Indonesia: Worship shut down

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Several Islamic organizations have pressed officials in a sub-district near Indonesia’s capital city to forbid Jakarta Christian Baptist Church to worship in a house, resulting in an order to cease worship.
The Islamic Defenders Front, the Betawi Forum Group, and political party Hizbut Tahrir have told officials in Sepatan sub-district, Tangerang district, near Jakarta that worship activities cannot be conducted in a residence.

The house belongs to the Rev. Bedali Hulu. Both District Officer Ismet Iskandar and a sub-district officer support the closure and have ordered Hulu to use his home only as a residence, the pastor said.
The sub-district officer, who goes by the single name of Rusdy, has sent a notice ordering an end to all worship at the house. “But they have not put forth a solution,” Hulu said.

“For a long time we have suggested that we build a place of worship, but there has been no response from the local government.” Church members feel terrorized by mobs that have stopped services, the pastor said.

IRAN: Two women stand firm

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In March, officials incarcerated Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh in one of Iran’s worst prisons. Their health has deteriorated in the harsh conditions.
“Neither one are in good health,” reports Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs. “They both have had health difficulties since they’ve been in prison.”

Nettleton explains that there is a “method to the madness” of forcing these believers to endure horrible circumstances.
“The goal of the justice system there, using the term ‘justice’ very loosely,” he explains, “is to pressure them and force them and make them so miserable that they will deny their faith in Christ and return to Islam.”

On March 5, Rustampoor and Amirizadeh were accused of “acting against state security” and “taking part in illegal gatherings.” Currently they are incarcerated at Evin Prison, known for its notoriously harsh treatment of prisoners. Maryam and Marzieh share a cell with 27 other women; illness is spreading rapidly in the prison, VOM states.

According to a recent VOM report, Marzieh and Maryam are suffering from sore throats, irregular painful stomach aches, and intense headaches. Marziah needs prayer for a critically-infected tooth.
“Right now, they’re simply treating her with pain medication instead of treating her with anything that would fight the infection,” says Nettleton. “There’s a very real fear that the infection could spread and cause even more trouble for her.”

These women have stood boldly for Christ in many interrogations and trials. Click here to see details of the August 8 interrogation. In that case, both women were ordered to deny their faith in verbal and written statements. Standing firm, they both declared, “We love Jesus. We will not deny our faith.” They have been sent back to prison to await the judge’s verdict.

“The judge is basically saying ‘OK, well we’ll send you back to prison and try to make you so miserable that in fact you will take a different course and you will decide to renounce your faith.,” Nettleton interprets.

He says prayer and urgent action are both needed to make a difference in this situation.
“Obviously, we need to pray specifically about their health, and particularly I think for this toothache. The Lord could touch and bring healing in a dramatic way, and I think that would be an incredible testimony to their faithfulness and to the fact that God is in control and is working through this situation.”

“You can literally send an e-mail to his office and say ‘Listen, Maryam and Marzieh are not a threat to the Iranian government. They’re simply two ladies who want to follow Jesus Christ, and they should be released.’”

Nettleton also urges believers to write letters of encouragement to Maryam and Marzieh. In doing so, “they’ll know that people around the world haven’t forgotten them,” he says.  “They’re part of our family…and their family around the world remembers them and is praying for them.”

Pakistan: Christians attacked

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It was just a rumor. But among the radical Muslims in Pakistan’s Gojra village, a rumor was enough of an excuse to kill.

When the rumor was broadcast from the loudspeakers on the minarets of local mosques, it became fact. As part of a wedding ceremony, the loudspeaker shouted, Christians tore pages from a Quran. Then they compounded the disrespect by walking on the shredded pages.

“Defend Islam!” The loudspeaker called. Muslims answered, rampaging through a Christian section of Gojra on Aug. 1. Eight Christians were killed, including women and children. More than 100 Christian homes were burned by a mob. The mob, which was estimated to be more than 20,000 people, also burned a church.

Five Hours Without Help
Emergency personnel did not reach Gojra for more than five hours. Christians were forced to use vegetable carts to move their dead and wounded to the hospital.

Responding to an international outcry, Pakistani government officials have now said no Quran was desecrated. The government promised to help rebuild the burned homes of Christian families.

Even before the government acted, contacts of The Voice of the Martyrs were in Gojra, offering comfort to the wounded and praying with the families of the dead. They continue to aid the village, including helping with some medical expenses, offering encouragement and pressing for a forceful government response.

Pray Blasphemy Laws Are Overturned
Christians in Pakistan hope these attacks can be a turning point. They are praying to God and pressing their government to overturn unjust blasphemy laws that are often a pretext to attack Christians.

They are also asking us to pray with them.
Pray for Christians in Pakistan to be bold witnesses for Christ, despite threats.
Pray for those wounded and left homeless by the brutal Gojra attacks.
Pray for Muslims to come to know Jesus Christ in a personal way.

