Springwood–Winmalee Anglican Churches

• Mission and Social Action
• Missions and missionaries
• Speak Out Against Persecution
  • Speak Out Against Persecution news 2009
  • Speak Out Against Persecution news 2008
  • Speak Out Against Persecution news 2006-7
  • About SOAP

Speak Out Against Persecution news 2010

24 June 2010

Afghanistan

The Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA RLC) is deeply disturbed over the recent developments in Afghanistan, calling for the death of converts from Islam to other religions. The anti–Christian reaction followed the airing of a controversial television documentary on 27th May 2010, on 'Afghan Christian Converts' by a local television station in Afghanistan wherein they revealed the identities of some supposed Afghan Christian converts.

WEA RLC is also deeply troubled by the statements made by Afghanistan Officials including the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan H.E. Hamid Karzai. It is reported that the President has instructed government officials and the Afghan intelligence agency to take immediate and serious action to prevent further conversions from Islam.

The events of the past few weeks where Afghan Officials suspended two church based aid organizations on alleged charges of proselytizing and the crack down on converts from Islam are further disturbing developments which signify a non tolerant attitude toward religious freedom.

"We do not know how the whole world and especially the Global Church is silent and closing their eyes while thousands of their brothers and sisters (Body of Christ) are in pain, facing danger to their lives, death, torture, persecuted and called criminals" stated an Afghan Christian leader who fled to safety, in an appeal to the WEA RLC.

WEA RLC calls on the worldwide church to pray for Afghanistan that there will be respect for the freedom of religion and that the government of Afghanistan will take all necessary action to safeguard the lives and the rights of all Afghans and expatriates working in Afghanistan.

"It is a cause of serious concern that the mere accusation of converting from Islam has resulted in such strong and violent reactions by the Afghan authorities and the public. While we recognize the challenges faced by the Afghan government in rebuilding and restoring peace in Afghanistan after decades of war and division, we urge the Afghan government to take urgent and immediate action to protect the lives of all Afghans" states Godfrey Yogarajah, Executive Director.

Pakistan

250 Pakistani Christian families were ordered to leave their homes in Khanewal district, Punjab province in the beginning of June 2010. The order of the head of a Muslim village came after believers strongly objected to sexual assaults on girls and women by Muslims in the region. According to sources most of the village's Christian men work in the fields of Muslim landowners, while most of the Christian women and girls work as servants in the homes of Muslim families, where they are often abused. Christians are afraid to protect themselves by filing an official complaint, as complaint against Muslims often results in registering false charges against Christians under the "blasphemy" statutes in Pakistan.

Iraq

On 7th June 2010 the 34-year-old Christian businessman Hani Salim Wadi was shot and killed in front of his home in Kirkuk, Iraq. According to the available sources the witnesses of the shooting have described it as a "targeted killing," which has brought fear of renewed violence against Christians in Iraq. During the recent months there have been other serious attacks against Christians in Kirkuk and Mosul (RLF WEA).

Iran

Two courageous Iranian Christian women, originally from a Muslim background, have been set free following their acquittal of all anti-state and apostasy charges laid against them. Arrested in March, 2009, they were held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison where their health deteriorated until they were acquitted of anti-state charges in November. In April they returned to face trial on apostasy charges and on May 21st they were acquitted. Withstanding ill health due to harsh prison conditions and resisting extreme pressure to renounce their faith before a judge, Maryam and Marzieh's courage has given renewed hope to Iranian Christians and those who have upheld them in prayer throughout their ordeal. Warned of serious consequences if they continued to engage in Christian activity, they left Iran on May 22^nd for freedom in another country where they can worship without harassment. Our prayers for the Lord's provision and direction for their future go with them. (Middle East Concern)

