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Oppression of Christians World Wide.

New 'religious freedom' office raises questions CBC.ca State Department officials also expressed considerable skepticism that the office was nothing more than a sop to the Christian right and was designed to promoteChristianity worldwide. This summer, Baird met with Suzan Johnson Cook, ... See all stories on this topic » CBC.ca

Teach Us about Persecution! SANTA ANA, CA (ANS) -- A new Barna Research Group report indicates that 74 percent ofChristians are interested in hearing about the worldwide persecution ... www.assistnews.net/Stories/2011/s11100008.htm Steel On Steel Persecution Update October 4, 2011 Edited by: Donald McElvaney, www.missionbarnabas.org Top Story: Compass Direct News Summaries - September 2011 Released October 3, 2011 (Copyright 2011 Compass Direct News) BHUTAN CHRISTIANS SEEK TO DISPEL REGIME’S MISTRUST September 9 (Compass Direct News) – Christians in this Buddhist nation have been awaiting a decision on whether they will receive official recognition, but it appears they will first see a measure against fraudulent conversion that the prime minister acknowledges is essentially designed to deter evangelism. Prime Minister Jigmi Yoser Thinley told Compass the proposed clause in the penal code was “essentially… to deter conversion,” saying there was no reason why Christians should seek to induce others to join their faith. “There are a few Christians and followers of other faiths as well , and there is no difficulty with that,” Thinley said. “That is good… we promote diversity of cultures. But then, when there are those who try to convert others without understanding the values, the principles, and the essence of the other religion, we have here what constitutes the worst form of discrimination.” In an exclusive interview in his office, Thinley said Christians seek to convert other Bhutanese citizens with the power of money and an attitude of spiritual superiority, accusations that Christian leaders in the country denied. Church leaders said they were distressed with the government’s notion of Christians and Christianity, which they said was far from true. “No evidence of such allegations has come to our knowledge, but still we will never try to defend anyone who indulges in unethical conversions,” said a Christian leader from Thimphu on condition of anonymity. Bhutan Minister for Home and Culture Minjur Dorji told Compass that his department has yet to decide whether Christians could be recognized officially. “There is no legal provision for that,” he said. “It’s not in the constitution, and not in the Religious Organizations Act.” CHINA CHRISTIANS SUFFER FOR SUPPORTING SHOUWANG CHURCH September 1 (Compass Direct News) – Christians from various house churches are paying a price for supporting Beijing’s unregistered Shouwang church. When five members of a house church in Fangshan, Hebei township tried to worship publicly with the Shouwang church last Sunday (Aug. 28), police sent them back to their local police station two hours away, according to a report posted Tuesday (Aug. 30) on Shouwang’s Facebook page. Officials then urged them to sign documents repenting of their decision to support the Shouwang church, which they refused to do. Among worshippers police detained at Shouwang’s public worship on Aug. 14 was Pastor Wang Shuanyan of Beijing’s Xinshu house church, one of 17 house church pastors who submitted a petition to the National People’s Congress calling for a complete overhaul of China’s religious policy. Police have stationed themselves outside Xinshu church every Sunday since Wang signed the petition in May, sometimes entering the meeting room and checking identity cards. Xinshu church members have also received threats and pressure from their work units, according to the China Aid Association. Another signatory, pastor Shi Enhao of Suqian house church in Jiangsu Province, was sentenced in late July – without trial – to two years in a labor camp for “illegal meetings and illegal organizing of venues for religious meetings.” Zhang Mingxuan, president of the Chinese House Church Alliance, wrote a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao. According to Zhang, when Shi’s family hired a lawyer on his behalf, officials refused to grant access to Shi on grounds that state secrets were involved. “Isn’t this a joke of the century that a peasant Christian knows classified state secrets?” Zhang wrote. EGYPT September 30 (Compass Direct News) – A group of hard-line Muslims attacked a church building in Upper Egypt this afternoon, torching the structure and then looting and burning nearby Christian-owned homes and businesses. The 3,000-strong mob of hard-line and Salafi Muslims gutted the Mar Gerges Church in the Elmarenab village of Aswan, then demolished much of its remains, multiple witnesses at the scene said. The mob also razed four homes near the church and two businesses, all Christian-owned. Looting was also reported. The Mar Gerges burning is the third church in Egypt in seven months to be burned down by a mob. No casualties have yet been reported in today’s attack. The tension in Elmarenab started the last week of August, when Muslim extremists, many of them thought to be members of the Salafi movement, which patterns its belief and practices on the first three generations of Muslims, voiced anger over renovations taking place at the church and anything perceived as a Christian symbol that could be seen from the outside. To force the Copts to acquiesce to their demands, the Muslim extremists blockaded the entrance to the church and threatened Copts on the streets, in effect making them hostages in their own homes. INDIA COURT QUESTIONS STATE’S ‘ANTI-CONVERSION’ LAW September 15 (Compass Direct News) – The High Court of northern India’s Himachal Pradesh state on Monday (Sept. 12) questioned one of the many disputed provisions in the state’s “anti-conversion” law in a lawsuit filed by a Christian group. “One of the two judges immediately recognized that there should be no question of the district magistrate granting permission or conducting an inquiry into whether a person’s faith is genuine,” a representative of the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s Advocacy Department, the main petitioner, told Compass. The source quoted the judge, Justice Surjit Singh, as saying, “If I am dying and I want to change my religion, will I wait for some babu to tell me I can do it?” The mandatory provision in the “Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act of 2006” to advise authorities of one’s intended conversion 30 days before one converts was one of the many clauses cited as being “contrary to