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Pastor Chuck & Arlyn
Nigeria (MNN/CDN) —New information is coming out of Nigeria in the aftermath of Christian/Muslim violence in Nigeria. According to Compass Direct News, the murderous rioting sparked by Muslim attacks on Christians and their property on Nov. 28-29 left six pastors dead, at least 500 other people killed, and 40 churches destroyed. More than 25,000 persons have been displaced in the two days of violence, according to the National Emergency Management Agency. What began as outrage over suspected vote fraud in local elections quickly hit the religious fault line that quakes from time to time in this city located between the Islamic north and Christian south, as angry Muslims took aim at Christian sites rather than at political targets. Police and troops reportedly killed about 400 rampaging Muslims in an effort to quell the unrest, and Islamists shot, slashed or stabbed to death most of more than 100 Christians killed. Among Christians killed was Joseph Yari of the Evangelical Church of West Africa. The Rev. Emmanuel Kyari, pastor of Christ Baptist Church, Tudun-Wada, told Compass that Yari died helping other Christians who repelled Muslim fanatics bent on burning down his church building. “Yari was standing beside my wife when he was shot by Muslims,” Rev. Kyari said. “In addition to Yari who was killed, there were also three other Christians who were shot, and two died instantly.” Pray for this violence to end. Pray that hearts will soften and be impacted by the Gospel. |
Nigeria violence update: pastors victims
Nigerian Christians murdered, left homeless by organized Muslim attack
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Pastor Chuck & Arlyn The following report was received by Christian Aid from a native missionary living in Jos, Nigeria. Most reports of this situation by secular media contain skewed information, received directly from the Nigerian government. This information includes false claims that Christians attacked and killed Muslims, and vastly underestimates the damage done to Christian lives and property. In reality, Muslims plotted an attack on Jos Christians days before the election results were announced. The majority of Muslims who died during the incident were killed by government soldiers ordered to fire at will to contain the violence.
“They knew, just as we did, that the Christian-backed People’s Democratic Party would win. “And they were ready with their guns and machetes to murder our families and burn our homes because of the votes we cast. “The Muslim Hausa ethnic group, which dominates northern Jos, had sent for Muslim mercenaries from surrounding states in Nigeria to inconspicuously enter Jos with weapons and mock military uniforms to attack us if the election did not go their way. “Our Muslim government was aware that people were being brought into Jos from neighboring states, but did not warn us of the danger. “Early the next morning, Friday, November 28, screams and gunshots filled the air, as these terrorists slaughtered Christians and burned churches, homes and businesses. More than 30 churches were torched, many with people inside. “Hundreds were killed. The stench of the corpses was overwhelming, as dead bodies were pulled from the charred remains of buildings and cars and piled into trucks or ambulances for mass burial. “More than 7,000 of us fled from our homes. Christians are living inside of hospitals, churches and police stations—some are hiding in the forests. “By the evening of Saturday, November 29, government troops were ordered to arrest offenders and shoot on sight. The majority of Muslims who died during the chaos were involved in clashes with police and security forces, many of whom fired at civilians. “All government officials sent to Jos to help contain the crisis are Muslims, including the army chief, who is overseeing security in Jos. This has added to our fears of continued attacks on Christians.” Christian Aid can provide help for these suffering believers through Missionary Crusader’s Ministry. MCM urgently needs to provide blankets ($15), bedding ($60) and generators ($600). Funds in any amount for food, medicine, temporary shelter and rebuilding homes and churches are also needed. Donations to Christian Aid should be designated 550MCM-for victims of violence. Background of religious tension in Jos Nigeria is well known for its longstanding ethnic and religious tension between the feudalistic, Islamic north and the entrepreneurial, Christian south. Jos is located along the religious fault-line in what is known as the Middle Belt, a stretch of fertile land between the two regions, where many towns and villages contain both Muslims and Christians.
In 2001, more than 1,000 people died in a religious riot. The following year, a dispute over a perceived insult to Islam during a beauty pageant led to riots in which hundreds died. In 2004, an estimated 700 people died in Plateau State during Christian-Muslim clashes. In 2006, riots over Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad led to the deaths of nearly 200 people. Constitutionally, Nigeria is a secular state with freedom of religion. Yet, for nearly 40 years following the country’s independence from Britain in 1960, the northern ruling elite favored Muslims and persecuted Christians. Muslims have successfully instituted Shariah law in 12 Nigerian states. Muslim president, Umaru Yar’adua, took office in May 2007. Your help is urgently needed. Gifts may be sent to Christian Aid, or give on line: Give here. |
“Unknown to me and the other believers living in Jos [farming city located high on Plateau State in central Nigeria], Muslim terrorists from surrounding states had quietly infiltrated the city days before the November 27 election of the local council. 
