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Steel On Steel Persecution Update December 23, 2009           Edited by:  Donald McElvaney, www.missionbarnabas.org   Top Stories:        1.  Turks Threaten to Kill Priest over Swiss Minaret Decision     2.  Christians in Vietnam Hold Another Historic Celebration     3.  Plot Targeting Turkey’s Religious Minorities Allegedly Discovered     4.  Christians Accused of Desecrating Quran Freed in Pakistan     5.  European Human Rights Court Rules in Favor of Turkish Church     6.  Pakistani Muslims Gun Down Christian Friend     7.  Massive Muslim Mob Damages Church Building in Indonesia     8.  Christmas Season Attacks Worry Christians in India     9.  Pakistani Muslims Allegedly Poison Christian Employees to Death   1.  Turks Threaten to Kill Priest over Swiss Minaret Decision Slap to religious freedom in Switzerland leads to threat over church bell tower in Turkey. By Will Morris ISTANBUL, December 15 (Compass Direct News) – In response to a Swiss vote banning the construction of new mosque minarets, a group of Muslims this month went into a church building in eastern Turkey and threatened to kill a priest unless he tore down its bell tower, according to an advocacy group. Three Muslims on Dec. 4 entered the Meryem Ana Church, a Syriac Orthodox church in Diyarbakir, and confronted the Rev. Yusuf Akbulut. They told him that unless the bell tower was destroyed in one week, they would kill him. “If Switzerland is demolishing our minarets, we will demolish your bell towers too,” one of the men told Akbulut. The threats came in reaction to a Nov. 29 referendum in Switzerland in which 57 percent voted in favor of banning the construction of new minarets in the country. The Swiss ban, widely viewed around the world as a breach of religious freedom, is likely to face legal challenges in Switzerland and in the European Court of Human Rights. Fikri Aygur, vice president of the European Syriac Union, said that Akbulut has contacted police but has otherwise remained defiant in the face of the threats. “He has contacted the police, and they gave him guards,” he said. “I talked with him two days ago, and he said, ‘It is my job to protect the church, so I will stand here and leave it in God’s hands.’”   2.  Christians in Vietnam Hold Another Historic Celebration Largest-ever event in northern part of country encourages house churches. Special to Compass Direct News HANOI, December 21 (Compass Direct News) – For the second times in 10 days, Protestant history was made in Vietnam yesterday when 12,000 people gathered for a Christmas rally here. The event, which took place in the large square in front of the entrance to My Dinh National Stadium in the heart of Hanoi, was said to be 10 times larger than any prior Protestant gathering in history in northern Vietnam. On Dec. 11 in southern Vietnam, an estimated 40,000 people attended a Christmas celebration in Ho Chi Minh City. Local sources said long-requested written permission for the event, entitled “Praise Jesus Together,” never came in spite of several reminders. But four days before the event was to take place, Hanoi authorities and police told organizers – in words as close as they would get to granting permission – that they would “not interfere.” Said one long-time Compass source, “One can hardly overestimate the importance of such an event in the lives of northern house church Christians. For many, this will have been the first time to join in a large crowd with other Christians, to feel the growing power of their movement, to hear, see and participate in the high quality, and deeply spiritual mass worship.”   3.  Plot Targeting Turkey’s Religious Minorities Allegedly Discovered CD indicates naval officers planned violence against non-Muslim communities. By Barbara G. Baker ISTANBUL, December 16 (Compass Direct News) – Chilling allegations emerged last month of a detailed plot by Turkish naval officers to perpetrate threats and violence against the nation’s non-Muslims in an effort to implicate and unseat Turkey’s pro-Islamic government. Evidence put forth for the plot appeared on an encrypted compact disc discovered last April but was only recently deciphered; the daily Taraf newspaper first leaked details of the CD’s contents on Nov. 19. Entitled the “Operation Cage Action Plan,” the plot outlines a plethora of planned threat campaigns, bomb attacks, kidnappings and assassinations to target the nation’s tiny religious minority communities – an apparent effort by military brass to discredit the ruling Justice and Development Party. The scheme ultimately called for bombings of homes and buildings owned by non-Muslims, setting fire to homes, vehicles and businesses of Christian and Jewish citizens, and murdering prominent leaders among the religious minorities. The plan identified 939 non-Muslim representatives in Turkey as possible targets. “If even half of what is written in Taraf is accurate, everybody with a conscience in this country has to go mad,” Eyup Can wrote in his Hurriyet column two days after the news broke.   