International Christian Concern, 8th July 2023

The Rohingya are among the world’s most oppressed groups. But within the Rohingya there is a subgroup who are the oppressed of the oppressed. They are the Rohingya Christians. The Burmese military violates them for being Rohingya, and then their fellow Rohingya violate them for being Christian.

Recent Rohingya Christian converts might be kidnapped and brought to a mosque for forced reversion to Islam. Or a Rohingya Christian girl might be kidnapped and then forcibly married to one of her Muslim kidnappers.

Christians might also have to contend with false accusations, ranging all the way up to accusations of murder, meaning people who are already destitute might have to pay legal fees to defend themselves in court.

The main culprit behind these abuses is the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya rebel group that has carried out attacks against the Burmese military, as well as Rohingya Christians. More than half of Rohingya Muslims are in favour of ARSA attacks against Rohingya Christians.

Peter Saiful, who lives in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, estimates about 70% of Rohingya Muslims support the anti-Christian attacks “because of Islamic scholars” who preach “hate speech against Christianity.”

Saiful acknowledges that “there are a lot of good Muslims,” but if they “raise their voice” then groups like ARSA “will kill them.”

Middle East Concern, 26^th July 2023 (excerpts)

Members of the Christian community request prayer in response to growing concerns about opposition from ultra-nationalist elements in Israel. Two weeks ago, Israeli president Herzog acknowledged attacks against Christians are on the rise in Israel. Referring to these actions as “evil” and a “disgrace,” he promised to “put an end to this phenomenon.” 

On 23 July several dozen Jewish extremists were transported by bus in the early hours of the morning to Stella Maris Catholic church in Haifa. The Jews proceeded to pray and maintain claims – incorrectly – that the church houses the tomb of Elisha (although the church is named for Elijah). Local Christians fear that this claim is being used as a pretext to establish Jewish rights over the church property. In the previous two months, there have been eight such visits with numbers of participants growing each time. Christian youth in the area contacted the police who removed the extremists.

In a video that gained international attention, the abbot of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem, Nikodemus Schnabel, was seen escorting the German federal minister of Education by the Western Wall when he was asked by an Israeli official to hide the cross he was wearing. The official is heard saying that the cross is “really big and inappropriate for this place. It’s a Jewish place, you need to respect that.”

Joshua Project, 16 August 2023

The Aralle people live on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. They became Muslims in the 16th century due to the influence of Indian and Arab traders. The Aralle brand of Islam is strongly influenced by folk religion and ancestor veneration. They believe spirits in the natural world can positively or negatively influence their lives.

Islam is an essential part of the Aralle identity. Becoming a believer in Christ can bring rejection by family members.

Ideally, Christ’s ambassadors would reach the heads of Aralle households for Christ. If they accept the saviour, that can potentially open the door for the entire family to do the same.

Pray that the few Aralle followers of Christ would walk in the Spirit and share his goodness with those in their families and among their friends. Pray for the Lord to send dreams and visions to Aralle family leaders. Pray for spiritual discernment and a desire for truth among the Aralle people. Pray for the Aralle people to have the opportunity to hear and receive the living saviour. Pray for the Lord to thrust out loving workers to the Aralle people of Indonesia.

Church in Chains, 6^th June 2023 (excerpts)

Hong Kong’s Protestant churches have been told it is time to “sinicise,” (make them more Chinese and more devoted to socialisation) just as churches in mainland China have already been forced to do.

A 2-day seminar was held in May in Hong Kong on “The Sinicisation of Christianity”, jointly hosted by the China Christian Council (CCC) and Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM, the government-controlled Protestant body), and the Hong Kong Christian Council.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been increasing its efforts to control all religions in recent years, to make them Chinese and bring them into submission under the CCP.  This programme is now being extended to Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. 

“More or less voluntarily, some 120 Protestant leaders from Hong Kong had to attend.”

CCC president Pastor Wu Wei explained that President Xi Jinping expects Christianity to adapt to China’s political system, to take the core values of socialism as the origin.

TSPM chairperson Rev Xu Xiaohong said that this was a requirement for Christianity’s development in China and was not intended to change Christian beliefs. 

 Rev Shan Weixiang said that true Hong Kong Christian patriots are those who make their churches “more Chinese”, as has been done in mainland China.

Aid to the Church in Need, 13^th June 2023 (excerpts)

An interreligious dialogue and peace initiative is being launched, aiming to end armed violence in northern Mozambique.  It seeks to resolve tensions caused by the militant insurgency which has killed more than 4,000 people and displaced about 1,000,000 in the Cabo Delgado region since 2017.

Father Eduardo Roca, a priest and project partner of Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, founded the Interreligious Centre for Peace in Pemba Diocese, which is overseeing the initiative, in 2017.

He told ACN: “The Catholic Church is … engaged and seriously committed to do whatever it can for the peace negotiations.”

This commitment already exists “at the religious level, but also at the academic level and among the local communities”.

Events planned include “meetings with some 50 leaders of Muslim and Christian organisations to study and promote the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”.

He added: “We are encouraging parish priests to create interreligious groups and provide training in the northern districts to promote dialogue and create bridges for people to meet in safety.”

Mozambique’s Episcopal pastoral letter in November 2022 signalled that Church’s involvement in the peace process for Cabo Delgado.

The Church is well-placed to advance the dialogue, with a presence on the ground and contact with the remotest communities.