Prayer Alert: Iran

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Prayer Alert: Maryam and Marzieh on Trial in Iran

Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30) were first arrested and imprisoned on March 5 on charges of “taking part in illegal gatherings” and “acting against state security.” One unconfirmed report I read said they had taken up a church offering without being authorized to do so. They have been in Evin Prison ever since.

In a court trial yesterday, Sunday, August 9, they were told to recant their faith. Even though the mandatory death sentence for apostasy did not pass the Iranian Parliament, there is still a very real danger they will be convicted of apostasy and given the death sentence.

However, Islamic law forbids the execution of virgins, which both these young women are. To get around that, unmarried female convicts are forcefully “wed” the night before their execution, gang raped all night, and then executed the following morning.
Please pray earnestly these young women will be delivered from such a fate.

 

Pray for Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh
Sunday, August 9, 2009

In a dramatic session before the revolutionary court today in Tehran, Maryam Rustampoor (27), and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30) were told to recant their faith in Christ. Though great pressure was put on them, both women declared that they would not deny their faith.
Maryam and Marzieh were originally arrested on March 5, 2009 and have suffered greatly while in prison, suffering ill health, solitary confinement and interrogations for many hours while blindfolded.

On Saturday August 8, Maryam and Marzieh were summoned to appear in court on Sunday August 9 in order to hear a verdict on their case. The chief interrogator had recommended a verdict of ‘apostasy.’

However, when they arrived, no verdict was actually given. Instead, the court session focussed on the deputy prosecutor, Mr Haddad, questioning Maryam and Marzieh about their faith and telling them that they had to recant in both verbal and written form. This made it clear that in the eyes of the court, Maryam and Marzieh’s only crime is that they have converted to Christianity.

Mr. Haddad, asked the two women if they were Christians. “We love Jesus,” they replied. He repeated his question and they said, “Yes, we are Christians.”
Mr. Haddad then said, “You were Muslims and now you have become Christians.”
“We were born in Muslim families, but we were not Muslims,” was their reply.

Mr. Haddad’s questioning continued and he asked them if they regretted becoming Christians, to which they replied, “We have no regrets.”
Then he stated emphatically, “You should renounce your faith verbally and in written form.” They stood firm and replied, “We will not deny our faith.”

During one tense moment in the questioning, Maryam and Marzieh made reference to their belief that God had convicted them through the Holy Spirit. Mr. Haddad told them, “It is impossible for God to speak with humans.”
Marzieh asked him in return, “Are you questioning whether God is Almighty?”
Mr. Haddad then replied, “You are not worthy for God to speak to you.”
Marzieh said, “It is God, and not you, who determines if I am worthy.”

Mr. Haddad told the women to return to prison and think about the options they were given and come back to him when they are ready (to comply). Maryam and Marzieh said, “We have already done our thinking.”

At the end of the session, Mr. Haddad told them that a judge will give them his verdict, though it is not clear who will be the judge in their case now. He also allowed Maryam and Marzieh to have a lawyer represent them in the case for the first time since their arrest.

Both women are back in Evin prison tonight. During their five-month ordeal, both have been unwell and have lost much weight. Marzieh is in pain due to an on-going problem with her spine, as well as an infected tooth and intense headaches. She desperately needs medical attention. Two months ago the prison officials told her the prison had proper medical equipment and that they will attend to her, but so far no proper treatment has been given.

Despite the concentrated effort of officials to pressure them into recanting their faith, Maryam and Marzieh love Jesus and they are determined to stand firm to the very end no matter whatever happens. They have demonstrated their love for Jesus and would offer their lives for Him if they were called to do so. After today’s court session they said, “If we come out of prison we want to do so with honor.”

Maryam and Marzieh’s case is a clear and harsh violation of human rights and religious liberty by Iran’s authorities. They deserve the support of all those who respect human rights and to be released without charges so they can pursue a life of freedom.

Nepal: Christians increasingly vulnerable

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As law and order breaks down, Christians come under attack.

Three years after a pro-democracy movement led to the proclamation of Nepal as a secular state, some Christians say they are in greater peril than ever. They are now being targeted by militant Hindu organizations that blame the church for the abolition of Hinduism as the state religion and the end of monarchy.

Since May, when the Nepal Defense Army (NDA) – which claims to have links with militant Hindu organizations – struck one of Kathmandu valley’s oldest and biggest churches, the group has threatened to drive all Christians from the country.

And now a group claiming to be the parent organization of the NDA has warned that on Aug. 10 it will start a “Save the Hindu nation” movement. Last month, the Rev. Pius Perumana, a senior Catholic priest, received a phone call. “The caller said he was in charge of the NDA in Kathmandu valley,” said Perumana of Ishalaya Catholic Church, located in Godavari on the southern rim of the capital.

“However, I recognized the voice. It was Ram Prasad Mainali himself.” Perumana said he has received at least five threatening calls from the Hindu supremist ordering him to close all Christian organizations and leave Nepal, he said. The NDA leader has also been calling Protestant pastors, demanding money. In districts outside Kathmandu, where security is weak, some pastors are said to have paid up out of fear.