law, arbitrary and against the basic tenets of jurisprudence” by the petitioners. At the same time, both judges seemed concerned about alleged inducements to convert, “and the biggest hurdle is to overcome this prejudice,” the source added. The court scheduled the next hearing for Sept. 26, requesting the state’s head attorney to appear before it. “We expect the court to hear both sides,” the source said. “However, a final ruling in the matter cannot be expected immediately.” INDONESIA SUICIDE BOMBER OF CHURCH IDENTIFIED September 27 (Compass Direct News) – Indonesian police today identified the suicide bomber who detonated eight pipe bombs outside a church building in Solo, Central Java on Sunday (Sept. 25). The bomber, Ahmad Yosepa Hayat, killed himself and wounded at least 20 church members. “The church never expected anything like this to happen; this is indeed the first in church history in Indonesia,” a local source who requested anonymity told Compass. Police had been searching for Pino Damayanto, who used the alias of Ahmad Yosepa Hayat, in connection with a previous suicide bombing at a Cirebon, West Java police station mosque in April, local news agency Antara reported. Police on Monday morning (Sept. 26) found a similar bomb outside the Maranatha Church in Ambon city, on the island of Ambon. A total of 600 to 700 people attended the two services at Bethel Full Gospel Church (GBIS, or Gereja Bethel Injil Sepenuh) in Solo last Sunday, the same local source told Compass. “The bomber went into the church just as everyone was singing the last song,” the source said. “As soon as the service was over and people started to move, he blew himself up by the glass doors leading out of the sanctuary. Most of the victims are doing well now, except for 18-year-old Deviana, who is still in the ICU ward with nails and other objects implanted in her head.” She has had surgery and is responding well, he said. “The church members are not afraid, and they believe God was there to protect them,” the source explained. “In fact, on the day of the bombing, the guest preacher spoke about the ever-present help of God and quoted from the story of Stephen the martyr. Church members say the fact that nobody died, other than the bomber, is proof of God’s care for them.” IRAN AUTHORITIES FREE CHRISTIAN AFTER YEAR IN PRISON September 1 (Compass Direct News) – Iranian authorities on Monday (Aug. 29) released a Christian after 359 days of detainment on charges of spreading Christianity among Farsi-speaking Iranians and having ties with foreign Christian organizations, according to Mohabat News. Authorities arrested Vahik Abrahamian, 45, a dual Iranian and Dutch citizen who belongs to Iran’s Armenian community, and his wife on Sept. 4, 2010 in Hamadan, 337 kilometers (210 miles) west of Tehran, along with another Iranian Christian couple, Arash Kermanjani and Arezou Teimouri. On April 30 authorities released Abrahamian’s wife, Sonia, along with Kermanjani and Teimouri, and Abrahamian was ultimately held in the Hamadan general prison ward. The couple worked with drug addicts and other marginalized Iranians, according to Farsi Christian News Network. Abrahamian had become a Christian in the Netherlands, where he visited an Iranian church. At that time he found freedom from his own drug addiction, and in 2006 he returned to Iran to work with drug users. Authorities were incensed that Abrahamian worked with marginalized Farsi-speaking Muslims, and even more that he had connections with foreign Christians, said an Iranian Christian pastor in the region on the condition of anonymity. “The reason he was in prison for so long wasn’t about his , but because he was connected with foreign Christians,” the source said. IRAN CHRISTIAN PAYS FOR FAITH WITH 105 DAYS IN EVIN PRISON September 6 (Compass Direct News) – It was early in the morning the day after Christmas. It was cold. Mehdi Forootan sat in the back seat of an undercover police car in front of his house in Tehran, Iran. An officer pointed a camcorder at him. “Do you know why you were arrested?” the officer asked him. “No,” Forootan said. The officer turned off the camera and looked Forootan in the eyes. “I can beat you until blood is coming out of your mouth and every part of you. The next time I turn on the camera, you tell me why we are taking you,” the officer said and turned the camera back on. Forootan spoke of his faith in Christ, and he spent the next 105 days in Iran’s harshest prison. On Dec. 26, 2010, authorities had arrested Forootan in a wave of persecution against Iran’s underground church; more than three months later, he was one of a few who had not been released. During one interrogation, an officer turned on a camcorder and pointed it toward him, demanding that Forootan tell him about his “crime.” Forootan began to tell him how he had struggled with substance abuse as a teenager, “and how when I was in university I found Jesus and He saved me, and I have been free ever since. But he became angry and turned off the camera. He said: ‘I asked you to tell about your crime, not evangelize us.’” After months of trying to get him to write statements confessing a crime, authorities inexplicably released him. Forootan said his first month out of prison was one of the worst of his life. He couldn’t speak to anyone of his prison experience for fear that authorities were watching and would re-arrest him. His parents had given the deed of their house to authorities as bail. He and his fiancée decided it was best for him to leave Iran and go to Turkey as a refugee. For Forootan, this meant an illegal escape through the mountains, because authorities had confiscated his passport. IRAN PASTOR STANDS FIRM IN FAITH, FACES EXECUTION September 28 (Compass Direct News) – Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani refused to recant his Christian faith today at the fourth and final court hearing in Iran to appeal his death sentence for apostasy (leaving Islam). Applying sharia (Islamic law), the court in Rasht gave Nadarkhani, 35, a final chance to recant Christianity and return to Islam in order for his life to be spared. Nadarkhani refused. At an appeal hearing in June, the Supreme Court of Iran upheld Nadarkhani’s sentence but asked the court in Rasht to determine if he was a practicing Muslim before his conversion. The court declared that although Nadarkhani was not a practicing Muslim before his conversion, he was still guilty of apostasy due to his Muslim ancestry, a source close to Nadarkhani’s family told Compass. A defense lawyer told Nadarkhani’s family and friends there is a way to take the case back to the Supreme Court or extend Nadarkhani’s prison sentence, but the source said the directives of the Supreme Court