RLPB 655. July Update, incl. Ethiopia, Pakistan, Turkey in Syria, China, Nigeria, Sudan, Togo, Turkey, Uganda.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 655 | Wed 27 July 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.
 
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JULY 2022 UPDATE
by Elizabeth Kendal

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* ETHIOPIA [RLPB 652 (6 July)], after the 18 June massacre in Gimbi Woreda (which claimed the lives of some 1600 ethnic Amhara) was followed by a massacre on 4 July in Hawa Gelan Woreda, which claimed the lives of around 300 ethnic Amhara in western Oromia Region. The massacres were perpetrated by Oromo ethno-nationalist militants. Authorities blamed the ‘Shene’ group, which denied responsibility, blaming instead a group linked to the Oromia regional government.

UPDATES

(1) MASSACRES LINKED TO OROMIA REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

On 6 July Hangaasa Ahmed Ibraahim, an ethnic Oromo member of the Ethiopian Parliament and member of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party, publicly denounced Oromia regional authorities, blaming them for the insecurity in Oromia Region. In a live video message posted to Facebook, Hangaasa Ahmed claimed there are ‘two Shene groups’: the original group now known as the Oromo Liberation Army, and a group he calls ‘Sabotage Shene’, which he maintains is organised by the Oromia Regional Government. Claiming he has abundant proof, Hangaasa Ahmed warned that the massacres will continue unless the Oromia regional state president, the Oromia Prosperity Party head, and the Oromia Police Commissioner are all removed from their positions. Ethnic cleansing (targeting Amhara generally) and ethno-religious massacres (targeting Amhara Christians specifically) have been occurring in Oromia Region for years now. Violence is escalating. Please pray.

(2) AL-SHABAAB NO MATCH FOR A STRONG UNITED ETHIOPIA

President of Ethiopia's eastern Somali region,
Mustafa Mohammed with Special Forces.
Twitter 25 July 2022

On 21 July al-Shabaab militants crossed from Somalia’s Bakol zone into Afdheer zone in Ethiopia’s eastern-most Somali region. The jihadists took control of Hulhul town where they battled government forces for three days before ultimately being forced to retreat, having lost around 100 fighters, 13 vehicles and many weapons. Analysts believe al-Shabaab was ‘testing the waters’ to see if Ethiopian forces were still capable of repelling a jihadist attack. Regional officials believe al-Shabaab harbours plans to reach Oromia Region and join forces with the Oromo Liberation Army. However, as Mustafa Mohammed, the president of Ethiopia’s Somali Region said on 25 July, ‘A united people and functioning state can never be intimidated by ragtag outfits like Al-Shabaab.’ RLPB has long warned that a destabilised Ethiopia would be vulnerable to Islamic jihadist infiltration and terror – not only via Somalia but also via Sudan. May God enable Ethiopia to grow in strength and unity for the sake of the Church and the whole Horn of Africa. Please pray.

* PAKISTAN [RLPB 653 (13 July)] where, despite a few acquittals, Christians continue to languish in prisons and rot on death row because of malicious blasphemy accusations. We prayed especially for Christian mechanic Ashfaq Masih (34), Christian brothers Amoon and Qaisar Ayub (aged 42 and 45), and the ailing Pastor Zafar Bhatti (57).

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).

UPDATE: Christian security will not improve while the Pakistani state continues to promote religious hatred and appease Islamic terrorists. On 20 July, at a press conference in Lahore, the Catholic Bishop’s National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) expressed its concerns about the Islamic content in textbooks under the country’s Single National Curriculum (SNC). ‘Religious minorities demand textbooks devoid of hate material,’ said Kashif Aslam, the NCJP deputy director. Please pray for this initiative. Meanwhile, just weeks into the Pakistani Taliban’s (TTP) devastating Spring Offensive, the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is desperately seeking a peace agreement. Talks are underway and a temporary ceasefire is in place. The trouble is, peace talks with the TTP not only legitimise the terrorists, they threaten to further the Islamisation of Pakistan, for the TTP’s demands are anything but moderate. The TTP has warned that if it doesn’t get what it wants – including the release of TTP prisoners and control of the tribal areas (FATA) – then jihad will resume. Pray for the Church in Pakistan.

* TURKEY IN SYRIA [RLPB 654 (20 July)] as Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and President Ibrahim Raisi, seeking a ‘green light’ to re-invade northern Syria.

Nabil Warda of the Khabour Guards;
maintaining the Christian presence in N-E Syria.

