 678. Nigerian Elections (1): The Candidates, 1 Feb 2023
RLPB 679. Nigerian Elections (2): Insecurity and the Igbo, 8 Feb 2023
RLPB 680. Nigerian Elections (3): Buhari’s Legacy, 15 Feb 2023

UPDATE: A Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll conducted over 10-12 February showed Labour’s Peter Obi – an ethnic Igbo Christian from the long-marginalised South East – well out in front. Excerpts from the R&WS poll results: ‘Peter Obi (Labour Party) 62 percent; Bola Tinubu (All Progressives Congress) 22 percent; Atiku Abubakar (Peoples Democratic Party) 12 percent; Rubi’u Musa Kwankwaso (New Nigeria People’s Party) 3 percent; another candidate, 1 percent. … While enthusiasm for Obi is said to be driven by younger voters, majorities of voters across all age groups say they intend to vote for Obi. … Peter Obi is the only major candidate in the upcoming election who is viewed favourably by a majority of Nigerian voters…’

However, Peter Obi’s campaign has not been without its challenges. In recent weeks several of the Labour Party’s Northern Muslim gubernatorial and state assembly candidates have abandoned Obi and Labour and defected to the APC and PDP, both of which are running Muslim candidates. The defecting candidates accuse Obi of running a ‘non-inclusive’ campaign and pandering to the Igbo, something his campaign and his supporters deny. Ndi Kato, a spokesperson for Obi’s campaign, told The Africa Report (15 Feb) that she does not believe the high-level political defections will have any impact on the polls. ‘Our foot soldiers are the people of Nigeria. They are volunteering … this election is between the people and the political class.’

Kato’s analysis hits the target! This is an election between the people (i.e. those who have been impoverished) and Nigeria’s political and military elites (i.e. those who profit from systemic corruption). However, it will also be fought between those advancing ethnic (e.g. Fulani) and/or Islamic hegemony, and those demanding religious freedom and tolerance, education and jobs, health, peace and prosperity in a ‘New Nigeria’. The battle is about to begin!

Nigeria is entering a very challenging and indeed pivotal period of its history. Please, keep alert and pray.

ROUNDUP: ALSO IN FEBRUARY

* AZERBAIJAN: ARMENIANS FACE ETHNIC CLEANSING

Armenians under siege.
Photos by Ani Balayan,
Armenian Weekly 15 Feb 2023

Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) – an ethnic-Armenian Christian enclave in Turkic Muslim Azerbaijan – has been in a state of siege since 12 December when Azerbaijani agents blockaded the Lachin Corridor (the road that links Artsakh to Armenia). On 15 February the Armenian Weekly warned: ‘It is beyond any doubt that the actions’ of these Azerbaijani agents ‘serve as a consistent tool for Azerbaijan’s hybrid warfare tactics and systematic policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh. … Cut off from the outside world, the 120,000-strong population of Artsakh is inching closer to an inevitable humanitarian catastrophe every single day. There are extreme shortages of food, medicine and other basic necessities. There is a lack of proper heating in harsh winter conditions.’ Rich in ancient Armenian Christian architecture (which Azerbaijan doesn’t want), Artsakh is also rich in minerals, in particular gold and copper. Complicating matters, Baku – Azerbaijan’s capital, located on the shore of the Caspian Sea – is rich in oil and gas. That gas – which is desperately needed in Europe – is now flowing through the Southern Gas Corridor. Consequently, we should not expect any Western government will challenge Baku – at least not with anything more than a few meaningless words! The situation is dire. Please pray.

‘It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes’ (Psalm 118:9 ESV).
Prayer for Artsakh – Psalm 118:5-17

Recommended: ‘Do you know what is happening in Armenia?’ by Craig Simonian, World Evangelical Alliance’s Peace & Reconciliation Network (PRN), 13 Feb 2023.

MEANWHILE: ARMENIANS IN BEVERLEY HILLS

Flyers posted around Beverly Hills,
28 Jan 2023.

