Christians Brace for Taliban Rule
PakistA N
Swat Valley Accepts Islamic law in exchange for peace
AFRICA
Eritrea..................................2
Kenya..................................2
Morocco.............................2
ASIA
China...................................2
India................................ 2,3
Indonesia...........................3
Laos.....................................3
North Korea......................3
LATIN AMERICA
Colombia....................... 3,4
Mexico................................4
MUSLIM WORLD
Iran.......................................4
Turkey ................................4
Volume 11 | Issue 4 | April 2009
March 27 (Compass) – Pakistan
recently turned the lush Swat Valley into
a Taliban stronghold ruled by (Islamic)
sharia law. Last month, the Islamabad
administration struck a deal with Taliban
forces surrendering all governance of Swat
Valley in the North West Frontier Province.
Although the Taliban has made promises of
peace, the Christian community has doubts
the Muslim extremists will follow through.
An estimated 500 Christians live and work
in the Swat Valley located just 100 miles
from the capital city of Islamabad.
The only
church in Swat
has been renting
space for nearly
100 years because
the government
has refused to
give permission to
buy land to build a
church building.
In the past
year, more than
200 girls schools in Swat were burned
down or bombed by Islamic extremists.
The remaining girls schools were closed
in January but have re-opened since the
peace agreement in mid-February.
With the bombing of girls schools at
the end of last year, all Christian families
migrated to nearby districts. After the peace
deal and with guarded hope for normalcy
and continued education for their children,
most of the families have returned to their
homes but are reluctant to attend church.
Although there have been no direct
threats against Christians since the
establishment of the peace accord in Swat,
some advocates fear that it may only be
a matter of time, noting the previous two
years of threatening letters, kidnappings
and aggression against Christians by
Islamic extremists.
In Pakistan, an average of one
Christian each month is arrested or
murdered. Attacks on the property of
Christians and churches occur almost weekly.
Opening a new church building is nearly
impossible. Discrimination affects all aspects
of daily life.
One Woman Dead In Attack
On Christians
On March 2, a
local Muslim man led
groups of his friends
and family members in
indiscriminate attacks
aimed at the Christian
community in Sangu-Wali village. The violence
killed one woman and left 16 people wounded.
Hector Aleem remains in Adiyala Jail in Rawalpindi. On
Jan. 30, a crowd of 150 protestors gathered at the court
hearing, shouting that his life should not be spared.
Christian Faces ‘Blasphemy’ Abetting Charge
On March 4, a Pakistani investigator ruled
out one charge against Hector Aleem, 51, a
Christian accused of “blaspheming Islam,”
but retained another charge for abetting
blasphemy. The stigma of the charges could
make him a target for
local Islamists. Police
and community
members likely
framed Aleem
because of his
social activism
on behalf of
Christians.
The Islamabad administration
struck a deal with Taliban forces
to end a bloody two-year battle.
Open Doors
PO Box 27 630
Mt Roskill
AKL, NZ
www.opendoors.org.nz
Girl in Pakistan
www.opendoors.org.nz page 2
Volume 11, Issue 4 Persecution Update April 2009
Africa
Asia
Eritrea
Four Christians Released,
Yet Thousands Remain
Behind Bars
March 25 – Eritrean authorities released
two men in their 80s and church leader
Dr. Michel Mehari; all three are members
of the Kale Hiwot Church. A fourth
prisoner, Solomon Mengese of the Full
Gospel Church, was released on bail
in early March. Last December, 49 key
leaders were taken into custody. There
are at least 270 Christians still kept at
Wi’a Military Training Center, including
135 women. It was confirmed that 50
Christians, including 15 women, are
kept at the police station in Massawa.
Some 360 Christians are kept under
severe conditions
incommunicado
at Mitire Military
Concentration camp.
More than 2,900
Christians remain
imprisoned for their
faith.
Church members have been meeting outside
with little protection from the scorching sun.
“Mac never regretted
his 30 years in prison
for Christ. His last
wish was to urge the
new generation to not
forget the cross and
the Word.”
China
Veteran Bible Distributor Dies
March 31 – Brother “Mac” passed
away on February 24 at the age of
86. Mac distributed many “Project
Pearl” Bibles to the most southern
and northwestern churches in China.
Mac’s wrist had a deep scar to show for
the years he was
handcuffed in
prison.
