The Voice of the Martyrs, April 29, 2021

Most Christians are from the Chin and Karen tribal groups, while relatively few of Myanmar’s Burman ethnic majority have come to faith. Myanmar has many Bible schools even though most are illegal, and indigenous church planters and missionaries boldly proclaim the gospel. Churches are growing despite widespread persecution by the government and the Buddhist majority.

Rohingya Muslims are a small but significant group that has suffered devastating human rights violations in recent years at the hands of the military government.

The widespread, long-running civil war directly affects Christians when they are targeted for attack by the warring factions. Villagers with animistic beliefs take vengeance against Christians, claiming they are angering the local spirits. Church gatherings and church buildings are allowed in many parts of the country, but tolerance varies from state to state. Active believers who share their faith face difficulties. Within tribal groups, families oppose conversion and new believers are subject to close government monitoring. Buddhist monks have actively opposed new Christian converts and evangelists. Pastors face arrest and are usually held for a few days at a time.

Eleven families of believers from the Palaung tribe in Shan State have experienced pressure from villagers to leave their new Christian faith. Villagers grew angry because the believers had gathered to worship and pray.  Pray for the persecutors to experience the love of Christ, and to hear and see the gospel displayed in the lives of the Christian families.

Morning Star News, May 2, 2021

Muslims in eastern Uganda upset with a pastor’s plans to build a church on land they sought to buy are suspected in his death by poisoning.

Pastor Oduchu was poisoned on April 5 after he declined to sell a five-acre lot to Muslims who wanted to build a school and mosque on the land, said his brother.

“Opeduru and a number of Muslims had approached my brother to sell them the land several times, but my brother declined because their offer was small, and he also wanted part of the land set aside for constructing a church.  Later my brother received a threatening message from Opeduru saying he would not negotiate with him again.”

Opeduru told Pastor Oduchu the Muslims did not want a church building close to their proposed mosque, but a week later the pastor began clearing the parcel of land.

Pastor Oduchu usually ate at a small hotel when visiting his land. The hotel is owned by a Muslim.

The pastor’s wife said after a light meal at the hotel on April 5, he arrived home complaining of severe stomach pains, diarrhoea and started vomiting. “We rushed him to a nearby clinic, and he succumbed to poisoning.”

When angry residents questioned the hotel owner, he confessed that Muslims had given him poison to put in Pastor Oduchu’s food.  Police arrested Opeduru in connection with the killing.

Mary Oduchu requested prayer and financial help for living expenses and the children’s school fees.

Church in Chains, April 29, 2021

Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has pledged to lead a campaign of Muslim-majority countries to “convince” Western countries to introduce laws to outlaw blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed.

He made the call in a televised address to the nation from the capital, Islamabad, on 19 April as his government continued to negotiate with the Islamist TLP political party, following days of violent protests. The TLP protests called for the French ambassador to be expelled for the perceived “blasphemy” by French President Emmanuel Macron in defending, on grounds of free speech, the re-publication in 2020 of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons controversially depicting the prophet Mohammed.

Four policemen were killed and over eight hundred people were injured in the violence between 12 April and 19 April. Property worth tens of millions of Pakistan Rupees was damaged.  Several police officers were kidnapped, while TLP leader Saad Hussain Rizvi was arrested.

Prime Minister Khan said, “We need to explain why this hurts us, when in the name of freedom of speech they insult the honour of the Prophet… when fifty Muslim countries will unite and say this, and say that if something like this happens in any country, then we will launch a trade boycott on them and not buy their goods, that will have an effect. I assure you that the purpose of the TLP for which they’re bringing people out, that is my purpose as well and that of my government.”

Voice of the Martyrs, 8 April 2021

The gospel was first brought to Ethiopia in the first century, but many Ethiopian Christians still face persecution today.

In southern Ethiopia, political unrest and the rise of an extreme branch of Islam among the Oromo people have resulted in attacks against Christians across the region.

Eastern Ethiopia has one of the largest Somali populations in the world, and Christians there are persecuted by both their communities and their families.

In northern Ethiopia, some Orthodox Christians persecute evangelical believers. Several majority-Muslim tribal groups throughout Ethiopia also persecute Christians.

Freedom of religion is guaranteed under Ethiopian law and the government generally protects the rights of Christians.

However, vestiges of Communist rule lead authorities to monitor the activities of churches and evangelical Christian organizations. Still, evangelical churches in Ethiopia continue to plant new churches and send missionaries to difficult areas.

When Muslims in eastern Ethiopia forced a small congregation out of the home used for meetings, they expected the Christian presence in their area to cease, but the number of believers has increased in the last year.

The church had no place to meet, and the believers were in great despair. However, with assistance from believers outside Ethiopia, the small church purchased a piece of land and built a worship space. Today, the church has grown from 58 people to more than 70.