were clear and he didn’t think there was much hope. It is critical for foreign governments to negotiate and engage in diplomacy with Iranian authorities about Nadarkhani’s case, the source said, adding that advocates in the international community fear that authorities may execute Nadarkhani as early as midnight tonight or any time in the coming week. The court said a verdict on Nadarkhani would be issued within the next week. “They probably won’t kill him today, but they can do it whenever they want,” the source said. “Sometimes in Iran they call the family and deliver the body with the verdict.” ISRAEL MESSIANIC JEWS SINGLED OUT IN TOWN September 15 (Compass Direct News) – Messianic Jews in a suburb west of Jerusalem continue to be harassed for following their faith, this time by someone anonymously placing flyers in public areas singling out members of Messianic congregations. The flyers began appearing two weeks ago in the town of Mevasseret Zion. Asher Intrater, leader of the Ahavat Yeshua Congregation, said he thinks the flyers are “an effort to drive us out of the neighborhood.” The flyers posted the addresses and phone numbers of the Messianic Jews, and in some cases included their photographs. This is the second time in three months that a group has singled out Messianic Jews in Mevasseret Zion for ridicule. On June 26, members of Yad L’Achim, an ultra-Orthodox, anti-Christian group, protested outside the home of Serge and Naama Kogen, a messianic couple. It is unclear who actually posted the flyers, and Intrater declined to speculate. But according to a classified communiqué issued by the U.S. State Department in May 2008 and leaked on Aug. 30 by Internet activist group Wikileaks, “‘Outing’ Messianic Jews and Evangelical Christians through the publication of names, photos and addresses alongside flyers with hysterical allegations about ‘soul stealing’ and ‘brainwashing’ is a favorite tactic of Yad L’Achim branches throughout the country.” LAOS OFFICIALS SEIZE CHURCH BUILDING, CONVERT IT INTO SCHOOL September 26 (Compass Direct News) – Authorities in Laos forcibly confiscated a church building in Savannakhet Province on Sept. 14 due to lack of official permission; the church had not applied for a building permit as the country routinely denies such applications, sources said. Christians in Laos often do not risk applying for a building permit as it draws unwanted attention and can preempt any chance of building a simple structure, the sources said; authorities generally ignore a lack of building permit if religious groups cause no problems. The confiscation of the Dongpaiwan village church building by Saybuli district officials, police and military personnel came shortly after officials in Nonsawang village, also in Savannakhet, ordered 10 Christians evicted from Nonsawang in July to leave the temporary shelters they had built on their rice paddies, Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF) reported today. Nonsawang village chief Khamsing, identified only by a single name, told the Christians they could only return to their homes or rice paddies if they gave up their faith, according to a spokesman for HRWLRF. The Christians are still refusing to give up their faith but have not yet been evicted from the rice paddies, HRWLRF confirmed today. MEXICO CHRISTIANS FORCED FROM VILLAGE September 16 (Compass Direct News) – About 70 Protestant Christians lived in the village of San Rafael Tlanalapan, Puebla state, until Monday (Sept. 12), when they faced a frightening ultimatum – leave immediately or be “crucified or lynched.” Traditionalist Catholics in the village, near the municipality of San Martín Texmelucan about 60 miles from Mexico City, reportedly threatened to burn down or otherwise destroy their homes. The Protestants left. The traditionalist Catholics, who practice a blend of indigenous and Catholic rituals, reportedly asserted that 20 years ago an assistant village president had vowed that no temple of any non-Catholic faith would ever be permitted in San Rafael Tlanalapan. On Sept. 7, the village assistant president, Antonio Garcia Ovalle, reportedly met with the Protestants. The evangelicals promised to leave, though the 200 traditionalist Catholics present sought to beat them and expel them right then. The evangelicals’ departure date was set for Monday (Sept. 12). In a newscast two days later on TV Azteca of Puebla, area traditionalist Catholic Irma Diaz Perez rejoiced, saying, “They will never return, because we have drawn up a document wherein they have no permission to come back now or ever.” NIGERIA MORE THAN 100 CHRISTIANS KILLED IN PLATEAU STATE September 22 (Compass Direct News) – A rash of attacks by armed Muslim extremists on villages in Nigeria’s Plateau state in the past month have left more than 100 Christians dead, including the elimination of entire families, sources said. In a guerilla-type “hit and run” attack on the Christian community of Vwang Kogot, Muslim attackers at about 8 p.m. on Sept. 9 killed 14 Christians, including a pregnant woman. Survivors of the attack told Compass that the assailants raided the village with the aid of men in military uniforms of the Nigerian Army. Gyang Badung survived the attack, but his wife, four children, mother, grandmother and a nephew did not, he told Compass. Vou Mallam, another survivor of the attack, was with her husband and children when the raiders broke into their house. She escaped death when she found a hiding place in one of the rooms. Her husband, only son and grandchildren were killed. She said she heard the assailants speaking the Fulani language. Ethnic Fulani are primarily Muslim nomads in Nigeria whom militant Muslims appear to be enlisting to attack Christian communities due to the Fulanis’ expert understanding of the terrain of rural communities, area Christians said. On Sept. 10, Muslim extremists stormed Vwang Fwil village at about 3 a.m. and killed 13 Christians. On Sept. 8, Muslim extremists attacked Tsohon Foron village, killing 10 Christians, all members of the family of Danjuma Gyang Tsok. Emmanuel Dachollom Loman, chairman of the Barkin Ladi Local Government Council, told Compass that he has repeatedly reported attacks to security agencies and the Nigerian government, but nothing has been done to protect his people. “This is becoming too much to bear,” he said. “The government should help us before Muslims come and wipe all of us out one day.” NIGERIA MUSLIM EXTREMISTS KILL CHRISTIANS IN TWO STATES September 27 (Compass Direct News) – Muslim extremists bent on ridding Nigeria’s volatile middle region of Christianity killed five Christians in Niger state on Thursday (Sept. 22) and three others the previous week in the north-central state