October 14, 2010

Christian in India Suffers Miscarriage in Hindu Extremist Attack

NEW DELHI, October 13 (CDN) — Police in a south Indian state known for turning hostile to minority Christians in recent years have arrested two suspected Hindu nationalists for beating four pastors and striking the wife of one of them in the stomach, killing her unborn child. The attack took place at a Christian gathering in a private Christian school to celebrate the birth of Mahatma Gandhi on Oct. 2 in Chintamani, in Karnataka state’s Kolar district, reported the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). About 40 people barged into New Public School during the concluding prayer that morning and began selectively beating the pastors and Kejiya Fernandes, wife of one identified only as Pastor Fernandes. Chintamani police arrived but the attack went on, and when it ended at noon officers took the Christians to the station instead of arresting the attackers. Read more at Compass Direct.
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Posted by The Voice of the Martyrs in Christian Persecution
October 13, 2010

Son of Prisoners Speaks Out

ChinaAidOctober 9, 2010 HENAN -- For simply practicing her faith, Zheng Yumei was arbitrarily sentenced to a year of re-education through labor at the Shibahe Women's Center in Zhengzhou, Henan in March 2010. She and three other members of Tianmiao Town Church in Yuchen County, Henan were accused of “belonging to a cult” and given unfair prison sentences. While imprisoned, Yumei has fallen seriously ill, and the administration at the women’s center refuses to provide medical care for her and insists that her treatment be funded by family members. Zheng Yumei’s husband, Liu Yunhua, was one of the other three also injudiciously sentenced to a year in a laogai facility in March, so he cannot pay for his wife’s medical needs. Liu Yunhua and fellow inmate Gao Jianli have been fighting a court battle ever since the sentencing. They sued the Shangqiu Municipality Committee in May in an attempt to clear their names and place a stop to the persecution.
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Posted by The Voice of the Martyrs in China Aid
October 13, 2010

Muslims in Bekasi, Indonesia Oppose Another Church Building

JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 13 (CDN) — Islamic organizations have mounted a campaign against the planned construction of Mother Teresa Catholic Church in West Java Province, where Christian leaders report 20 other churches have faced Muslim hostility since 2009. Muslim leaders said plans for the Mother Teresa church in the Lippo Cikarang property project in the Cikarang area will make it the largest church building in Bekasi City. Adang Permana, general chairman of the Bekasi Islamic Youth Movement, said Bekasi area Muslims oppose the church building because they fear it will become “a center of Christianization,” according to the Islamic website Hidayatullah.com. “This church will become the center of apostasy and clearly disturb the faith of Bekasi citizens, who are mostly Muslims,” Permana said, according to the website. “In addition to rejecting this parish church, we also call for the disbanding of all unauthorized churches in Bekasi Regency [City],” he stated. A church leader, however, said area residents had approved the presence of the church.
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Posted by The Voice of the Martyrs in Christian News, Christian Persecution