On Saturday 28 January police in Beverly Hills, California, USA, declared that flyers inciting a new Armenian genocide ‘fall within the protection of the First Amendment of the US Constitution’ (i.e. they are protected as free speech). The flyers, which read – ‘Azerbaijan + Turkey + Pakistan + Israel = 4 BROTHERS WILL WIPE Armenia OFF the MAP, Inshallah !!!!’ – had been posted throughout the city on 28 January, ahead of the Armenian Youth Federation Western United States’ March for Artsakh. [NOTE: Israel is a key ally and weapons supplier to Azerbaijan.] As Melody Seraydarian notes, ‘At a time when our homeland [Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic-Armenian Christian enclave in Turkic Muslim Azerbaijan] is undergoing a humanitarian crisis, this kind of rhetoric – especially at a protest intended to call national attention to the Artsakh blockade – is alarming.’ It might have taken a whole week, but on 7 February, Beverly Hills Police Department did remove their statement from social media. However, an anxious Armenian community is still waiting for an explanation. Please pray.

* DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC): TERROR IN NORTH-EAST

Islamic State Democratic Republic of Congo (ISDRC: the DRC chapter of Islamic State Central Africa Province) continues to consolidate and expand in the DRC’s north-east. This is the same group that on 15 January bombed a church baptism service in North Kivu Province, killing 14 worshippers and wounding around 70 [RLPB 677 (25 Jan 2023)]. Since then ISDRC [formerly known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)] has continued to wreak terror in DRC’s north-east. On Sunday night 22 January, ISDRC terrorists killed 23 civilians in Beni, North Kivu. Before dawn on Sunday 28 January, the group launched simultaneous attacks on three villages in neighbouring Ituri Province (north of North Kivu) leaving more than 20 dead. On Sunday 12 February and Monday 13 February, ISDRC terrorists killed at least 22 civilians and burned homes and medical facilities in two districts of Ituri Province. On Wednesday 15 February they killed five more civilians in Ituri. ISDRC is only one of several militias wreaking havoc in DRC’s north-east where some 6.8 million Congolese have been displaced [UNHCR, Feb 2023] and services – most of which are provided, not by the state but by the Church – have been disrupted. It is a full-blown Christian crisis. Please pray for DRC, for DRC President Felix Tshisekedi (described as a devout Christian), and for DRC’s suffering and imperilled Church.

* GHANA: BAWKU CONFLICT; OPPORTUNITY FOR JIHADISTS

Map showing location of Bawku.
(click on map to enlarge)

A high-risk situation has emerged in Ghana’s far north-east as conflict returns to Bawku. The conflict – between the non-Muslim, mostly-Christian indigenous ethnic Kusasi and the Muslim ethnic Mamprusi who migrated from Togo and established the town in the 18th Century – has ethnic, political and religious dimensions. Power struggles between the Mamprusi (who dominate the urban centre) and the Kusasi (who live on the periphery) are nothing new. However, while the groups used to fight with sticks, now they fight with automatic weapons, making this power struggle far more deadly. What’s more, the consolidation and expansion of jihadist terror groups in the Sahel makes any destabilisation far more dangerous.

After 13 years of peace, conflict erupted in Bawku in November 2021 after a rumour spread that the Mamprusi were ‘planning to install their own regent as chief, in a direct challenge to the current Kusasi ruler’. On 6 February Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were used in an attempt to blow up a bridge, causing alarm in the security forces as it was the first time an IED had been deployed in Ghana. On 15 February the Mamprusi did install a parallel king/chief in Bawku, an act the government in Accra condemned as ‘illegal and a threat to national security’. Fierce gun battles ensued, and the town is now totally polarised along ethnic and religious lines. The government has announced it will send an additional 5000 troops to Bawku to stem the escalating violence. According to Ghana’s defence minister, Dominic Nitiwul, ‘Unknown elements are sowing seeds of radicalisation in the area …’ Critically, security analysts report that ‘foreigners have infiltrated Bawku and they are being aided by the locals to kill’. These foreigners ‘are the agents of the locals’ who invite them in and give them sanctuary [The Africa Report, 15 Feb]. There is a huge risk that jihadist terror groups based in Burkina Faso and the wider Sahel might exploit the situation to get a foothold in northern Ghana. Please pray.

