Religious Liberty Prayer List – No. 158 – Wed 06 Mar 2002

————————————— SUDAN: ‘RELIGIOUS FREEDOM’? NOT REALLY! —————————————

Article 24 of the Constitution Of The Republic Of Sudan (enacted in July 1998) states, ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience and religion and the right to manifest and disseminate his religion or belief in teaching, practice or observance. No one shall be coerced to profess a faith in which he does not believe or perform rituals or worship that he does not voluntarily accept.’ But Section 126 of the Sudan Criminal Law 1991 makes apostasy (leaving Islam) a criminal offence punishable by death. Non-Muslims, however, are allowed to convert to Islam. One look at the reality of life in Khartoum for Muslims who choose to follow Jesus will tell you which prevails – the Constitution or the Law.

When Alladin Omer Ajjabna Mohammed (then 23) become a Christian 11 years ago, he was expelled from University and disowned by his family. Some years later, he managed to enrol in an Arabic-language Christian seminary abroad, but was forcibly deported back to Sudan in June 2001 when local Muslim authorities learned that he was an ‘apostate’. Mohammed was arrested at Khartoum Airport and charged with apostasy. Held incommunicado, he was tortured and ordered to revert to Islam. He was released in September 2001 on medical grounds but had to report daily to security. While doing so, Mohammed disappeared again on 26 September 2001. This was only days after the arrest of Mohammed Saeed Mohammed Omer, a new believer who was charged with apostasy and subsequently tortured by police (see RLP 139).

On 30 January 2002, security police stopped Alladin Mohammed from boarding a flight to Uganda. Though his papers were fully in order, they said their computers identified him as a criminal. While detained, he was forcibly injected with unknown drugs. Pursuing his plan to apply from Uganda to study theology in Kenya, Mohammed attempted to fly out of Sudan again on 3 February 2002. Once more he was prevented and ordered to report daily to security. Mohammed has now gone into hiding and the authorities have mounted an extensive manhunt for him. Sudanese church leaders say there are two other Christians in a similar plight.

Tolerance in Khartoum has certainly deteriorated since Easter 2000 when hardline Islamists were shocked to see 210,000 people turn out for an Easter Celebration in Green Square, run by the All Sudan Council of Churches. The government cancelled the Easter 2001 Celebration when Islamists threatened violence (RLP 113). With over 100 Christians meeting in All Saints Cathedral then arrested and 53 of them summarily sentenced to be flogged, church leaders noted, ‘The language of tolerance and coexistence is fading fast.’

* To view past RLPs, go to http://www.evangelicalalliance.org.au/missions/rlc/postings.htm

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR

* the faith, hope and perseverance of the Christians whose lives are at risk.

* the safety, courage and provision of all the needs of Alladin Omer Ajjabna Mohammed and others in hiding and on the run from arrest and torture on charges of apostasy.

* great wisdom for church leaders in Khartoum as they witness to ALL people and then seek to protect and care for those with earthly lives at risk as soon as they accept Christ as Saviour.

* international pressure to challenge the Government of Sudan (GoS) to be consistent and faithful to its Constitution and so uphold the principles of freedom they boast about.

* God to intervene and bring peace to Sudan as human efforts at peace fall apart, with GoS bombing of civilians in the South appearing to escalate.

‘Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.’ Habakkuk’s Prayer – Hab:3:2

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE: ——————————————————————– ‘RELIGIOUS FREEDOM’ IN SUDAN? NOT REALLY!

At Easter 2000, Islamists in Khartoum were shocked to see 210,000 people turn out for the Easter Celebration put on by the All Sudan Council of Churches. When the event was due to be repeated in Easter 2001, Islamists forced its cancellation. The Government of Sudan’s persecution of Christians in Khartoum, especially of Muslims who choose to become Christians, has intensified over the past year. Whilst the Sudanese Constitution boasts religious liberty with ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience and religion … no one shall be coerced to profess a faith in which he does not believe…’, Sudanese Law makes apostasy (leaving Islam) a criminal offence punishable by death. Alladin Omer Ajjabna Mohammed (34) is one of several Christians who have been detained and tortured for apostasy and are now in hiding.

—————————————————- Please pass this along to others with attribution to World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty Prayer List <> —————————————————-

The WEA Religious Liberty Commission sponsors this RL Prayer List to help individuals and groups pray specifically and regularly for religious liberty issues, and in particular to uphold the Church where it is suffering persecution.

RL Prayer is moderated by Ron Clough, a commissioner of the WEA RLC and convenor of the Australian EA RLC. Elizabeth Kendal researched and compiled this message.

— You are currently subscribed to rl-prayer as: To unsubscribe, forward this message to

Related Articles:

• Review: The Faith of Leap: Embracing a Theology of Risk, Adventure & Courage, Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, Baker, 2011
• Why do Ex-College students Leave Christianity?
• Effective Evangelism: 18 Obstacles
• WAS JESUS GOD?
• COUNTRY CLUB TO MISSION BASE: THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF THE PASTOR

This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia License.