Barnabas Fund, 19 August 2021 (excerpts)

Qiqihar, the second largest city in China’s Heilongjiang province, on 9 August joined an increasing number of cities, districts, and county governments to offer cash rewards to anyone who reports to the authorities on “illegal religious activities”.

Whistle-blowers could pocket between 500 yuan (£56, $77, €65) and 1,000 yuan (£112, $154, €132) for informing on private house gatherings, preaching, the distribution of printed religious works, audio-visual products outside churches, unqualified religious personnel, and illicit foreign infiltration.

Residents of Qiqihar are being told the new rewards scheme will ensure a “harmonious” religious landscape

The measures aim to “strengthen the control of illegal religious activities in the district and prevent any Covid-19 cluster resulting from religious gatherings”, according to a statement from the Work Department of Qiqihar.

The goal was to mobilise the public to help ensure a “harmonious and stable religious landscape”. Reports could be made through phone calls, emails, and letters.

Barnabas Fund, 20 August 2021 (excerpts)

Romania celebrated a national day to commemorate Christian martyrs and victims of violence on 16 August.

The date was selected to coincide with commemoration of Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia, who was captured and tortured by the Ottomans in 1714. Along with his four sons, he was martyred when he refused to renounce his faith in Christ on 16 August that year.

This National Day seeks to present the importance of Christianity in Romania’s history and the continued widespread persecution of Christians around the world to the general public, especially young people.

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2018 revealed Romania to be the most religious nation in Europe, based on four factors: the importance people ascribe to religion in their lives, regular attendance of religious services, frequency of personal prayer, and certainty of belief in God.

Christians are harassed in more countries than the followers of any other religion (145 according to a 2020 study, also by the Pew Research Center).

Church in Chains, 10 August 2021 (excerpts)

On 3 August Christian convert Naser Gol-Tapeh celebrated his 60th birthday behind bars. Naser, in poor health, has been serving a ten-year prison sentence for “acting against national security through the formation and establishment of an illegal church organisation in his home” since January 2018.  His three appeals for a retrial have been denied, and his appeal for parole after serving over one third of his sentence has also been denied.

Naser recently spoke in an audio message from prison in which he reflected on persecution, forgiveness, and justice. He said he bore no grudge against those who sent him to prison and asks for God’s forgiveness and blessing upon them.

Naser also said that it is quite clear to him that he is being imprisoned because he is a follower of Jesus. He mentioned that Jesus forewarned his followers about persecution and stated in John 15:19, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

Barnabas Fund, 2 August 2021, 2021 (excerpts)

The inhabitants of a Christian village in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, were forced to flee after suffering threats and two violent attacks from Buddhist radicals.

The villagers, who converted from Buddhism 16 years ago, were attacked after they refused to re-convert and demolish their church building.

The Buddhists attacked both members of the church and the building, breaking a cross, tearing down part of a wall, and damaging the roof.

The assistant pastor, Tubel Adetion, explained, “We were Buddhists and we met Jesus Christ in 2005. In January of this year, we built the church. Every day we gathered and prayed, but the local Buddhist majority didn’t like it.”

On 12 July Buddhist radicals warned the 50 Christian villagers to demolish the church within three days.

Three days later the Buddhists returned, attacked the villagers and church building, and ordered them to re-convert to Buddhism within seven days.

On 22 July the extremists returned once again, launching another violent assault against the Christian village. They also warned the villagers of further consequences if they reported the incident to police or local media.

Forum 18, 10 August 2021 (excerpts)

The Luhansk People’s Republic has added four Christian books to an official list of Extremist Materials.

A court ruled in May that the books were “extremist” and they were therefore banned.

There are now 18 Christian works on the list, including a Russian version of the Gospel of John.

The four books include The Door is Open by nineteenth century Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon and Born to Die by US evangelist Billy Graham.

The books were seized from the Council of Baptist Churches in the city of Sverdlovsk.

The books, argued the Prosecutor’s Office, “incite religious discord”, contain “propaganda of exceptionalism, superiority and inadequacy of the individual on the basis of religious adherence or attitude to religion”, and thereby “violate the rights, freedoms and legal interests” of others.

The banning of the books was necessary, it added, for “defending the interests of the younger generation and securing the safety of the Republic”.

The Luhansk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine, declared itself independent from Ukraine in 2014.

Morning Star News, 15 July 2021 (excerpts)

The vilification of the Revival Ekklesia Mission church in Vietnam has somewhat quieted, but its linking of evangelicals with COVID-19 is feared to have done long-lasting damage.

State media, government agencies and the public in social media all reviled the church following the positive COVID-19 tests of two members of the REM church on May 26.

The greater evangelical community in Vietnam and abroad is supporting and helping the beleaguered REM congregation and trying to counter the disinformation campaign against evangelicals.

Reams of articles in the local press, Vietnamese-language investigative analyses by the BBC and Radio Free Asia and others, and direct communication with affected Vietnamese evangelical leaders raise serious concerns. It is unprecedented for people who have unwittingly contracted COVID-19 to be singled out for criminal charges.

