Displaying items by tag: Christian persecution

Rohingya pastor, Taher, and his 14-year-old daughter were abducted from Bangladesh Cox’s Bazar a refugee camp after 59 men attacked 22 Christian families, beating residents, vandalising homes, and looting property. At least 12 Christian refugees were injured and hospitalised and a makeshift Christian church and school were smashed. Families were relocated to a UN transit centre and filed a police case against the armed ethnic group, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. Taher’s wife, Roshida, fears her husband is dead and that her daughter has been forced to convert to Islam. She said, ‘No one can give me clear information.’ Approximately 1,500 Rohingya Christians are among 700,000 predominantly Muslim Rohingya refugees who fled ‘ethnic cleansing’ in 2017. Authorities described the attack as a ‘law and order incident’ - not Christian persecution. They do little to protect Christians. One said, ‘if victims wanted safety they should ‘go to the moon.’

Police are investigating an attack on a bus carrying seventy Christians home from the national congress of the Synod of Pentecostal Churches in Tamil Nadu. Three men on motorcycles threatened passengers, smashed the bus windscreen, and injured the driver and passengers, including children and the elderly. Religious intolerance and violence is festering and taking root in the world’s largest democracy. Religious minorities in India should feel safe and free to practise and profess their religion or belief without any fear of reproach, and Christian Solidarity Worldwide called on authorities to put an end to institutional propaganda that incites hatred towards religious minorities. ‘The police must follow up with a thorough investigation of this incident and not allow themselves to be influenced by hard-line religious nationalists as they seek to hold those responsible to account.’ The congress saw Christian leaders call for prayers for peace at a time when churches are being closed, prayer meetings disrupted, and individuals targeted.

The Chinese government has introduced even tougher restrictions on religious freedom, requiring church leaders to ‘display complete devotion to the Communist Party’. The rules limit communications between churches and overseas organisations, including donations. But even before the new rules took effect on 1 February 2020, there were reports that Chinese officials were confiscating aid intended to help churches fighting coronavirus. Dr Lin, who gave early warning of the virus, was a Christian. A Chinese Christian wrote on social media, ‘Some overseas Christians shipped supplies designated to serve hospitals through local churches. Yet the supplies were confiscated and the Christian who received the shipment was invited to “have tea” with the police (a common practice to intimidate and threaten citizens).’ Despite increasing persecution, Christians in Wuhan have been handing out face masks on the street and sharing their faith with pedestrians.

In Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa, the rise of Islamist militancy is a challenge to Christians and also to the existence of states and governments in the region, and thus to the rest of the world. The overthrow of Libya’s President Gaddafi and the power vacuum in Libya brought a wave of Islamist influence backed by money, weapons, drugs and organised crime that is spreading across Sub-Saharan Africa. In weak or ‘fragile’ states, where rule of law and governance are ineffective, Christian populations are left unprotected. The president of Mali said the very existence of Mali is at risk from jihadists. They exploit ethnic, tribal and socio-economic groups, creating conditions that draw recruits and increase their influence, thus widening the risk to global security. Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, backed by France, have a task-force to combat jihadist insurgents. Pray for God to increase their intelligence sources so that they prevent attacks and catch militants. See also Europe article 1.

Could the faith statement of an executed Christian leader encourage Christians facing persecution in Nigeria? Boko Haram beheaded Rev Lawan Andimi, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). But could a faith message that militants recorded with him be an own goal for terrorists? CAN has urged Nigeria’s government and the international community to act decisively to help Christians under attack in Nigeria, calling for three days of prayer and fasting for effective action. The Church views the unabated kidnappings and killings as shameful for a government boasting that it has conquered insurgency. ‘Each time the government claims the defeat of the insurgency, more killings of our people are committed. We are almost losing hope in our government’s ability to protect Nigerians – especially Christians, who have become an endangered species under its watch.’

Azerbaijan’s major religion is Shia Islam. Churches developed in the wake of the Soviet Union’s dissolution. The economy is dependent on oil and gas, but corruption and an authoritarian government have impeded economic growth. Pray for President Aliyev and his government to provide solutions to widespread corruption and for Christians to address the country’s societal problems, including abortion. Families are the biggest persecutors of Christians in a shame-honour culture; those who leave Islam are considered to have brought shame on the family. The government also pressurises Christians with heavy fines. For many years, churches have been denied the ability to register legally. Secret police attend every church meeting and raid ‘illegal’ ones. The Old Testament and Christian literature are banned. Church leaders must now submit lists of members’ names; many think the information will be used later against congregations or pastors.

Shaun Bailey, Conservative London mayoral candidate, says the way Christians are treated in the UK is tantamount to persecution. A Londoner, he has often spoken about his Christian faith during his political career. As he prepares to stand against Sadiq Khan, he is concerned his faith may be used against him in the campaign. He said, ‘We're persecuted for our views. People say things to us that they wouldn't say to people of no faith or any other faith. I think that because we are seen as a sort of establishment faith, people are allowed to say things. Internationally, people might feel differently about it, but that's how I feel. I know lots of people of faith feel that way because of what is said about them and what they cannot say. You'll see it in my election campaign, I imagine.’ See also the world article ‘Life getting harder for Christians’.

Open Doors CEO Henrietta Blyth has written, ‘Around the world, life is getting harder, not easier, for Christians. In India we see rising levels of violence against believers – especially pastors’ wives and daughters. The Chinese government has been clamping down hard too. In North Korea there is still a total lack of freedom for Christians, and yet the world and the church remain largely ignorant of the scale and severity of persecution. Galatians 5:1 says that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. The God we worship gives us the freedom to choose and we should defend this freedom vigorously, wherever and whenever we can. The World Watch List is vital because it shows where those freedoms are being denied and the ferocity of the battle we are in. For millions of men and women, each year, the choice to follow Him is a matter of life and death.’

Here are a few of the many incidents of Christmas attacks on Christians in 2018. Two days before Egypt’s Christian celebrations, a specialist in mine clearance died defusing a bomb hidden next to a church in Cairo. On 24 December a Methodist church in Bury offering night shelter to homeless refugees was attacked by arsonists who also stole their laptop and projector equipment. In Indonesia over 90,000 police and soldiers helped guard 50,000 churches across the country, including those previously attacked by terrorists. In India on 23 December a mob attacked forty people worshipping at a church in Kowad, injuring ten people. Militants increase their attacks on Nigerian churches at this time, and in Pakistan a planned attack was foiled in Karachi. See

Adults were murdered, children were kidnapped, and people robbed in Boko Haram attacks on mainly-Christian villages in the far north of Cameroon. The army has difficulty combatting militants in an area dotted with small, isolated villages linked by poor roads where militants strike and then escape via main roads back to Nigeria. On 1 December gunmen attacked mourners at a funeral in Kotserehé, killing four and wounding three. The following night, they murdered three and wounded another when they swarmed into Zangola, stealing food and clothing; they similarly looted Yagoua. In Mbreche, militants kidnapped 21 young people aged between 12 and 21; next they attacked Tahert, stealing a motorbike and wounding a girl. Those abducted will be forced to become Boko Haram ‘soldiers’ and fight for the extremists. In November a Christian boy was hacked to death for resisting militants’ attempt to abduct him as a ‘soldier’.