of Kaduna, including a 13-year-old girl, sources said. Suspected militants from the Boko Haram Islamic sect in the Niger state town of Madala went to shops owned by Christians at a market at about 8 p.m., ordering them to recite verses from the Quran, eyewitnesses told Compass. If the Christian traders were unable to recite the verses, the gunmen shot and killed them, they said. Richard Adamu Oguche, a spokesman for the Niger State Police Command, told Compass the attack was linked to members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect who have recently bombed Christian sites. Killed in the Madala market attacks were Sunday Emmanuel, John Kalu, Uche Nguweze, and Oliver Ezemah. The identity of the fifth Christian was not immediately known as witnesses could not identify him. In Kaduna state, suspected Muslim extremists killed three Christians in a Sept. 17 midnight attack on a Christian community in Ungwan Rana Bitaro village, sources said. About 15 gunmen stormed three houses in the village, wounding eight as well. “Three houses were attacked by the attackers before they retreated into surrounding bushes,” a resident of the village told Compass by phone. “When the Muslims came, they brought out the members of these families and started shooting them and cutting some of them with machetes.” Killed were Monday Hassan, 55, his 13-year-old daughter Godiya, and his 35-year-old nephew, Istifanus Daniel. PAKISTAN CHRISTIAN NURSE BOLDLY OPTS TO REPORT VIDEOTAPED RAPE September 8 (Compass Direct News) – A Christian nurse here filed a police report on Saturday (Sept. 3) alleging she was raped by a Muslim colleague who filmed the act in an attempt to blackmail her into renouncing her faith and marrying him, she and hospital sources told Compass. Shaista Samuel, a 27-year-old nurse at the Services Institute of Medical Sciences, filed a First Information Report (FIR) at Shadman police station accusing Ali Adnan, an assistant accounts officer at the hospital, and an armed accomplice of abducting her at gunpoint from the government hospital on Aug. 21 and taking her to a house in Lahore where Adnan’s accomplice filmed the rape. Later Adnan began trying to blackmail her by phone, she said. “At first he demanded that I convert to Islam, and only then would he consider forgiving me for refusing his proposal,” she said. “My defiance angered Adnan to such an extent that one evening he turned up at my home and showed the film to my parents. He then told my shocked family that they had no other option but to hand me over to him.” Adnan left the house – and the family in deep anguish. “We had a very tough decision to make,” Samuel said. ‘We could have either conceded to his demand or be ready to face the shame and dishonor by reporting his crime, but we chose the latter. Adnan must be punished for ruining my life.” Compass tried to reach Adnan for comment, but he was unavailable as he had turned off his cell phone. PAKISTAN CHRISTIAN MOTHER OF FIVE ALLEGES RAPE September 21 (Compass Direct News) – A Christian mother of five was allegedly raped by two Muslim men last week, and area Islamists are threatening to harm her family if charges against the suspects are not dropped, the woman and her husband told Compass. On Thursday (Sept. 15), the 32-year-old woman said, she was returning home to Mustafabad, in Punjab Province’s Kasur district, when Muslims identified only as 23-year-old Bhallu and 27-year-old Shera, along with an unidentified accomplice, allegedly abducted her at gunpoint, took her to an abandoned house in the area and raped her. Muslim criminals in Pakistan, where the population is more than 95 percent Muslim according to Operation World, tend to assume they will not be prosecuted if their victims are Christians. Her husband, Mushtaq Masih, said that he was speechless after the mother of their three boys and two girls told him about the ordeal. He called police, who visited the crime scene and took the woman to the hospital for a medical examination that proved she had been gang-raped, he said. The family continues to receive threats to withdraw the case against the primary suspect, Bhallu, and policemen have offered the family money to drop the case, he said. Investigating Officer Muhammad Sharif dismissed the Christians’ accusations that police had sought money in exchange for dropping the case, and he refused to acknowledge that Muslims were threatening the woman’s family and needed police protection. Sharif said the investigation would accelerate after the primary suspect is arrested. PAKISTAN CHRISTIAN GIRL, FAMILY EXPELLED OVER MISSPELLING September 28 (Compass Direct News) – An eighth-grade student in Pakistan has been expelled from school and her family forced to relocate after the Christian girl misspelled an Urdu word, leading to accusations of “blasphemy,” sources said. In the garrison city of Abbottabad, 13-year-old Faryal Bhatti, a student at the Sir Syed Girls High School in Pakistan Ordnance Factories Colony Havelian, misspelled a word on an Urdu exam on Thursday (Sept. 22) while answering a question on a poem in praise of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, according to area Christians. The school administration and local Islamists declared that the error was serious enough to violate Pakistan’s widely condemned laws against blaspheming Muhammad and Islam. Conviction under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s blasphemy law for derogatory comments about Muhammad is punishable by death, though life imprisonment is also possible. When Faryal’s Urdu teacher saw the error, she summoned the girl, scolded her and beat her, area sources told Compass by telephone. The next day, male students at the school as well as some Muslim representatives staged a demonstration. The girl and her mother apologized, but in a move apparently designed to pacify Muslim cries for punishment, the school expelled her on Saturday (Sept. 24). A Christian lawyer in Havelian told Compass by phone that the military had acted swiftly to save the lives of Faryal and her mother. “The military swung into action soon after protests broke out calling for a blasphemy case against the teenager,” said the attorney on condition of anonymity. “They bundled the family in an ambulance and took them away before the situation could turn violent.” SOMALIA CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY KIDNAPPED, BEHEADED September 12 (Compass Direct News) – A kidnapped Christian convert from Islam was found decapitated on Sept. 2 on the outskirts of Hudur City in Bakool region, in southwestern Somalia. Juma Nuradin Kamil was forced into a car by three suspected Islamic extremists from the al Shabaab terrorist group on Aug. 21, area