* INDIA: ARSON IN NARMADAPURAM, MADHYA PRADESH

On Sunday 12 February members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Narmadapuram district, in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, arrived for morning prayers only to find that Hindu nationalists had broken into their church and torched the interior. The furniture, carpets, appliances, musical instruments, Bibles and prayer books had been dowsed in flammable liquid and burned. The six-year-old church – which has a seating capacity of 1000 – had only recently been repainted. On 14 February, police arrested three suspected arsonists. While Pastor Mahesh Kumre thanked and praised the police for their prompt action, another Christian leader, Dennis Jonathan lamented that the arsonists will only be charged with ‘hurting religious sentiments’ which, unlike arson, only attracts a minor penalty. The police suspect the accused – who had a list of Christian and Muslim places of worship to target and claimed that they were only defending their religion – are also responsible for two other church arson attacks in Narmadapuram district in January. Christians make up a mere 0.29 percent of Madhya Pradesh’s 72 million population. Please pray for India, for the vulnerable Church in Madhya Pradesh, and that the accused arsonists (three young men in their early 20s) might ‘repent and believe the good news’ (Mark 1:15 NIV).

* NICARAGUA: FORCED EXILE AND IMPRISONMENT
- Church endures most severe crackdown in decades.

On 10 February Bishop Rolando José Álvarez (56) – who was arrested on 19 August 2022 [see RLPB 660 (31 Aug 2022)] – was stripped of his citizenship and sentenced to 26 years in prison after the court deemed him guilty of undermining the government, spreading false information, obstruction of functions and disobedience. A leading Catholic, Bishop Álvarez has been an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega. It is the longest sentence given to a political prisoner in years.

One day earlier, on 9 February, the Nicaraguan government forcibly exiled 222 political prisoners, stripping them of their citizenship and putting them on a flight to the USA without informing their families. The CSW press release of 10 February lists the church leaders forcibly exiled: they include numerous Catholics and one Protestant pastor. Bishop Álvarez was supposed to be among them. However, as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom noted in its condemnation of the bishop’s 26-year sentence: ‘Authorities reportedly gave Bishop Álvarez the opportunity to join the exiled prisoners, but he chose to stay in his native country to be with the Catholic community under repression by the Ortega regime.’ Lord have mercy! Please pray.

‘Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body’ (Hebrews 13:3 ESV).

* PAKISTAN: RELENTLESS PERSECUTION

Sunita Masih after acid attack.
(Morning Star News,
courtesy of family)

KARACHI: On 1 February a Christian girl named Sunita Masih (19) left home to go to work. While at the bus station, a Muslim neighbour, Kamran Allah Bux threw acid over her, burning her face, eyes, arms and legs. Sunita, who belongs to the local Salvation Army church, will be permanently scared, physically and emotionally. Bux (who is married) had long been harassing Sunita, pressuring her to convert to Islam and marry him – advances she repeatedly rejected. Bux has been arrested and police have registered a case against him.

PUNJAB: On 4 February police in Faisalabad finally registered a case against Rana Tayyab, a 60-year-old Muslim man who had, on 15 December, kidnapped a 15-year-old Christian girl named Sitara Arif (also known as Saira). Saira’s father, Arif Gill had spent nearly two months trying in vain to get the police to register a case. On 3 February, when attorney Akmal Bhatti – Gill’s lawyer and chairman of the Minorities Alliance Pakistan – learned of Gill’s plight, he intervened and demanded immediate action from the police. By now Saira will have been forcibly converted to Islam and forcibly married to Tayyab who is rumoured to have taken Saira to Islamabad. Lord have mercy!  

On 6 February a Muslim landowner accused Christian labourer Emmanuel Masih (48) of stealing oranges from his orchard. He, along with five Muslim labourers, then beat Masih to death as he pleaded his innocence. Masih leaves behind a wife and six children; no-one expects to see justice. Lord have mercy! Please pray for the Church in Pakistan.

* SUDAN: ASSASSINATION AND PERSECUTION

On 23 January Ibrahim Kander (or Gebeira) – a pastor with the Sudan Church of Christ – was assassinated in a drive-by shooting by suspected members of Sudan’s State Intelligence. Pastor Ibrahim – a US citizen from Grand Island (a city in Nebraska, USA) – was with his wife, Nafisa Awad Toto, and son, Luis Ibrahim Kander (3) visiting family in the Nuba Mountains when he was shot and killed. While Pastor Ibrahim’s wife and son survived the attack, three of his nephews who were also present did not. Please pray.