There are also worrying signs that some Vietnamese authorities intend to use this COVID-19 spread as a cover to oppress faith groups, particularly evangelical Christians.

To date eight members of the church who contracted COVID-19 have now recovered and been allowed to return home but Vietnam’s recent surge in cases, coming late in the pandemic, is a severe setback for the country.

Its frustrated authorities seem to have found a scapegoat in the REM church outbreak.  State media, social media and the public engaged in what evangelicals have described and experienced as anger, hate, cursing, insults, slander, innuendo and lies.

Church in Chains, 21 July 2021 (excerpts)

Pastors of churches registered with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the government-controlled Protestant churches, have been ordered to preach sermons based on President Xi Jinping’s recent speech marking the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party.

In the president’s speech, delivered on 1 July, he eulogised the party’s achievements and stated: “Only socialism can save China, and only socialism with Chinese characteristics can develop China. We will never allow anyone to bully, oppress or subjugate China. Anyone who dares try to do that will have their heads bashed bloody against the Great Wall of Steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people.“

Officials issued the order to pastors at a national conference of the China Christian Council (which oversees education in TSPM churches) on 8 July led by Xu Xiaohong, chairman of the TSPM, and Wu Wei, chairman of the China Christian Council. Both officials are state-appointed. The theme of the conference was “Learning and Implementing the Spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Speech of July 1”.

At the conference, pastors were told that they are expected to make President Xi’s speech a main object of study and preaching and a matter of discussion for Bible study groups. Failure to do so would demonstrate that their churches are not fully “Sinicised”, which is necessary for churches to be allowed to operate.

Voice of the Martyrs, 29 July 2021

Algeria is a shining example of church growth in North Africa and is also a leader for theological training and church development in the region. Nearly all of the church growth has occurred within the Berber community.

Although churches are allowed to meet openly, in 2018 the government temporarily closed many church buildings and harassed congregations.

Berber Christians, who are watched carefully, have gained a collective voice through an Evangelical association of churches.

Sharing the gospel with Arabs can cause serious problems, but Berber Christians continue to share the gospel boldly in and around al-Qaida terrorist camps.

Secret communities of Arab Christians exist throughout the country. While it is not common for Christians to be imprisoned, one believer was imprisoned for nearly a year in connection with a social media post. He received a presidential pardon in July 2017.

There is a Bible Society in Algeria, but the printing and importation of Bibles is carefully monitored, limited and controlled by the government.

Bible distributions are risky for the distributors and congregations involved, and Bibles are often confiscated by government officials.

Voice of the Martyrs, July 8, 2021 (excerpts)

After Mannan left Islam to follow Jesus Christ in Bangladesh, area Islamic leaders called for villagers to ostracize his relatives, even telling local vendors to deny them food.

As animosity toward Mannan and his relatives grew, the Islamic leaders and angry Muslim villagers called for police to arrest him and his relatives, falsely accusing them of causing trouble.

On June 15, village police called Mannan, his relatives and the Islamic leaders to the police station. In front of about 100 villagers, the police called for peace and coexistence, and worked to calm tensions.  The police official said there were no grounds for an arrest to be made and stated that Bangladeshi law allows for freedom of religion.

Praise God for the police officers, who prioritized peace and religious freedom.  Pray for Mannan to remain firm in Christ and for his relatives to decide to follow Jesus as well.  Pray that the hearts of the Islamic leaders and villagers will be softened and that they turn toward Jesus for forgiveness, salvation, and everlasting life.

Churches are careful when offering relief to the poor and needy because they do not want to encourage false conversions among people claiming faith in Christ solely for economic benefit.

While Bangladesh is a majority-Muslim nation, the government avoids undue influence from Islamists and actively fights extremism. Millions of Bangladeshis are learning about Christ and the Bible through media outreaches.

Barnabas Fund, 13 July 2021 (excerpts)

A Christian factory worker in Pakistan died after being allegedly abused physically by two co-workers. A murder inquiry is ongoing.

Shahzad Masih, 36, was confronted by Muhammad Abdullah and Muhammad Fizan on 18 June in Faisalabad. Lawyers acting on behalf of Shahzad’s family claim that the pair subjected him to a violent indecent assault, causing severe internal injuries, including damage to his lungs and liver. Despite an immediate colostomy procedure, Shahzad was unable to recover and died on 20 June.

Christian lawyers representing the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) filed a murder case against the alleged perpetrators as well as the factory manager, Asad Mahmood.

Shahzad had been staying in factory quarters with Muhammad Abdullah and Muhammad Fizan when he was assaulted.

Before dying Shahzad was able to testify against the two co-workers and stated that Asad Mahmood was also involved in the incident.

Muhammad Abdullah and Muhammad Fizan were arrested by the police. Asad Mahmood was granted pre-arrest bail.

The CLAAS Team also met the accused persons in custody.  They confessed to indecent assault but contested a further charge of committing sodomy with Shahzad.

The trial was adjourned.