Turkey

There is renewed hope that evidence presented at the trial of 5 young men charged with the torture and murder of 3 Christians engaged in the publication of Christian literature will lead to full disclosure of the identity and political agenda of the instigators. Information contained in a recently discovered CD implicates 41 Turkish Naval officers in the murder of these and other Christians; Catholic priest, Andreas Santoro, and Hrant Dink, Editor-In-Chief of Agos. It provides evidence of a conspiracy to destabilise and discredit the Justice and Development Party by demonstrating that it is incapable of protecting Turkey's vulnerable religious minorities. This revelation may prevent the Malatya trial being brought to a premature conclusion and may lead instead, to the indictment of a cabal of influential and profoundly anti-Christian figures. Such an outcome would bring fresh hope of justice to persecuted Christians in Turkey. (Forum 18, Compass Direct)

Burma

In 2007 Soe Naing was arrested and imprisoned for 11 months for aiding a journalist reporting on the plight of the displaced people of Arakan State. Far from allowing his incarceration to deter him, Naing befriended his fellow inmates, encouraged and organised them teams ready for action upon release from prison. Many joined the Arakan pro-democracy resistance. All experienced renewed happiness, hope and purpose. Improved morale throughout the detention block reduced problems among the prisoners now largely unified in a shared objective and soon Naing's positive influence was recognised by prison authorities. After 11 months of prayer, advocacy and the settling of a fine by the same journalist he had been assisting at the time of his arrest, Naing was released and immediately resumed his aid efforts in Arakan State. "It was a good experience for me...It was a good opportunity for me...God took care of me and I was able to use that time to raise up more people who wanted to work for freedom in Burma...God worked out my prison time for good". (Christian Faith and Freedom)

China

As already noted in May, Nobel Prize nominee Gao Zhisheng has been abducted by Chinese authorities. It appears that his earlier release was staged to ease pressure on the Communist regime. Re-arrested at his father-in-law's home on April 20, he has not been heard from since.

Please use the following letter as a guideline to write for his release:

11 May 2010

China

A Chinese human rights lawyer who returned home earlier this month after disappearing for more than year has again gone missing, his family says.

Gao Zhisheng was arrested and taken into custody in February last year and not heard from for months.  When he reappeared in Beijing, he said he was giving up his campaigning so he could reunite with his family. His family now they say they have not heard from him since he returned from a visit to Xinjiang 10 days ago.

"We don't know where he is. We have had no contact. We have not been able to get in touch with him for a month," his sister told the AFP news agency.

Li Heping, a fellow lawyer, told the South China Morning Post Mr Gao had gone to visit his father-in-law in Urumqi, the capital of western Xinjiang region, in early April but was arrested after one night and taken away by police and reportedly put on a plane to Beijing. "After he got off the plane no one knows where he went," Mr Li told AFP. "A lot of his friends and colleagues fear that he could have been taken back into police custody."

Mr Gao, who has represented some of China's most vulnerable people (Christians, Falun Gong, coal miners), was once named one of the country's top lawyers.

He was charged with subversion by Beijing in 2006 but given a suspended sentence and is not believed to have been charged again during his disappearance.

At a news conference following his reappearance earlier this month, Mr Gao said he was giving up campaigning for the sake of his family. (BBC 30th April 2010)

Iraq

Iraq's last official census (1987) counted 1.4 million indigenous Assyrian and Chaldean Christians.  As Islamic zeal and Arab nationalism rose in the wake of Gulf War 1 (1991), Christians with means emigrated. By the time of the March 2003 US invasion, the Christian population of Iraq was estimated at between 1.2 million

and 800,000. Today, after seven years of war, sectarian conflict and ethnic-religious cleansing, a remnant of some 400,000 Christians remains. The Shi'ite south has been virtually 'cleansed' of Christians and few remain in the Sunni-dominated centre.

