Persecuted Christians

Muslims Resume Building on Christian Graveyard in Pakistan

2010-09-01T16:00:05Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
SARGODHA, Pakistan, September 1 (Compass Direct News) – Muslims led by a hard-line cleric on Friday (Aug. 27) resumed building on a Christian cemetery in Mandi Bhawaldin, desecrating more graves in spite of a local government order to halt construction, according to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA). Radical Muslim cleric Mirza Abdul Ghani had built a mosque on the Christian graveyard off New Rasool Road in Mandi Bhawaldin after allegedly occupying the land 16 years ago, when area Christians were too intimidated to object, said Salamat Zia of APMA. The cleric’s alleged desecration of more of the graveyard land around the Masjid Ahle-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat mosque began three months ago, Zia said, with a basement and what appear to be shops completed. On Aug. 6 Zia led a seven-member Christian delegation to meet with area officials, and after inspecting the site, local administrative officers issued directives to stop the illegal encroachments. For a few days construction
stopped, Zia said, but last week it began anew. Khalid Gill, chief organizer of APMA in Punjab Province, said that Muslim leaders threatened Christians who objected to the construction. “They threatened that in case Christians protested against the reconstruction they would also carry out a protest rally against Christians, and Muslim clerics said Christians would be responsible for the consequences,” Gill said.

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Muslims Resume Building on Christian Graveyard in Pakistan
Hard-line cleric defies local officials’ order to stop construction.
By Walter Smith

SARGODHA, Pakistan, September 1 (Compass Direct News) – Muslims led by a hard-line cleric on Friday (Aug. 27) resumed building on a Christian cemetery in Mandi Bhawaldin, desecrating more graves in spite of a local government order to halt construction, according to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA).

Radical Muslim cleric Mirza Abdul Ghani had built a mosque on the Christian graveyard off New Rasool Road in Mandi Bhawaldin after allegedly occupying the land 16 years ago, when area Christians were too intimidated to object, said Salamat Zia of APMA.

“No one could object to the construction of the mosque, as it is in the constitution of Pakistan that no religious worship place could be demolished,” said Zia. “Therefore all the Christians remained silent then.”

The cleric’s alleged desecration of more of the graveyard land around the Masjid Ahle-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat mosque began three months ago, Zia said.

“This Christian graveyard was earmarked before the Indo-Pakistan partition on Aug. 14, 1947,” Zia added, “and their forefathers were buried there.”

Zia, a local journalist and resident of the Muhalla Ghorra area in Mandi Bhawaldin, said it initially appeared that Ghani’s workers were building an addition to the mosque, as only pillars had been erected. Now Ghani’s builders have completed a basement as well as possibly some shops, with cement plaster now being applied to the new units.

On Aug. 6 Zia led a seven-member Christian delegation intending to meet with District Coordination Officer (DCO) Muhammad Amin Chaudhary, another district officer named Syed Shahbaz Hussain Naqvi and District Police Officer Dar Ali Khatak of Mandi Bhawaldin about the encroachments on the Christian graveyard and to discuss how the graves of their loved ones were being demolished and desecrated.

As DCO Chaudhary was on leave, Acting DCO Shahid Rana took their application and forwarded it to the District Officer of Revenue and Tehsil Officer of Regulations with directives to visit the site and demolish all encroachments except the Masjid Ahle-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat mosque, Zia said.

After inspecting the site, the administrative officers issued directives to stop the illegal encroachments, and for a few days the construction was halted, he said.

“But despite the stay orders of stopping construction, the Muslim men restarted construction over the Christian graves on August 27,” Zia said.

Khalid Gill, chief organizer of APMA in Punjab Province, said that Muslim leaders threatened Christians who objected to the construction.

“They threatened that in case Christians protested against the resumption of construction they would also carry out a protest rally against Christians, and Muslim clerics said Christians would be responsible for the consequences,” Gill said.

APMA has demanded that the government allocate land for a Christian graveyard equivalent to the area allegedly occupied by the Muslims.

Local Urdu-language dailies in Mandi Bhawaldin have publicized the alleged encroachment on the Christian graveyard.

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WEA Religious Liberty Prayer News, September 1, 2010

2010-09-01T11:35:46Z

WEA Religious Liberty Prayer News*
September 1, 2010

"Guard me as the apple of the eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked who despoil me,
my deadly enemies who surround me."
Psalm 17:8-9

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* World Evangelical Alliance is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the Good News of Jesus in their communities. God is glorified and the nations of the earth are forever transformed.
The purpose of the WEA Religious Liberty Prayer Release is to keep you informed and mobilized in prayer and intercession for the needs of justice and religious liberty in the Church around the globe, so that we can stand together for the work of the Kingdom and the healing of the Nations. The Prayer Release is comprised on the basis of different credible Christian based resources.
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Aid workers killed in PAKISTAN [1]
Following the killings of aid workers in Afghanistan in August 2010, we read this week the distressing report of Compass Direct News Service about the kidnapping and the killing of three Christian flood-relief workers in Mingora, Pakistan. The bodies of the relief workers were recovered on 25th August 2010 by the authorities, with their names withheld by the officials at the international humanitarian organization that employed the workers for security reasons. The killings have been carried out by a group of Talibans, who attacked the vehicles of the foreigners, returning to their base. The foreign aid workers have been working in Mingora and the surrounding flood-ravaged areas. Pakistan has been hit by its worst flooding in decades, with the United Nations now estimating more than 21.8 million people have been affected. The President of ** replace with either - Pakistani or Pakistan�s advocacy organization Life for All strongly condemned the killings. Life for All additio
nally point to alleged discrimination against minorities in distribution of humanitarian aid, stating that Christians in severely flood-damaged areas in Punjab Province have been neglected.

Prayer points:
 Pray for protection over Christians and foreign workers in Pakistan.
 Pray for courage and peace in the small Christian minority in the country.
 Pray that state authorities might be able to manage the hostility and aggression in the country.

Attacks against Somali church leader in ETHIOPIA [2]
VOM Canada, through sources of International Christian Concern, reports about the street attacks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia against the prominent Somali church leader Mohamed Ali Garas on 21st August 2010 . Mohamed is a convert from Islam, who fled to Ethiopia from Somalia in 2005 after Somali authorities attempted to arrest him. On August 21st Mohamed was severely beaten by Somali Muslims and was treated at a local hospital for his injuries. VOM Canada additionally reports that Somali Christians living in Ethiopia have come under increased attacks from Somali Muslims in recent months.
Prayer points:
 Pray that local authorities might suppress increasing attacks against Somali Christians in Ethiopia.
 Pray for healing and recovery for Mohamed Ali Garas.
 Pray for Somali Christians in Ethiopia, for God�s protection and encouragement in spite of the recent persecution.

Arrests and discrimination against Christians in TANZANIA [3]
Compass Direct News Service reports about the arrest of the evangelist Peter Masanja from Zanzibar�s southeastern town of Paje, Tanzania, because of holding religious activities in his home and being suspected by local Muslims in planning to establish a church on his land. Peter Masanja was arrested and imprisoned in Kilimani. Local pastors have several times unsuccessfully tried to meet with prison authorities about Peter's arrest.
Additional disturbing news from Tanzania is in regard to Christian university students on the island of Zanzibar, a predominantly Muslim area off the coast of East Africa, who have been denied the right to worship inside the campus premises, which violates the rights granted by the constitution of Zanzibar Compass Direct News Servicehas also reported about growing discrimination against Christian students at universities in Tanzania.
Prayer points:
 Pray for the release of Peter Masanja and for God�s comfort over his wife and family.
 Pray God�s movement at university campuses in the country.
 Pray that the faith in Christ among Tanzanian Christians will grow stronger during these difficult days.

 Additional prayer items are available at the WEA website, http://www.worldevangelicals.org/pray/ .

 Keep in your prayer also the upcoming events and activities of the WEA globally, regionally and nationally, posted at http://www.worldevangelicals.org/newsletter/july08.htm

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India Briefs: Recent Incidents of Persecution

2010-08-31T13:26:22Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

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India Briefs: Recent Incidents of Persecution
By Mahruaii Sailo and Binaifer Wadia

Chhattisgarh, August 31 (Compass Direct News) � Police in Sivaho Dhamtari on Aug. 29 arrested three Christians after Hindu extremists filed a complaint against them of luring people to convert to Christianity by offering them money and �false hope.� A source reported that the extremists had recently launched a series of attacks against Pastor Dilip Chakravarty, Ganga Ram and Shankar Lal of the Church of God, accusing them of forceful conversion and trying to force Ram and Lal to �reconvert� back to Hinduism. Ram and Lal sustained fractures on their hands and legs from the attacks. Area Christian leaders said no forceful conversion took place. The three Christians were charged with 295 (a) of the Indian Penal Code for �deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion� and were sent to Dhamtari district jail the same day. � MS

Karnataka � Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal disrupted the worship meeting of Ebenezer Assembly of God Church and beat Pastor Ravi George and a church member identified only as Ramu on Aug. 29 in K.R. Nagar, Mysore. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that about 20 extremists broke into the worship meeting, snatched Bibles and a mobile phone from Pastor George and started beating those present. The Christians received hospital treatment for serious head and hand injuries. Pastor George submitted a police complaint. � MS