sources said. The kidnapping and subsequent manner of murder suggests that al Shabaab militants had been monitoring him, Christian leaders said. Muslim extremists from al Shabaab, a militant group with ties to al Qaeda, have vowed to rid Somalia of Christianity, and they control the area some 400 kilometers from Mogadishu. A Christian who saw Kamil’s body said it bore the marks of an al Shabaab killing, according to a leader in Somalia’s underground church who lives in another city. “It is usual for the al Shabaab to decapitate those they suspect to have embraced the Christian faith, or sympathizers of western ideals,” the leader said. “Our brother accepted the Christian faith three years ago and was determined in his faith in God. We greatly miss him.” A Christian said the area community initially did not bury the body out of fear of al Shabaab extremists seeing them associated with a newly discovered convert to Christianity. “The community feared burying him, and his body lay in the open for two days before unknown people buried him secretly,” the Christian said. Another Christian convert who lives in another city said Kamil had become a Christian three years ago. “This is very sad news for the community,” he said. SUDAN MUSLIM EXTREMISTS THREATEN TO TARGET CHRISTIANS September 13 (Compass Direct News) – Muslim extremists have sent text messages to at least 10 church leaders in Khartoum saying they are planning to target Christian leaders, buildings and institutions, Christian sources in Khartoum said. “We want this country to be purely an Islamic state, so we must kill the infidels and destroy their churches all over Sudan,” said one text message circulating in Khartoum last month. The text messages were sent in July and August. Church leaders here said they fear more persecution as they and their flocks become targets of local Islamists. In addition, Muslim extremists from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh arrive in Sudan every two weeks to undergo training in secret camps in Khartoum before they are sent to various parts of Sudan to preach Islam and demolish church buildings, according to a Christian source in Khartoum. On July 18 a group of Muslim extremists attacked the home of Anglican Church of Sudan Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail in an attempt to kill him and two other pastors, Luka Bulus and Thomas Youhana, who all happened to be out of the house at the time, sources said. No one was hurt, but the assailants left a threatening letter warning them of similar attacks. The letter left on the gate of the bishop’s house asserts that Sudan is an Islamic land, and that the authors secretly plan to carry out a series of attacks to destroy church buildings across “Sudan,” which denotes the north following the secession of South Sudan on July 9. Christian sources in Khartoum said they take the threats seriously. “These people are not joking – they can kill any Christian,” said a church leader who requested anonymity for security reasons. SUDAN CATHOLIC PRIEST IN WAR-TORN STATE REPEATEDLY DETAINED September 19 (Compass Direct News) – A Roman Catholic priest of Kadugli parish in Sudan’s embattled South Kordofan state is in hiding after being detained three times in the past three months. Authorities tortured the Rev. Abraham Lual on two of those occasions with accusations that as a Christian he opposes northern forces’ military campaign in the disputed region, he told Compass by phone. Detained at 10:20 a.m. on Sept. 6 and interrogated for five hours at the security unit’s head office in El-Obied, Lual told Compass that authorities are monitoring his movements and those of other church leaders on the assumption that they are supported by Western Christians opposed to Islam and the north’s military push for territory in South Kordofan. He was also detained for two days in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, on Aug. 28, and the torture he suffered left him with injuries to his left leg, he said. Lual’s church building had been gutted by fire in the fighting, and during the Aug. 28 interrogation authorities threatened to kill him if he returned to visit the burned structure in the war-torn town, he said. Armed conflict in Kadugli broke out between southern and northern militaries on June 6 after northern forces seized Abyei in May. Lual said he went to Kadugli to see the remnants of the church buildings that were destroyed three months ago. “Most of the congregation members have been displaced, and some of them were even shot dead,” he told Compass by phone. “They are now like sheep without a shepherd.” SUDAN KILLINGS IN S. KORDOFAN CAST SHADOW OVER CHRISTIANS September 29 (Compass Direct News) – Failure by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied Islamic militia to distinguish between combatants and civilians in territorial battles in South Kordofan state is due in part to a desire to rid the area of Christianity, local Christians say. A Christian in the Leri East area of Kadugli who escaped SAF Intelligence agents 18 days after his June 20 arrest from his home said he saw six other Christian detainees taken away, one by one, to be executed over the course of two weeks. “They were insulting us, saying that this land is an Islamic land and that we were not allowed to be in this land,” he told Compass. “I saw them take my fellow Christians brothers and shoot them in the forest near the place where we were detained.” While the SAF and its paramilitary allies have targeted members and supporters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement forces, the Christian, who requested anonymity as he is still in hiding, said he was detained simply because he was a Christian. A convert from Islam 10 years ago, he said he was scheduled to be executed the day he escaped. As do other Christians in the north since South Sudan split from Sudan on July 9, he believes the Islamic government is targeting Christians in an attempt to clear Christianity from South Kordofan – part of a strategy to turn the north into a purely Islamic state. TANZANIA CHRISTIANS LIVE IN CLOUD OF FEAR IN ZANZIBAR September 5 (Compass Direct News) – On Tanzania’s semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, Christians live in a climate of fear. It’s a place where a young man flees the island to escape death threats from his Muslim family, and a Christian who accidentally burned pages of the Quran opts for jail by entering a guilty plea rather than face certain death from a furious mob. Yusuf Abdalla, 23, fled to Moshi, mainland Tanzania, after a beating from family members left him with injuries to his head, hand and torso, as well as a serious mouth wound and substantial loss of blood, said an