CHINA
Action Urged for Missing
Rights Activist
March 25 – Certain that Chinese
authorities are torturing Christian
human rights activist Gao Zhisheng
following the escape of his family to the
United States, advocacy group China
Aid Association urged the international
community to take action by signing a
petition on his behalf. Gao’s wife, Geng
He, along with 16-year-old daughter
Geng Ge and 5-year-old son Gao
Tianyu, fear for his safety. Police seized
the Christian lawyer and human rights
defender from his home in Shaanxi
province on February 4.
India
A Pastor Awaits Justice
March 25 – A mob of about 100
people on March 1 attacked the
Sunday gathering of a church in
Khammam district, beating Pastor
Isaac Ravi, his family and his
friends and destroying property.
Although the police assured the
pastor of action, after more than
20 days they await justice while
the culprits go free.
Morocc o
Five Foreign Christians
Deported
March 31 (Compass) – The
Moroccan government announced
on March 29 it had expelled five
Christian women caught visiting
a Bible study. The accused
women were five of 23 tourists,
expatriates and Moroccans
arrested in Casablanca on
March 28 during what the Interior
Ministry called a “proselytizing”
meeting involving Moroccan
citizens.
Street market in the city of Fes
Christians
were
attacked
during
worship
KENYA
Church Still Struggling After
Islamists Destroy Building
March 5 (Compass) – On Sept. 14,
2008, angry Muslim youths threw more
than 400 members of the Redeemed
Gospel Church out of their church
building. Since then, officials have
done nothing to punish the culprits or
restore their structure. “After six months
in the open, the church feels tired and
cheated,” said Pastor David Matolo.
The Rev. Ibrahim Kamwaro,
chairman of the
Pastors’ Fellowship in
Garissa, said Pastor Matolo
had offended Muslims
when he preached
to a lame Muslim man.
Released in 2006, Pastor Abraham Belay of
the Full Gospel Church was in poor health
after being imprisoned for more than a year.
Asia
Volume 11, Issue 4 Persecution Update April 2009
www.opendoors.org.nz page 3
Indonesia
Reopened
Church
Challenged
March 26 – On
Sunday, March
22, over 100
people of a
radical Muslim
group gathered
in front of the
Jakarta Christian Baptist Church (GKBJ) in
Tangerang, West Java, to distribute flyers
to “warn” neighbors of the church’s attempt
to Christianize. They also demanded that
GKBJ be shut down. LAOS
Police Destroy Church
Building in Village
March 30 (Compass) – At least
40 Christian families were forced
to relocate to Nonsomboon
last year an effort by officials to
control the activities of Christians
in Ban Mai who were sharing
their faith. When the Christians
erected a simple church building
in December 2008, a campaign of
intimidation followed, ending in the
destruction of the church building
by village police on March 19.
North Korea
North Korean Christians
Launch Prayer Campaign
March 25 – North Korean officials
have stepped up surveillance of
Christians, thoroughly searching
their houses. In spite of the
worsening situation for believers,
underground church leaders have
started a prayer campaign for
evangelization to the extremely
unstable North Korean society.
INDIA
‘Anti-Conversion’ Law
Considered
March 2 – The Hindu nationalist
government in the southern state
of Karnataka, which recorded the
second highest number of attacks
on Christians last year, is planning
to introduce the kind of “anticonversion”
law that has provided
the pretext for anti-Christian
violence in other states.
INDIA
Pastor Shot in Bomb Attack on
Church
March 10 – In an effort to stop conversions
to Christianity in the eastern state of Bihar,
an ailing young man on Sunday (March 8)
exploded a crude bomb in a church and
shot the pastor. The attacker intended
to kill Pastor Vinod Kumar (35) and then
take his own life, but church members
prevented him. The pastor is recovering in
the hospital.
Latin America
Colombia
Life Difficult for Two Christian
Families
March 27 – The Mosquera family was
displaced in September 2008 and
relocated to Istmina because of guerrilla
threats against the father, a farmer and
artisan who also served as pastor of the
Mennonite Church in Chocó department.
The Villota family has three children under
threat of recruitment by guerrillas in Nariño
department.
