Persecution Watch Weblog

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Pakistan (MNN) –A Pakistani pastor has been murdered because of his involvement in evangelistic work.

Christians face severe opposition from militant Islamic groups. Muslims make up about 97 percent of Pakistan’s
people, while Hindus make up 1.5 percent, and Christians 1.7 percent.

According to Voice of the Martyrs’ Canada,
29-year-old Sajid William was shot and killed by a masked gunman on his way home in Peshawar on January 17. Pastor
William was the office manager for the Christian relief and development agency “Shelter Now,” active in
Pakistan for nearly 25 years.

The organization runs two projects in the country–a fish farm and a building project for 105 schools. The
schools were ruined during the earthquake that shook Pakistan in 2005. The agency is also providing clothes, shelter
and nourishment for thousands of returning refugees who are without shelter during the harsh winter.

Pray for God’s comfort for Pastor William’s family. He is survived by a wife and an 18-month-old daughter.

Ask God to embolden Pakistani Christians to follow his example of faithfulness. Pray for protection for
Christians facing intimidation and threats from those around them.

From this page:

Philippines (MNN) –The government and published new sources report that armed soldiers are being
placed outside of churches and parishes to protect foreign and local Christian workers.

This comes after a Christian worker was killed last Tuesday, reportedly by the Islamic extremist group Abu Sayyaf.
Abu Sayyaf is listed as a terrorist organization in the United States, Europe and the Philippines. They are notorious
for their kidnap-for-ransom activities which still takes place in the region. Seperatist groups have been fighting in
the independent state for more than 30 years.

One news outlet said that police efforts in the area are working to neutralize the armed groups, and the military
is ready if the threat becomes imminent.

An army major reported that the week before the murder, other foreign workers had received threats.

Despite the threats, workers have not requested to be transferred. One worker who has worked in the Philippines
for two decades said times like these call them to continue to dialogue about peace and hope.

The Christian worker who was killed spent the last ten years doing outreach with poor among Samah and Tausog villagers.

From this page:

India (MNN) –“During 2007 there was more opposition, attacks and violence against Christians,
church and its workers than all other years put together,” says Gospel
For Asia’s Founder and President KP Yohannan.

Yohannan, speaking from India, says Christians in India now understand that being a Christian means persecution.
“The only thing that is getting better, I think, is the boldness and the determination of the Christian workers
and the body of Christ, making it a part of their life that the persecution and the opposition is going to be here.”

According to Yohannan, Hindu nationalists are attacking those who are helping the poorest of the poor — the
Dalits. He equates the Dalits to the slaves in Europe and the United States. The puzzling thing about the violence
is that Hindu nationalists are targeting people who are helping the Dalits. “Just imagine, seeing the pain and the
suffering, the brutality. You are coming there to help them, educate them, give them medicine. Then, a bunch of
people come and beat you up. They say, ‘We don’t want you to help these poor people. We want them to remain our
slaves. They are not human beings.’”

That’s the picture of what’s happening to Christians today in India.

Gospel For Asia has 56 Bible colleges across the country. They’re training willing Christians to reach out in love.
“Our job is not going out converting all of these people, but rather showing Christ’s love.”

Yohannan says persecution gives believers a platform to share. “The love of Christ’s forgiveness that’s
demonstrated by these suffering Christians and missionaries does speak to the nation, and I think this will only
help people know more about that love of Christ.”

Through their Bible colleges, GFA is teaching new pastors and missionaries the essentials of the faith.
“Love others,” says Yohannan, “serve the community, and if need be, lay down your life for them. Freely this
is all given to you. Go and give it freely.”

With thousands of believers who are willing to risk their lives for the sake of the Gospel, there’s only one thing
they’re lacking. “The greatest hindrance that we face today and keeps us from reaching the people that need the
Gospel, especially in the 10-40 window, it is lack of resources — finances to get the job done.”

Yohannan would also like to see people seriously fast and pray about lost people like the people of India.

If you’d like to help financially and find out how to pray
more specifically, click here.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power,
of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

PAKISTAN Pastor Killed VOM Sources

On January 17, a pastor was shot and killed by an unknown person in Peshawar, Pakistan. According to The Voice of the
Martyrs contacts, the pastor had worked with the Assembly of God Church in Peshawar, for the past 10 years. He is survived
by his wife and a one-year-old daughter. Pray for this grieving family and church. Ask God to comfort believers in Peshawar
and for this pastor’s family to realize that to be absent from the body is to be present with Him.
Psalm 27:1, Psalm 23

ETHIOPIA Christian Family’s House Bombed VOM Sources

On January 12, a home belonging to a Christian family was bombed in the southeastern city of Jijiga. According to The
Voice of the Martyrs contacts, “Terefe Feleke, his wife and their two children were in the house at the time of the
attack, thankfully none of them were seriously hurt. The roof of the house was destroyed by the bomb blast. While searching
the compound, the police found another bomb set to explode a few hours later.” Praise God, this family was kept from
serious harm. Pray for Christians in Jijiga, where Muslims have recently mounted attacks against Christians in an attempt
to drive them out of the region. Pray believers in this area will remain faithful and demonstrate Christ’s love to their
persecutors. Joshua 1:9; 2 Timothy 1:7

INDIA Hindu Extremists Injure Nearly 100 Compass Direct News

On January 16, more than 80 people were injured in an attack on a large Christian meeting in Chhattisgarh state.
According to Compass Direct News, the attack was followed by an assault on a missionary camp in Dhamtari district that
hurt at least a dozen Christians. “The Hindu attacks come within weeks of unprecedented anti-Christian violence in
neighboring Orissa state. In Chhattisgarh’s Durg district violence, Christians said it was no coincidence that Hindu
nationalist extremists launched the attack as the political arm of the militants, the Bharatiya Janata Party, was
holding a public meeting in the area,” Compass Direct reported. Pray for the safety of believers in India. Ask God
to heal and encourage them to remain courageous despite attacks and increased persecution. Pray the testimonies of these
faithful believers will draw non- believers into fellowship with Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:19, Isaiah 26:3

CHINA House Church Leaders Released From Labor Camp China Aid Association

On January 8, four house church leaders were released from a labor camp in Hubei province, China. According to China
Aid Association, the Hubei Provincial Re-education Through Labor Administration Committee decided to repeal a decision
by the Re-education Through Labor Administration Committee, to keep the leaders in prison. Four male and five female
church leaders were arrested on August 6, 2007, when they were found having a Sunday worship service. They were accused
of the “crime of engaging in organizing and making use of evil cult organization to undermine the enforcement of
state laws.” Three female leaders are still being held. Praise God for the release of the four house churches. Pray
for the families and leaders who are still in prison. Ask God to give them courage during this difficult time, and for
their lives to be a testimony to their persecutors. Psalm 23, Proverbs 3:5, 6

From this web site:

India (MNN) – While the violence in Orissa, India seems to be a little more calm, Christians are still afraid.
Presently, more than 700 homes of Christians have been destroyed and more than 90 churches vandalized. The death toll is
unknown.

President of the All India Christian Council Joseph D’Souza is in the United States. In an interview with Mission
Network News, he relays that the Christmas-related violence has stopped, “but not the tensions, not the threats. And
security of the Christians is very, very poor. According to reports that reach us, the VHP are going on distributing hate
literature.”

According to D’Souza, this is a lull before another series of attacks take place. He says it’s a long-term, well-planned
campaign to persecute Christians.

D’Souza says Hindu nationalists there are 600,000 people in the Khandwal area. He says 100,000 have come to Christ.
“What has happened to that community after they have come to Christ there is a clear transformation both socially and
spiritually. And it’s visible to all. It’s a threat [to Hindus] because these are visible symbols that will only end up
drawing more people away [to] the Christian faith.”

Ministry has been affected by the violence, says D’Souza. “Any evangelism or evangelistic activity will be attacked.
So people are just waiting to see what goes on. However, the witness of people in that area has not died down. We have
an incredible number of stories of people who have been willing to die rather than recant or go away from their faith.”

There are no official government statistics on the number of people who have died, but D’Souza says, “One of the
Orissa workers there told me he knew 11 pastors who had been martyred, and many more had disappeared in the forest.
Nobody knows where they have gone.”

The All India Christian Council and their partners have established an office to provide daily reports about the
violence in Orissa and how it affects Christians “because we want to pre-empt any kind of carnage. We want to make
sure we know what’s going on and inform the media and everybody else if there is again violence erupting,” he says.

Christians worldwide are being asked to pray. D’Souza says, “The agenda of the Hindu nationalists groups is to
turn Orissa into a second Gujarat, or second Hindu state. So it’s a long-term battle, and we have to pray that God will
not allow this to happen.”

From:
Jesus taught that his followers would be persecuted. Two thousand years after the crucifixion this is still true. Nowhere is this heartbreaking injustice more evident than in the communist nation of North Korea. As you read this, an estimated 100,000 Christians are being imprisoned and tortured at the hands of the ruthless Kim Jung Il.

Why is this happening? For the same reasons it always has. Fear. Cowardice. Control. Despite the fact that religious
freedom is guaranteed in the North Korean Constitution, the word of God remains banned. Those who attempt to share the
Good News are imprisoned, beaten and executed. Many, like
Kim Chul Min, escape to China, only to be
captured and sent back to face a similar fate.

See Kim Chul Min’s story on You Tube.

As fellow Christians, we simply cannot let this continue. We must join together in the name of God and do something
to effect change. Our Christian family is counting on us. They desperately need our assistance. Their lives are
depending on it. Please, http://www.opendoorsusa.org/content/view/416/learn more about North Korean Freedom Week
and discover the many ways you can help.

From this page:

Bali (MNN) – Last year, Book of Hope showed the GodMan film for the
first time in Bali. The GodMan is a 3-D animated story of the life of Christ that supplements the
distribution of the Book of Hope.

Bali, a South Pacific island, has a long history of Hinduism. The team there must request permission from
village leaders before they show the GodMan. In one village in particular, the village leader, Ladra, was not
accepting of the idea. However, while the team was at his home, they found out that Ladra’s wife was very ill.
They offered to pray for her, which he allowed.

Before they left, they noticed that Ladra was very touched by the fact that these strangers were concerned not
only for his village, but for his wife as well. Ladra invited the team back in a few weeks.

Book of Hope’s Ty Silva says the situation when they returned was quite different. “This time Ladra had
prepared a place for the GodMan to be shown. In fact it was in a field right in front of his own house. They had
the film showing, and the children and the people of the village were very excited. In fact, they filled the
field and overflowed into the street.”

After the showing, Ladra gave his life to Christ. The team was excited, and the news spread. But local priests
in other villages were angry. They told the local police who began to tell villagers that Ladra’s decision
would bring him under a curse.

Threats came in, and prayer began. “One day, not too long after that, the chief of police in Ladra’s
village called the pastor to report to his office. There the pastor was given the opportunity to present his
side of the story, plus he was able to share the Gospel with the chief of police and other policemen that had
gathered around,” said Silva. The Hindu chief granted the BOH team protection as long as they reported any
more threats.

Local priests were still upset and stripped Ladra of his leadership responsibilities. “Ladra gave a very
similar response as Nicodemus. He said, ‘If they turn against me for showing the story of a Man who taught so
many wonderful things and did so much good, then let it be,” said Silva.

Ladra’s response impacted his entire family. They unanimously decided that Ladra would be the priest of his
family. Now, the pastor of the Book of Hope team has begun a discipleship and training program for Ladra.

From this page:

North Korea (MNN) – A United Nations envoy says there’s been no improvement
in North Korea’s human and religious rights record.

The envoy cited public executions and tortures in his report. While North Korea has opened its doors to some
Non-Government Organizations for food aid, little progress has been made toward the improvement of humanitarian
rights of the reclusive country’s citizens.

Human rights watchdogs also accuse North Korea of using intimidation as well as a vast network of political
prison camps to keep its people in line and discourage open dissent.

Open Doors’ Carl Moeller agrees, noting
that the country’s vicious treatment of the underground church also continues. That has earned the country the
top spot on their World Watch list* five years in a row. “How a country treats its Christians is a
bellwether of how it performs on all human rights measures. So the Christians–in this case, in North Korea–are
on the lowest rung. They are singled out, in most cases, where Christians are identified as active followers
of Jesus Christ, for torture, and abuse and imprisonment.”

Many attempt to escape North Korea by fleeing to neighboring China, but they are often forcibly repatriated.
They then face interrogation, torture, detention and often death. Those who do confess faith in Christ during
the interrogation process have been known to be executed immediately.

The U.S. Committee for Human Rights reports an increase in the number of Christians confined because of their
beliefs in 2004. They estimate that there are 6,000 Christians in one prison alone.