On 9 February, Ahmad Adam Mohamad (49) of North Darfur in western Sudan, fled into hiding after his extended Muslim family – who had accused him apostasy – sent Muslim militants to kill him. Mohamad, who has been a follower of Jesus for 10 years now, told Morning Star News: ‘The situation is extremely difficult – I am not safe at all. I urge all the brothers to pray and help me get out from this area to a safer place.’ On Friday 17 February authorities in Sudan’s south-eastern Blue Nile State arrested Yousif Ayoub Hussein Ali for preaching to Muslims at an open-air worship event. Preacher Ali had not violated any Sudanese law and no-one is suggesting that the Muslims were not there of their own free will. Please pray for these our brothers: Ahmad Adam Mohamad and Yousif Ayoub Hussein Ali.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) is a donor funded ministry. To support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com

Elizabeth 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). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information see www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 646. May Update, Inc. Hong Kong, Nigeria, Gulf of Guinea, India, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Uganda

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 646 | Wed 25 May 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

View archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) blog.  

MAY 2022 UPDATE
by Elizabeth Kendal

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* CHINA [RLPB 643 (4 May)], where new 'Measures for the Financial Management of Religious Sites', placing all church finances in the hands of the Communist Party will come into force on 1 June; and where state surveillance and social control grows ever more repressive by the day. Please pray.

UPDATE HONG KONG: On 11 May, police arrested Cardinal Joseph Zen (90) – bishop emeritus of Hong Kong and religious liberty champion – for his role as a trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, established in 2019 to help pro-democracy protesters pay their legal fees. He was released on bail later that day. Cardinal Zen and his four co-accused faced court on 24 May. Though initially arrested for ‘conspiracy to collude with foreign forces’ under the city’s national security law, all five of the fund’s former trustees and its secretary were instead charged with failing to register the fund as a society with police, a non-national security offence that can incur a fine for a first conviction. That said, many believe Beijing is preparing to crack down on religious liberty in Hong Kong. Please pray.

Concerning Cardinal Zen, Benedict Rogers writes: ‘Just hours after appearing in court … Cardinal Zen was doing what he does each day: praying, preaching and celebrating the Eucharist.’ While the focus of the service was ‘China, Hong Kong and the Uyghurs, with typical generosity of spirit and reciprocity, Cardinal Zen devoted his prayers to the Church in Myanmar [Burma]…Such solidarity is beautiful.’ AMEN

* BURMA (Myanmar) [RLPB 644 (11 May)], where hundreds of thousands of Christian ethnic Chin, Kachin, Karenni and Karen are displaced - many in the jungle without adequate food, shelter or medical care - as the monsoon season sets in. It is a Christian crisis of monumental proportions. Praise God that the Free Burma Rangers was recently able to deliver aid and bring encouragement to some 800 mostly ethnic Karen stranded on the Burma side of the Thai-Burma border. That said, the need is enormous. Please pray and give generously (James 2:15-17).

'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me', (Jesus; from Matthew 25:31-46 ESV).

* NIGERIA [RLPB 654 (18 May)], where the horrific lynching of a Christian college student on campus by fellow students, in the far north-west city of Sokoto has sent shock-waves through the nation. Tensions are soaring and there is a risk that 'Islamic rage could spread like wildfire'.

UPDATE: BLASPHEMY FIRES IGNITE ACROSS NORTH
- 'blasphemy' may become pretext for wide-scale attacks on Christians.

Blasphemy fires

BORNO. Following the horrific 12 May lynching of Deborah Emmanuel in Sokoto (in Nigeria's far north-west), a Muslim woman in Borno (in Nigeria's far north-east) posted a comment on Facebook. She said Deborah 'will never rest in peace since she has decided to abuse the most important person in the history of mankind [Muhammad]. May worm(s) eat her up till the day of judgment.' In turn, a Christian graduate from the University of Maiduguri named Naomi Goni responded with a tweet deemed offensive to Muslims. Islamists accused Naomi of blasphemy, sparking a firestorm. As tensions soared and threats to Naomi's life multiplied on Facebook, police opted to detain Naomi for her own protection. On Tuesday 17 May, hundreds of Muslims protested in the streets of Maiduguri demanding that the police hand Naomi Goni over to them so they could kill her in accordance with Sharia [Islamic] Law. Fearful that the rioters might overrun the police station, the police handed Naomi over to military authorities in Maiduguri. Tensions are soaring. Please pray.