UPDATE: The US, Iran and Russia all agree that any Turkish aggression in northern Syria would enable a revival of Islamic State. Frustrated but not deterred, Erdogan vowed to carry out the invasion anyway, saying he doesn’t need anyone’s permission to advance Turkey’s interests. Analysts suspect Turkey is preparing to invade in early September. Kurds, Assyrian and Armenian Christians, and the Syrian Arab Army are preparing for that eventuality. In the north-west, Aleppo would be gravely imperilled. In the north-east, Christians across the entire Jazira region (the largest and most populous part of Hasakah Governorate) would be imperilled. After 10 years of war against the US-backed Sunni Axis, Islamic State, the Turkish state and its jihadist proxies, a remnant of Christians remains determined to maintain the Christian presence in the north; they desperately do not want to be erased from the map. However, as Nabil Warda of the Khabour Guards warns: ‘The Turkish occupation threatens the existence of the Assyrian people.’ The Christians will resist to their last breath. Please pray it does not come to that. Lord in your mercy, intervene for your people.

JULY 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* CHINA: JAILED PASTOR (MRS) YANG RONGLI IN FAILING HEALTH

(left) Yang Rongli leaves prison, Oct 2016.
(right) Demolition of Golden Lampstand Church, Jan 2018

Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen city, Shanxi Province, has been under sustained attack by the Chinese Communist Party since 2009, when its pastors Wang Xiaoguang and his wife, Yang Rongli, were first arrested and sentenced to three years' and seven years' jail respectively. Pastor (Mrs) Yang Rongli was released in October 2016. In January 2018, the CCP demolished the unregistered church. On 7 August 2021, police in Linfen county detained nine church members, including Pastors Wang Xiaoguang and Yang Rongli [see RLPB 610 (11 Aug 2021)]. On 27 September seven church members were charged with ‘fraud’ and formerly arrested; they are awaiting trial. Prayer is requested as the imprisoned church members are suffering various degrees of maltreatment. Grave concerns are held for Pastor (Mrs) Yang Rongli (67) who is reportedly in failing health in Linfen’s Yaodu District Detention Centre. Yang Rongli’s sister, Yang Kai, told China Aid Association that her sister was being starved, denied visits from family members and denied treatment for her severe diabetes. Please pray.

* NIGERIA: ZERO SECURITY

Terror on the outskirts of Abuja.
(click on map to enlarge)

ABUJA: On the night of 6 July Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) raided the maximum security Kuje Prison on the southern outskirts of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. According to locals, around 100 terrorists arrived on motorbikes at about 10pm and used high powered explosives and firearms to breach the facility. While some security personnel fought and were killed or wounded, most simply fled. Critically, no-one came to assist. A total of 879 of the 994 inmates escaped. While 400 have been recaptured, 443 remain at large, including 69 high-profile Islamic terrorists. The prison break bodes ill for security in Nigeria.

KADUNA-ABUJA: On Sunday 24 July terrorists (suspected ISWAP) released a video showing their fighters flogging captives from the 28 March Kaduna-Abuja train attack. After threatening to kill and sell the captives, they name President Muhammadu Buhari and Kaduna Governor Malam Nasir Rufai as their next targets. On Monday 25 July three elite security officers from the Guards Brigade were wounded when they were ambushed by terrorists on the Bwari-Kubwa road on the northern outskirts of Abuja. Analysts believe the terrorists – who were repelled – were planning to attack the Nigerian law school in the Federal Capital Territory’s Bwari LGA.

KADUNA: On Friday 15 July, in what is become a familiar scenario and emerging trend, two young Catholic priests were kidnapped from church property. The Rev John Mark Cheitnum and the Rev Donatus Cleopas Sulaiman were kidnapped at gunpoint from the parish rectory of Christ the King Catholic Church in Yalding Garu, Lere LGA, in southern Kaduna. Sulaiman managed to escape, but Cheitnum was killed; his body was recovered on 19 July. According to sources, 18 Catholic priests have been kidnapped for ransom thus far in 2022; four have been killed.

Pastor Daniel Umaru with his family
in happier times.

ADAMAWA: At around midnight on 5 July, three militants attacked the home of Rev Daniel Umaru in Mararaba Mubi, in Adamawa state’s northern Hong LGA, just 12km from the southern border of terror-wracked Borno State. Daniel Umaru pastors an EYN (Eklesiya Yan’uwa a Nigeria / Church of the Brethren) church in Jairi, a village on the outskirts of Mubi. As they struggled to gain entrance to the home, the terrorists shot dead the pastor’s two sons – Kefrey Daniel (19) and Fanye Daniel (24). After telling Pastor Daniel they had been sent to kill him, they (mysteriously) shot him through the knee, and abducted his daughter Ijagla (16). Pastor Daniel was hospitalised with bullet wounds and his wife was hospitalised with trauma. On Sunday 10 July, two days after the family buried their sons (images), their daughter Ijagla was released upon payment of ‘a huge ransom’. 