Christians now live mostly in the north: in the historic Assyrian homeland of the Nineveh Plains, a fault-line region between the Arabs (who invaded up from Arabia in the 7th Century) and the Kurds (who invaded down from Turkey in the 14th Century). Terrorism targeting Mosul's churches and Christians has escalated ever since the US 'surge' forced al-Qaeda elements out of the central provinces of Anbar, Baghdad and Diyala to relocate north. Christian families continue to flee Mosul in large numbers. Those still there report being intimidated and harassed with threatening phone calls and letters. Many Christian women have taken to wearing the hijab to hide their Christian identity.

Christians are so endangered in Northern Iraq that Christian students must travel to university in convoys with Iraqi military escorts. On Sunday morning 2 May two bombs ripped through a convoy of buses transporting Christian college students from the mainly Christian town of Hamdaniya, 40km east of Mosul in the Nineveh Plains region of Northern Iraq, to the University of Mosul. According to reports, once

the first buses had passed through the Kokjali checkpoint (manned by US, Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers) a car bomb parked on the shoulder of the highway exploded in their path, followed moments later by a roadside bomb. A local shopkeeper was killed and more than 100 people were wounded (17 critically) including some 70 of the targeted Christian college students. (Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission)

For a perspective on Iraq's minorities, see BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0074wh0

Turkey

The trial of 5 men accused of the murder of 3 Christian bookshop proprietors, two Turks and one German, who were tortured then stabbed to death is in danger of being hastened to a premature conclusion following the rejection of plaintiff appeals to investigate the alleged masterminds behind the killings.

Istanbul prosecutors, who forwarded a police report to Malatya's Third Criminal Court linking the murders to Ergenekon (a cabal of high profile political, former military and other influential key figures), allege that the five young defendants are little more than puppets in what they believe to be a larger "deep state" operation.

The murder of an Armenian Christian editor in the months prior to the Malatya slayings has also been linked to the Ergenekon. Overwhelming evidence presented by plaintiff lawyers over the past 3 years demonstrates that the Malatya murders were not only related to this prior execution (all were engaged in Christian publications) but were premeditated assaults against Turkey's Christian minority.

Encouraging reports coming out of Turkey suggest the imminent and hasty closure of this trial has inspired courageous Christians to speak out. Their demand for a full investigation into the architects of these crimes (and not merely the perpetrators) has emerged in spite of the risk of backlash. (Compass Direct, OpenDemocracy)

Nigeria

The massacre, on March 8th, of more than 500 predominantly ethnic Berom Christians, mainly women and children, by Hausa Fulani Muslim militants has shocked and dismayed the international community and been strongly condemned by human rights organizations.

Armed with machetes and knives, the perpetrators attacked three villages in the middle of the night, hacking indiscriminately and slaughtering mainly women and children. This was followed closely on March 17th by the killing of a further 13 Christians, children and a pregnant woman among the victims.

Approximately 75 homes were destroyed by fire in the first attack, mainly in the villages of Dogo Nahawa, Zot and Rastat. Security forces had been alerted to the high probability of an attack but were beaten to the villages by the militants who came on foot from a nearby state. The unprovoked, brutal attack was another in a string of jihad offensives, according to Bishop Anderson Bok, National Coordinator of the Plateau State Elders Christian Fellowship, and Secretary General, Musa Pam.

Survivors of the second attack who had witnessed the brutal massacre of their families, reported hiding nearby and overhearing the attackers making plans to return as soon as two days later to "finish off" those who had fled. Christians in neighbouring villages believe that the Islamic militants will soon widen their net in their campaign to eradicate Christianity, exposing them to the very real danger of imminent attack, despite the joint efforts of military forces, security teams and imposed state-wide curfews.

