Persecution Blog

Video: VOM Medical Helps Victims in Nigeria

You have to take three minutes and watch this video. I just did and it is tremendously humbling to see how the Christians in Nigeria have responded to the attacks with much love and grace. When Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34), I see this attitude in the believer there in Nigeria.

As you're watching, look at the various injuries these Christians have sustained, including small children who have lost part of their limbs. Please pray.

Just days after radical Muslim attacks on three villages in Nigeria, staff from VOMedical were on the ground offering help, encouragement and medical care to victims. Please pray for Christians in Nigeria.

Romans 8:30-35

Today I wanted to offer you some scripture to meditate upon and ask you to consider praying for our brothers and sisters in bonds and under persecution.  Remember this was written by the Apostle Paul who himself was persecuted through beatings, imprisonment and ultimately martyred.

³⁰And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

 ³¹What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Two Xinjiang Christians Interrogated for Passing Out Gospel Flyers

The following press release is from our good friends at China Aid.

XINJIANG--On March 22nd, 5:00 PM (local time), two Christian women (one native to Kuche, Xinjiang) were arrested for passing out Christian gospel flyers on the streets in Akesu, Xinjiang. Kuche Police joined forces with local Akesu authorities to arrest the two women. The police were not in uniform and provided no legal documents, violating standard legal procedures for the arrests. The two women were detained and interrogated by police for about two hours. Both were released at 7:00 PM (local).

Akesu church members speculate that the arrests of the two women, and the proceeding interrogations, are connected to recent phone interview with foreign media. Last week, a reporter from Radio Free Asia (RFA) called the Akesu Public Security station to investigate a case concerning the arbitrary detention of six Christians on March 18, 2010. The Akesu church suspects that the international political pressure highlighting the detentions, and the subsequent involvement of foreign media, led to the backlash and illegal arrests of the two women.

ChinaAid denounces the unjust treatment of Chinese believers and the repression their religious freedoms. We further call on the Chinese authorities to deal impartial justice, and refrain from retaliating against the church for speaking the truth to the world. We urge supporters to continue to pray for the churches and Christians in Akesu, Xinjiang!

Christian Woman Jailed under Pakistan’s ‘Blasphemy’ Laws

Radical Muslim relative of accuser uses statute to exact revenge, Christian leader says.

GUJRANWALA, Pakistan, March 24 (CDN) — Police in Alipur have arrested a Christian woman on a baseless accusation of “blaspheming” the prophet of Islam and tried to keep rights groups from discovering the detention, a Christian leader said.

Alipur police in Punjab Province denied that they had detained Rubina Bibi when Khalid Gill, Lahore regional coordinator of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) and organizer of the Christian Liberation Front, inquired about her detention after a Muslim woman accused her of blasphemy, Gill told Compass.

“The Muslim woman’s name was kept secret by the police and Muslim people, and we were not allowed to see the Christian woman,” Gill said. “The Alipur police said they had not arrested her yet, contrary to the fact that they had arrested and tortured her at Alipur police station.”  

A reliable police source told Compass on condition of anonymity that a First Information Report (No. 194/2010) dated March 20 identified Rubina Bibi of Alipur, wife of Amjad Masih, as accused of making a derogatory remark about the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The charge comes under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which have gained international notoriety for their misuse by Muslims to settle personal grudges. Read more at Compass Direct

Islamic Extremists in Somalia Kill Church Leader, Torch Home

As you read today's story, please remember to pray for the Christians in Somalia and also for the martyr pastors family. This type of story hopefully will spur you on to the need for more prayer and also for the passion to reach out to those who do not yet follow Jesus Christ as Lord. Thank you all for caring about the suffering church. We value each and everyone of you.

Al Shabaab militants execute pastor; government-aligned Islamists burn house containing Bible.

 Islamic militants in Somalia tracked down an underground church leader who had previously escaped a kidnapping attempt and killed him last week, Christian sources said. 

Islamic extremist al Shabaab rebels shot Madobe Abdi to death on March 15 at 9:30 a.m. in Mahaday village, 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Johwar. He had escaped an al Shabaab attempt to kidnap him on March 2.
 
Abdi’s death adds to a growing number of Christians murdered by Islamic militants, but his was distinctive in that he was not a convert from Islam. An orphan, Abdi was raised as a Christian.
 
Sources said the militants prohibited his body from being buried, ordering that it be left to dogs as an example to other Christians. Al shabaab, which is fighting the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of President Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed, has embarked on a campaign to rid the country of all non-Muslims.
 