Please pray for the Church in Nigeria.

* SUDAN: FOUR BELIEVERS CHARGED WITH APOSTASY

On 22 June Sudanese police raided a Baptist church in Zallingei in central Darfur, arresting the four Christian men (aged 20-22) praying there. The men – four of nine believers the authorities were hunting for apostasy – were beaten and released. On 28 June they were summoned to the police station to collect their belongings. Instead, they were charged with apostasy under Penal Code Article 126, as if the police had forgotten that the civilian administration (ousted in October 2021) had repealed the article [see RLPB 559 (22 July 2020)]. The four believers were bailed on 3 July, on a relative’s guarantee; they had all been tortured. Then, because the law against apostasy has been repealed, the case had to be closed. Though glad to be out of prison, threats from fundamentalist Muslims have forced the converts to retreat into hiding. Please pray for the Church in Sudan.

* TOGO: FIRST TERROR ATTACK TO TARGET CIVILIANS

On 13 July jihadists from Burkina Faso abducted a suspected informer from Bombengou village in Togo’s northern Kpendjal Prefecture; his body was found later, riddled with bullets. Then, on the night of 14 July, the jihadists launched almost simultaneous attacks on Togo’s northern villages of Kpemboli, Blamonga, Lalabiga and Sougtangou, killing around 30 civilians. On 15 July, as the commissioner of Mandouri, the seat of Kpendjal, travelled to the scene, his vehicle ran over an Improvised Explosive Device. The commissioner and two of his aides were wounded and one person was killed. This is the first attack to target civilians. Previous attacks have targeted a security post [RLPB 625 (24 Nov 2021)] and a military base [RLPB 646 (25 May 2022)]. The terrorists are reportedly working hard to recruit disaffected youths to the Islamist cause. Please pray: especially for Togo’s Christian churches and ministries that are working to address disadvantage in the region and influence youths for good. May the Lord protect them, bless them, and use them for his glory.

* TURKEY: ETHNO-RELIGIOUS HATRED ON DISPLAY

On 15 July the Jewish community in Istanbul, woke to the news that Hasköy Jewish Cemetery in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district had been attacked. Not only had 81 marble headstones been broken, but some of the graves had been excavated. The perpetrators – five children, aged 11-13 years – have been detained. Just two weeks earlier, on 29 June, Assyrian Christians visiting the cemetery in the Mor Fetrus and Mor Favlus Chapel, in the Yemişli (Enhil) Neighborhood of Mardin’s Midyat district (south-eastern Turkey), found that headstones had been destroyed (some 1000 years old) and graves had been opened and the bones scattered. These hate crimes emanate from a society that is increasingly ethno-religious (Turkic-Muslim), nationalist and intolerant. The Turkish curriculum is rife with Turkic-Muslim supremacism, and hatred of ethnic and religious minorities. Turkey is a ‘tinderbox’. Please pray for the Church in Turkey.

* UGANDA: DEATH FOR APOLOGETICS

In what is becoming a common occurrence in Uganda, Muslims have responded to an open-air debate about Christianity and Islam, not by doing their homework and presenting answers or better arguments, but by violently attacking the Christian apologists. Morning Star News (MSN) reports that, on 6 July, Robert Bwenje (28) accompanied Assistant Pastor Ambrose Mugisha (25) of Elim Pentecostal Church in Nyamiringa village, Kiboga District, to an open-air debate about Christianity and Islam in Sirimula village, in neighbouring Kyankwanzi District, 140km north-west of Kampala. After the debate, eight Muslims put their faith in Jesus Christ. As Bwenje and Mugisha were returning home they were ambushed by a mob of angry Muslims shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ (Allah is greater). The Muslims forced Bwenje and Mugisha to hand over their Bibles and Christian literature, which they burned while beating the believers with sticks. Mugisha managed to escape; but by the time Bwenje was rescued, he had sustained serious injuries. Both men were hospitalised, but on 10 July Bwenje succumbed to serious head injuries. Police have arrested and charged the lead instigator and are searching for the other assailants. The MSN report includes several cases of serious persecution in the same area. Please pray for Uganda – which is around 82 percent Christian with religious freedom – that it will rise to the challenge posed by escalating Islamic radicalisation and intolerance.

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

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church.

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.

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