BAUCHI. On 20 May, after Friday prayers, Muslim men rioted in Katanga, in the north of Bauchi State (which is north of Plateau State in North-East Region) over allegations that a local Christian woman named Rhoda Jatau (40), a healthcare worker, had written a blasphemous on-line comment. The allegation sparked a firestorm. Muslims mounted a manhunt for the woman, intending to kill her. Fortunately for her sake, Rhoda had managed to flee the area ahead of the rioting. Six homes and seven shops belonging to Christians were burned in the pogrom, and about 20 people were injured, including a Pastor of an ECWA [Evangelical Church Winning All] church. Rhoda remains in hiding. Tensions are soaring. Please pray.

I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me... (Psalm 77).

MAY 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* GULF OF GUINEA: FATAL TERROR ATTACK IN TOGO; GHANA ON ALERT
Update to RLPB 625, Sahel: Terror attacks in Togo and Burkina Faso, 23 Nov 2021.

Regional map, showing location
of Togo's Kpendjal Prefecture.

In the early hours of Wednesday 11 May, around 60 gunmen on motorbikes crossed from eastern Burkina Faso into TOGO and attacked the Kpékpakandi military base, in Togo's northern Kpendjal Prefecture. Taken by surprise, the base was quickly overrun. A fierce firefight ensued, lasting several hours. Togolese troops from a nearby base rushed to provide support, only to hit an improvised explosive device (IED) planted strategically on the road. Eventually, the jihadists ended the assault and fled back over the border with their dead. The highly sophisticated attack claimed the lives of eight Togolese soldiers and left 13 wounded. It was the first fatal terror attack to hit Togo since analysts warned that Islamic jihadists in the Sahel were seeking to 'expand south into the countries of the Gulf of Guinea: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin, all of which border Burkina Faso' [RLPB 625 (23 Nov 2021)]. No group has claimed responsibility, but analysts suspect the militants were aligned with Al-Qaeda's Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM). In neighbouring GHANA, the Minister of National Security warned the nation: 'There is good reason to believe that the terrorists operating within the region have Ghana as a target...' Security has been increased at all places of worship. Religious leaders and managers of public spaces have been urged to be vigilant and take extra measures to ensure the safety of their people. Please pray.

* INDIA: KARNATAKA ENACTS ANTI-CONVERSION LAW
- democracy fails to deliver, so the BJP opts for dictatorship.

Karnataka, in India's south-west, had been considering enacting anti-conversion legislation since at least September 2021 when MP Goolihatti Shekhar, of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), appealed for a law to stop the 'rampant religious conversions' plaguing the state [RLPB 621 (26 Oct 2021)]. The Karnataka Right to Freedom of Religion Bill 2021 was passed by the state legislative assembly (lower house) on 23 December 2021. However, the BJP failed to muster enough support in the legislative council (upper house; where BJP is one short of a majority), whose approval is required for any law to come into force. Unwilling to accept defeat or rise to the challenge of further debate, the BJP-led government opted to adopt non-democratic means. On 17 May, Karnataka's BJP-led government enacted the anti-conversion law by ordinance with the signature of the state governor.

The law prescribes imprisonment of three to five years along with a fine ranging from 25,000 to 100,000 Indian rupees (US$330-1,330) for conversion due to 'force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by promise of marriage'. Anyone wanting to change religion will have to file a declaration before government authorities at least 30 days in advance, citing the reasons for their decision. The law prohibits 'mass conversions', defined as 'where two or more persons are converted'; while 'reconversion' to an 'immediate previous religion … shall not be deemed to be a conversion under this Act'.

FULL TEXT (pdf)
The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021
(LA Bill No. 50 of 2021)

As Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit human rights activist notes, the law violates Article 25 of the Indian Constitution which guarantees the freedom to profess, practise and propagate religion to all citizens. 'The law can now punish a Christian or a Muslim for a simple humanitarian act like providing alms or other help such as free education to a child from a poor Hindu family, calling it an attempt to convert,' he said. Please pray.