Karnataka � Christians in Madalawada, Haliya face a social boycott and the Rev. Philip Rock of St. Sebastian Church was charged with �causing disharmony� after Christians refused to follow Hindu rituals. In an effort to stop the spread of cholera in the village, local Hindu leaders On Aug. 24 urged villagers to pray to a Hindu deity and told them not to work on two Tuesdays and three Fridays, reported the Global Council of Indian Christians. Rock advised the Christians not to observe the Hindu rituals, and they resumed their daily activities. The Hindu extremists boycotted the Christians� businesses and grocery shops, kept students from attending Christian schools and refused to repair Christians� farm equipment. A police investigation is underway. � MS

New Delhi � Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bajrang Dal attacked Pastor Isaac Laal on Aug. 22 in Bhavana, Dariyakala Pura, New Delhi as he was returning home from a Sunday church service. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported that armed extremists stopped him and took him to Municipal Corporation hall where about 150 RSS members were meeting. The extremists accused Laal of forceful conversion and severely beat him, leaving the pastor with internal injuries. The investigating officer of Bawana police station told Compass that police are investigating but no First Information Report has been registered. � MS

Karnataka � Hindu nationalists on Aug. 20 beat a pastor after falsely accusing him of �allurement� in the conversion of villagers in Bhendwad, Belgaum district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Pastor David Kalagade of Jeevan Jala Prayer Mandiram was conducting a prayer service at another Christian�s house when 40 area extremists barged into the house at about 8 p.m. and accused him of bribing villagers to convert. Pastor Kalagade told Compass that the extremists tore up Christian literature and dragged him to the village council. Police were summoned, but the extremists could not substantiate their claims that people were given 500 to 1,000 rupees (about US$10 to US$20) to embrace Christianity. Police called the pastor to the police station on Aug. 21 and, contrary to the religious freedom provisions in the Indian constitution, forced him to sign a statement that he would not convert people in the village. Police official Anil Kumar told Compass t
hat police also took a written statement from the extremists pledging that they would not create disturbances for the Christians. GCIC sources told Compass that the extremists were closely monitoring the daily activities of Christians. � BW

Maharashtra � Police on Aug. 20 deported five South Korean students on the basis of the complaint of �propagating Christianity� on Aug. 16 by Hindu extremists in Pune. Manifesting one�s faith is legal in India. The Indian Express reported the police as saying that the five Koreans were distributing pamphlets in Pimpri Chinchwad, which led to a quarrel with local Hindu extremists. Area Christians said the Koreans were leading Bible studies in Christian homes and were distributing pamphlets on health issues to those who wanted them. � MS

Karnataka � Police on Aug. 19 detained a pastor after Hindu nationalists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) beat him while he was showing a film in Mahalingapura, Bagalkot district. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that Pastor Hanok Mahadev Inachi of the New Apostolic Church and two Christian students identified only as Sarah and Gauri were showing a film, �Oceans of Mercy� to villagers when a mob of over 200 RSS extremists attacked. The Hindu extremists repeatedly struck the pastor on his back and took the film projector, a DVD player, generators, amplifier and a speaker box worth nearly 100,000 rupees (US$2,135), which police later forced them to return. Pastor Inachi told Compass that the extremists pushed, shoved and struck his back as they forced him to the Mahalingapura police station. He was released the next morning without charges but was forced to sign a statement pledging that he would not enter the village again; the two women were also giv
en a warning. � BW

Madhya Pradesh � Police on Aug. 16 filed charges against a pastor under the state�s �anti-conversion law� after local Hindu extremists disrupted his house church meeting in Nisarpur village, Dhar district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that as independent Pastor Balu Sasya and an assistant pastor identified only as Raju were leading nearly 30 Christians in prayer and worship, about 35 extremists stormed the church, shouting slogans and slapping Raju. Falsely accusing the pastors of forcibly converting villagers, the extremists forced Sasya and Raju to the Nisarpur police station and filed a false complaint against them, GCIC reported. A GCIC regional coordinator told Compass that both Sasya and Raju were in still in Badhawani jail at press time. � BW

Tamil Nadu � Police arrested Pastor S. Martin Rajasekaran after Hindu extremists along with police disrupted a prayer meeting on Aug. 15 in Tanjore. Barging into the prayer meeting led by Pastor Rajasekaran, the extremists chased away the Christians, seized a church amplifier and loud speakers and locked the house, according to the All India Christian Council (AICC). The pastor had been threatened and driven away from his rented house six times by the extremists and insulted and manhandled many times, according to the AICC, but all his complaints to police were ignored. � MS

Madhya Pradesh � Two Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal, Ram Naresh Rai and Santosh Namdin, threatened a Christian convert on Aug. 15 in Dhanora, Lahknadon. Achelal Jhariya of Light of the World Church told Compass that the extremists filed a complaint against him of forceful conversion, claiming that he was constructing his house for conversion activities. Jhariya said the extremists went to the property site and told him to stop worshipping Jesus and warned him to stop construction or they would destroy all his belongings. The Christian said he was not building the house for any conversion activities, though such activities are legal in India, and reported the matter to police. Officers promised him security. � MS

Karnataka � Police arrested two Christians after Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal accused them of forceful conversion and disrupted their worship meeting on Aug. 15 in Mandya district. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the extremists led by Hanumant Raj, local president of the Bajrang Dal, forcefully entered the worship meeting in Shesha Gowda�s home and started abusing the Christians. They filed a complaint against the Christians of forceful conversion in K.R. Pete police station. Police took 12 Christians to the station for questioning, releasing 10 without charges. Pastor Satish and Evangelist Ravi Pas, however, were arrested under Section 295 and 298 of the Indian Penal Code for �defiling a worship place with intent to insult religion of any class� and �uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person respectively.� � MS

Karnataka � Police on Aug. 13 detained Christians after accompanying Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members to a church and standing by as the BJP extremists disrupted their worship in Birur, Chikmagalur district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the Indian Pentecostal Church pastor identified only as Dileep, along with 10 other Christians including three women and a young child, were taken to the Kadur police station and interrogated for over four hours. During the interrogation, BJP extremists surrounded them and shouted false accusations of forcible conversion and other abusive statements at the terrified Christians. With GCIC intervention, the Christians were released at 8:30 p.m. with a strict warning, contrary to the religious freedom provisions in the Indian constitution, to refrain from conversion activities in the area. � BW

Uttar Pradesh � Members of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Aug. 8 disrupted a Christian prayer meeting in Mailani, Lakhimpur-Kheri district, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). Nearly 25 BJP extremists accompanied by police gathered at 11 a.m. at Life Prayer Centre, where nearly 600 Christians had congregated for worship. The intolerant Hindus shouted slogans and demanded that Pastor Robert Samson come out, EFI reported. Police dispersed the Christians and took Pastor Samson in for questioning, releasing him later that afternoon without charges but allegedly threatening to shut down the church, according to EFI. Police also prohibited the congregation from gathering the following Sunday. Using a loudspeaker, the BJP nationalists continued making public accusations of forcible conversion by Pastor Samson throughout the day, EFI noted. � BW

Karnataka � Members of the extremist Hindu Jagaran Vedike, a wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, on Aug. 8 disrupted a prayer meeting and falsely accused Christians of �forceful conversion� in Kanakagiri, Koppal district. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported that at about 7:30 p.m. nearly 60 extremists stormed into an Evangelical Church of India service led by Pastor John Harris in the home of a family interested in learning about Christianity that had been regularly attending the church for about a year. Ordering the Christians to go outside where broadcast media were waiting, the extremists verbally abused the Christians for their faith, told them to stop all worship meetings and falsely accused them of forcible conversion. The Hindu nationalists took the Christians to the police station and pressured officers to arrest them. Police forced the Christians to sign a statement that they would not conduct meetings in homes and threatened to file a case against them
if they did. � BW, MS
Bihar � Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Aug. 7 attacked Singhasini Church and threatened Christians in Raxual. A source reported that the extremists pasted several pictures of Hanuman, a Hindu god, on the church�s wall and demanded that Christians leave the area. The extremists further threatened the Christians that they would hoist the Hanuman flag over the church building if they continued to worship Jesus. With area Christian leaders� intervention, no further harm came to the church. � MS

Maharashtra � Armed Hindu extremists on Aug. 1 attacked a church meeting and beat Christians including women and children, seriously injuring two people in Orlem, Malad. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that after a group of armed extremists barged into the Sunday worship meeting of the Church of North India�s St. Emmanuel Church, Ponkumar Nadar and Devashish Nagarwere sustained injuries that required treatment in a local hospital. The congregation was attacked with rods and other blunt weapons, according to the Catholic Secular Forum (CSF). Joseph Dias, secretary of CSF, told media that the Hindu extremists were drunk at the time of the attack. � MS

West Bengal � Muslim extremists on Aug. 1 destroyed a vegetable field belonging to a Christian in Natungram, Murshidabad. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported the field belonged to Gaffar Sheik, a member of Believer�s Community Worship Center. Earlier, Raffiqul Sheik had warned Gaffar Sheik that if he continued to worship Christ, his crops would be burned. The extent of the damage was estimated at about 20,000 rupees (US$400). Police visited the site, and an investigation is underway. � MS

Uttar Pradesh � Police detained Christian students after accusing them of forceful conversion on July 24 in Lukcnow. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that four students from Compassion for India Ministry were visiting the slum area when the police team led by an officer identified only as Tripati called their pastor to the police station. The officer accused the pastor and his team of forceful conversion and forced the Christians to report about their work in detail. Police took money from the pastor before releasing the students, reported the AICC. The students maintained that they were just distributing food to the needy in the poor area and that there was no forceful conversion. � MS

Uttar Pradesh � A mob of about 50 Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal barged into a Christian meeting shouting, �Jai Shri Ram [Praise lord Ram]� on July 23 in Kanpur. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the extremists forcefully entered the two-day meeting organized by Pastor Samuel Sarkar of the Kanpur Pentecostal Church and stopped the service. Police came to the spot and took the two parties to the police station, where officers told the Christians to cancel their meeting, which was subsequently discontinued. � MS

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END

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Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted by active subscribers only.

For subscription information, contact:

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P.O. Box 27250
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TEL: 949-862-0304
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Pakistani Taliban Kills Three Foreign Christian Aid Workers

2010-08-30T09:47:36Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, August 27 (Compass Direct News) � Authorities on Wednesday (Aug. 25) recovered the bodies of three Christian relief workers who had been kidnapped and killed by members of the Pakistani Taliban in the flood-ravaged country, area officials said. Swat District Coordination Officer Atif-ur-Rehman told Compass that the Pakistan Army recovered the bodies of the three foreign flood-relief workers at about 7 a.m. on Wednesday. An official at the international humanitarian organization that employed the workers withheld their names and requested that the agency remain unnamed for security reasons. Military sources who withheld news of the deaths from electronic and print media to avoid panicking other relief workers granted permission to Compass to publish it in limited form. �The foreigner aid workers have been working in Mingora and the surrounding areas,� Rehman said. �On Aug. 23 they were returning to their base at around 5:35 p.m. when a group of Taliban att
acked their vehicle. They injured around five-six people and kidnapped three foreign humanitarian workers.� Pakistan has been hit by its worst flooding in decades, with the United Nations now estimating more than 21.8 million people have been affected. An army Inter-Services Public Relations source said rangers have been deployed in Swat and other potential target areas to help provide security for relief workers. �The Taliban had warned about attacks on foreigner aid workers and Christian organizations,� the ISPR source said. Advocacy organizations have complained of alleged discrimination against minorities in distribution of humanitarian aid in Punjab Province. �It is discouraging to see that the Christian organizations are wholeheartedly supporting the victims regardless of the religion or race, but in most of the areas the Christians are totally ignored and not even allowed to stay,� said Kashif Mazhar, vice president of advocacy organization Life for All.

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Pakistani Taliban Kills Three Foreign Christian Aid Workers
Kidnapped relief workers had come to provide aid to victims of massive flooding.
By John Little

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, August 27 (Compass Direct News) � Authorities on Wednesday (Aug. 25) recovered the bodies of three Christian relief workers who had been kidnapped and killed by members of the Pakistani Taliban in the flood-ravaged country, area officials said.

Swat District Coordination Officer Atif-ur-Rehman told Compass that the Pakistan Army recovered the bodies of the three foreign flood-relief workers at about 7 a.m. on Wednesday. An official at the international humanitarian organization that employed the workers withheld their names and requested that the agency remain unnamed for security reasons. Military sources who withheld news of the deaths from electronic and print media to avoid panicking other relief workers granted permission to Compass to publish it in limited form.

�The foreigner aid workers have been working in Mingora and the surrounding areas,� Rehman said. �On Aug. 23 they were returning to their base at around 5:35 p.m. when a group of Taliban attacked their vehicle. They injured around five-six people and kidnapped three foreign humanitarian workers.�

Pakistan has been hit by its worst flooding in decades, with the United Nations now estimating more than 21.8 million people have been affected. Foreign aid workers are involved in relief activities across the country, including Swat district in Khyber-Paktunkhwa Province in northern Pakistan. At least 8 million people require emergency relief, with hundreds of thousands reportedly isolated from aid supplies.

An army Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) source said rangers have been deployed in Swat and other potential target areas to help provide security for relief workers.

�The Taliban had warned about attacks on foreigner aid workers and Christian organizations,� the ISPR source said. �All the international humanitarian organizations have been notified, and their security has also been increased.�

Rehman noted that the Taliban also has been trying to bring relief to flood victims.

�The Taliban are also trying to support the flood victims, and many other banned organizations have set up camps in southern Punjab to support the victims,� he said. �They intend to sympathize with the affected and gain their support.�
The president of advocacy organization Life for All, Rizwan Paul, said the bodies of the three relief workers had been sent to Islamabad under the supervision of the Pakistan Army.

�We strongly condemn the killing of the three humanitarian workers,� Paul said. �These aid workers came to support us, and we are thankful to the humanitarian organizations that came to help us in a time of need.�

Pointing to alleged discrimination against minorities in distribution of humanitarian aid, Paul added that Christians in severely flood-damaged areas in Punjab Province have been neglected. The majority of the effected Christians in Punjab are in Narowal, Shakargarh, Muzzafargarh, Rahim Yar Khan and Layyah, he said.

�The Christians living around Maralla, Narowal, and Shakargarh were shifted to the U.N.- administered camps, but they are facing problems in the camps,� he said. �There are reports that the Christians are not given tents, clean water and food. In most of the camps the Christians have totally been ignored.�

Life for All complained to U.N. agencies and the government of Pakistan regarding the discrimination, but no one has responded yet, he said.

�There have been reports from Muzzaffargarh and Layyah that the Christians are living on the damaged roads in temporary tents, as they were not allowed in the government camps,� he said.

In Sindh Province Thatta has been flooded, and around 300 Christian families who tried to move from there to Punjab were forbidden from doing so, a source said. Meteorologists are predicting more rains in coming days, with the already catastrophic flooding expected to get worse.

Kashif Mazhar, vice president of Life for All, said that in the northern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa conditions for Christians are better as there are Christian camps established, and Garrison Church in Risalpur is also providing aid to victims.

�It is discouraging to see that the Christian organizations are wholeheartedly supporting the victims regardless of the religion or race, but in most of the areas the Christians are totally ignored and not even allowed to stay,� Mazhar said.

Foreign targets are rarely attacked directly in Pakistan, despite chronic insecurity in the nuclear-armed state, which is a key ally in the U.S.-led war on Al Qaeda and the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. On March 10, however, suspected Islamic militants armed with guns and grenades stormed the offices of a Christian relief and development organization in northwest Pakistan, killing six aid workers and wounding seven others.

The gunmen besieged the offices of international humanitarian organization World Vision near Oghi, in Mansehra district, of the North West Frontier Province. Suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan have killed more than 3,000 people since 2007. Blame has fallen on Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants bitterly opposed to the alliance with the United States.

The U.N. decided last year to relocate a limited number of its international staff from Pakistan because of security concerns. Its World Food Program office in Islamabad was attacked in October last year, with five aid workers killed in a suicide bombing.

Then on Feb. 3, a bomb attack in the NWFP district of Lower Dir killed three U.S. soldiers and five other people at the opening of a school just rebuilt with Western funding after an Islamist attack.

www.compassdirect.org

END

**********
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted by active subscribers only.

For subscription information, contact:

Compass Direct News
P.O. Box 27250
Santa Ana CA 92799-7250
USA
TEL: 949-862-0304
E-mail: info@compassdirect.org
www.compassdirect.org

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Christian Convert in Bangladesh Falsely Accused of Theft

2010-08-30T09:45:16Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
DHAKA, Bangladesh, August 27 (Compass Direct News) � A Christian convert from Islam was falsely arrested for cattle theft last weekend in a bid by influential Muslims to stop his Christian activities, area villagers said. Day laborer Abul Hossen, 41, was arrested on Saturday (Aug. 21) for alleged cattle theft in Dubachari village in Nilphamari district, some 300 kilometers (180 miles) northwest of the capital, Dhaka. Christian villagers told Compass that Hossen was the victim of �dirty tricks� by influential Muslims. �There is another Abul Hossen in the village who might be the thief, but his father-in-law is very powerful,� said Gonesh Roy. �To save his son-in-law, he imputed all the blame to a different Abul Hossen who is a completely good man.� Hossen, who converted to Christianity from Islam in 2007, is very active in the community, and Muslims are harassing him with the charge so his ministry will be discredited and villagers will denounce his faith, Roy said. Some 150 v
illagers, about 20 percent of them Christian, went to the police station to plea for his freedom, he and other villagers said. Sanjoy Roy, a lay pastor with Christian Life Bangladesh, told Compass that Hossen was a fervent Christian and that some Muslims have been trying to harass him since his conversion. �They are hoping that if he is embarrassed by this kind of humiliation, he might not witness to Christ anymore, and it will be easy to take other converted Christians back to Islam,� Sanjoy Roy said. �He is a victim of dirty tricks by some local people.� A former union council chairman who is Muslim, Aminur Rahman, also told Compass that Hossen was a scapegoat. �There are two or three people named Abul Hossen in the village,� Rahman said. �Anyone of them might have stolen the cattle, but I can vouch for the arrested Abul Hossen that he did not do this crime.�

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Christian Convert in Bangladesh Falsely Accused of Theft
Muslims said to use mistaken identity to stop activities of Christian who refused to recant.
By Aenon Shalom

DHAKA, Bangladesh, August 27 (Compass Direct News) � A Christian convert from Islam was falsely arrested for cattle theft last weekend in a bid by influential Muslims to stop his Christian activities, area villagers said.

Day laborer Abul Hossen, 41, was arrested on Saturday (Aug. 21) for alleged cattle theft in Dubachari village in Nilphamari district, some 300 kilometers (180 miles) northwest of the capital, Dhaka.

Christian villagers told Compass that Hossen was the victim of �dirty tricks� by influential Muslims.

�There is another Abul Hossen in the village who might be the thief, but his father-in-law is very powerful,� said Gonesh Roy. �To save his son-in-law, he imputed all the blame to a different Abul Hossen who is a completely good man.�

Hossen, who converted to Christianity from Islam in 2007, has been very active in the community, and Muslims are harassing him with the charge so his ministry will be discredited and villagers will denounce his faith, Roy said.

�If he can be accused in the cattle theft case, he will be put in jail,� Roy said. �He will be a convicted man, and local people and the believers will treat him as a cattle thief. So people will not listen to a thief whatsoever.�

Some 150 villagers, about 20 percent of them Christian, went to the police station to plea for his freedom, he and other villagers said.

Sanjoy Roy, a lay pastor with Christian Life Bangladesh, told Compass that Hossen was a fervent Christian and that some Muslims have been trying to harass him since his conversion.

�They are hoping that if he is embarrassed by this kind of humiliation, he might not witness to Christ anymore, and it will be easy to take other converted Christians back to Islam,� Sanjoy Roy said. �He is a victim of dirty tricks by some local people.�

Hossen was baptized on June, 12, 2007 along with 40 other people who were raised as Muslims. Of the 41 people baptized, only seven remained Christian, with villagers and Muslim missionaries called Tabligh Jamat forcing the remaining 34 people to return to Islam within six months, sources said.

Local police chief Mohammad Nurul Islam told Compass that officers had arrested a cattle thief who confessed to police that his accomplice was named Abul Hossen.

�Based on the thief�s confessional statement, we arrested Abul Hossen,� said Islam. �There are several people named Abul Hossen in the village, but the thief told exactly of this Abul Hossen whom we arrested.�

Hossen denied the allegation that he was involved in cattle theft, Islam said.

�Hossen is vehemently denying the allegation, but the thief was firm and adamantly said that Hossen was with him during the theft,� he said. �Then we took Hossen on remand for three days for further inquiry.�

A former union council chairman who is Muslim, Aminur Rahman, also told Compass that Hossen was a scapegoat.

�He is 100 percent good man,� said Rahman, who also went to the police station to plea for Hossen�s freedom the day after his arrest. �There are two or three people named Abul Hossen in the village. Anyone of them might have stolen the cattle, but I can vouch for the arrested Abul Hossen that he did not do this crime.�

Whether Hossen is a Christian, Muslim or Hindu should not matter in the eyes of the law, Rahman said.

�He is an innocent man,� he said. �So he should not be punished or harassed. That is why I went to police station to request police to free him.�

Local government Union Council Chairman Shamcharan Roy, a Hindu from Lakmichap Union, told Compass that Hossen was not engaged in any kind of criminal activities.

�In my eight years of tenure as a union council chairman, I did not find him engaged in any kind of criminal activities,� said Shamcharan Roy. �Even before my tenure as a chairman, I did not see him troublesome in the social matrix.�

Immediately after Hossen�s arrest, Shamcharan Roy went to the police station and requested that he be freed, he added.

�I was under pressure from local people to free him from custody � more than 100 villagers went to the police camp, getting drenched to the skin in the heavy downpour, and requested police to free him,� Shamcharan Roy said. �Police are listening to a thief but are deaf to our factual accounts about Abul Hossen.�

In July 2007, local Muslims and Tabligh Jamat missionaries gathered in a schoolyard near the homes of some of the Christians who had been baptized on June 12, a source said. Using a microphone, the Muslims threatened violence if the converts did not come out.

Fearing for their lives, the Christians emerged and gathered. The source said the Muslims asked them why they had become Christians and, furious, told them that Bangladesh was a Muslim country �where you cannot change your faith by your own will.�

At that time, Hossen told Compass that Muslims in the mosque threatened to hang him in a tree upside down and lacerate his body with a blade. Hossen said the Muslims �do not allow us to net fish in the river� and offered him 5,000 taka (US$75) and a mobile phone handset if he returned to Islam.

�But I did not give up my faith, because I found Christ in my heart,� Hossen told Compass in 2007. �They threatened me with severe consequences if I do not go back to Islam. I said I am ready to offer up my life to Christ, but I won�t renounce my faith in Him.�

www.compassdirect.org

END

**********
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted by active subscribers only.

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Family Refutes Police Claims in Death of Christian in India

2010-08-26T08:42:43Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
NEW DELHI, August 25 (Compass Direct News) � The family of a 20-year-old Christian found dead last week in the northern state of Rajasthan suspects he was killed by Hindu nationalists, though police claim he died of cardiac arrest. Narayan Lal, a farmer from Hameerpura Patar village in Arnod sub-district of Rajasthan�s Pratapgarh district, was found dead the evening of Aug. 17 near a forest where he had gone to tend his goats. Lal was a volunteer teacher in a 10-day Vacation Bible School organized by indigenous Christian organization Light of the World Service Society (Jagat Jyoti Seva Sansthan) in his village area in May, and a relative who requested anonymity told Compass that some villagers did not approve of the young man spreading Christianity. �It seems his throat was strangulated,� the relative said. �I do not know who did it, but I am sure he was murdered. His family was facing opposition for their Christian work, particularly by some residents of Nadikhera village [n
ear Hameerpura Patar].� A post-mortem report showed no injuries or bruises, and three doctors suggested he died of cardio-respiratory failure, police said. The relative questioned why police did not inform the family of their autopsy report. �We would have taken the body to a private hospital for confirmation,� he said. Though police denied having heard that the family suspected murder, the relative said that Lal�s father told police his son was seemingly killed by some people from Nadikhera village who had been opposing him and his family. Salamgarh Police Inspector Govardhan Ram Chowdhary was unavailable for comment.

**********
Family Refutes Police Claims in Death of Christian in India
Bible teacher in Rajasthan state, 20, faced opposition from Hindu nationalists.
By Vishal Arora

NEW DELHI, August 25 (Compass Direct News) � The family of a 20-year-old Christian found dead last week in the northern state of Rajasthan suspects he was killed by Hindu nationalists, though police claim he died of cardiac arrest.

Narayan Lal, a farmer from Hameerpura Patar village in Arnod sub-district of Rajasthan�s Pratapgarh district, was found dead the evening of Aug. 17 near a forest where he had gone to tend his goats.

Lal was a volunteer teacher in a 10-day Vacation Bible School organized by indigenous Christian organization Light of the World Service Society (Jagat Jyoti Seva Sansthan) in his village area in May, and a relative who requested anonymity told Compass that some villagers did not approve of the young man �spreading Christianity.�

�It seems his throat was strangulated,� the relative said. �I do not know who did it, but I am sure he was murdered. His family was facing opposition for their Christian work, particularly by some residents of Nadikhera village [near Hameerpura Patar].�

A post-mortem report suggested otherwise, police said.

�The body of Narayan Lal, son of Tola Ram Meena, was found under a tree,� Superintendent of Police of Pratapgarh district Prem Prakash Tak told Compass. �There was some froth formation in his mouth, but no injuries or bruises. The post-mortem was conducted by three doctors, and they suggest that he died of cardio-respiratory failure.�

He added that police had not heard that the family suspected murder. The relative said, however, that Lal�s father told police that his son was seemingly killed by some people from Nadikhera village who had been opposing him and his family. Salamgarh Police Inspector Govardhan Ram Chowdhary was unavailable for comment.

Lal�s relative contested the police version, saying Lal was �absolutely healthy� with �no sign of any ailment.�

�I cannot believe that he died of heart failure � he was very young,� he said. �His shoes were lying near his body, and a piece of cloth was kept on his hands. It seemed that the cloth was used to tie his hands.�

The relative asked why police did not inform the family of their autopsy report�s indication of cardiac arrest.

�We would have taken the body to a private hospital for confirmation,� he said.

The death was reported to Salamgarh police at 10 p.m. on Aug. 17 under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code for �death under suspicious circumstances.� The autopsy was performed on Aug. 18, after which the body was handed over to the family for cremation.

Police Superintendent Tak acknowledged that Lal�s father, an elder in the village church, had been arrested in July 2008 on charges of desecrating an idol of a Hindu deity in the village. He was released after police failed to find evidence against him.

�He [Lal�s father] was falsely accused by those who did not like his missionary work,� the deceased�s relative said. �It was a plot to oppose his work.�

Christian persecution is not new to Rajasthan state, where Christian conversion is a sensitive issue.

The Rajasthan government passed an anti-conversion law in the state assembly in April 2006, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in power. The bill is still awaiting the governor�s assent.

The BJP led the government of Rajasthan from March 1990 to November 1998, and again from December 2003 to December 2008, when the Left-of-Center Congress Party won the election.

The incidence of Christian persecution is said to have decreased since the BJP�s defeat in the 2008 state election, with the exception of sporadic incidents.

About 30 suspected Hindu extremists assaulted two Christian workers from Gospel for Asia and chased them into the jungle near Rajasthan�s Banswara city on Sept. 4, 2009. (See www.compassdirect.org, �Recent Incidents of Persecution,� Sept. 29, 2009.)