area pastor who requested anonymity. In Kiembesamaki, near Zanzibar city’s airport, area pastors said 28-year-old Ramadhan Hunda Tuma earlier this year entered a plea of guilty to charges that he burned the Quran rather than face an enraged mob calling for his death. More than 50 Muslims had packed into the courtroom to hear the judge’s Feb. 21 ruling on Tuma, whose landlady had ordered him to burn his trash after evicting him for his conversion to Christianity; he was not aware that among the trash was a small copy of the Quran used by beginning students in madrassas (Islamic schools), area pastors said. “Outside the courtroom, there was a mob baying for his blood in case he was set free,” said Pastor Leonard Massasa of the Evangelical Assemblies of God-Tanzania. Tuma, member of a church of another denomination in Zanzibar city, accidentally burned part of the Quran. “Due to the conditions prevailing then, Tuma pleaded guilty because he feared for his life,” said another pastor, who requested anonymity. “He chose to go to jail rather than to be released only to be killed.” INDIA BRIEFS: RECENT INCIDENTS OF PERSECUTION September 19 (Compass Direct News) – On Aug. 27 in Jashpur, police arrested eight Christians after Hindu extremists filed a police complaint against them of forceful conversion. A source reported that Nevanti Bhagat, a widow, invited pastor Jaikant Badiak from Jhardkhand and other local pastors and Christians to her house for supper and a prayer meeting. At about 9 p.m., when the Christians were about to leave, the extremists suddenly stormed the house, along with media representatives, and forcibly took Pastor Badiak and seven Christians to the police station. Officers registered a case against the Christians based on the extremists’ complaint for criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and forcible conversion. Of the Christians, six men went to Jashpur jail, and two women to Raigarh jail. The men were released on bail on Aug. 30, and the two women the next day. Two local dailies published stories on the incident. Karnataka – Police on Aug. 21 arrested a pastor after Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal beat him in Mudhol, Bagalkot. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that pastor Sangappa Hosamani Shadrak was conducting a prayer meeting when about 20 Bajrang Dal (Youth Wing of the World Hindu Council) stormed the gathering and beat the pastor and desecrated the bread and wine used for Holy Communion. The extremists punched the pastor on his face several times – resulting in the loss of his front teeth – dragged him out to the street, tied him to a tree and called police. Officers from Lokapura, including one identified only as Inspector Choudhary, arrived and took Pastor Shadrak and other Christians to the police station for questioning. The pastor was charged with injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class under various parts of Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code. The pastor was sent to Jamkotai jail and was released on bail the next day after area Christian leaders intervened, reported the GCIC. Andhra Pradesh – On Aug. 16 in Amistapur, Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh attacked pastor Vandala John and accused him of forceful conversion. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that at about 9 a.m. the extremists vandalized a Christian hostel for girls and accused the warden, identified only as Pastor Sudhakar, of trying to convert the residents to Christianity. The extremists destroyed all Christian literature, according to the AICC. As Pastor John arrived at the hostel premises to help the Christians, the extremists beat him up and accused him of forceful conversion. Karnataka – Hindu extremists attacked church members in Narshipura, Hassan on Aug. 15 at a national Independence Day celebration and broke the arm of one of the Christians. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that the extremists threatened to murder a church leader identified only as Pastor Annaya and other church members for their faith in Christ. The AICC reported the pastor as saying, “This is just the beginning of a series of violence against our church,” as the Christians had been threatened by anti-Christian elements for more than a week. Pastor Annaya said he fears for his life and those of other Christians as the extremists have repeatedly threatened to kill them. A police complaint has been filed against the attackers. Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists on Aug. 14 attacked a prayer meeting and injured three Christian converts in Basavanagudi, Narasipura, Arasikere, Hassan district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the mob, led by area Hindu extremists leaders identified only as Venkatesh and Annappa, attacked the Christians with clubs and sticks after spreading false rumors that they were involved in forceful conversions. Christians identified only as Raju, Chandru and Venkatamma were injured, with Raju receiving hospital treatment for a serious hand wound. Both parties filed police complaints at Halebeedu police station. In response to the complaints, area police Inspector B. K. Manjaiah, accompanied by the local block development officer on a visit to the site, and officials held a peace committee meeting to try to resolve the differences. The GCIC also reported that officials assured Christians that expenses incurred for the treatment of Raju and others would be reimbursed, and that they may also continue with their prayers inside their own houses. Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal on Aug. 12 forced 150 Dalit Christians to “reconvert” to Hinduism in Perampeta, West Godavari district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the Christians were taken in the early morning to Ramalayam Temple in Perampeta village and were forced to recite mantras. After the intervention of GCIC, the area deputy inspector general promised to send police officers to investigate. At press time the area Christians were living in fear, as one who was distributing Bibles in Jangareddygudem was later beaten and harassed, reported the GCIC. Andhra Pradesh – A pastor was severely beaten and pushed off a running train on Aug. 10 by a group of Hindus on a pilgrimage in Adilabad district after he tried to share his faith with them. Returning from Warrangal after visiting a student in a seminary, Pastor Swamidas Jula boarded a train in Kazipet at around 1:30 pm to return to Manchiyal, the All India Christian Council (AICC) reported. On seeing some people returning from a Hindu pilgrimage, he began distributing some tracts and later began to proclaim Christ to them. Taunting him, a