“The al Shabaab say, ‘Leaving Abdi’s body outside is a warning to all that a murtid [infidel] is a disgrace to Muslims,’ hence creating fear to whoever would like to choose Christianity,” said a source.  More at Compass Direct.

Movie: The Crossing

The Crossing - This is the story of a North Korean defector coming to life. A powerful trailer.

Crossing - Trailer from LiNK Global on Vimeo.

LAOS: Katin Christians Endure

 A group of Christians who were expelled from Katin village in January were again urged to recant their faith in Jesus Christ on March 15, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. The believers have been living in makeshift shelters about 4 miles outside the village, where they were abandoned in January without food or shelter.

“At noon [on March 15] … seven Katin believers were summoned to the district office of Ta-Oyl district,” VOM contacts reported. “The district head of Ta-Oyl, Mr. Bounma, urged the Katin believers to reconsider their decision to follow the Christian faith.”  When the Christians again refused to renounce their faith, the district head stated that although the Lao constitution and law provide for freedom of religion in Laos, he is not going to allow Christianity in his district. The Katin believers later learned that the officials planned to burn down their temporary shelters along with 11 temporary homes at the site where they were taken in January.

Several days after these threats from local officials, a delegation of provincial officials assured the believers that they are free to practice their religion and live anywhere in the district they choose. However, since the temporary shelters are on land owned by a neighboring village, officials could not guarantee the Christians they can remain at the site.

Praise God for these faithful believers and for the positive signs from provincial authorities. Pray that local authorities will allow these believers to return to their homes, and pray that the Christians will remain strong in their faith. Also pray for their safety and health; many are sick and in need of medical treatment.

Arizona Town Officials OK Home Bible Studies

Last week we shared with you about the town Gilbert in Arizona that banned home bible studies.  Thanks to the Alliance Defense Fund and their work on this case, it appears that the bible study can now take place.

The Gilbert, Ariz., town council agreed on Monday to amend an ordinance that banned one small church from meeting in homes.

"I'm not willing to regulate what goes on in peoples' homes," Councilmember Jenn Daniels said, according to The Arizona Republic.

The council held a special meeting to discuss changes to the Land Development Code which currently prohibits the use of single family residential structures for religious assemblies.

It was convened after a relatively new church of seven members was ordered to stop holding Bible studies and worship services in the home of Pastor Joe Sutherland. The cease-and-desist order gained the national spotlight after attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed an appeal last week on behalf of Oasis of Truth Church.

Council members, however, said they were not aware of the order against Oasis of Truth when it was issued by a zoning administrator. Once they found out, they decided to make changes to the zoning code.

Expressing commitment to religious freedom, Gilbert Mayor John Lewis said, "It is unfortunate that the Council did not know about information given to the Oasis of Truth Church. Gilbert is known as a family-oriented community and our faith groups are a vital part of our Town. We want to keep it that way."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

This is another video report about the Gilbert case.

Gao's Brother Believes Gao is "Fine"

A few days ago the BBC reported on a brief phone call that Gao's brother had with Gao Zhisheng.  Please click here to visit the BBC website to watch the video.

And thank you all for continuing to pray for Gao and his family.

Muslims Murder Pakistani Christian with Axe Blows

Psalm 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

Rival merchants threatened to kill potato seller if refused to convert to Islam.

MIAN CHANNU, Pakistan, March 22 (CDN) — Six Muslims in Khanewal district, southern Punjab Province, killed a Christian with multiple axe blows for refusing to convert to Islam this month, according to family and police sources.
 
The six men had threatened to kill 36-year-old Rasheed Masih unless he converted to Islam when they grew resentful of his potato business succeeding beyond their own, according to Masih’s younger brother Munir Asi and a local clergyman. The rival merchants allegedly killed him after luring him to their farmhouse on March 9, leaving him on a roadside near Kothi Nand Singh village in the wee hours of the next day.
 
The Rev. Iqbal Masih of the Mian Channu Parish of the Church of Pakistan said Rasheed Masih was a devoted Christian, and that both he and his brother Asi had refused the Muslims’ pressure to convert to Islam.
 

“As the Christian family strengthened in business and earned more, the Muslim men began to harbor business resentment, as Muslims are not used to seeing Christians more respected and richer than them,” the pastor said. “That business rivalry gradually changed into a faith rivalry.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

Please take some time today to pray for the family of Rasheed Masih and also for those who loved and knew him.  Please also take the time to pray for those who murdered him that they would see the love of Christ in those who loved him.