Displaying items by tag: Asia

Mobs are targeting Christian households, led by aggressive Hindu vigilantes known for their hardline approach. Churches are vandalised, pastors are beaten or abused. Congregations are broken up by mobs and believers hospitalised with injuries. The police raid church services to threaten and arrest congregations. This persecution coincides with renewed attention on a longstanding claim that a string of forced conversions are taking place in Chhattisgarh. Speeches, rallies and press statements have openly attacked Christian pastors and believers for allegedly converting tens of thousands of people from tribal communities and poor, lower-caste Hindu families. They are alleged (without evidence) to have been lured into churches by proselytising pastors offering cash payments, free medical assistance, and foreign trips, funded by foreign donors. Dozens of ‘anti-conversion’ rallies have been held in the past month.

Many Afghan Christians have fled from cities to remote regions to escape Taliban detection; others are hiding in communities. World Mission’s Greg Kelley learned of a Christian leader caught by the Taliban, who publicly tortured and executed him. Continue to pray for Afghan believers, in hiding and meeting in secret locations. Now, with the borders to neighbouring countries closed, they have nowhere to turn. With winter approaching they face extreme difficulties. It is exceedingly difficult to get aid into Afghanistan to meet their needs. Many want to leave because they are known to the Taliban or other extremists. Ask God to protect them and help mission agencies to arrange for their safe escape. Things are changing dramatically in Afghanistan, and those who suffer the most are the weak and vulnerable. Pray for wise short-term strategies to address the needs of elderly, sick and frail refugees.

North Korea’s dictatorship says Covid-19 is not a problem, but the people secretly call it the ‘ghost disease.’ North Korea has reported no Covid cases and rejected millions of vaccines. However, reports on the ground tell a different story. Covid has been deadly, especially to the many North Koreans who are malnourished. Meanwhile Kim Jong-Un promises to expand his nuclear arsenal. Behind these issues are 25 million souls living and dying without the hope of Jesus. For a North Korean to have a chance to hear about that hope, it takes an act of God, and God is moving. North Koreans are being drawn to Jesus in daring and ingenious ways - through the underground Church, Christian radio broadcasts, and even covert balloon drops carrying Scripture. No nation is too closed for God to move. Ask God to deliver the people from the regime's indoctrination and lies and for truth to reign throughout the nation.

Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, the Taliban's notorious former head of religious police and now in charge of prisons, said that extreme punishments will resume but may not be meted out in public, as they were previously. Human Rights Watch said the Taliban in Herat are searching out high-profile women, denying women freedom of movement outside their homes, and imposing compulsory dress codes. Amnesty International blamed Taliban fighters for the cold-blooded massacre of nine members of the Hazara, a minority persecuted people. A Taliban judge said, ‘In our Sharia it is clear, for those who have sex and are unmarried, whether male or female, the punishment is 100 lashes in public. Anyone who is married must be stoned to death. Anyone who steals, his hand should be cut off.’ Mullah Turabi said that the Taliban would now allow televisions, mobile phones, photos and videos.

Many believe Iran and IS are ready to jump in and fill the void as Joe Biden withdraws troops from Iraq by the end of this year. They are emboldened because of the fall of Afghanistan. IS had apparently been absolutely defeated in Iraq, but it restarted in 2019. In the last three months they have been aggressively reorganising, setting up checkpoints and attacking Christians and others around the Kirkuk area. Iran is also showing its infiltration and its might against American interests inside Iraq. Meanwhile, the prime minister has encouraged over one million Christians who fled in recent years to return. Christians still in Iraq warn that there has not been sufficient change to guarantee safety. Open Doors questioned the wisdom of the government statement, saying, ‘How can Christians return to Iraq while many are still living in undignified conditions and facing persecution from Sunni and Shia fundamentalists?’ See

On 5 September intelligence agents in Rasht arrested Christian converts Ayoub Morteza, Morteza Mashhoudkari and Ahmad Sarparast and interrogated them. Ayoub was able to contact his family from there. The prosecutor refused to grant them bail and Morteza and Ahmad were transferred to Lakan Prison on 18 September. Iranian intelligence said that Ayoub had also been taken to the prison, but Morteza and Ahmad said he was not there. Please pray that Ayoub’s present situation will quickly become known and that his family will no longer be worried about him. May God encourage and strengthen these men and grant them peace during their imprisonment. Pray also that engaging in Christian activities and meeting with fellow-Christians should no longer be considered a crime in Iran.

For many years we have interceded for the persecuted Christians in China. A significant trend in the past year has been for even more church raids: according to an International Christian Concern report, ‘not only were churches shut down or demolished, but pastors and Christians are regularly arrested.’ Open Doors estimates that there are 97 million Christians in China, many of them in unregistered underground house churches and therefore considered to be ‘illegal’. Christians are not the only religious minority facing persecution; between 1 and 3 million Uyghur and other ethnic Muslims have been put in internment camps where they are taught to fall in line with the CCP. In January, the US state department described China's treatment of Uyghurs as a ‘genocide.’ China has also reportedly violated the rights of Falun Gong practitioners and Tibetan Buddhists.

After raising over $28 million to rescue Afghan Christians, Glenn Beck shares an update. ‘Seven years after the IS blitzkrieg, there is revival in northern Syria. The establishment of Islamic government provides ripe soil for the Church to grow. The Afghan Church is determined to do the same. They are still actively meeting, studying the scriptures together and sharing the gospel. We have heard a report about Christians sharing the gospel with Taliban members who came into their village, and they have actually been engaging in Bible studies and prayer.’ While it is often the sensational reports or heroic action that make headlines, Richardson said Afghanistan's Christians are just real people choosing to live out their faith. ‘They say they are scared. Many of them are in despair, but it is in that weakness that they're still pushing forward and they are finding sweetness in all of it.’ he said.

80% of Afghanistan's money comes from foreign donations or aid, and the Taliban cannot afford to be ostracised by the world. Their security commander appealed to diplomats, politicians and businesses: ‘Come. Start your work again. No one will hurt you. Diplomatic relations are the right of every country.’ But many are sceptical. Two newspaper journalists were tortured by the Taliban for covering women protesting for more freedom. The journalists were held in separate cells and whipped with cables. They both passed out from intense pain. There are huge weals and extensive bruising on their backs, shoulders, thighs and buttocks. Their editor-in-chief said, ‘These journalists were beaten and tortured for doing their job. We need the international community to stand with us and insist the Taliban are held to account because this will have a terrible impact on media freedom and everyone's freedoms.’

North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into waters off its eastern coast on 15 September. South Korea and US intelligence are analysing details about the launches. The missiles landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, in the waters between Japan and the Korean peninsula. Prime minister Yoshihide Suga called the firings absolutely outrageous, threatening the peace and safety of Japan and the region. He said, ‘Our government is determined to step up our vigilance and surveillance to be prepared for any contingencies.’ The firings came just two days after North Korea tested a newly developed missile capable of hitting targets 930 miles away. North Korea has ignored Washington’s offers to resume negotiations to abandon its nuclear programme.