group of pilgrims beat the pastor and prevented him from getting off the train at his designated stop, according to the AICC. The extremists continued to verbally and physically abuse the pastor, robbed him of 3,000 rupees (US$60) and his cell phone, and then pushed him off the train. The pastor was admitted to a hospital for five days for treatment of fractures on both his arms, injuries to his head and back and the loss of a tooth, AICC reported. He identified the group as speaking in the Oriya language, and area Christian leaders assisted him in filing a case against the assailants. September 30 (Compass Direct News) – Police charged eight Christians with “promoting enmity” under Section 153 (A) of the Indian Penal Court after Hindu extremist Adepu Venugopal filed a complaint against them of forceful conversion on Sept. 23 in Karimnagar district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the Christians of Brethren Church in Kerala came to proclaim Christ in some villages after obtaining permission from the Karimnagar superintendent of police. While they were preaching in Donoor and Dharmapuri villages, the Hindu extremist mob suddenly surrounded them and then filed the complaint of forceful conversion, GCIC reported. The extremists took the Christians to the police station, and the Christians were charged with “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion,” according to GCIC. The Christians were sent to jail; area Christian leaders were taking steps to obtain bail for them. Andhra Pradesh – On Sept. 21 in Girmapura, Hindu extremists accused a Christian identified only as Pastor Steven of forceful conversion and verbally abused him for his faith. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that the extremists, led by one identified only as Mallareddy, forcefully entered the prayer meeting at the house of a woman identified only as Padma and verbally abused the pastor for his faith. The woman defended the pastor, saying that it was her right to choose to worship God. Several of the Christians who met for prayer then went to the village head, Raghupati Reddy, to file a complaint. He refused to help the Christians, however, as his term was to end four days later. AICC reported that he preferred to stay clear of any controversies and hence did not want to get involved, though he did blame the Christians for disrupting peace in the village. Chhattisgarh – In Khandari Kona, Shankargarh, Surguya, Hindu extremists led by Ambuj Yadav on Sept. 18 attacked pastor Vishwanath Tirkey and another church member as they were returning home from a prayer meeting. Pastor Mukti Lakra told Compass that at about 6 p.m. the Hindu extremists stopped and suddenly attacked the two Christians, asking them why they dared come back after the extremists had beaten them and ordered them not to visit the area again. The extremists called police, but officers released the Christians without charges after questioning. Police summoned Pastor Tirkey and 20 church members, however, for questioning the next day. “The police in charge told us not to conduct worship meetings during daytime, and he also falsely accused us of going around converting people,” Pastor Tirkey told Compass. No police report, however, was filed by either party. Tamil Nadu – Police warned pastor S. Arputharaj of Jesus Comfort Assembly not to conduct further worship meetings after a doctor with the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh filed a complaint against him in Erode, Appakudal on Sept. 18. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that a doctor identified only as Varatharajan, who runs a clinic near the pastor’s church, and a local official identified only as Thasildar, convinced police to take action against the pastor. The sub-inspector of police asked the pastor to sign a letter stating that he would no longer conduct worship services in the church building. After the intervention of representatives of the AICC and the area pastors’ association, the pastor was allowed to lead the usual Sunday worship services under police protection, Moses Vattipalli of AICC told Compass. Karnataka – On Sept.18 in Mallikoppa, Chickmagalur, suspected Hindu extremists set fire to a pastor’s motorbike and broke the windows and doors of his church building. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the Hindu extremists attacked Immanuel Church while pastor C.S. Varghese was away from his home with his family. A small orphanage is located near the church, and children and those minding them came out after hearing the noise; they saw the fire and woke up villagers, who put out the blaze, according to GCIC. The assailants escaped. The villagers also informed the N.R. Pura police station about the incident, and an investigation was continuing at press time. Karnataka – In Athani, Belgaum, Hindu extremists on Sept. 16 stopped a baptism service led by pastor Santosh V. Naganoor, manhandled him and accused him of forceful conversion. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Pastor Naganoor, of House of Praise Church, was just about to begin the baptism of two women identified only as Muthavva and Rani in a canal when the Hindu extremists intruded. The extremists pushed the pastor and hurled verbal abuse at him as they accused him of forceful conversion, and then called police, according to the GCIC. Officers took Pastor Naganoor, guest speaker P.C. Joseph and six church members to the Khagaveri police station. After area Christian leaders’ intervention, the Christians were released without charges. Karnataka – Police on Sept. 16 arrested Pastor Daniel Raghu after Hindu extremists accused him of forceful conversion in Arakalgud, Hassan district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Pastor Raghu, of New India Church, was conducting a prayer meeting in a Christian home when the extremists surrounded the house shouting anti-Christian slogans. The police arrived, questioned the pastor and later charged him with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, according to the GCIC. The pastor appeared before a judge and was sent to Sakleshpur Sub-jail. After area Christian leaders’ intervention, he was released on bail on Sept 19. Madhya Pradesh – Police along with Hindu extremists in Mainashree Colony, Dewas Railway Station on Sept. 12disrupted a baptism service led by pastor Ramesh Manduwey and slapped a Christian. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the policemen and extremists stormed into the house of Manish Tiwari, where about 20 Christians had gathered for the baptism, and questioned them. After the Christians told them they were carrying out a baptism service, the police and extremists became enraged and started verbally abusing them, with one extremist slapping Tiwari. Police arrested 15 Christians, including three pastors. On interrogation, the candidates for baptism said there was no case of forceful conversion as they had decided to be baptized of their own will. The officer and extremists tried to pressure the Christians to file a complaint of forceful conversion against Gospel for Asia’s Pastor Maduwey, but they refused, GCIC reported. The 15 Christians were later released without charges, but the three pastors were summoned to the police station the next day, where they were arrested under the state “Freedom of Religious Act” and sent to jail. They were released on bail on Sept.19. Karnataka – In Honnavar, Kanara, Hindu extremists on Sept. 7 beat two converts to Christianity, Bhasker Naik and Hemant Naik, warning them to convert back to Hinduism or face violence, sources said. The extremists dragged the two Christians to the Honnavar police station and accused them of forceful conversion when they refused to give up their faith in Christ. A police inspector identified only as Venkatappa and a sub-inspector identified only as Revathi charged them under Section 295 (A) of the Indian Penal Code with “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs,” and a Honnavar judge sent them to the Honnavar Sub-jail. The Christians were released on bail on Sept. 9. Chhattisgarh – Hindu extremists led by Ganga Ram on Sept. 5 barged into the Sunday worship meeting in Kanker of a house church led by Bhagat Lal, accused him of witchcraft, violence and disrupting the peace in the area and beat him and his wife. Pastor S.S. Jhali reported to Compass that the extremists entered the worship meeting and started accusing the Christians of being pagans as they beat them. Lal and his wife received treatment at Government Komaldev Hospital for their injuries. The Christians filed a police complaint, but no arrests had been made at press time. Orissa – In Banapur, Khurda, Hindu extremists on Sept. 2 attacked a Christian couple after having beaten them in July for converting to Christ. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Bangu Dei, mother of convert to Christianity Satyaban Nayak, instigated her nephew and villagers to attack her son and his family for their conversion from Hinduism. The incident took place when Dei found Nayak’s wife drawing water from the village well, and Dei and others began verbally abusing her. Later that day, Dei instigated Babula Nayak, Satyaban Nayak’s cousin, and other villagers to attack her son and his family. The extremists dragged the Christians to the village square and ordered them to give up Christianity. When the Christians refused to deny Christ, they manhandled them in the public square, pushing, kicking, beating them and demanding that they leave the area. During the hour-long attack, according to GCIC, the Christian couple continued to pray loudly, calling upon Christ to forgive their tormentors. Thereafter, the angry mob became quiet and started to disperse one by one, reported the GCIC. Babula Nayak asked the Christians for forgiveness, according to the GCIC, but Dei was still bent on harming them. Police organized a meeting in which the two parties agreed not to file any complaints. The GCIC provided first-aid and arranged for medical treatment, and the badly bruised Satyaban Nayak received hospital treatment. Madhya Pradesh – In Khargone, the village head on Aug. 31 barged into a prayer meeting led by a pastor identified only as Wilson and accused him and others of forceful conversion. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the village head later filed a police complaint against the Christians at Bhagwanpura police station, and officers summoned the pastor and the owner of the house where the prayer meeting took place; under police questioning, the owner said that no one had forced or otherwise fraudulently “lured” him to convert to Christianity, and that he had invited Pastor Wilson to lead the meeting at his home, the GCIC reported. The police released the pastor and the homeowner. Madhya Pradesh – In Khamkheda, Khargone, Hindu extremists led by Gayatri Samaj on Aug. 31 stormed into a prayer meeting and ordered pastor Veersingh Kalesh of the Philadelphia Church to end it, according to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). One of the extremists called police, who later arrested the pastor. Villagers, however, blocked police and informed them that they should not arrest him, saying he was a good man who preached good news and displayed the power of God in a way that left people blessed, reported GCIC. Officers then took the pastor along with Samaj to Khamkheda police station. Pastor Veersingh informed the police that he was not converting anyone, but that people were blessed by the message of Jesus Christ. Police warned the pastor to not visit the village anymore and sent him away. Karnataka – Karnataka police on Aug. 30 arrested four Pentecostal Christians in Puttur, Dakshina Kannada district, accusing them of trying to forcibly convert people from a Dalit colony in Nidle Boodujalu. The Christians were beaten before being arrested, reported the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). Hindu extremist Praveen Boodujalu accused the Christians of door-to-door evangelizing, although such activity is legal in India. Some area Hindu extremists also said that the group, identified as 60-year-old Mary, her 30-year-old son Kunjimonu, his wife Lenny, 23, and B.T. Sainu, 34, went to some homes every Sunday for a month, bringing books to aid people in converting to Christianity, according to the GCIC. Tamil Nadu – In Thurivarur district, Hindu extremists on Aug. 13 beat pastor Ramados Williams and his wife. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported the extremists opposed the government’s declaration that the church land belonged to Pastor Williams, of Bethel Prayer House. Later that day, the enraged extremists demolished the church, destroyed the Christians’ two motorcycles, stole six bicycles, one camera and a cell phone and dragged Pastor Williams and some church members to the police station. The Christians were arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and were sent to jail, the GCIC reported. They were released on bail on Aug. 19. For more information concerning the persecution of Christians around the world, please contact: Compass Direct at www.compassdirect.org Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom at www.hrwlrf.net/index.html 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 Barnabas Aid at www.barnabasfund.org Christian Solidarity International at www.csi-int.org Smyrna Ministries International at www.smyrnaministries.org