Steel On Steel Persecution Update
November 24, 2010
Edited by: Donald McElvaney, www.missionbarnabas.org
Top Stories:
1. Pakistani Mother Condemned for ‘Blasphemy’ Stunned, Shattered
2. Burmese Officials Order Closure of Church in Chin State
3. Islamists in Pakistan Kill ‘Blasphemy’ Accused, Four Others
4. Islamic Groups Aim to Shut Down Church in Indonesia
5. Anti-Christian Sentiment in Egypt Heats Up
6. Two Church Buildings Torn Down in Zanzibar, Tanzania
7. Pakistani Christian Convicted of ‘Blasphemy’ Stoned in Prison
1. Pakistani Mother Condemned for ‘Blasphemy’ Stunned, Shattered
First woman sentenced to die for speaking ill of Muhammad says she never got to defend herself.
By Asher John
SHEIKHUPURA, Pakistan, November 17 (Compass Direct News) – The first woman to be sentenced t o die in Pakistan for allegedly blaspheming Islam’s prophet is shaken and aghast that she was never asked for a statement in her defense. In an interview with Compass at Sheikhupura District Jail, Asia Noreen said through tears and a shaking voice that she was heart-broken and shattered. The mother of two children and step-mother to three others turned to Compass and asked a question that no one has been able to answer for her. “How can an innocent person be accused, have a case in court after a false FIR , and then be given the death sentence, without even once taking into consideration what he or she has to say?” Arrested on June 19, 2009, Asia (alternatively spelled Aaysa) Noreen was accused of blaspheming Muhammad and defaming Islam. A judge under pressure from area Islamists convicted her under Pakistan’s widely condemned blasphemy statutes on Nov. 8. “I don’t know why – when I walked into court that day , I just knew,” she said. “And when the judge announced my death sentence, I broke down crying and screaming. In the entire year that I have spent in this jail, I have not been asked even once for my statement in court. Not by the lawyers and not by the judge. After this, I have lost hope in any kind of justice being given to me.” Noreen said the triggering incident resulted from a “planned conspiracy” to “teach her a lesson” because villagers in Ittanwali, near Nankana Sahib about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Lahore, disliked her and her family. “They have been saying that I confessed to my crime, but the fact is that I said I was sorry for any word that I may have said during the argument that may have hurt their feelings,” she said. “What my village people have accused me of is a complete lie.”
2. Burmese Officials Order Closure of Church in Chin State
Government punishes pastor for refusing to wear campaign T-shirt, amid other election abuses.
By Sarah Page
DUBLIN, November 18 (Compass Direct News) – Officials from Mergui Region (or Division), Burma, ordered a Baptist church to cease holding worship services after the pastor refused to wear an election campaign T-shirt supporting the military government’s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The election commission summoned 47-year-old Pastor Mang Tling of Dawdin village, Gangaw township, Mergui division on Nov. 9, two days after the election and ordered him to stop holding services and discontinue the church nursery program, the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) reported. Village headman U Than Chaung had given the pastor a campaign T-shirt to wear in support of the USDP, and when he refused to wear it, the headman filed a report with local authorities accusing him of persuading Christian voters to vote in favor of an opposing party, the National Unity Party (NUP). Officials interrogated Mang Tling in Gangaw until Sunday (Nov. 14), when he was allowed to return home. The USDP won the election amid widespread evidence of “advance” voting and other forms of voter manipulation throughout Burma. The Chin National Party defeated the USDP in three electorates in Chin state despite reports of widespread voting anomalies, some of which were outlined by CHRO. In Tedim township northern Chin state, for example, USDP agent Go Lun Mang went to the home of a local resident at 5 p.m. the day before the election and told the family that he had already voted on their behalf in favor of the USDP. Meantime, the release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in Burma on Saturday (Nov. 13) has sparked cautious optimism about human rights among Christians and the country’s ethnic minorities even as the junta does battle with armed resistance groups.
3. Islamists in Pakistan Kill ‘Blasphemy’ Accused, Four Others
Christian accused of desecrating Quran shot; 5-year-old among those slain in separate attack.