On March 21, 2009, Hindu nationalists from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council) attacked Bible students and staff members of the Believers Church and demanded 10,000 rupees (US$193) from them in Udaipur city. (See www.compassdirect.org, �Recent Incidents of Persecution,� March 31, 2009.)

On April 29, 2007, at least 14 Hindu extremists in Jaipur, Rajasthan attacked Pastor Walter Masih with sticks and rods as television cameras recorded the scene, leaving him bleeding profusely. The then-Hindu nationalist government in the state declined to prosecute the more serious charges against the assailants.

BJP leaders harassed leaders of the Emmanuel Mission International (EMI), based in Kota city, in 2006, leading to the arrest of the Christians and the freezing of EMI bank accounts.

www.compassdirect.org

END

**********
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted by active subscribers only.

For subscription information, contact:

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Victim of Orissa, India Violence Rescued from Trafficking Ring

2010-08-25T12:46:37Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
NEW DELHI, August 25 (Compasss Direct News) � Nearly two years after large-scale anti-Christian violence broke out in India�s Kandhamal district, Orissa state, a team working against human trafficking on Aug. 9 rescued a 16-year-old Christian girl � one of at least 60 people sold into slavery after being displaced by the 2008 attacks. The recovery in Delhi of the girl represented the cracking of a network that has trafficked Christian girls and women from Orissa to the national capital, sources said. The girl, whose name is withheld, is a tribal Christian who was sold into slavery along with her 19-year-old sister and two other girls, all victims of the 2008 violence; they were trafficked from the Daringbadi block of Kandhmal district to the capital in December 2009, according to the Human Rights Law Network. Her sister and the other two girls remain missing. �Human trafficking agents operating in the tribal belt of Orissa have targeted the Christian girls who are displaced b
y the Kandhamal communal violence � we have been receiving complaints of missing girls from Kandhamal after the violence broke out in 2008,� said attorney Lansinglu Rongmei, one of the rescue team members. Prasant Vihar Police Station House Officer Sudhir Kumar confirmed the rescue team�s accusation that he refused to register a complaint in the girl�s case. �The victim is from Kandhamal, let her go back to Kandhamal and register her complaint there,� Kumar told Compass. Assistant Commissioner of Police Sukhvir Singh told Compass he had no explanation why the girl�s complaint was not registered, but he insisted on having her and the rescue team return. �We will file their complaint if they come back to us now,� he said.

**********
Victim of Orissa, India Violence Rescued from Trafficking Ring
Christians displaced by Kandhamal violence in 2008 sold for coerced labor or sex.
By Shireen Bhatia

NEW DELHI, August 25 (Compasss Direct News) � Nearly two years after large-scale anti-Christian violence broke out in India�s Kandhamal district, Orissa state, a team working against human trafficking on Aug. 9 rescued a 16-year-old Christian girl � one of at least 60 people sold into slavery after being displaced by the 2008 attacks.

The recovery in Delhi of the girl represented the cracking of a network that has trafficked Christian girls and women from Orissa to the national capital, sources said.

�Human trafficking agents operating in the tribal belt of Orissa have targeted the Christian girls who are displaced by the Kandhamal communal violence � we have been receiving complaints of missing girls from Kandhamal after the violence broke out in 2008,� said attorney Lansinglu Rongmei, one of the rescue team members. �Roughly 60 girls are estimated missing and have been trafficked to different states.�

The girl, whose name is withheld, is a tribal Christian who was sold into slavery along with her 19-year-old sister and two other girls, all victims of the 2008 violence; they were trafficked from the Daringbadi block of Kandhamal district to the capital in December 2009, according to the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). Her sister and the other two girls remain missing.

The mother of the girl accompanied the rescue team the evening of Aug. 9 in the Rohini area of Delhi, said a source from the HRLN Anti-Human Trafficking department on condition of anonymity.

�It was only the joint efforts of the All India Christian Council [AICC], HRLN Anti-Human Trafficking and the area police that made this rescue possible,� the source said.

The rescue team took action after the minor�s mother approached the HRLN of Kandhamal for help, which in turn called the Delhi office. Team members said they were disappointed by the reaction of police, who were initially cooperative but later �just unwilling to help,� in the words of one member.

The girl was used only for labor, although she was sexually harassed, sources said.

Rongmei told Compass that police refused to file a First Information Report, telling rescue team members, �No rape of the victim took place as per the medical examination, and there was no need for a case registration against anyone.�

The rescue team was not given a copy of the report of a medical examination at Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, Pitampura, in Delhi, but they were told it indicated no sign of rape.

�It is confirmed that she was not raped,� said Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of the AICC and part of the rescue team. �She was physically abused, with teeth bite marks and bruises on her body � her neck, leg and right hand.�

Tricked
The girl stated that a well-known woman from their village in Kandhamal district gave her and her sister a false promise of safe and secure work in Delhi as gardeners.

Instead, operatives brought the sisters and the two other girls to a placement agency in Ratala village in Delhi, Sakhi Maid Bureau, which was run by a man identified only as Montu.

The HRLN source told Compass that the girl was with the placement agency for six days as the owner, Montu, attempted to rape her on several occasions. She was threatened, beaten, drugged with alcohol and sexually molested, the source said.

The girl said her sister and the other two girls were treated the same way.

She was placed in a home in Rohini, Sector 11, as domestic help beginning in January. Until July, she said, she was treated relatively well there, except for a few instances of being slapped by the lady of the house. Then the family�s 10-year-old son began to hit her and their 14-year-old son tried to assault her sexually, and she tried to flee earlier this month.

The girl told the rescue team that she informed the lady of the house about the elder son�s misbehavior, but that the woman stated that she could do nothing about it.

�She bears marks from being beaten on her right hand by the younger boy,� said Chandra.

He told Compass that the owner of the placement agency collected the girl�s wages from the family who employed her, promising to send the money to her mother in Kandhamal district, but that he failed to do so.

Compass was unable to meet with the girl as she was still traumatized and undergoing counseling sessions. The girl�s mother sobbed for her other daughter, grieved that no one knew what condition she was in.

Montu, the placement agency operator, has absconded, according to police.

Passive Police
Prasant Vihar Police Station House Officer Sudhir Kumar confirmed the rescue team�s accusation that he refused to register a complaint in the girl�s case.

�The victim is from Kandhamal, let her go back to Kandhamal and register her complaint there,� Kumar told Compass. �No rape of the victim took place as per the medical examination, and thus there is no need for registering a case against anyone.�

Assistant Commissioner of Police Sukhvir Singh told Compass he had no explanation why the girl�s complaint was not registered, but he insisted on having her and the rescue team return.

�We will file their complaint if they come back to us now,� he said.

Karuna Dayal, coordinator of Anti-Human Trafficking Initiatives at HRLN, led the rescue team, which also included AICC Legal Secretary Advocate Rongmei, Chandra and Ashis Kumar Subodh of the AICC, and three others from the HRLN � Afsar Ahmed, attorney Diviya Jyoti Jaipuria and one identified only as Sangram.

Dr. John Dayal, secretary general of the AICC, said large-scale human trafficking in Christian tribal and Dalit women of Kandhamal district is one of the worst problems in the aftermath of the Kandhamal violence.

�Police have made arrests in the nearby Andhra Pradesh and other states,� he said. �Because of the displacement due to the violence, they lost their future, and it is very easy for strangers to come and lure them. Community and family life has been disrupted; the children do not have the normal security that growing children must have. Trauma, unemployment and desperate measures have resulted in the loss of childhood, forcing many to grow up before their age.�

The AICC is calling on the National Commission for Women, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to investigate, he added.

www.compassdirect.org

END

**********
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted by active subscribers only.

For subscription information, contact:

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TEL: 949-862-0304
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'Blasphemy' Threats Send Pakistani Worker, Couple into Hiding

2010-08-24T13:07:46Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
BAHAWALNAGAR, Pakistan (Compass Direct News) � Threats of �blasphemy� charges in two provinces in Pakistan have sent a Christian cleaning worker and a young inter-faith couple into hiding. In Chishtian, Bahawalnagar district in Punjab Province, Muslim extremists accused cleaning worker Tanvir Masih of New Christian Colony with blasphemy after they found him using a broom whose handle was covered with a pharmaceutical firm�s advertisement cards bearing a verse from the Quran that read, �God is the best healer!� Masih�s employer, a physician identified only as Dr. Arshad of the privately owned Bajwa Clinic, and the district health officer decided that Masih had committed no blasphemy against Muhammad, the Quran or Islam, and the extremists initially said they accepted their decision, a local pastor said. As Masih came out of the clinic, however, he found irate Muslims had thronged the road, and he made a sprint for his life; since then no one has seen him or his family there. I
n Karachi, Sindh Province, the Muslim in-laws of a 33-year-old Christian man threatened to charge him with blasphemy � and kill his wife for suspected �apostasy,� or leaving Islam � after he refused to divorce her, the Christian man informed Compass. Shahbaz Javed said that since he secretly wed Mehwish Naz in a civil court in October 2008, his Muslim employer fired him from his factory job, and his wife�s relatives found out where they lived and began to threaten them unless she divorced him. �Her parents warned her again that if she did not give up all this, they would file a case of apostasy against her and implicate Shahbaz Javed in a blasphemy case or kill him,� said the Rev. Khadim Bhutto, a Christian rights worker for Gawahi Mission Trust (GMT).