4.  Christians Accused of Desecrating Quran Freed in Pakistan Country’s notorious ‘blasphemy’ law used against innocent father, daughter. By Brian Sharma LAHORE, Pakistan, December 16 (Compass Direct News) – A Christian in Faisalabad district and his 20-year-old daughter were released on Monday (Dec. 14) after 14 grueling months in jail on false charges of blaspheming the Quran. Khalil Tahir, attorney for Gulsher Masih and his daughter Ashyana Gulsher (known as Sandal), said the case was typical of the way Pakistan’s blasphemy laws can be used to harass innocent Christians. “Christians are the soft targets, and most of the people implicated in these inhumane laws are Christians,” he said. “We Christians are fighting for the same, noble goal – to provide justice to the victims of blasphemy laws.” Masih said that inmates beat him at least five times since he was arrested on Oct. 23, 2008. His daughter was arrested two weeks earlier, on Oct. 10. “These long 14 months seemed like ages,” Masih said. “There was one inmate, Ghulam Fareed, a rich man, who always harassed me, trying to coerce me to convert to Islam by saying he would make me rich and would send me abroad.” Fareed, who also promised high quality education for Masih’s children, joined with Islamic extremists jailed for terrorist acts to beat him in an effort to force him to “come into the fold of Islam,” Masih said. While in jail, he said, his wife told him that their daughter had been beaten several times by the superintendent of police. “During cross examination, I proved that the whole case was concocted, frivolous, fake and that charges against the accused Christian brother were unfounded,” Tahir said.   5.  European Human Rights Court Rules in Favor of Turkish Church Christians hope decision will lead to greater religious freedom. By Will Morris ISTANBUL, December 18 (Compass Direct News) – In a decision many hope will lead to greater religious freedom in Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that a Turkish court ruling barring a church from starting a foundation violated the congregation’s right to freedom of association. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a Turkish attorney and legal advisor for the litigants, said the decision earlier this year was the first time the ECHR has held that religious organizations have a right to exist in Turkey. Cengiz added that this case is just the first of many needed to correct conflicts within the Turkish legal system in regard to freedom of association, known in Turkey as the concept of “legal personality.” “This case is a significant victory, but it is the first case in a long line of cases to come,” Cengiz said. In its decision, the court unanimously found that the Turkish Courts’ “refusal to register the foundation, although permitted under Turkish law, had not been necessary in a democratic society, and that there had been a violation of Article 11.”   6.  Pakistani Muslims Gun Down Christian Friend They order him to convert to Islam or die, after accusing him of murder.               By Jawad Mazhar MUREEDKAY, Pakistan, December 21 (Compass Direct News) – A group of Muslims shot their Christian friend dead this month on the outskirts of this city after saying they would spare his life only if he recanted his faith, according to the young man’s father. The friends of Patras Masih, who died from gunshot wounds on Dec. 3 in Karol village, Punjab Province issued the ultimatum to him after accusing him of the murder of their friend Anees Mahammad. An autopsy reported showed Mahammad died from toxic alochol earlier that day. Patras Masih’s father, Gulzar Masih, said his son was at home on that day, had no contact with Mahammad, and that his friends accused him of the murder only because he refused to recant Christianity and embrace Islam. His voice full of grief, Gulzar Masih said that when his son refused to recite the Islamic conversion creed, Sohail Muhammad, Imran Muhammad and Amir Muhammad sprayed bullets at his chest, killing him instantly. “My son bravely refused to recant Christianity and clung to Christ,” Gulzar Masih said, dejected but with a small smile on his face. “He bravely embraced martyrdom.”   