By John Little
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, November 19 (Compass Direct News) – Police suspect two Muslim extremists shot a Christian to death yesterday in Punjab Province shortly after the victim was granted bail in a “blasphemy” case – and less than a week after Islamist militants killed four members of a Christian family for their faith. In Godhpur village in Narowal district, 111 kilometers (69 miles) northeast of Lahore, 22-year-old Latif Masih died after two men with pistols shot him to death near his home. Inspector Rafique Ahmed said that Masih’s murder was likely linked to the case against him for allegedly desecrating the Quran. Masih was released on bail on Nov. 3 after his accuser, Ijaz Ahmed, said he was not sure Masih was guilty, police said. Inspector Ibrahaim Shah told Compass that Ahmed demanded that he help him take over Masih’s shop. When Shah arrested Masih, “Ahmed kept saying that he will ensure that no Christian can live or buy a shop in Godhpur village,” Shah said. In Mehmoodabad near Multan in southern Punjab Province, police believe six militants belonging to the Islamist terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba on Nov. 12 killed four Christian family members, including a 5-year-old boy. Dead on the scene were two grown children of 42-year-old schoolteacher Shahista Iqbal Gill – 23-year-old Atif Iqbal Gill and 21-year-old Tehreem Iqbal Gill – as well as her sister-in-law, identified only as Gulshan, 25. Another of Shahista Iqbal Gill’s children, 5-year-old Imran Iqbal Gill, later succumbed to his wounds in the hospital. A fourth child, Arsalan Iqbal Gill, 18, was in serious condition. Both he and his 5-year-old brother bore strangulation marks on their necks. Multan District Coordination Officer Taimoor Shahid Jadoon instructed Multan police to register a First Information Report against six as yet unnamed members of Lashkar-e-Taiba. “The numbers taken from Shahista’s phone records belong to the members of Lashkar-e-Taiba,” he said. “They had been threatening Shahista and her family.”
4. Islamic Groups Aim to Shut Down Church in Indonesia
Muslims protest West Java congregation as it worships.
By Samuel Rionaldo
JAKARTA, Indonesia, November 19 (Compass Direct News) – More than 50 people from Islamic groups demonstrated against a church in West Java on Nov. 7, chanting for it to stop worshipping during its Sunday service, according to Muslim online news site Arrahmah.com. The King of Glory church of the Christian Congregation of Indonesia denomination (Jemat Kristen Indonesia or JKI) was worshipping in the Graha Mulia (Planet of Glory) Multi-purpose Building in Karasak village, Astanaanyar district of Bandung City, when the protestors gathered. Chanting “Allahu akbar ,” the crowd claimed the building was not approved for worship purposes, according to another Islamic Web site, Hidayatullah.com. Protesting members of the Karasak Muslim Citizens Communication Forum, the Islamic Congregation Front and West Java Islamic Reformation Movement said the church did not have permission from area residents, although church leaders said an area official had given permission since 2005. Agus Nugroho, a leader of the JKI church and an administrator of the Graha Mulia building, told Compass that the church had permission from the local area official known as a ward captain. The church submitted an application for a permit at a higher governmental level in 2005, he said. Church permit applications are often stalled in Indonesian government offices, opening the way for Muslim groups to accuse them of worshipping without official permission.
5. Anti-Christian Sentiment in Egypt Heats Up
Terrorist threat in Iraq emerges at importune moment for Copts.
