Prayer Focus Update February 2008 PRAYER FOCUS UPDATE is a monthly information bulletin with up-to-date news on the persecuted Church to help Christians pray for their suffering brothers and sisters. You can use this for prayer groups, your own information and for inclusion in church magazines. It can be sent via email, is available as printable versions on the Barnabas Fund website or can be sent through the post FREE OF CHARGE. Please contact your national Barnabas Fund office or the UK office if you would like to receive this in the post. You can select an A4 or A5 PDF version to download by clicking here <http://www.barnabasfund.org/support/pfu.php> * PAKISTAN - TWO CHRISTIANS KILLED AMIDST GROWING THREATS AND VIOLENCE <#PAKISTAN-TWOCHRISTIANSKIL> * INDIA - WORST ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE FOR 60 YEARS <#INDIA-WORSTANTI-CHRISTIAN> * CHINA - FOUR HOUSE GROUP LEADERS RELEASED FROM LABOUR CAMP <#CHINA-FOURHOUSEGROUPLEADE> * IRAQ - SERIAL BOMB ATTACKS ON CHURCHES IN THE WAKE OF CHRISTMAS <#IRAQ-SERIALBOMBATTACKSONC> * INDONESIA - ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS BECOMING MORE VOCAL <#INDONESIA-ISLAMICEXTREMIS> * ALGERIA - ISLAMIST CALL FOR MORE ACTION AGAINST CHRISTIAN EVANGELISM <#ALGERIA-ISLAMISTCALLFORMO> PAKISTAN - TWO CHRISTIANS KILLED AMIDST GROWING THREATS AND VIOLENCE Two Christians were killed in Pakistan last month. On 9 January, Simon Emmanuel was murdered by Islamic extremists, who reportedly mistook him for his brother Younis Tasadaq who had fled the country after having been accused of "blasphemy" in 1998. Younis returned to Pakistan to visit his family in 2007, and it is believed that Islamic radicals discovered he was back in the country and decided to assassinate him, mistakenly shooting his brother. So far police have refused to register the case, claiming that it was suicide. On 19 January a young Pakistani Christian worker, Sajid William, was shot dead by Muslim extremists on his way home from work in Peshawar, the capital city of the North West Frontier Province. Sajid was married and had an 18-months old daughter. In Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan, the increasing power of the Taliban in the region and the failure of central government to control the area mean that Christians are becoming exposed to danger of murder, kidnapping and intimidation. A Barnabas contact in Punjab Province recently reported that a criminal gang in one of the villages has been trying to pass the blame for their crimes on to Christians. The police colluded with the criminal in blaming the Christians for crimes they did not commit. /. Pray for Younis and his family. Pray that the Lord will comfort, strengthen and protect them, driving out all fear. Pray for Sajid's widow and their daughter. Pray that the Lord will be their refuge and their comfort in this difficult time. Pray for Christian brothers and sisters to surround and strengthen them. . Pray for the vulnerable Christian minority in Pakistan, especially in the North West Frontier Province. Pray that the Lord will embolden them and that they will continue strong in their faith despite the evil that surrounds them. Pray that authorities will see the wrong of what is happening and will be quick to act in favour of the Christian minority. . Pray also for the upcoming elections on 18 February. Pray that peace and freedom may be preserved in this country and that the outcome will be a clear stand against Islamic extremism. Pray that good will come at last of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the leading opposition candidate, by radical Islamists in December 2007. / INDIA - WORST ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE FOR 60 YEARS Over Christmas Hindu extremists launched a series of violent attacks against Christians in Kanhdamal District, Orissa State. A total of 95 churches were burnt to the ground, as well as 730 homes of Christians. At least nine Christians were killed and many are still missing. Several Christians have reported how the police stood by watching the carnage without trying to intervene while members of the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Panishad) attacked houses, churches and people with guns, knives, home-made bombs and other weapons. The VHP attackers shouted slogans including: "Only Hindus to stay here - no Christians to stay here", "Christians must become Hindu or die" and "Kill Christians". At least 5,000 Christians are believed to have been impacted by the attacks. The government has set up refugee camps but apparently two Christian refugees have already died there because of overcrowding and unhygienic conditions. This is the worst incident of anti- Christian violence since India became independent in 1947. Only a few weeks later further attacks occurred in neighbouring Chhattisgarh state. On 16 January Hindu extremists injured some 80 Christians when they attacked a prayer meeting in Bothli village in Durg district, and only one day later radical Hindus attacked a Christian camp in Dhamtari district, where about 500 Christians had gathered, injuring at least a dozen Christians. According to some reports even the presence of a TV camera did not deter the Hindu extremists from their violent attacks. /. Pray for quick healing for those injured in the attacks. Pray for those who have lost loved ones that the Lord will comfort them and give them strength. Pray that God will keep safe and provide for those who have lost everything and had to flee to refugee camps. . Pray that many people will support Barnabas Fund in helping the victims with food, clothes, temporary shelter and with rebuilding of houses and churches. Pray that this help will be distributed efficiently and wisely. . Pray for Christians in India. Pray for the Lord's protection over them and that His perfect love will drive out all fear. Pray for those who persecute our brothers and