* IRAN: ARMENIAN-IRANIAN GETS TEN YEARS' JAIL
- for teaching Christianity to Persian converts.

Anooshavan Avedian
(courtesy Article 18)

On 5 May Article 18 reported that Armenian-Iranian Anooshavan Avedian (60) had been sentenced to ten years in prison followed by ten years of deprivation of social rights (e.g. employment) for his church activities. The judge found Anooshavan guilty of 'propaganda contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam' (i.e. teaching Christianity to Persians, who are supposed to be Muslims). It is an extraordinarily harsh sentence, doubtless designed as a deterrent. Anooshavan was arrested along with Persian converts Abbas Souri (45) and Maryam Mohammadi (46) at a house-church gathering in Narmak, North Tehran, in August 2020. Others present at the gathering were forced to sign commitments to refrain from engaging in Christian activities. The three were eventually bailed after submitting property deeds. They were sentenced on 10 & 11 April 2022. The two Persian converts received harsh, albeit non-custodial punishments, including fines, ten years of deprivation of social rights, as well as two-year bans on travel abroad and two years of exile from their home province of Tehran or any adjacent province. They are also obliged to report regularly to offices of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). All three Christians will appeal. Please pray.

* PAKISTAN: GOD INTERVENES FOR A CHURCH IN PESHAWAR
Update to RLPB 632, Christians in Peshawar Gravely Imperilled, 9 Feb 2022

On Sunday 15 May Islamic terrorists assassinated two Sikh businessmen in Bata Tal bazaar in Sarband on the southern outskirts of Peshawar. The killers used the same modus operandi as those who assassinated Reverend William Siraj on Sunday 30 January [RLPB 632 (9 Feb)]: two men on a motorbike (a driver and a shooter) shot and killed their targets in broad daylight before speeding away. Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has claimed responsibility. One day earlier, on Saturday 15 May, an ISKP commander and a would-be suicide bomber were killed during a Counter-Terrorism Department raid on their base in the Wali Abad area of Pishtakhara, on the southern outskirts of Peshawar. Pakistan media reports (Dawn, 15 May): 'A highly placed official told Dawn that the terrorists were planning to hit a church in the provincial capital [Peshawar]. 'The police have already issued a threat alert about a possible attack on a church in Peshawar,' the official said while requesting anonymity. Praise God for this intervention and please continue to pray for Pakistan's exposed and imperilled Church, in particular the Church in vulnerable Peshawar.

* SUDAN: CONVERT COUPLE CHARGED WITH ADULTERY

Hamouda Tia Kafi (34) and Nada Hamad Shukralah (25) of Al Bageir, Al Jazirah state, were Muslims when they married in 2016. However, in 2018, after Hamouda converted and became a follower of Jesus, his wife's family sought and won a sharia court decision to dissolve their marriage. In April 2019 Sudan's military exploited popular protests and ousted Islamist dictator Omar al-Bashir in a military coup. A struggle for the heart and soul of Sudan ensued [RLPB 502 (15 May 2019)]. Subsequently a civilian-led transitional government enacted reforms aimed in part at de-Islamising Sudan. In July 2020 laws were amended to remove a whole raft of Sharia-based provisions. Public flogging was abolished and apostasy was decriminalised [see RLPB 559 (22 July 2020)]. Subsequently, in 2021, Hamouda's wife, Nada converted to Christianity and returned to her husband with their two children. Furious, Nada's brother accused the couple of adultery based on Sudan's 1991 Sharia-based criminal law. Hamouda and Nada were arrested on 17 August 2021 and subsequently bailed. On 25 October 2021 Sudan's Islamist military ousted the reformist, civilian-led transitional government and seized power in a military coup [RLPB 621 (27 Oct 2021)]. Hamouda and Nada's trial has now commenced. If found guilty, the couple - who are members of a Baptist church - could be sentenced to 100 lashes and a year in exile. The next hearing is scheduled for 7 June. Please pray.

* UGANDA: CONVERSION AND RETALIATION IN EASTERN REGION

Map showing location of Mbale.
Kibuku is around 40km west of Mbale.