Most of Plateau State’s original inhabitants come from tribes that are almost entirely Christian or animist, but the green farmland pastures have attracted Muslim Hausa and Fulani people from the north. This ethnic and religious mix has proved devastating to Jos.British missionaries arrested in Gambia
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Pastor Chuck & Arlyn
The Fulton’s had lived in Gambia for 12 years, serving as chaplain with the Gambian army. Jonathan Racho with International Christian Concern says, “Both of them were very active in spreading the Good News among the Muslims in the country. 90-percent of the people in the Gambia are Muslims.” Gambia is a tiny West African nation of 1.7 million people and is among the world’s poorest nations. Racho says the couple’s two-year-old adopted daughter has also been affected. “She was also originally imprisoned with her mom. But after a few days, authorities decided to remove the two-year-old from the mother.” She’s not being taken care of by family friends. Racho believes he knows why the Muslim-led government arrested the couple.”They feel threatened by the Christians in that country. S, they want to stop them from spreading the Good News.” This situation isn’t something you should ignore. Racho says, “I ask the listeners to call their representatives in the United States and overseas so that the Gambian authorities will be told to immediately release these Christian missionaries.” According to Racho, David needs to be released. “Currently he is in a very serious condition. He is been put in a very high-security prison, and he’s very sick. He’s unable to eat.” Pray that the couple will be released and be reunited with their daughter. |
Gambia (MNN) — A British missionary couple is in custody in Gambia after being charged with sedition. The Gambian government claims 60-year-old David Fulton and has 46-year-old wife, Fiona, are accused of sending letters criticizing Gambia’s government to individuals and groups. Christian brothers falsely accused of murder
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During the initial days of their detention, Refaat and Ibrahim Fawzy Abdo were tortured with electric shocks for 8 hours a day over a period of three days. Sources believe that authorities are using the brothers as leverage to make other Christians confess that the May attack was not religiously motivated. On May 31, approximately 60 armed Muslims stormed a monastery where the brothers worked as building contractors in Mallawi, Upper Egypt. One Muslim was killed in the attack, four Christians injured and three monks briefly kidnapped. Although they were not on the premises when the violence occurred, Refaat and Ibrahim were subsequently charged with the murder. Sources say that the brothers were tortured in an attempt to make them testify that the monks at the monastery were armed. To find out more about the hostile atmosphere for Christians in Egypt, click here. |
Egypt (MNN) — Two Christian brothers falsely accused of murdering a Muslim in May were recently sent to the El Wadi El Gardid Detention Camp in an attempted coercion, reports GFA missionary tells his harrowing persecution story
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Pastor Chuck & Arlyn
India (MNN) —Last week Mission Network News told you about the mirculous escape of a Gospel for Asia missionary in Madhya Pradesh. For the first time since he was kidnapped and beaten on November 24, GFA missionary N. Chauhan is telling his story — in his own words — about the harrowing ordeal and his miraculous escape. Chauhan was on outreach ministry in Madhya Pradesh, India, when he was kidnapped by a mob of about 40 anti-Christian extremists. “On November 24 at 11 a.m., while I was going for outreach ministry in a village 20 kilometers (12 miles) from my home, a group of young people belonging to an extremist group stopped me. They asked me several questions, such as what was I doing and where was I going. Then they opened my bag and found Gospel literature and teaching CDs. “The extremists started to beat me. They took my bicycle, mobile phone and two thousand rupees (US$40). They forcefully took me on their bike to a remote village, where around 200 people had gathered, and they made me sit in the middle of the crowd. They asked me several questions and told me to read Hindu literature, leave the Christian faith and worship one of their gods. I said “No,” so they started to beat me again. “Then the crowd called for their leader. They took me to a small hut and locked me inside. They kept me locked up from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. “During that time, I was praying to the living God. I remembered the verse where Jesus said, ‘In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ Through this Bible verse, I got courage to face any problem. “When they took me out of the room at 8:00 p.m., I was very hungry and cold. They took me to a road to meet the extremist leader. But I was thinking and looking for some way to escape. So I told them I needed to use the bathroom, and they let me walk into the forest. I walked a little ways and then started to run. Some started to chase me and loudly told the others that I was running away, and so many people ran after me. “I don’t know from where I got such power to run. The mob even took their jeep and bike to catch me, but as I was running through paddy fields, they couldn’t catch me. I even fell in a small well, but God helped me to get out. And again I started to run through the forest. “Up until midnight, I was sitting in the forest. My whole body was in severe pain, but God gave me strength to walk 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) through the forest without fear. I found a village where I know a Christian family. “Around 3 a.m., I reached their house and told them what had happened to me. They gave me a place to sleep and kept me there for two days, until I went to another village and got some medicine. On November 27, I safely reached a GFA district office. Now I am in the office resting, but I still have pain in my chest and legs. “I thank God that He has saved my life. I also want to give thanks to all those who sincerely prayed for me. Kindly keep remembering me in your prayers.” Continue to pray for the thousands of GFA workers that are sharing the Gospel no matter what the cost. |