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Reverend Monsignor Gabriel Osu, has urged the government to concentrate every effort in bringing to justice the architects of these savage crimes so that Nigeria can move forward as a united people under one banner. President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Ayo Oritsejafor, warns that the country risks a total collapse of law and order unless these barbaric attacks on Christians are stemmed at a Federal government level. [Tears of the Oppressed]

You might like to write a letter to the Nigerian High Commissioner, using the following as a guide:

25 March 2010

Uzbekistan

On 18 January Uzbek police arrested Baptist member Tohar Haydarov (27), took him to a local police station and allegedly pressured him to renounce his faith. When he refused, they reportedly planted drugs in his pocket. The police took Haydarov's keys, searched his home and reportedly found more drugs. Pastor Haydarov was subsequently detained for three days during which it is believed he was beaten and forced to sign papers. Baptists were not permitted to testify at Haydarov's trial on 4 March. On 5 March Haydarov's father (who lived with Haydarov) was found dead in their home. According to the official report, he died as a result of accidental electrocution. On 9 March Guliston City Criminal Court sentenced Pastor Tohar Haydarov to 10 years in prison on charges of drugs possession and trafficking. Not only are local Baptists adamant that Haydarov is 'a man with a pure conscience and an honest Christian', but several of Haydarov's neighbours have issued written statements testifying to his good character. [Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission]

Nigeria

Thousands continue to flee the violence in Jos following the unprovoked attack on January 19 on St Michael’s Church and surrounding churches. An estimated 300 were killed, with up to 18,000 fleeing their homes in the wake of the violence.

In the wake of police and judicial inaction following the burning of churches, more arson attacks on churches have occurred. Christians continue to suffer in silence and refuse to engage in retaliatory reprisals. In Zamfara state, Christians buying land are being forced to sign agreements prohibiting them to use the land for church buildings [Tears of the Oppressed]

Iraq

Aishwa Maroki (59) and his two sons, Mokhlas (31) and Bassim (25) were shot dead by unknown assailants, who forcibly entered their home on 23^rd February in Mosul. The three Christian men killed were relatives of Father Mzen Ishoa, who in 2007 together with one more priest was kidnapped by unidentified assailants in the city of Mosul and later released.

• Pray for Aishwa Maroki’s wife and daughter, who were also at home during the murder but were not harmed.
• Pray for God’s protection over Christians in Iraq, threatened by the hostility of religious extremism.
• Pray for the authorities in the country to be able to provide security and freedom of religion for all their citizens.  

[Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission]

Iran

Two Iranian women, Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Esmeilabad who converted from Islam to Christianity have been released from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison following intense international pressure.  Anti-state charges against the women have been dropped. Their refusal to recant before a judge has inspired Christians worldwide. The women, whose health declined during their imprisonment, sent a message to their supporters: “Words are not enough to express our gratitude to the Lord and to His people who prayed and worked for our release”. [Tears of the Oppressed]

India

Christian protests that followed the defilement of an image of Jesus by Hindu extremists have been met with violent reprisals. Victor Gill, deacon of the Church of North India (CNI) and his wife were threatened with being burned alive if they did not come out when a group of men armed with sticks and rods surrounded their home. Hindu nationalists invaded the home of another CNI member destroying property and dragging the occupants outside before dousing them with petrol. Fortunately the matches also become soaked and would not light. [Tears of the Oppressed]

Pakistan

A young Christian shopkeeper, Imram Masih, has been fined and sentenced to life imprisonment following a charge of desecrating the Koran. Following a business dispute a rival shopkeeper used a mosque loudspeaker to accuse Masih of desecrating the Koran and blaspheming Muhammed, inciting a mob to viciously assault him and loot his shop, before handing him over to police. The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance has said that Masih’s case is not unusual and that they would provide legal assistance when he appeals his sentence to the Lahore High Court. [Tears of the Oppressed]

Egypt

Six Christians were killed in a drive-by shooting as they left a Coptic Christmas service in Nag Hammadi, in southern Egypt.  Complaints against these and other violations of their rights have been met with indifference or direct threats from authorities. Many Coptic Christians remain in prison without charge in spite of court orders for their release. There are reports of Coptic girls being kidnapped, drugged, sexually assaulted and married to Muslim men against their will. [Tears of the Oppressed]

Please write to the Egyptian Ambassador (no email but Fax: (02) 6273 4279), using the information above: