The Persecuted Church Across the World

China’s New Policy Will Lead to More Persecution

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China’s New Policy Will Lead to More Persecution

(Morning Star News)

China Aid’s 2016 Annual Persecution Report details a seismic shift in the Chinese government’s approach to religious policy that is expected to lead to further persecution.

During the National Conference of Religious Work held in April 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of religions “persistently following the path of Sinicization.”

Despite China’s insistence that Sinicization is an integral ingredient in the harmonization between church and state, the policy pivots on the government’s assumption that other countries are using religions based abroad to undermine its authority.

This forces religious practitioners, especially Christians, to choose between compromising their deeply-held beliefs and risking being treated as violators of the law.

In addition to this attempt to tailor Christianity, China has continued to persecute individual Christians at a frequency unseen since the Cultural Revolution.

The data gathered by China Aid illustrates China’s alarming regression into a more Maoist regime, and conditions are expected to worsen this year as the new regulations seek to further limit religious activity and indicate a catastrophic potential to place more Christians behind bars.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Christian Sanitation Worker in Pakistan Dies after Hospital Refuses to Treat Him, Family Says

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Christian Sanitation Worker in Pakistan Dies after Hospital Refuses to Treat Him, Family Says

June 5, 2017 LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News)

A Christian sanitation worker in Pakistan died on Thursday (June 1) after Muslim doctors refused to treat him for poisonous gas he was exposed to in a sewer.

Doctors at Civil Hospital Medical said they refused to treat 28-year-old Irfan Masih because they were fasting and he was unclean.

Family members cleaned Masih’s body, after which the doctors sent for an oxygen cylinder.  But the cylinder was empty and, before they could arrange another, he died.

The doctors were arrested and accused of criminal negligence and manslaughter for allegedly refusing Irfan Masih treatment.

Pakistan Medical Association Officials later demonstrated against the arrests and the case filed against the doctors, claiming that the accusations were fabricated.

Though Christians account for 90 percent of sewage workers and an even higher percentage of sweepers, they make up only 2.45 percent of Pakistan’s population, which is more than 95 percent Muslim.

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecuted Church Mexico

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Christians and the Mexican Drug Cartels

Open Doors

Mexico is one of the most violent countries in the world, as a result of the presence of organised crime.

The culture of violence affects all Mexicans, but especially its most vulnerable groups in rural areas, including minority Christian denominations such as Protestants. Believers who actively engage in transforming society constitute a threat to drug cartels and other criminal groups. Those who convert from indigenous traditional beliefs to non-traditional Protestant denominations face persecution. Members of the Catholic Renewal Movement have also been targeted.

PLEASE PRAY

For physical protection for persecuted believers in Mexico and for God’s provision and grace towards Christians denied access to basic social services and resources

That those involved in drug cartels will come to know Jesus and encourage positive change.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecution In Indonesia

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Indonesia Sentences Ahok to Prison for ‘Blasphemy’

May 9, 2017 (Morning Star News)

Indonesia took a huge leap backwards in its reputation as a moderate Islamic democracy when a court sentenced the Christian governor of Jakarta, Basuki “Ahok” Purnama, to 2 years in prison for “blaspheming” the Koran.

Islamic extremists, opposed to having a non-Muslim lead the city, organized massive demonstrations against Ahok.

The two-year prison sentence was shocking as prosecutors had recommended a two-year probation.   The verdict is certain to embolden the Islamic extremists who erupted in jubilation at its announcement.

Saying the trial was purely legal and not political, the lead judge Santiarto said Ahok’s comments had degraded and insulted Islam, according to The Associated Press.

Huge street protests against Ahok in the past six months are one sign of a hard-line Muslim movement in Indonesia. Another sign is the habit of vigilante groups preventing Indonesia’s religious minorities from practicing their faith.

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecution In Sudan

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Church Building Demolished, Two Christians Arrested in Sudan

May 8, 2017  Morning Star News

Authorities in Sudan demolished a church building yesterday (May 7) as Christians were preparing to worship.

Authorities notified church leaders of the impending demolition just a week prior. It was one of at least 25 the government designated for destruction in an order last year claiming the churches were built on residential or government land.

Mohamad el Sheikh Mohamad, a general manager in the Ministry of Planning, urged that it be implemented immediately.  It targets a wide range of denominations, from Catholic to Pentecostal.

Christians in Sudan complain that the Islamist government of Omar al-Bashir is targeting their buildings while favouring Muslims and their mosques.

The Sudanese Ministry announced in April 2013 that no new licenses would be granted for new churches in Sudan, citing a decrease in the South Sudanese population after South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011, when Bashir vowed to adopt a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and the Arabic language.

Sudan ranks fifth on Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of countries where Christians face most persecution.

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecution In Iran

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News Source – George Thomas, Undisclosed Location, Aug 2014

Christians are the most persecuted religious minority group in Iran. Iranian believers who convert from Islam to Christianity, face even more scrutiny.

 Now one television channel operating from multiple secret locations is beaming messages of hope directly into the Islamic country.

 Since 2006, Mohabat TV has been beaming Christian programmes via satellite to the Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia. But the channel’s main focus is the Islamic nation of Iran.

 “We are seeing a huge, huge number of Iranians who are reaching out to our channel to find out more about Jesus,” Mike Ansari, who oversees the popular channel, said.

 “Many of our viewers claim that Islam has not delivered to their expectations. When they turn the channel on and see Mohabat TV they hear a new message of Jesus, of forgiveness, of love, of acceptance,” Ansari said.

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecution In India

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Attacks on Indian Christians

Amanda Casanova | Religion Today May 18, 2017

Violent attacks on Christians in India are increasing, according to a new report.  In 2016, attacks against Christians jumped by about 20 percent, while physical violence is up about 40 percent.

The All India Christian Council says that there is an anti-Christian attack every 40 hours as the governing Hindu nationalist party tries to create a “Hindu nation” in India.  The violence has spread to 23 states.

The attacks are described as physical beating, torching of churches, vandalism, burning of Bibles, death threats and forcing Christians to renounce their faith and convert to Hinduism.

In February, an evangelist in India reportedly fell into a coma after he was harassed by Hindu nationalists for publicly distributing copies of the New Testament.