Jos, Nigeria tense in wake of deadly riots
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Carl Moeller with Open Doors says it’s not over yet. “There are many, many flash points along that entire border. We pray for overall reconciliation between these peoples. We pray that Muslim extremists would not take out their frustration on the Christian community there, and then we pray for Christians to have the peace and patience of the Holy Spirit.” The home of Isaac, an Open Doors (OD) representative, was looted and burnt down on November 28, but neither he nor his family were harmed. At the moment, they are taking refuge in a safer area. OD is in the process of addressing the immediate needs of the family and assisting them to relocate. Moeller says their teams have been galvanized into action so that the hope of Christ goes forth. “Open Doors has stepped up its work in Nigeria because of the need for restoring the Christian church’s presence in those areas. [We want] the Christians to be encouraged, to let them know that they’ve not been forgotten, to provide for their most basic needs–food, clothing, shelter, spiritual needs, encouragement, training for pastors, and materials for the rebuilding of their churches.” However, unrest in the state in the past has triggered reprisal attacks between different ethnic and religious groups in other parts of Nigeria. Hundreds were killed in ethnic-religious fighting in Jos in 2001. Hundreds more died in 2004 in clashes in Yelwa, also in Plateau Sate, leading former President Olusegun Obasanjo to declare an emergency. The violence in Jos has calmed down a bit, but the situation remains tense. Please pray for Christians in Nigeria, as the situation is not yet resolved. The rest of the Open Doors staff and their families are safe, although they are shaken by the violence over the last couple of days. Keep praying for their safety as they act as the hands and feet of Christ during the crisis. |
Nigeria (MNN) — There are fresh tensions in Jos, Nigeria, after a call for a state of emergency. A deadly rampage last week targeted Christians in the area, following elections that fell in their favor. Thousands more are displaced. Pastor escapes Hindu extemists
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Chauhan was questioned about his ministry by extremists in a marketplace, and he was then dragged off to a house to be beaten. After refusing to stomp on the Bible when commanded to do so, Chauhan was beaten several more times. Concerned about Chauhan’s absence, GFA leaders tried to contact him. The extremists had taken his cell phone and answered the call saying, “The same thing is going to happen to you!” The extremists later attempted to deal with Chauhan by taking him near a road at night to meet their leader. After he had been untied to relieve himself, Chauhan quickly made his escape, running nine miles to the home of another believer and losing his abductors behind him. Chauhan is now safe, but the unmitigated attack on a believer in India somewhere other than Orissa is disheartening. Anti-Christian attacks, originally thought to be constrained to Orissa state, have been spreading at increasing rates to surrounding areas. Christians have been beaten in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, where a church has also been forcibly shut down. Believers have also been threatened by death in Delhi and Maharashtra for meeting and passing out Christian literature. This expansion of violence is especially discouraging because, as GFA President K.P. Yohannan puts it, “extremists are becoming more and more brazen in their attacks.” GFA has not lost hope, however, and praises God that Chauhan is safely back. Please continue to pray for the protection of his family, as well as the protection of thousands of other at -risk Christians in India. |
India (MNN) —Last week, Renewed Muslim Jihad threatens ministry