By Wayne King
CAIRO, Egypt, November 22 (Compass Direct News) – As bombings continue against Christians in Iraq, Christians in Egypt have gathered to pray and plan for their own safety. When a group of Islamic extremists on Oct. 31 burst into Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad during evening mass and began spraying the sanctuary with gunfire, the militant organization that took responsibility said Christians in Egypt also would be targeted if its demands were not met. The threats against Christians caused a flurry of activity at churches in Egypt, and security has increased throughout the country. The security concerns came against a backdrop of heightened tensions between the Muslim majority and the Coptic Christian minority over the past few months, with weeks of protests against Christians. Tensions started after the wife of a Coptic Orthodox Priest, Camilia Zakher, disappeared in July. According to government sources and published media reports, Zakher left her home after a heated argument with her husband. But Coptic protestors, who started gathering to protest at churches after Zakher disappeared, claimed she had been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam. The month after the Zakher incident, Egyptian media reported in error that Egypt’s State Security Intelligence had seized a ship from Israel laden with explosives headed for the son of an official of the Coptic Orthodox church, and rumors began that Copts were stockpiling weapons in the basements of their churches with plans to overthrow the Muslim majority. The Front of Religious Scholars has since called for a complete boycott of Christians in Egypt. The group called Christians “immoral,” labeled them “terrorists” and said Muslims should not patronize their businesses or even say “hello” to them.
6. Two Church Buildings Torn Down in Zanzibar, Tanzania
Islamic extremists suspected on island where fears are growing among Christians.
By Simba Tian
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, November 25 (Compass Direct News) – Radical Islamists are suspected in the demolition of two church buildings on Tanzania’s semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar on Sunday (Nov. 21), as members of the congregations have since received death threats from Muslims. The church buildings belonging to the Tanzania Assemblies of God (TAG) and the Evangelical Assemblies of God Zanzibar (EAGZ) in Masingini village, five kilometers (nearly three miles) from the center of Zanzibar city, were torn down at about 8 p.m., said Bishop Fabian Obeid of EAGZ. One Christian who requested anonymity said, “One Muslim was heard saying, ‘We have cleansed our area by destroying the two churches, and now we are on our mission to kill individual members of these two churches – we shall not allow the church to be built again.’” EAGT Pastor Michael Maganga and TAG Pastor Dickson Kaganga said they were fearful about the future of the church in Masingini. Pastors in Zanzibar have scheduled a meeting on Saturday (Nov. 27) to discuss how to cope with the destruction of the two buildings, said the chairman of the Pastors Fellowship in Zanzibar, Bishop Leonard Masasa of EAGT church. Muslim extremists in Zanzibar, in concert with local government officials, have long limited the ability of Christians to obtain land for erecting worship buildings. In some cases they have destroyed existing buildings and put up mosques in their place.
7. Pakistani Christian Convicted of ‘Blasphemy’ Stoned in Prison
Assault nearly kills 19-year-old incarcerated on false charge.
By John Little
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, November 25 (Compass Direct News) – Muslim inmates at a prison in northwest Punjab Province on Oct. 29 stoned a Christian wrongly convicted of “blasphemy” nearly to death, according to his father. Imran Masih, a 19-year-old member of the Protestant Church of Pakistan, is still recovering in District Hospital Hazro, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit the day of the assault. He was working at a barbershop in Hazro, near Attock, inJuly 2009 when the owner, Nadeem Haider, accused him of stealing 5,000 rupees (US$60). Station house Officer Junaid Mirza of Hazro told prison investigators and Compass that Haider paid Inspector Jamal Khan of Madina Town police station in Hazro to torture Masih. Haider and Khan then increased the charge to blaspheming Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and Justice Risalat Khawaja of Attock Session Court sentenced Masih to 10 years of prison on Aug. 3. On Oct. 29 Masih was sitting outside his barrack after Friday prayers when a group of inmates began stoning him with rocks from prison fields, yelling that he was a blasphemer and must be killed. Haider last month told Masih’s father, Basharat Masih, that he would ensure that his son did not get out of prison alive. The elder Masih said he therefore suspects that Haider and Khan arranged the stoning.
For more information concerning the persecution of Christians around the world, please contact:
Compass Direct at www.compassdirect.org
Frontline Fellowship at www.frontlinefellowship.net
Christian Freedom International at www.christianfreedom.org
Jihad Watch at www.jihadwatch.org
Open Doors at www.opendoorsusa.org
The Voice of the Martyrs at www.persecution.com
Gospel for Asia at www.gfa.org
Voice of the Copts at www.voiceofthecopts.org
Barnabus Aid at www.barnabasfund.org
Christian Solidarity International at www.csi-int.org
Smyrna Ministries International at www.smyrnaministries.org
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