sisters that their eyes will be opened to the truth. Pray also that authorities will take a clear stand against violence directed against Christians by radical Hindus and that they will put an end to it./ CHINA - FOUR HOUSE GROUP LEADERS RELEASED FROM LABOUR CAMP Four Chinese house church leaders were released from labour camp after an unprecedented legal victory on 8 January. Altogether nine church leaders were arrested on 6 August last year after they were found having Sunday worship service together at one of their homes. They were charged with "undermining the enforcement of State laws" and sentenced to 12 to 18 months re-education through labour. The 65-year old church leader who hosted the service was also severely beaten. In China house churches (i.e. churches which are not government controlled) are considered illegal, and the government has launched a nationwide campaign last year to "normalise" the Chinese underground Church. A request to overturn the sentence was granted last month for four of the leaders as the committee acknowledged that the charge was not "based on clear facts and supported by sufficient evidence". /. Praise the Lord that justice has been done in the case of these four church leaders. Pray for the other five that their sentence will be repealed as well and they will be released quickly. . Pray that the Lord will fill these Christian leaders with courage and faith so that they can continue to minister even under these difficult and often dangerous circumstances./ IRAQ - SERIAL BOMB ATTACKS ON CHURCHES IN THE WAKE OF CHRISTMAS Within the two weeks from 6 January to 18 January several Iraqi churches and Christian buildings were targeted by bomb attacks. On 6 January (the date when many Middle Eastern Christians celebrate Christmas Eve) six coordinated bombs went off in different locations around Baghdad and Mosul. All of them were positioned close to churches and other Christian buildings. At least one person was wounded and several of the buildings were damaged. On 9 January two bombs exploded in front of two churches in Kirkuk, injuring three people and damaging the buildings. A week later, on 17 January, another bomb went off in Kirkuk. A policeman and a civilian were hurt, and the church wall and windows were severely damaged. Although most of the bombs were placed well away from the buildings and detonated at times when not many people were around, it is still clear that the objective of these bomb attacks was to cause fear among the Iraqi Christian community and to discourage Iraqi Christian refugees from returning to their homeland. /. Pray for those injured in the blasts. Pray that God will bring physical and emotional healing. . Pray for the Christian community in Iraq, that the Lord will strengthen and protect them. Pray that the Iraqi government will find a way of asserting authority and bring an end to the persecution of Christians by radical Islamists seeking to drive them out of the country./ INDONESIA - ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS BECOMING MORE VOCAL In Indonesia, radical Islamic groups are becoming increasingly aggressive and vocal. Many see the growing number of Christian converts from Islam as a serious threat. One member of the Anti Apostasy Alliance (AAA), a prominent Islamic group, said that he considered conversion from Islam to Christianity "is a bigger evil than terrorism". Recent months have also seen a number of violent attacks against churches. On 18 November last year, one church in the South Bandung area of West Java was attacked and seriously damaged. Around 250 members of the Anti Apostasy Alliance (AAA) broke into the church and severely damaged the interior of the building and furniture with sticks and knives after holding Islamic prayers in the building. Another church, which had suffered several attacks over the years, was painted by the AAA with graffiti, threatening to tear that whole building down. Throughout 2007 at least 25 churches in West Java had either been forced to close or been attacked and destroyed by militants. Indonesian Christians voiced concern about the reluctance on the part of the police to intervene. /. Pray for the safety of Christians in Indonesia. Pray that authorities will be quick to act in situations like these and that the government will take measures to prevent such outbreaks of radical Islamism. . Pray that the mostly moderate Muslim population of Indonesia will reject beliefs such as the one voiced by the AAA member and that they will show support for their Christian neighbours who have become the target of violence from radical Islamic groups./ ALGERIA - ISLAMIST CALL FOR MORE ACTION AGAINST CHRISTIAN EVANGELISM A group from the Algerian security services which specialises in dealing with evangelistic activities is planning to create a "Commission to Fight against Christianisation" and to present it to the Algerian president and the government to encourage them "not to be weak in the face of the crusade". Algeria is a secular state with 99% of its population Sunni Muslim. Most Christians are from a Muslim background, and the growing number of Christians, especially in parts of east and south Algeria, has given rise to complaints from radical Islamists about the government's "lenient" approach towards churches, fearing that "the creeping evangelisation campaign underway [...] could be highly detrimental [...] to the country's unity and to the unalloyed Muslim character of the Algerian people". The Society of Muslim Scholars (SOMS), for example, has published a report on the Christian "evangelistic campaign", claiming that it had "moved to a stage of attack on the Algerians". /. Praise God for Church growth in Algeria. Pray that the Algerian government will not be influenced by the efforts of these Islamist groups. . Pray for all the Christian converts from Islam that the Lord will strengthen them in their faith./
top of page