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Plateau State, located in central Nigeria, is on the front line between the Muslim-dominated northern region of Nigeria and the predominately-Christian south. Jos, the capital city of Plateau State, has recently been the location of many violent attacks. 400 have been confirmed dead, and attacks have been centered on the burning of churches and Christian homes. An indigenous mission agency, Grace Foundation Inland Mission, requests prayer for believers in Jos. Grace Foundation reports that pastors and believers were among the 400 killed, contributing to the belief that attacks were targeted at Christians. “They claim it is a reaction to a local government election, but we all know that it is preconceived,” said the group’s international director, Andrew Abah, in an e-mail received by the home office. “Election has nothing to do with burning down of churches, killing of pastors and other Christians, and massive looting of Christian shops.” Some government officials say radicals are using violent religious oppression to disguise a political ploy. One of Grace Foundation’s missionaries was taken captive by Muslim extremists, but after 10 hours he managed to escape to safety. He is currently staying with a fellow missionary. Thousands of others who have been displaced by the violence are now taking shelter in public buildings such as police stations and hospitals. “There is a 24-hour curfew but [it's] not fully adhered to by the Muslims,” Abah reported. “They are quietly entering into houses and killing people.” In addition to their missionary work among regional unreached people groups, Grace Foundation also has a children’s home for orphans and vulnerable children. The staff moved children from the Unreached Children Home (UCH) to a safer location due to fear of becoming the militants’ next target. Shortly after the move, Muslims marched to the Grace International mission base to set fire to the facility. In God’s providence, however, they were deterred by Christians until the military arrived and intervened. The government has deployed almost 300 armed soldiers to control the violence. Please pray for Christians in Nigeria. Pray for the preservation of Grace Foundation and for an end to these attacks. |
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Nigeria (MNN) — Muslims have renewed battle efforts in their decades-long dispute with Christians in Nigeria. Violence in Uttar Pradesh looking more and more like Orissa
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The extremist group plans not only to advocate their religion, but to force people to it at all costs. According to a Gospel for Asia report, the group’s leader is dedicated to both physically and mentally torturing Christians until they deny Christ and convert with reverence to Hinduism. In order to accomplish their goals, radicals have recruited several Dalits, or untouchables, to attack and kill Christians. Within the Hindu caste system, Dalits cannot associate with members of other castes, and it seems that extremists will likely discard them when they have served their purposes. The group has intentionally drafted young Dalit boys who are easily impressionable and able to be enticed by offers of acceptance. The violence in Uttar Pradesh is slowly rising to levels of horror seen usually just in Orissa. Many Christians who were never Hindus to begin with have been physically forced into the religion by anti-Christian radicals. Hundreds of thousands of believers are left hiding in the jungle, barely hanging on to their lives. Please continue to pray that there would be an end to this terrible violence. Pray that the faith and stability of the Christians in India would draw extremists away from Hinduism and toward Christ. “All men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). |
India (MNN) — In a swell of violence in Uttar Pradesh last week, a Hindu extremist group physically forced a Christian church led by a Hmong Christians suffering in Vietnam
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Compass Direct reports that when the authorities in the region discovered villagers had converted to Christianity, they sent “work teams” in to apply pressure, saying the government considered becoming a Christian a very serious offense. Patrick Klein, founder of Vision Beyond Borders, recently returned from Vietnam and describes the persecution. “They’re trying to get these people to let go of their tribal identities, learn Vietnamese, learn Vietnamese culture, and everything else. There’s a lot of persecution, especially the Hmong people who helped the CIA during the Vietnam War.” It’s a combination of religious and ethnic persecution, says Klein. “A lot of it is Christian persecution, because of lot of these tribal people have become Christians. [They're seen as] puppets for the U.S. government or for the British, trying to overthrow the government. And that’s not the case at all,” says Klein. He says many of the Hmong are fleeing. “They’re going into Laos. A lot of have gone into Cambodia.” Klein says there are atrocities being reported. “They have bounty hunters that go looking for these people. I think it’s $44 a head they get for everyone they catch. And, what they’re doing is cutting the Achilles tendon on the men and doing horrible things to the women, and then tying them up and throwing them into the river to drown.” Despite the persecution, the church is growing. The needs of these churches are great, according to a pastor Vision Beyond Borders works with. “The man we work with has actually spent seven years and three months in prison. Now, he oversees 500 churches. The day before we saw him, he had been with some Hmong pastors, and they said, ‘Pastor, we really need more Bibles. Can you get us more Bibles?’” In God’s providence, Klein and others would deliver 1,000 Bibles the very next day. Klein is asking Christians to pray for the Hmong believers, and pray that the Vietnamese government will stop harassing these tribal peoples. If you would like to help Vision Beyond Borders deliver Bibles to Vietnam, click here. |
Vietnam (MNN) — In violation of Vietnam’s new religion policy, authorities in Vietnam’s far north are pressuring new Christians among the Hmong minority to recant their faith and to re-establish ancestral altars, according to area church leaders. 