**********
�Blasphemy� Threats Send Pakistani Worker, Couple into Hiding
Pretexts for filing charges of blaspheming Muhammad, Quran are easy to find.
By Walter Smith

BAHAWALNAGAR, Pakistan (Compass Direct News) � Threats of �blasphemy� charges in two provinces in Pakistan have sent a Christian cleaning worker and a young inter-faith couple into hiding.

In separate cases typical of how Pakistan�s blasphemy laws enable the predominantly Sunni Muslim society to terrorize lower-class Christians, the cleaning worker in Bahawalnagar district, Punjab Province was forced to leave his job and flee with his family, and the married couple in Karachi, Sindh Province are running from threats from the Muslim bride�s parents.

In Chishtian, Bahawalnagar district, Muslim extremists accused cleaning worker Tanvir Masih of New Christian Colony with blasphemy after they found him using a broom whose handle was covered with a pharmaceutical firm�s advertisement cards bearing a verse from the Quran in Arabic that read, �God is the best healer!�

The Muslim radicals from Ghareebabad Colony intercepted Masih as he made his way home after work on July 28 and accused him of defiling Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and the Quran, by covering part of his broom handle with the drug firm�s advertisements, sources said on condition of anonymity.

Masih, the father of a 3-year-old son and another boy 2 months old, tried to explain that others had given him the cards, written mostly in English, and that he did not understand English. The extremists, who had received a call from a group of Muslims who said they had found a Christian who had covered part of his broom handle with cards bearing Allah�s name, verbally vented their anger on him, the sources said.

A representative of a pharmaceutical company confirmed to Compass that some of the medicinal advertisement cards of A-4 size carry a small Quranic verse written in Arabic, �Ho Al Shafi,� meaning �God is the best healer!�

The parties brought the matter to Masih�s employer, a physician identified only as Dr. Arshad of the privately owned Bajwa Clinic, and a district health officer, according to a local Christian clergyman. Both Arshad and the health official decided that Masih had committed no blasphemy against Muhammad, the Quran or Islam, and the Muslim extremists initially said they accepted their decision, the pastor said.

As Masih came out of the clinic, however, he found irate Muslims had thronged the road, the pastor said. Masih made a sprint for his life, he said, and since then no one has seen him or his family there. The pastor said he was certain, however, that Masih and his family were safe at an undisclosed location.

Another clergyman, the Rev. Shamshad Gill of Bahawalnagar, confirmed that Muslims attacked Tanvir Masih last month in Chishtian on accusations of defiling the Quran, and that he fled with his children.

At press time Masih and his family were still in hiding at an undisclosed location.

Ghareebabad Colony comprises more than 10,000 Muslim families, whereas its New Christian Colony enclave has only 100 Christian homes.

Angry In-Laws
In Karachi, Islamic hardliners threatened to charge a 33-year-old Christian man with blasphemy � and kill his wife for �apostasy,� or leaving Islam � after he refused to divorce the Muslim woman, the Christian man informed Compass.

In a letter to Compass, Shahbaz Javed said that since he secretly wed Mehwish Naz in a civil court in October 2008, his Muslim employer fired him from his factory job, and his wife�s relatives found out where they lived and began to threaten them unless she divorced him. The couple has a 2-month-old daughter.

One month after they married, the radical Muslim parents of Mehwish found out and began threatening to kill her.

�Her parents said it would be much better for them to kill her rather than give her hand in marriage to a Christian youth�s hand,� Javed said.

Her family appeared to have reluctantly accepted her marriage to a Christian when she assured them that she was still a Muslim, according to the letter signed by Javed and the Rev. Khadim Bhutto, a Christian rights worker for Gawahi Mission Trust (GMT).

Her parents told her to recite the Quran and offer prayers five times a day in accordance with Islamic practice, but eventually Naz began to attend church services and read the Bible, though Javed had never forced her to do so, he stated in the letter. Bhutto said her parents, Hameed Baig and Memona Naz, found out about her Bible reading and church attendance.

�Her parents warned her again that if she did not give up all this, they would file a case of apostasy against her and implicate Shahbaz Javed in a blasphemy case or kill him,� Bhutto said.

Her parents also began trying to coerce her and Javed into reciting Islamic prayers, including reciting it to their newborn, Muqadas Parveen, to �confirm� her as a Muslim, according to Javed. The couple told Compass, however, that they wanted to raise their daughter as a Christian.

Bhutto said the family was still moving from one rented home to another to avoid being kidnapped, killed or charged with apostasy and blasphemy.

www.compassdirect.org

END

**********
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted by active subscribers only.

For subscription information, contact:

Compass Direct News
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TEL: 949-862-0304
E-mail: info@compassdirect.org
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Evangelist Arrested in Zanzibar, Tanzania

2010-08-20T08:13:15Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
NAIROBI, Kenya, August 19 (Compass Direct News) � Christian university students on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, a predominantly Muslim area off the coast of East Africa, have been denied the right to worship, while on another part of the isle a Christian leader has been jailed. Sources said Peter Masanja, an evangelist in Zanzibar�s southeastern town of Paje, was arrested by security agents sometime in early August. Earlier this year Masanja, a member of the Pentecostal Church in Zanzibar, would invite Christians to his house, as he had made part of his land available for church activities. Angry Muslims vowed to prohibit any Christian activities there, sources said. Pastors from Tanzania�s Zanzibar Island sought to meet with prison authorities about Masanja�s arrest, but officials informed them that the person in charge of the prison was away on official business, said Bishop Obeid Fabian, chairman of an association of congregations known as the Fraternal Churches. At Z
anzibar University, a private school in Tunguu 18 kilometers (12 miles) from Zanzibar Town, Islamic administrators have denied Christian students freedom of worship while retaining that constitutional right for Muslims, said Samson Zuberi, Christian Union students coordinator. Three student Christian Union leaders have protested to school officials and threatened to go to court over the discrimination, he said. In an April 12 circular, university Dean of Students Mavua H. Mussa warned those defying worship regulations to seek other learning institutions, saying that the ban on religious activities in lecture theaters, halls of residence or anywhere else on campus was absolute. Students said the ban violates the Zanzibar constitution�s provisions for freedom of association.

**********
Evangelist Arrested in Zanzibar, Tanzania
Elsewhere on island off East Africa, Christians prohibited from worshipping at university.
By Simba Tian

NAIROBI, Kenya, August 19 (Compass Direct News) � Christian university students on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, a predominantly Muslim area off the coast of East Africa, have been denied the right to worship, while on another part of the isle a Christian leader has been jailed.

Sources said evangelist Peter Masanja, a resident of Zanzibar�s southeastern town of Paje, was arrested by security agents sometime in early August. Earlier this year Masanja, a member of the Pentecostal Church in Zanzibar, would invite Christians to his house, as he had made part of his land available for church activities. Area Muslims interpreted it as plans to establish another church there, the sources said.

The rumor angered local residents, and they vowed to prohibit any Christian activities, the sources said.

�It was only after her husband failed to return home that Masanja�s wife knew that there was something amiss,� said a source who requested anonymity. �After several days of searching, reports reached the wife that Masanja had been arrested and imprisoned in Kilimani cell.�

Pastors from Tanzania�s Zanzibar Island sought to meet with prison authorities about Masanja�s arrest, but officials informed them that the person in charge of the prison was away on official business, said Bishop Obeid Fabian, chairman of an association of congregations known as the Fraternal Churches.

�We are asking for prayers for him and his family, that he would be released,� Fabian said.

At Zanzibar University, a private school in Tunguu 18 kilometers (12 miles) from Zanzibar Town, Islamic administrators have denied Christian students freedom of worship while retaining that constitutional right for Muslims, said Samson Zuberi, Christian Union students coordinator.

Three Christian Union student leaders have protested to school officials and threatened to go to court over the discrimination, he said. Although freedom of worship among Christians has long been restricted at the university, the decision to ban it completely caused an outcry. The vice-chancellor�s office on Dec. 28, 2009 issued the order forbidding Christian students from conducting their affairs and meetings on the school campus.

Numbering about 100 at a university with more than 2,500 students, the Christian students say they have felt the administration increasingly discriminating against them. There are two mosques at the university, which is sponsored by an Islamic charity, Dar el Uman Charitable Association, registered in Geneva, Switzerland, according to the school�s Web site.

In an April 12 circular, university Dean of Students Mavua H. Mussa warned those defying worship regulations to seek other learning institutions, saying that the ban on religious activities in lecture theaters, halls of residence or anywhere else on campus was absolute.

Students said the ban violates sections 19(1) and 20(1) of the Zanzibar Constitution of 1984, which provide for freedom of association, including religious groups, free of government control. Articles 19(1) (2) and 20(1) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 provide for the same freedom, they said.

Fabian told Compass by telephone that the students will seek counsel from Christian students at universities in Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, Tanzania.

�We have advised that before they take the case to court, the three Christian Union leaders should travel to get counsel from their fellow students at the universities of Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, especially the Christian law students, to get the correct interpretation of the Tanzanian constitution on the right of worship,� Fabian said.

He added that the students � Zuberi, regional Christian Union Student Chairman Ronald R. Urassa and Christian Union Student Secretary Neema Alex Langalli � need to raise US$800 each for the travel.

Similarly, the dress code at the university has caused tensions, sources said, as officials have threatened to expel female Christian students if they do not wear a veil and headscarf, or the Buibui and Hijab. University regulations state that, �For a female dressing, the clothes must cover from head to an ankle.�

Some of the lecturers have put female Christian students out of class if they do not wear the required Islamic dress, sources said.