MBALE DISTRICT. Bishop Amon Sadiiki - a former Muslim, now convert Christian pastor, apologist and evangelist - had been debating Muslims in an open-air evangelistic event in Mbale for four days during Ramadan when, on 28 April, eleven Muslims converted to become followers of Jesus Christ. As he was leaving Mbale at about 8 pm, two Christian organisers of the event insisted they escort the bishop home as many Muslims appeared quite agitated. After setting off on their motorcycles, they soon realised they were being pursued by two other motorcycles carrying Muslims brandishing knives and shouting 'Allahu Akbar' [Allah is greater]. The Muslims ambushing the bishop launched into a frenzied knife attack. The bishop's escorts - Peter and Moses - called for help, which came mercifully from the nearby Christian-founded Mugiti High School. By the time he was rescued, the bishop had suffered serious injuries to his stomach, head and legs, and was losing a lot of blood. Clinging to life, Bishop Sadiiki was hospitalised in a private clinic in Mbale. Days later, on 3 May, Muslims attacked the bishop's son Frank Amon Sadiiki (21) as he travelled home from visiting his father in hospital. Frank was ambushed and struck on the legs with a bladed weapon before an oncoming vehicle scared away the attackers. Bishop Sadiiki told Morning Star News that he and his family were unsafe and in need of prayer. Please pray.

KIBUKU DISTRICT. On Friday morning 6 May, a team of believers from the Malakachomo Revival Church of God visited the home of local Islamic leader Sheikh Musyoya Anasi after learning that his wife was terribly ill. For the past two years Sheikh Anasi's wife had been suffering from an inflamed breast and acute pain in her throat that left her unable to swallow dry food. After prayer for healing, the breast inflammation eased and Anasi's wife rose, asked for food, and ate some cooked bananas. Anani said, 'These miracles led me and my wife to give our lives to Jesus as Lord and Saviour.' However, some Muslims reported the conversions to the mosque. Later that day, after Friday prayers, a mob of Muslims armed with clubs and machetes marched towards the church shouting 'Allahu Akbar' [Allah is greater]. They burned the church and the home of Pastor Wilberforce Naaya, demolishing them entirely. Though several Muslims were arrested, Christian security remains tenuous. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, 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 607. The Sahel: Africa's Afghanistan? Christians Imperilled.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 607 | Wed 21 Jul 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. 

THE SAHEL: AFRICA'S AFGHANISTAN? CHRISTIANS IMPERILLED.
- PLUS Pressing South: from the Sahel to the Gulf of Guinea
by Elizabeth Kendal

In 2013, French troops entered the Sahel to counter Islamic jihadists who, in 2012, had seized control of Northern Mali in a blitzkrieg. Since 2014, some 5100 French troops have served alongside soldiers from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger in what has been known as Operation Barkhane. French policy was to hold off the jihadis while African states developed the capacity to defend their own territories. Operation Barkhane has been hugely unpopular in France, where citizens have questioned why French money should be spent and French lives lost (albeit very few) defending France's former colonies in Africa. Making matters worse, with troop numbers insufficient for the task, Operation Barkhane has not been successful. Instead, jihadists groups have both proliferated and grown stronger, while impoverished Sahelian armies remain ill-equipped and hopelessly overstretched.

At a press conference on 10 June, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Operation Barkhane will officially end in the first quarter of 2022; an orderly withdrawal has already begun. Some 2000 French troops will join Task Force Takuba, a recently established European Union force that will advise and assist African forces in their counter-terror operations. Troops will arrive home just in time for the French presidential election, scheduled for 10 April 2022. It comes at a time when jihadists are: (1) escalating activity to record levels; (2) enforcing Sharia law and implementing Sharia penalties in territories they control; and (3) actively working to expand south towards the Gulf of Guinea. Christians in the Sahel - especially those in the Liptako-Gourma [Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger tri-border] region - are imminently imperilled.

Like Mali and Niger, Burkina Faso is majority Muslim (52 percent Muslim and 21 percent Christian), with a proud tradition of religious freedom and social cohesion. Today, jihadist violence is escalating markedly, specifically in the Liptako-Gourma / tri-border region. The situation is particularly severe in Burkina Faso, which has suffered seven major attacks in quick succession since the beginning of April. On Friday night 4 June, jihadist gunmen on motorbikes killed 13 civilians and a soldier in Tadaryat, a village in Sahel Region's Yagha Province which borders Niger in north-eastern Burkina Faso. Hours later, at around 2am on 5 June, the jihadists attacked Solhan Village, around 150 km further south. In a shocking explosion of violence, the jihadists - including 'young people aged 12 to 14' - massacred at least 160 civilians, including 20 children, leaving 40 wounded. They stole motorbikes and cattle and torched homes and a market. It was the worst massacre in Burkina Faso's six-year battle against Islamic jihadists. No group has claimed responsibility, although analysts suspect Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) is to blame. 

Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN, 11 June), Bishop Laurent Dabiré of Dori (the capital of Burkina Faso's northern Sahel Region) described Solhan as 'a vibrant Christian community'. The Bishop said: 'Just like everyone else in Burkina who is being targeted by terrorism, the Christians were overcome by fear. However, as Christians, they have more reason to fear a forced imposition of Islam. Their religious freedom and even their lives are at stake.' Solhan Village had recently established a Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) corps, an anti-jihadist civilian defence militia that co-operates with the government to protect communities. Jihadists have long held vast swathes of gold-rich eastern Burkina Faso, leading some to surmise the massacre was a case of jihadists punishing Solhan for its VDP while reasserting their supremacy over the region. Whilst they have long demanded Muslims submit to fundamentalist Islam, there are concerns that jihadists in eastern Burkina Faso are widening their scope to include Christians. A regional Bible school has been targeted, its library burned and its staff and students threatened. Please pray. 

PRESSING SOUTH: From the Sahel to the Gulf of Guinea

click on map to enlarge

In February, France's head of foreign intelligence warned that terrorists based in the Sahel are actively working on expanding into the countries of the Gulf of Guinea - specifically Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin, all of which border Burkina Faso. For supply and income, jihadists partner with organised crime to conduct illicit trade in weapons, drugs, gold, cattle, fuel etc. Consequently, the jihadists are eager to secure their supply lines and smuggling routes, many of which transit through Gulf of Guinea states. Ivory Coast has seen a 'stark increase' in terror attacks this year, with nine attacks since 29 March (up from one in 2020), predominantly in the northern districts of Savanes and Zanzan. Jihadist violence has also begun to spill over into northern Benin, where five jihadist cells are known to have a presence on the border. Responding to the escalating threat, Togo and Ghana have increased security along their northern borders. 

On 21 June a suicide bomber named Abu Dujana, from al-Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM: Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims), attacked a French reconnaissance mission near the central Malian town of Gossi, wounding six soldiers and four civilians. In his martyrdom video, Abu Dujana - a Fulani reportedly from Tamale, the capital of Ghana's Northern Region - urged his Fulani kinsmen to rise up and fight those who fight them.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL:

* draw the churches of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger into prayer, that religious freedom and social cohesion might be not merely preserved but promoted, respected and treasured; may the Lord redeem this crisis to amplify the Gospel message, magnify Christian witness, and open many hearts to receive Jesus Christ, the hope of nations (see Matthew 12:14-21).

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

* intervene to thwart every wicked plot of Islamic jihadists based in the Sahel. May supply lines be severed and smuggling routes compromised; in the name of the Lord we cut them off. May criminals who partner with terrorists be caught, arrested and permanently put out of business; in the name of the Lord we cut them off. May terrorists find themselves besieged, denied access to everything they need to survive, commit terror and advance jihad; in the name of the Lord we cut them off. (Prayer based on Psalm 118:10-13 ESV).

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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THE SAHEL: AFRICA'S AFGHANISTAN? CHRISTIANS IMPERILLED.

France's Operation Barkhane, tasked with fighting terrorism in the Sahel, will come to an end in early 2022, just ahead of France's presidential election. Troops are already being withdrawn. It comes as jihadists in the Sahel are: (1) escalating their activity; (2) enacting Sharia laws and penalties in territories they control; and (3) actively working to expand south into Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin. On the night of 4-5 June, Islamic jihadists - many of whom were mere children - massacred at least 160 civilians in Solhan Village, Yagha Region, north-eastern Burkina Faso. Separately, jihadists in eastern Burkina Faso have targeted a Bible school, burning its library and threatening its staff. Christians in the Sahel - especially those in the Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger tri-border region - are imminently imperilled. 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 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