Moeller says Christians need to pray that other believers would be united with them spiritually as an
encouragement. “We are bringing, in very creative ways, materials in to help the believers in North Korea,
itself. In addition to working with refugees in the Chinese border area, Open Doors is providing the necessary
materials needed to make it through a difficult winter.”

*The World Watch List ranks the top 50 countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face
for actively pursuing their faith. The list is compiled based on the answers to questions covering various
aspects of religious freedom from Open Doors’ indigenous contacts, field workers and persecuted believers.

From this page:

India (MNN) – Christians continue to be the focus of attacks in India,
and now believers are starting to understand why the attacks are taking place.

Sampson is the Director for Distribution with
World Bible Translation Center in India. He says
the violence in Orissa is taking its toll. “Nearly 700 houses are destroyed, and thousands of Christians are
displaced. They are staying in refugee camps, in dormitories at schools in villages, and in make-shift tents.”

Not only have these Christians lost clothing, food, homes and more, they’ve also lost something even more
important. “Many Bibles (have been) burned and destroyed. So many of the new believers don’t have Bibles
right now. They’re missing the Word of God. We need to get Bibles to these village schools. Some are staying in
the jungles. So we need to get the Word of God in these places.”

According to Sampson, the State government is controlled by a coalition of Hindu nationalists who hate the
spread of Christianity. He says the reason these attacks are taking place is because many are turning to Christ.
“A leading fundamentalist party leader has suggested that there has been an increase of nearly double the
number of Christians — nearly 5.5 percent of the population is Christian, up from 2.1.”

The World Bible Translation Center distribution program has had a direct impact on that increase, says Sampson.
“34,000 Oriya Bibles were distributed in May 2007. So God was greatly blessing the efforts of the distribution.
And all of a sudden the devil tries to thwart the attempts by using the Hindu fundamentalists and starting the
persecution in Orissa.”

However, Sampson isn’t discouraged by the increasing violence. “God is going to do great things in Orissa
because of the persecution. More churches will be raised and more house church, too, and the number of believers
will increase in the coming days.”

Sampson says their faith is strong. He says, “Hindu fundamentalists are visiting house to house asking
believers to renounce their faith. But these believers are not willing to give up Jesus Christ. And as a result,
they’re facing more persecution.”

While Orissa’s state law prohibits Hindus from converting to Christianity, in violation to India’s
constitution, Sampson says it’s not stopping church growth. “All of these believers are accepting Christ
secretly and taking baptism secretly.”

World Bible Translation Center is asking you to help provide a new easy-to-read Oriya Bible to one of the
displaced Christians in Orissa. $6 provides a complete Bible — God’s Word that will provide comfort and
encouragement to a persecuted believer there.

Click here to donate.

From this page:

India (MNN) – Violence that started in India during Christmas celebrations has only escalated in
Orissa state. Orissa state is known for the violence.

Operation Mobilization’s Peter Dance said that is likely
the result of a combination of things. The area has many strong Hindu fundamentalists, and there are many
Dalits coming to Christ. “[Dalits are] ostracized from any religious opportunities there in India, and they’re
turning to Christ because Christ loves them. And they’re beginning to see that, and they’re turning to Christ by
the tens of thousands. This persecution has been deliberately focused on that,” said Dance.

The Hindu opposition to the growth of the church has forced OM to become more sensitive with their outreach.
“Years ago, obviously, it was much more free to, shall we say, go out in the street, give out tracts, preach
from the corner of the mall, for instance,” said Dance. However, their people were beginning to be beaten
up and stoned and run out of towns because of these outreach methods. As the situation changes, the methods of
outreach change.

Those changes have not hindered church growth, and the persecution has actually contributed to church growth.
Many people turn to the church during uncertain times. “Now of course there’s a whole lot of questions that
go with that: ‘Do they know what they’re doing when they turn to the church?’ etc. Well, that’s where churches
and other organizations, including ours, are invovled in being able to share the beauty of Christ,” Dance
explained.

Since Dalits have been denied not only religious rights but health and schooling as well, they are very
excited to learn more. “I think actually [the growth] is a very under-reported situation,” said Dance.

The current violence is a reminder of the continual struggle Christians face in India. Dance says Christians
need to pray for the “thousands and thousands of Christians in refugee camps.” Christians as well as
Hindus and Muslims are ministering to refugees. OM is trying to raise funds to provide food, clothing
and shelter.