India archbishop served notice

World Watch Monitor December 1, 2017 

Christian groups have rallied behind Archbishop Thomas Macwan, Gujarat state in western India, after the federal Election Commission served a notice on him for his pastoral letter ahead of state elections this month. Gujarat is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The secular and democratic fabric of our country is at stake. Human rights are being violated. Not a single day goes without an attack on our churches, faithful or institutions,” Archbishop Macwan said in his pastoral letter on 21 November.

The Election Commission served a notice on Macwan, asking him why his appeal should not be viewed as a violation of the Model Code of Conduct for the election.

Samson Christian, an outspoken Christian activist based in Gujarat, told World Watch Monitor “this is the first time the Hindu nationalists are targeting the church leader to polarise the Hindu voters” ahead of the election.

“Archbishop Macwan has all the right to protect the people and ask them to pray,” added Samson. “The complaint against the archbishop is politically motivated.”

ERITREA: CHRISTIAN STUDENTS ARRESTED

30 November 2017

Sixteen Christian students were arrested earlier this month, the latest in a series of arrests since May 2017.

The students, who were arrested after being discovered praying together, were held for more than two weeks before being released.

Nearly 200 Christians have reportedly been arrested since May 2017. “What makes this persecution different is that whole families are now being arrested,” a VOM contact said.

 “Whereas in the past most were picked up at Bible studies or Christian services, now believers are being arrested at their homes.

Because of the arrests, more than 30 children have been left without parents or guardians and the security police are monitoring them to make sure they do not get support from the Christian community.”

Nigeria – Muslim Herdsmen Kill Nine Christians

Morning Star News November 10, 2017

Nine Christians, all members of the Church of Christ In Nations (COCIN), were buried after a funeral in north-central Nigeria yesterday after Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed them earlier this week.

The Rev. Dacholom Datiri, president of the COCIN, confirmed the killing of members of his church.

“We have continued to be forced into mourning the death of some our members for no just cause. Whatever it is, our faith is dependent on Jesus Christ, our Saviour.”

Istifanus Gyang, a Nigerian member of parliament, said the attacks were carried out by “terror militia” to wipe out Christian communities and occupy their lands.  “We shall therefore overcome this season, as it is written, “weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Christians make up 51.3 percent of Nigeria’s population, while Muslims account for 45 percent.  Nigeria ranks 12^th on Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.

Indonesia – Many students support Islamic caliphate

Reuters, Jakarta 02 November 2017

Nearly 20 percent of high school and university students in Indonesia support the establishment of a caliphate in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country over the current secular government, a new survey showed this week.

The vast majority of Indonesians practise a moderate form of Islam and the country has sizeable minorities of Hindus, Christians, and people who adhere to traditional beliefs. Religious diversity is enshrined in its constitution.

The survey by a Jakarta-based organisation polled over 4,200 Muslim students.

Nearly one in four students said they were, to varying degrees, ready to wage jihad to achieve a caliphate.

The survey showed that the vast majority of students disagree with the establishment of an Islamic caliphate and violence.

But authorities have repeatedly warned against the creeping influence of radical Islamic thought among student organisations and in campus activities.

India – Hindu Extremists Beat Pastor Unconscious

Morning Star News November 5, 2017

Weeks after a pastor led five families to faith in Christ in southern India, masked men intercepted him on his way home from worship and tried to kill him, sources said. 

They had threatened him twice before, he said.  In their prior threats, the assailants had asked him what he told the Banjara tribal people.

 “I told them, ‘We are all sinners, and this world is to come to an end someday. Only Jesus Christ can cleanse us from the sins. He was crucified for our sake, and rose again to present us eternal life.”  Pastor Sevya said he told them he spoke to every person individually when they came to ask him about Christ.

When five families came to Christ, he had been as astonished as anyone.  “I too belong to the same Banjara tribal community.  It is a miracle.”

Kenya – From Interview with Rev. Francis Omondi 

 

Barnabas Fund October

 

Kenya has 80% Christians and about 20% Muslim. The 80% have not been very active – many are nominal Christians.

 

Relationships between Christians and Muslims had not been that bad, but many who had peaceful relations with others are now being considered as not true Muslims. So, they have been building hostility towards the other, non-Islamic, communities.

 

When al-Shabaab started operating, Muslims felt that their issues were now articulated. It was not violent at first but seen as a saviour championing the needs of Muslims. Now that it has turned out violent, many Muslims have begun to wonder, “Is this all there is in Islam?”

 

We thought Nairobi would be the safest, but al-Shabaab have attacked there to gain international publicity.

 

There were several major attacks including Garissa University in April 2015, Mandera where they killed 37 mainly Christians quarry workers and, in the previous November, 28 teachers on a bus, letting the Muslims go.

 

During the Garissa University attack, one of the militias was saying, “When your government learns not to invade our land, we will stop killing you.”

Uganda – Father Drives Son from Home for Becoming Christian

Morning Star News October 10, 2017 

The young man did not answer after his father asked him if he had ditched Islam to become a Christian.

Magale Hamidu, 20, of Nanoko in eastern Uganda, had become a Christian seven months before. He had been failing to attend mosque prayers, and his father had learned that twice a Christian pastor had visited him at their home.

As Hamidu kept quiet, his father began beating him with a stick, sources told Morning Star News. They said other family members picked up sticks and joined in.

Hamidu’s screams on that day, Sept. 20, alerted neighbours who managed to pull the bleeding young man away. He was rushed to a community clinic in Kibuku District, where he was treated for injuries to his head and right hand and discharged, they said.

A neighbour told Morning Star News that Hamidu’s father, Kasani Mubali, said he wants to kill his son.

France: Imam chants verse encouraging attacks on Christians

Barnabas Fund 5^th October 2017

In France, an imam leading Friday prayers for several hundred Muslims on the street in front of a town hall at Clichy, in Paris, chanted the words from the Quran (9:36) urging jihad against non-Muslims:

“Fight the infidels without exception, as they fight you without exception, and know that Allah is with the pious.”

The Grand Mosque of Paris, built in 1926

In fact, this comes only a few verses after Q9:29,which speaks of waging jihad against Christians until they pay the jizya tax. The significance of this tax on non-Muslims was that it was a sign of subjugation, humiliation and second-class status within an Islamic state, lacking many of the rights of Muslim citizens.

Egypt – Coptic Orthodox Bishop Killed outside Cairo

Morning Star News October 13, 2017 

A Coptic Orthodox bishop from Upper Egypt was slain outside Cairo, Egypt yesterday.

The assailant struck Bishop Samaan Shehata in the head, neck and torso with a machete on the outskirts of Cairo, according to local reports. Shehata was born in 1972.

While a security spokesman said the suspect was mentally ill, (like many accused Muslims), neighbours reportedly denied this, saying he was a Muslim who had been “radicalized” a year ago. Since then, they said, Ibrahim had begun praying in the street, shouting loudly and calling Christians infidels.

Christians in Nepal Released from Prison

Morning Star September 22, 2017 

Four Christians in Nepal sentenced to five years in prison on false charges were released today after a high court annulled their convictions.

They had been convicted of witchcraft, violence and holding a woman against her will, though she testified that she was not mistreated or captive and had been healed by the prayer.

The Federation of National Christian Nepal (FNCN) representatives had petitioned for the Christians’ release.

The four Christians were not charged for months after their arrest, according to the FNCN.  Area church leaders believe the four Christians were set up and targeted for their faith.

The arrest and conviction of the four Christians came at a time when Nepal’s Hindu majority was increasingly influencing authorities to harass Christians.