Colombia
Pastors Threatened and Displaced
March 17 – In Arauca department, pastors that
don’t cooperate with the revolutionary cause of
the guerrillas are told they should leave the
region or they will be killed. Guerrillas gave
harsh warnings and restrictions to Pastor Nieto*
from the Ebenezer Church, Saravena, on March
13, and Pastor Tomaso* on February 28. Other
pastors in Arauca have been displaced. Pastor
Rodolfo Almeida was forced to leave Puerto
Jordán in December 2008. Other Christian
leaders in Arauca, such as the mayors in
Saravena and Arauquita, are threatened. One
Christian councilman was killed on February 15, and the same day, the
FARC-EP forced a pastor to relocate her family within 24 hours. She had
led an evangelistic church service in Tiwy, south of Bolivar, and the
guerrillas have prohibited religious outdoor events and conducting
worship in churches for the past three years.
The Villota
home was
damaged
by the
rising
water of
Telambí
River.
North Korean believers are spending
additional time in prayer for each other
because of their difficult situation.
Pastor Nieto was questioned
and instructed for nearly
three hours by the National
Liberation Army (ELN-EP).
*pseudonyms
Muslim men gathered to protest
a church in Indonesia.
Muslim World
Volume11, Issue 4 Persecution Update April 2009
www.opendoors.org.nz page 4
Iran
Young Secret Believers
Discipleship Training
March 27 – In Iran, “the situation
for MBBs is getting worse. Still
the amount of people converting
to Christianity is growing. The
pressure in the country is
increasing, but we pray on our
knees that God gives us the
strength that no one will give in,”
says Yusuf, one of the attendees of
a special training course for young
Iranian secret believers.
Iran
Three Converts Ordered to
Stop ‘Christian Activities’
March 31 (Compass) – Declaring
three Iranian Christians guilty of
cooperating with “anti-government
movements,” a court in Shiraz on
March 10 ordered the converts to
discontinue Christian activities and
stop propagating
their faith. A
judge put them
on probation,
threatening
them with an
‘apostasy’
trial.
TURKEY
‘Insulting Turkishness’ Case
Proceeds Under Revised Law
March 27 (Compass) – Turkey’s justice
ministry decided on Feb. 24 to try two
Christians under a revised version of a
controversial law for “insulting Turkishness”
because they spoke about their faith. Turan
Topal and Hakan Tastan were surprised by
the decision, as missionary activities are
not illegal in Turkey. The two each paid a
court-ordered fine to a civil court in Istanbul
on March 26.
The fine could
set a precedent
crippling to
churches. Their
lawyer plans to
take the case
to a European
court.
Latin America
Colomb ia
Investigation of Church
Persecution
March 9 – In remote areas of
Colombia, church closures and
persecution were verified by an
Open Doors research team in late
2008. In Narino department, at
least 10 churches have been
closed and many Christians are
afraid. In Satinga, six of the 15
pastors interviewed were
displaced, jobless and without a
church. The guerrillas forced some
pastors out of their villages
because of growth in church
membership.
COLOMBIA
Pastor Still Missing
March 23 – No one knows what
happened to Rev. William Reyes of
Maicao, La Guajira, who disappeared
on Sept. 25, 2008. Family members
and friends fear that guerrilla fighters
kidnapped the veteran minister. Mexico
Church Inauguration in Nachij
March 27 — On March 15 in the Nachij
community of Chiapas, the believers
rejoiced that the construction of their
new church building was completed. At
the celebration, many Christian visitors
spoke of the courage it takes to face
the persecution. Manuel “San Juan”
said, “When I was a cacique, I killed the
believers; I expelled a lot of Christians
because I hated them. Their lives were
changing through Jesus Christ. I did not
understand
that.” He
is now a
pastor.
Mexico
Five Christians Beaten
March 3 — On November 4,
2008, in the community of Nachij,
Zinacantan municipality, residents
and authorities took part in beating
five believers who refused to
accept designated positions in the
traditionalist Catholic festivities.
These men took the beating and
never gave in to the demands. They
continued to be faithful witnesses of
Christ.
This town is controlled by guerrillas in
the rural zone of Barbacoas
Former
cacique
Manuel “San
Juan” spoke
at the service.
Pastor Antonio Perez rejoices in the new church.
These Christian men were beaten for
refusing to participate in festival rituals.
Believers training class Muslim woman in Shiraz, Iran Turan Topal, Hakan Tastan
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