SOMALIA: Convert from Islam shot dead

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Islamic extremist rebel group hunts down underground church leader.

Muslim extremists early this morning, July 20, killed a Christian convert in Mahadday Weyne, Somalia, 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Mogadishu.

Al Shabaab Islamist militia shot Mohammed Sheikh Abdiraman to death at 7 a.m., eyewitnesses said.
They said the Islamic extremists appeared to have been hunting the convert from Islam, and when they found him they did not hesitate to shoot him.

The sources said that Abdiraman was the leader of an underground “cell group” of Christians in Somalia.
“We are very sad about this incident, and we also are not safe,” one eyewitness said by telephone. “Pray for us.”

CHINA – Christian woman jailed for smuggling in North Korean refugees

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Lawyers representing a Christian woman detained for smuggling North Korean refugees into China hope to strike a blow for refugees’ rights.

Li Mingshun, a Chinese Korean from Heilongjiang province, north-east China, is in jail in neighbouring Inner Mongolia, charged with helping to smuggle 61 refugees into China.

She was arrested this April at her home in Qingdao. Officials demanded 100,000 yuan (almost £9,000) for her release – a fine her family was unable to pay. Police have threatened to arrest Li’s 26-year-old daughter, Piao Zhengying, on similar charges.

Li’s family are particularly concerned because she has severe hypertension and heart disease. Lawyers believe this case could help draw attention to the plight of North Korean refugees in China, whom the Chinese authorities tend to detain or forcibly repatriate.

Pray that Li Mingshun’s case will indeed force China to rethink its current policies on North Korean refugees. Ask God to bless and protect Li in custody.

Bibles to RSA Military in Sudan

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Please pray for the South African military, who leave for Sudan this month.

We distributed alongside Gideon’s International SA, about 1700 bibles to both Christians and Muslims soldiers on 27th March 2009 who have been deployed to Sudan.

The Senior staffs of the Military Camp have requested Complete Bibles

Please Pray as we believe these bibles will be of use to the soldiers but also an opportunity to reach out to the Muslims in Sudan.

Pastor Julius Mengot.

Eritrea: Time to pray

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Since 2002 the autocratic regime of President Isaias Afewerki has detained well over 2,000 Christians without trial, and has forced dozens of churches and Christian ministries to close. Many believers have been tortured to force them to renounce their faith.

Since 2002 the Eritrean Government has recognised only three churches: the Orthodox Church of Eritrea, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran-affiliated Evangelical Church of Eritrea. All other churches have been closed.

Well over 2,000 thousand Christians have been detained without trial. Some estimate the total could be nearer 3,000 – out of a tiny population of only five million.

Many leading pastors and Christian activists have been arrested. In most cases they have disappeared without trace inside Eritrea’s prison system. Relatives often do not know if they are dead or alive.
Some Christian prisoners have been tortured by being locked in metal shipping containers where they suffer extreme heat during the day, and biting cold at night.

Other forms of torture are common, including what is known as ‘helicopter’ torture, where a prisoner is forced to balance on their stomach for prolonged periods, with their hands and feet tied behind them.

Christians undergoing military service are not allowed to meet together, to worship or to read a Bible. Many have been told to renounce their faith. Those who do not face lengthy terms in jail. The secret police routinely spy on Christians.

Network

Colombia: Guerrillas threaten pastor

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COLOMBIA: LEFTIST GUERRILLAS THREATEN, KILL CHRISTIANS
Pastors are issued warnings in north; evangelists murdered in southwest.

Having been sentenced to die by leftist rebels for holding Christian worship services in 2006, a pastor in Colombia’s northern department of Arauca took seriously the death threats that guerrillas issued on Friday (March 13), according to Christian support organization Open Doors.

The rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN) phoned a pastor of Ebenezer Church in Saravena at 5:30 a.m., telling him to meet them at a site on the Arauca River at 7 a.m. When the pastor, who requested anonymity, arrived at the landing, the guerrillas took him by canoe to the other side of the river – into Venezuela – then drove him to a guerrilla camp some 40 minutes away.

For the next three hours, the rebels warned him that area pastors had three options: cooperate with the revolutionary cause of the guerrillas, leave or die. Although the ELN has been at odds with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in Arauca they co-exist without conflict.

FARC guerrillas control the southwestern department of Huila, where last November four Christians were killed. Farley Cortés was killed on Nov. 5 in Plumeros village, Hermes Coronado Granado was killed on Nov. 8 in Santana Ramos, and 10 days later a married couple, Dora Lilia Saavedra and Ferney Ledezma were also killed there.

Guerrillas seized Saavedra, 40, and the 35-year-old Ledezma from the school where Saavedra taught on Nov. 18, bound them on the floor of an old house and shot them several times.

Their pastor, Hernan Camacho, has moved with his family out of the area after receiving death threats. “[The FARC guerrillas] say that we, the evangelical ones, are their worst enemy because we teach the people not to take up weapons,” Pastor Camacho said.

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