They also noted that during the current Islamic month of Ramadan, a period of fasting by day, life for Christian students becomes difficult as university regulations forbid them to cook for themselves, and all cafeterias on or near university campuses are closed. The location of the school makes it difficult for Christian students to find meals outside the university cafeteria.

Even if they remain off campus, the conditions and practices of landlords discriminate against Christians, the sources said.

In predominately Sunni Muslim Zanzibar, churches face numerous challenges. There are restrictions on getting land to build churches, open preaching is outlawed and there is limited time on national television to air Christian programs. In government schools, only Islamic Religious knowledge is taught, not Christian Religious Education.

Zanzibar is the informal designation for the island of Unguja in the Indian Ocean. The Zanzibar archipelago united with Tanganyika to form the present day Tanzania in 1964.

Muslim traders from the Persian Gulf had settled in the region early in the 10th century after monsoon winds propelled them through the Gulf of Aden and Somalia. The 1964 merger left island Muslims uneasy about Christianity, seeing it as a means by which mainland Tanzania might dominate them, and tensions have persisted.

www.compassdirect.org

END

*** Photos of Zanzibar mosques and customary dress are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct News for pricing and transmittal.

**********
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

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Coptic Blogger in Egypt Released from Prison

2010-08-18T08:48:01Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
ISTANBUL, August 17 (Compass Direct News) � A Coptic Christian blogger arrested in Egypt on false charges of insulting Islam, then held for almost two years without charge under the country�s Emergency Law, has been released from prison. Hani Nazeer, 31, a high school social worker and blogger, was arrested Oct. 3, 2008 in response to a link to a Coptic Web site he placed on his Web log, �The Preacher of Love.� The Coptic Web site had a link to an online copy of �Azazil�s Goat in Mecca,� a controversial book written in response to �Azazil,� a novel critical of Christianity. During his imprisonment, Nazeer said he was beaten, pressured to convert to Islam and was exposed to constant deprivation. Because of recent reforms to the Emergency Law, Nazeer was released on July 22. Some of the 30 hardened criminals housed with him in a single cell tried repeatedly to convert him to Islam, he said. Nazeer said he wasn�t tortured individually, but that on one occasion guards beat him an
d other prisoners with sticks during a visit by a police major. He said he was able to get a Bible in prison and was even able to discuss Christ with two ethnic Copts who were incarcerated on felony charges. In May, Egypt amended the Emergency Law to stipulate that only people suspected of committing terrorist acts or of selling illegal narcotics could be arrested. Azza Taher Matar, a member of the International Relations Unit at the Arabic Center for Human Rights Information, said it is likely that the reforms to the Emergency Law will lead to authorities filing more charges of religious defamation against people in an effort to work around changes to the law.

**********
Coptic Blogger in Egypt Released from Prison
Pressured to convert to Islam, falsely accused Christian freed under reformed Emergency Law.
By Wayne King

ISTANBUL, August 17 (Compass Direct News) � A Coptic Christian blogger arrested in Egypt on false charges of insulting Islam, then held for almost two years without charge under the country�s Emergency Law, has been released from prison.

Hani Nazeer, 31, a high school social worker and blogger was arrested Oct. 3, 2008 in response to a link to a Coptic Web site he placed on his Web log, �The Preacher of Love.� The Coptic Web site had a link to an online copy of �Azazil�s Goat in Mecca,� a controversial book written in response to �Azazil,� a novel critical of Christianity.

While the Egyptian author of �Azazil,� Youssef Zeidan, won awards internationally and across the Arab-speaking world for his book, the link to �Azazil�s Goat in Mecca� earned Nazeer one year and nine months in prison. Nazeer said that when he posted the link, he did not know the Coptic Web site had a link to �Azazil�s Goat in Mecca,� and that he has never read the book. Nazeer said there is a double standard in Egypt when it comes to any critique of Islam.

During his imprisonment, Nazeer said he was beaten, exposed to constant deprivation and was pressured to convert to Islam by violent criminals.

�One prisoner told me, �If you convert, you will be out in two days,�� Nazeer said.

He was released on July 22 because of recent reforms to the Emergency Law.

Riots and Arrest
Nazeer�s Web log was exclusively dedicated to human rights issues and concerns facing Egypt�s ethnic Coptic community. He had previously brought attention to himself by criticizing the ever-increasing Islamization of Egyptian civil society.

Nazeer also singled out leaders in the Coptic Orthodox Church and lamented their involvement in politics. In one post, Nazeer wrote that a gathering of activists at a Coptic church building was inappropriate because church buildings were meant to be venues for prayer, not for politics.

He said that despite the controversy, his real problems started the last week of August 2008 when someone in his village discovered the Web site link, and groups of angry young Muslim men began to riot. A local priest brought some of the rioters to meet with Nazeer in an attempt at reconciliation, to no avail.

�He tried to explain to them that the situation was not as they saw it, and that I was not the one who wrote it, and that my link wasn�t to the story � it was to another site,� Nazeer said. �They were so angry, but some of them understood, and some of them did not understand.�

For the next three days, the youths ripped through Qena, a village in Upper Egypt, protesting in the streets, throwing stones at houses and verbally assaulting Copts. The demonstrations happened during Ramadan, Islam�s most sacred month. It is unclear if any of the teenagers or men were arrested on any charges.

Nazeer went into hiding during the riots, seeking sanctuary in a monastery near Qena. The State Security Investigations unit (SSI), Egypt�s secret police agency, took two of Nazeer�s relatives into custody and aggressively interrogated them to obtain his location. Eventually Nazeer turned himself in so the SSI would release the two men.

Prison Life
For most of Nazeer�s imprisonment, he was housed in a single cell with at least 30 convicted felons. He said prison conditions were much worse there with the violent felons than in other parts of the prison, and he speculated that authorities placed him there to put pressure on him.

Nazeer previously stated through his attorneys that he felt prison guards had organized attempts through prisoners to force him to convert to Islam. He now says he is unsure if attempts at coercion were directed by anyone.

Nazeer said he wasn�t tortured individually, but that on one occasion guards beat him and other prisoners with sticks during a visit by a police major.

The most difficult time of his imprisonment, he said, was the first two weeks. During this time, authorities isolated him and moved him across Egypt from prison to prison. He was also repeatedly interrogated by SSI agents who tried to make him confess to being �Father Utah,� the as yet unidentified author of �Azazil�s Goat in Mecca.� They told him if he didn�t confess, he would never �see the street again.�

�I had no news about my family � I was cut off from everything,� Nazeer said. �I didn�t know what was going on.�

An active member of his church for 10 years, Nazir said that before he was arrested his faith was strong, but that being in prison served only to make it stronger. He was able to get a Bible in prison and was even able to discuss Christ with two ethnic Copts who were incarcerated on felony charges.

�I spoke to them about the Christian faith when we were together alone,� Nazeer said.

He credited God for carrying him and his family through his imprisonment.

�There were times in prison that I was happy, and I know that is because God was with me,� he said.

Reform and Release
Nazeer was imprisoned under Egypt�s Emergency Law, passed in 1981 in the wake of the assassination of then-President Anwar Sadat; it allows the SSI to arrest and hold people indefinitely without charge.

In theory, the law was designed to be used to detain terrorists and others who violently opposed the state. In practice, however, it also has been used to silence opposition to President Hosni Mubarak�s regime and to persecute those outside of the religious mainstream � such as Muslims who have converted to Christianity, or members of Islamic groups considered to be heretical.

In 2005, Mubarak promised to let the law expire if re-elected, but in 2008 his ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) extended the law for two more years.

Nazeer�s attorney filed motions numerous times to have him released, and 10 times judges ruled in his favor � but each time he was released from Borg El-Arab prison just outside of Alexandria, agents from the SSI, whose legal authority supersedes that of the Egyptian Courts, would take him to a different prison, he said.

�Every time the court would order my release, they would take me either to Alexandria or to Qena prison, and then later on, within a week, they would return me back to Borg El-Arab,� Nazeer said.

In May the NDP extended the law again but amended it to say that only people suspected of committing terrorist acts or of selling illegal narcotics could be arrested. In July, the Interior Ministry ordered that Nazeer be released in accordance with the revised statute.

Azza Taher Matar, a member of the International Relations Unit at the Arabic Center for Human Rights Information, an organization that defended Nazeer, said it is likely that the reforms to the Emergency Law will lead to authorities filing more charges of religious defamation against people in an effort to work around changes to the law.

Adjustment
Ever since his release, Nazeer, who said he was concerned for his safety, has been living in a residence provided by Bishop Kirollos of Nag Hammadi. He said he sees his family daily, and that Kirollos has said he will let him stay with him until he is �sorted out.�

Last October, Nazeer told his attorneys from prison that Kirollos was the priest that urged him to turn himself in to the SSI, promising that he would only be held four days and then released. Instead, Nazeer was prosecuted and sent to Borg El-Arab prison.

Nazeer now says he is unsure what role, if any, Kirollos played regarding his arrest. According to Nazeer, when he turned himself in to police, Kirollos said he would return in one hour, but the SSI took him away from the station.

Nazeer said he doesn�t know exactly what happened, but he added, �A priest should not sacrifice any of his people for any reason.�

He has applied for reappointment to his position as a high school social worker. He also said that despite his imprisonment, he will continue blogging.