7.  Massive Muslim Mob Damages Church Building in Indonesia Crowd of 1,000 celebrating eve of Islamic New Year ransack, set fire to construction site. By Samuel Rionaldo JAKARTA, Indonesia, December 23 (Compass Direct News) – Hundreds of Muslims celebrated the eve of the Islamic New Year last Thursday (Dec. 17) by attacking a Catholic church building under construction in Bekasi, West Java. A crowd of approximately 1,000 men, women and children from the Bebalan and Taruma Jaha areas of Bekasi walking in a New Year’s Eve procession stopped at the 60 percent-completed Santo Albertus Catholic Church building, where many ransacked and set fires to it, church leaders said. Damage was said to be extensive, but no one was injured. Kristina Maria Rentetana, head of the church building committee, said there were no hints that the group would become a mob and attack the church building. Rentetana said she joined the crowd as they walked along. Upon nearing the church, she said, they began throwing stones. “They shouted, ‘Destroy it, destroy it,’” Rentetana told Compass. “Even women carrying babies joined in stone-throwing. Then a large group dressed in white robes entered the church, which was under construction, and started fires.” Police promised security so that plans for a Christmas Mass at the site could proceed.   8.  Christmas Season Attacks Worry Christians in India Hindu extremists launch two assaults and claim hundreds of “reconversions.” By Vishal Arora NEW DELHI, December 22 (Compass Direct News) – With at least two violent attacks and alleged “reconversion” of over 1,700 Christians in the week leading up to Christmas, a sense of fear is growing among India’s minority Christian community. On Sunday (Dec. 20), Hindu extremists attacked a church during worship in western Maharashtra state’s Sindhudurg district and a Christmas exhibition in Gwalior city in Madhya Pradesh state. The following day, extremists claimed having converted over 1,700 tribal (aboriginal) Christians “back” to Hinduism in western Gujarat state. “Christmas is a favorite time for violence against Christians in India, as it intimidates the Christian community at large,” said Dr. John Dayal, member of the government’s National Integration Council. Dayal pointed out that India’s first mass attack on Christians took place in Gujarat’s Dangs district during Christmas in 1998, setting the stage for future attacks through the season. “Then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to see the damage , but instead of commiserating with the victims, he called for a national debate on conversions,” Dayal said. “That political philosophy has been behind the festive season attacks on the Christian community.”   9.  Pakistani Muslims Allegedly Poison Christian Employees to Death Two brothers die, third in critical condition, after complaining they were not paid.          By Jawad Mazhar GUJRANWALA, Pakistan, December 15 (Compass Direct News) – Muslim employers of three Christian sanitation workers at a banquet/wedding hall here allegedly poisoned the three workers yesterday, killing two of them; at press time the third was struggling for life in intensive care. The father of the three workers, Yousaf Masih, said the owner of the hall, along with the manager, poisoned his sons because they were Christians who had dared to ask for pay owed to them. Imran Masih, 29, and Irfan Masih, 25, died at the Ferozewala Pul Banquet & Marriage Hall after being forced to drink something that was heavily poisoned, Yousaf Masih said. The third worker, 23-year-old Aakash Masih, was in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of Civil Hospital Gujranwala, in Punjab Province. “It appears from the position they were in that they were forced to consume some kind of poisoned drink, or a drug, and they were left there to die,” Yousaf Masih said. “The administration of the banquet and wedding hall did not call a hospital or take them to a hospital –instead they called us after the death of two of our loved ones.” The Peoples Colony police station has registered a murder and deception case against Imtiyas Warriach, owner of the Ferozewala Pul Banquet & Marriage Hall, and hall manager Abid Virk. At press time they remained at large.