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Persecution Report for Tuesday, 14-Jan-2003

Mission Network News reports the following incidents of persecution.

Iraq:

War tensions increase missions difficulty.

The tensions building between the United States and Iraq. The threat of war has sparked rallying cries in neighbouring Islamic countries, and raised the spectre of continued anti-US terrorism. Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton says the connection is dangerous for missionaries because: "Saddam Hussein has already tried to paint this as a war of Christians attacking Muslims. I think if war does come, you will hear that theme repeatedly, 'this is the Christians attacking the Muslims', and really, a call to arms among the Muslim world to fight back, to defend Islam." Nettleton says even as the threat of war escalates, believers see it as a time for reaching out with the hope of the Gospel. "When times are uncertain, when there is a battle raging, people are thinking about things of eternity, they are thinking about things of a spiritual nature. That can be a time of great ministry and a time of great outreach for Christians."

Yemen:

Murdered mission hospital workers buried.

Martha Myers, Bill Koehn were laid to rest on the hospital grounds December 31rst. Kathy Gariety's remains were flown to the United States for burial. Al Lindholm, another Southern Baptist worker in Yemen, says theirs is along-standing story that will be told. "I think it's a great testimony that Martha and Bill were buried here. It shows that they belong to Yemen and they belong to this community, and people are going to show respect to the sacrifice they made and remember it."

International Mission Board President, Jerry Rankin promises they will continue their work in Yemen." The needs of the people continue. The reason our personnel are there is because of those needs and our caring concern for those needs of the people. So, certainly, we will continue to explore the options of how we might continue the ministry to which God has called us."

Please go to http://www.mnnonline.org to learn more about missions news and to hear a weekday audio news cast.

Christian Aid Mission reports these persecution incidents.

Indonesia:

Muslim backlash?

Indonesia watchers are saying that the recent violence by Islamic radicals in the 13,000-island nation may actually be driving people from Islam.

About 80% of Indonesia's 212 million population is Muslim. Carl Cady, U.S. Director for International Friends of Compassion, says that of these only about 70 million are registered at local mosques. Another 100 million are "casual" Muslims who do not attend the mosque regularly and don't have strong devotion to Islam.

"These are the ones who are questioning Islam," Cady said. "The radicals who have bombed and killed in the name of Islam are not winning many of these. In fact, I have spoken to pastors in Central Java after 9-11 and they said that large numbers of Muslims are coming to the churches in Central Java saying, 'If running into buildings and killing innocent people is what Islam is all about, we don't want anything to do with it.'"

On the first day of Idul Fitri, a bomb explosion at a McDonald's restaurant in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, killed three people, and two people were killed by snipers in Poso, Central Sulawesi, an area of high tension between Muslims and Christians.

"The leaders of Indonesia know this and also recognize that if they are not careful how they deal with the radical wing of Islam they could actually spark a fundamentalist revival. We need to pray for the leadership of Indonesia as they handle with great care the complex issues regarding their economy and human rights."

This year's three-day Idul Fitri (the festival celebrating the end of Ramadan--the Muslims' month of fasting), was curtailed both in material goods and in spirit, according to a December 9 article in the Jakarta Post entitled "Indonesia Marks Idul Fitri with Anguish and Simplicity."

The Jakarta Post article also said, "The Oct 12 Bali terror attacks that claimed almost 200 people, along with the bomb blast in Makassar, have been a slap in Islam's face for many here, as the prime suspects are all Indonesian Muslims."

An Indonesia observer told Christian Aid, "A major part of the anguish is the dawning realization and admission that most of the nation's woes have been caused directly by the evil deeds of Indonesians, and fervent Muslims at that! This may not be surprising news to Americans, but it's horribly surprising to many Indonesians.

"When any perceived insult to 'the faith' [Islam] comes from outside, people know what to do: get all upset, throw fits, launch lawsuits and riot. But when the 'slap in Islam's face' comes straight from conservative Indonesian Muslims, how can they respond? Tens of millions right now are groping for an answer.

India:

Missionaries to unreached tribe attacked.

Hindu radicals attacked missionaries working among the Dhakti Bhils in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan Christmas week. The militants destroyed an electric generator, microphone and Christian literature, and then turned on the missionaries themselves. The exact state of the missionaries' wellbeing was not known. Due to problems with communication, a messenger was sent to the site for more information. The Dhakti Bhils are an unreached people group that inhabit the Thar Desert of Rajasthan and neighbouring Pakistan. The missionaries had pioneered work among them and had planted a small worshipping congregation among them.

Please go to http://www.christianaid.org for more details on these stories and to learn about missionary news.

The Voice Of The Martyrs reports these acts of persecution.

India:

Prison superintendent charged with converting inmates.

The chief superintendent of prisons at India's Pondicherry Central Jail is facing a judicial inquiry being accused of forcibly converting inmates to Christianity. According to a report from Compass Direct on January 7, Munanni, a fundamentalist Hindu group, is also demanding the suspension of Mr. G. David and calling upon state legislators to adopt an anti-conversion law similar to that in neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.

The Hindu group alleges that at least three prisoners were baptized in the prison in recent weeks. While David makes no attempt to hide his Christian faith, he denies being involved in conversions. The Inspector General of Prisons has also received no complaints from inmates about conversions.

Pakistan:

Blinded church members blamed for church attack.

At least three survivors of the deadly attack on a Presbyterian Church in Chianwali, Pakistan on Christmas Day have sustained permanent eye damage, according to a report from Compass Direct on January 7. To add to their injuries, Urdu-language newspapers are naming them as probable suspects in the bombing. The three men have been identified as Boota Masih, Afzal Masih and his brother Aslam Pervaiz Masih. Boota Masih's two daughters remain in hospital with injuries.

According to one Christian, this is not unusual, as Islamic groups put pressure on the Christians to drop all charges against those responsible for the attack. Some of those injured are also refusing to be released from hospital, afraid to return to their village. Three girls were killed in the attack and thirteen other children and their parents were injured in the attack. As more information is made available about the attacks, earlier reports are being contradicted, including the report of a fourth victim. Also eyewitnesses are reporting that the attackers were not wearing burqas, as originally reported. Instead, their faces could be clearly seen and they were identified as local Islamic militants, but witnesses have been hesitant to testify to the authorities because of possible reprisals from police.

Ethiopia:

Mob attacks evangelical crusade.

On Sunday, December 29, a mob attacked a crusade in Mekelle, Ethiopia, killing two and injuring many others. According to a source for The Voice of the Martyrs, a crusade organized by the Ethiopian Full Gospel Church was in its final day when a mob of Ethiopian Orthodox militants attacked.

Mekelle is the capital of the state of Tigray in northern Ethiopia. The state is strongly Ethiopian Orthodox and has often seen persecution against evangelicals. According to the Ethiopian source, there were at least twelve serious attacks against evangelical Christians in Ethiopia in 2002. Societal discrimination, individual physical assaults, and a denial of police protection are commonplace, particularly in rural areas.

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