Nazeer admits he is concerned about his safety, but that he �feels safe in God�s hands.�

www.compassdirect.org

END

**********
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted by active subscribers only.

For subscription information, contact:

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'Unchecked Extremism' behind Attacks on Churches in Indonesia

2010-08-17T14:30:21Z

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
JAKARTA, Indonesia, August 17 (Compass Direct News) � The country that is home to the world�s largest Muslim population celebrated its 65th Independence Day today amid a widespread sense of distrust in the government�s ability to check attacks on churches by Islamist groups. Muslims and Islamic organizations, Buddhists and Hindus joined hundreds of Christians for an ecumenical worship service near National Monument Square in Jakarta to protest �government inaction� over attacks on Christians and �forced closure of churches,� reported The Jakarta Globe. They had planned to hold the service outside the State Palace, but the government prohibited it due to preparations for Independence Day celebrations, the daily reported. �Why did it take President [Susilo Bambang] Yudhoyono so many days to speak against the attacks?� the Rev. Dr. SAE Nababan, president of the World Council of Churches from Asia, told Compass. �Such carelessness can be dangerous for our democracy. Officials mus
t not forget that they are accountable to the people.� Nababan was referring to President Yudhoyono�s call for religious harmony a day before the month-long Islamic festival of fasting, Ramadan, began here last Wednesday (Aug. 11). According to the Globe, it was the president�s �first public comment� addressing �a recent rash of violence against religious minorities.� The president�s statement came after a fifth attack on the Batak Christian Protestant Filadelfia Church (HKBP Filadelfia) in Bekasi city, a suburb of Jakarta, on Aug. 8. Endy Bayuni, former editor of The Jakarta Post, told Compass that churches were being attacked every week but that media were avoiding coverage because it is an �emotional and controversial issue.�

**********
�Unchecked Extremism� behind Attacks on Churches in Indonesia
Christians, moderate Muslims blame growth of Islamism under �weak� government.
By Vishal Arora

JAKARTA, Indonesia, August 17 (Compass Direct News) � The country that is home to the world�s largest Muslim population celebrated its 65th Independence Day today amid a widespread sense of distrust in the government�s ability to check attacks on churches by Islamist groups.

Muslims and Islamic organizations, Buddhists and Hindus joined hundreds of Christians for an ecumenical worship service near National Monument Square in Jakarta to protest �government inaction� over attacks on Christians and �forced closure of churches,� reported The Jakarta Globe. They had planned to hold the service outside the State Palace, but the government prohibited it due to preparations for Independence Day celebrations, the daily reported.

�Why did it take President [Susilo Bambang] Yudhoyono so many days to speak against the attacks?� the Rev. Dr. SAE Nababan, president of the World Council of Churches from Asia, told Compass. �Such carelessness can be dangerous for our democracy. Officials must not forget that they are accountable to the people.�

Nababan was referring to President Yudhoyono�s call for religious harmony a day before the month-long Islamic festival of fasting, Ramadan, began here last Wednesday (Aug. 11). According to the Globe, it was the president�s �first public comment� addressing �a recent rash of violence against religious minorities.�

The president�s statement came after a fifth attack on the Batak Christian Protestant Filadelfia Church (HKBP Filadelfia) in Bekasi city, a suburb of Jakarta, on Aug. 8.

More than 300 members of the extremist Islamic People�s Forum (FUI) and Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) broke through a police barricade and injured at least a dozen people during the Sunday worship in a field. The church has faced attacks since November 2000, when it was constructing the church building. (See www.compassdirect.org, �Hundreds Injure Church Members in Bekasi, Indonesia,� Aug. 9)

Rising Christian Persecution
Endy Bayuni, former editor of The Jakarta Post, told Compass that churches were being attacked every week but that media were avoiding coverage because it is an �emotional and controversial issue.�

�You also risk being accused of taking sides when you report on religious conflicts,� he said, adding that Christians and the Ahmadiyya, a Muslim sect regarded as heretical because it does not believe that Muhammad was the last prophet, bear the brunt of Islamism in Indonesia.

A report by the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy stated that violations of religious freedom of Christians had grown from previous years. It recorded at least 28 violations � mostly by Islamist groups � between January and July � up from 18 in 2009 and 17 in 2008.

The violations included forced closure of churches, revocation and delays in issuing building permits, and attacks such as torching and damaging churches. Political motives, economic interests involving illegal extortion, and ideological clashes of �intolerant groups� refusing the presence of those of a different religion impeded justice in most cases, noted the report.

Powerful Minority
Most Muslims in Indonesia are moderate and tolerant, said Nababan, former bishop of the HKBP Filadelfia church, but he added that the extremist minority poses a �great threat� to the nation.

�Extremism always starts in small numbers,� he said, alluding to alleged government inaction.

Dr. Musda Mulia, a Muslim research professor at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, told Compass all Indonesians have a right to freedom of faith.

�It seems the government doesn�t want to deal with the radicals,� she said. �Persecution of Christians and other minorities has been my concern for many years, but the government is very weak.�

Extremism in Indonesia, now a republic with a presidential system, dates back to the country�s struggle for independence, when Islamists called for an Islamic state. The Dutch transferred sovereignty to Indonesia in 1949 after an armed struggle.

Not heeding the Islamists� call, the country�s leaders chose �Pancasila� as the official philosophical foundation comprising five principles: belief in the one and only God; just and civilized humanity; the unity of Indonesia; democracy guided by the inner wisdom in the unanimity arising out of deliberations among representatives; and social justice for all.

In line with Pancasila, �Unity in Diversity� (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) became the official national motto of Indonesia. The Indonesian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but the government only recognizes six religions: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Confucianism.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,508 islands � about 6,000 of which are inhabited � has around 300 distinct native ethnicities and 742 languages and dialects. Over 86 percent of the over 138 million Indonesians are Muslim. Christians are around 8 percent, Hindus 3 percent and Buddhist 1.8 percent.

Islamist militant groups remain active and growing and are still fighting pluralism. According to the Globe, police recently unearthed a terror plot against President Yudhoyono, �part of a larger trend as militant groups widened their targets from Westerners to include state officials� considered to be �symbols of secularism.� One of their aims was to �accelerate the transformation of the country�s democratic system into one controlled by Islamic law.�

In 2002, over 200 people (including 164 foreigners) were killed in a terror attack by Islamist militants in Kuta town on the island of Bali. Indonesia has also fought violent Islamist insurgents, such as in Aceh Province, which now has a special status and implements sharia (Islamic law).

Mulia of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, who is the first woman to obtain a doctorate degree in Islamic political thought, identified the FPI and the Forum Betawi Rempung (Betawi Brotherhood Forum or FBR) as two of the Islamist groups chiefly responsible for Christian persecution.

The FPI, a national-level organization infamous for vigilante violence and allegedly part of the al Qaeda network, was established on Aug. 17, 1998. The FBR, a similar group based in Jakarta, was formed to fight for the interests of the ethnic Betawi Muslims on July 29, 2001.

Both groups exist legally in the country.

In June, several Indonesian parliamentarians asked the government to ban the FPI, which �has threatened �war� against Christians in Jakarta and urged mosques to set up militia forces,� reported the Globe on July 26. The government, however, thinks that banning such groups will only lead to re-formation of the same organizations under new names.

The deputy chairman of Setara, Bonar Tigor Naipospos, was quoted in the Post�s July 29 edition as saying that local administrations, especially in cities in West Java Province, see these groups �as assets for local elections.�

�They [local governments] bow to pressure from mass organizations that insist the churches� presence and activities have caused unrest,� he reportedly said.

As for the national government, added Nababan of the World Council of Churches of Asia, �it is preoccupied with its free market economy and apparently has no time to uphold the Constitution.�

Church Building Permits
The sealing of churches and the refusal to grant building permits top the list of major violations of Christians� religious rights in Indonesia, according to Setara. The Aug. 8 attack on the HKBP Filadelfia church was also rooted in denial of permit for constructing its church building.

Setara�s deputy chairman told the Post that churches in Jakarta mainly faced trouble in renovating and expanding their buildings, which require building permits.

�They have to start over again by obtaining 60 signatures from residents living around the church, and sometimes residents refuse to provide signatures,� he said. The Setara report recommended that President Yudhoyono review a 2006 joint ministerial decree that requires signatures from congregations and residents living nearby, as well as approval from the local administration, to build a house of worship.

According to Setara, at least three churches in east and south Jakarta were experiencing difficulties in obtaining permits for church building at press time.

Nababan complained that some local governments would not give permits for churches for years without stating any reason.

�If this current government can become courageous enough to prosecute those who break the law and allow religious freedom, including the freedom to construct churches where we live, there is hope for Indonesia,� added Nababan.

A Christian source who requested anonymity said he agreed that there was hope for minorities in Indonesia.

�Violent attacks awaken the silent majority, which then speaks up and holds the government accountable,� he said.

END

www.compassdirect.org

*** Photos of the ecumenical service, Bekasi church worship and Indonesian mosques and churches are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct News for pricing and transmittal.

**********
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News

Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted by active subscribers only.

For subscription information, contact:

Compass Direct News
P.O. Box 27250
Santa Ana, CA 92799-7250
USA
TEL: 949-862-0304
E-mail: info@compassdirect.org
www.compassdirect.org

Subscribe to Persecuted Christians via email by entering your email address below: