INDONESIA -- Militant Muslims Destroy Church Building

On Dec. 17, a mob of nearly 1,000 Muslims attacked a church building under construction in Bekasi Regency, near Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, according to VOM Canada.

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SOMALIA — Christians Under Fire for Their Faith

On Nov. 23, Mohamud Muridi Saidi, a Somali Christian, fled the Kakuma refugee camp on the Kenyan border after receiving death threats from Muslims, according to Compass Direct News.

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Christian murdered by his Muslim friends in Pakistan

Patras Masih was gunned down by three of his Muslim friends on December 3 in Karol village, Punjab Province, Pakistan after he refused to recant his Christian faith. On December 1, four of Patras's childhood Muslim friends -- Sohail Muhammad, Imran Muhammad, Amir Muhammad, and Anees Mahammad -- asked Patras to buy them alcohol, which Muslims are prohibited from buying or consuming in Pakistan. Locally brewed liquor can be acquired in the country, but it is sometimes fatally toxic; 14 people in the province have reportedly died from drinking toxic liquor in December alone. Among the victims was one of Patras's four friends, Anees, who passed away on December 3. Following his death, Sohail, Imran, and Amir visited Patras at his home and accused him of killing Anees by offering him a toxic drink. The three told him that they would spare his life only if he converted to Islam. When Patras refused to do so, he was shot multiple times in the chest. According to Patras's father, Gulzar, his Muslim friends had tried to pressure him to convert several other times, but Patras always refused. Gulzar stated, "My son bravely refused to recant Christianity and clung to Christ. He bravely embraced martyrdom." The local police have registered a murder case against the three, but they remained at large at last report. (Source: Compass Direct)

Pray for the Masih family during this difficult time. Ask God to show Himself to the family of Anees Mahammad as they grieve. Pray that Patras's Muslim friends will come to know Christ through his example of steadfast faith. You can post a prayer of solidarity for the Masih family on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

To find out more about how Christians suffer in Pakistan, go to the Pakistan Country Report.

Militant Muslims destroy church building in Indonesia

Destruction of the Church of Saint Albert Photo from AsiaNews

A mob of approximately 1,000 Muslims attacked a church building under construction in Bekasi Regency, near Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. At midnight on December 17, the Muslims arrived at the Church of Saint Albert, some on bikes and some on foot, and stormed into the building, carrying banners and tanks of kerosene. One witness reported hearing them shout, "Destroy ! Destroy it! Replace the church with mosque!" The Muslims damaged bricks, broke lights, uprooted newly planted trees and set the building on fire. No one was injured in the attack, but damage amounted to around 60 million rupees (approximately $6,700 CAD). Local Christians were planning to use the nearly completed building for a Christmas Mass service. Following the attack, a leader of the church's construction committee shared, "Even though our chapel was attacked we are not afraid. We will continue the construction of this chapel until its completion." (Sources: AsiaNews, Union of Catholic Asian News)

Pray that these believers will not be discouraged but continue to rest secure in the joy and provision of Christ. Pray for peace to reign in their hearts this Christmas. Pray that Indonesian Christians will be emboldened by the Holy Spirit to share the Truth of the Lord (Acts 1:8). You can post a prayer for Christians in Indonesia on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

For more information on trials facing believers in Indonesia, go to the Indonesia Country Report.

Christian brothers poisoned in Pakistan

On December 15, three Christian brothers in Gujranwala, Pakistan were poisoned by their Muslim employers who were angered by their faith and their demands for pay. The brothers had left their jobs as sanitation workers at the Ferozewala Pul Banquet & Marriage Hall because they were not receiving their wages. However, they returned when their employers promised them their outstanding wages, a Christmas bonus and overtime pay. When they returned, the brothers were still denied their pay. They were also harassed by staff members who spoke offensively to them about their Christian faith and called them derogatory names. When the brothers finally demanded their due pay, they were threatened with dire consequences if they did not continue their work. The hall owner and hall manager then forced the three to drink poison. Their family was only contacted when two of the brothers, Imran Masih (29) and Irfan Masih (25), were already dead. At last report, the third brother, Aakash Masih (23), was in critical condition. The Peoples Colony police station has registered a murder and deception case against the hall owner and the hall manager. (Source:Compass Direct)

Pray that the Masih family will rest in the knowledge that the Good Shepherd walks with them through this difficult time (Psalm 23). Pray that Aakash will make a full recovery. Pray that the hall owner and hall manager will repent and come to faith in Christ.

Check out the Pakistan Country Report to learn more about the suffering of Christians in Pakistan.

Muslims attack worship service in Uganda

Damaged church building and Pastor Zaake Photos from Compass Direct

According to a November 10 report from Compass Direct, approximately 40 Muslims armed with machetes and clubs attacked the World Possessor's Church International in Namasuba, just outside the capital city of Kampala, Uganda, on November 1 while believers were holding a worship service. When the church members heard the Muslims outside, they gathered at the front door to try to prevent them from entering. Some Christians were able to escape through the church's rear door. When the Muslims noticed one of the Christians taking photographs of them, they beat him severely. Nearby residents eventually arrived on scene and helped the Christians ward off their attackers. When police arrived, they assisted in stopping the assault but made no arrests.

Local Muslims have long opposed the existence of the church in Namasuba, complaining that church members try to convert Muslims in the area. They have also argued that the church building's outdoor stairway encroaches on the alley and that the church members make too much noise. Many of the believers are reportedly too fearful to return to church and attendance for the worship service held the following Sunday decreased from 250 to 100 people. "Since the attack we have been receiving a lot of threats from the Muslims," said Pastor Henry Zaake. "There is a conspiracy that we can't understand. This trend really gives me sleepless nights."

Ask God to sustain all the victims of this attack through His peace and grace. Pray that the members of the church will grow in Christlikeness through the ongoing opposition they face (James 1:2-4). Post a prayer for these Ugandan Christians on ourPersecuted Church Prayer Wall.

New Dimension in India's Anti-Christian Violence Feared

Compass Direct News reports that authorities in India increasingly view Hindu rightwing extremists as a threat not only to Muslim and Christian minorities but also to national security. A string of Hindu terrorists have been arrested recently for exploding bombs. Historically Hindu terrorist groups have traded blows with India's Muslim extremists, but because of a perceived threat from Christianity - as one Hindu extremist leader expressed to Compass - many analysts believe Hindu terrorists increasingly pose dangers to Christians as well. John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Council, said that while terrorism was not new for rightwing groups, some of the extremist groups had "metamorphosed into fully fledged terrorism squads on classical lines - cells with local leaders, supply lines, bomb-making experts, and clear linkage with the intellectuals and motivators in the RSS [Hindu extremistRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] hierarchy."

Court Impedes Effort to Rescue Kidnapped Girl in Bangladesh.

Aenon Shalom

November 4, 2009

DHAKA, Bangladesh (CDN) — A bail order in Bangladesh has impeded police from rescuing a young Christian girl who was abducted and forced to convert to Islam and marry one of her kidnappers, according to police.

Four Muslim men abducted eighth-grade student Silvia Merry Sarker on July 30 as she made her way home from school in west Sujankathi village, under Agoiljhara police jurisdiction, in Barisal district in southern Bangladesh, according to her father, Julian Sarker.

Sarker filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Act against Al-Amin Faria, 24, Shamim Faria, 22, Sahadat Faria, 20, and Sattar Faria, 50.

"My daughter was abducted by Faria with the help of his cousins and other relatives," said Sarker.

Sarker filed a First Information Report (FIR) charging that the men abducted his daughter initially to "indulge Al-Amin Faria's evil desire." Later she was forced to convert to Islam and marry Al-Amin Faria, which Sarker said was part of an attempt to take over his land and property.

Local police inspector Ashok Kumar Nandi told Compass that police were continuing efforts to arrest the kidnappers but had yet to find them, as the unusually early bail order had blocked their efforts.

"There are four names as prime suspects in the case," Nandi said. "We arrested three of them, but the court released them on bail. If the court had given them to us on remand, we might have found the girl, or at least we would get much information to rescue the girl."

Generally suspects in cases under the Women and Children Repression Act are not granted bail so early for the sake of investigations, Nandi said.

"We do not know why they were released on bail," he said. "Those released persons are moving freely in the village. We cannot arrest them again without an order."

Attorney Rabindra Ghosh, president of Bangladesh Minority Watch and an activist for Dutch human rights organization Global Human Rights Defense, told Compass that the granting of bail to the suspects also poses threats to the victim's family.

"They are threatening the victim's family to withdraw the case," said Ghosh. "Release of the abductors on bail so early is a travesty - the abductors got impunity due to the early bail order. For the sake of the girl's rescue, the court could have sent the arrestees to police on remand to find more information about their hideout."

Gnosh concurred that an accused person under the Women and Children Repression Act case does not get bail so early without first getting necessary information from them.

False Document

A few days after the kidnapping, Sarker said, the abductors provided Nimchandra Bepari, a Hindu neighbor, an affidavit claiming that Sarker's daughter was 19 years old. Bepari gave the affidavit to the local police inspector. The kidnappers also contacted sub-district chairman Mortuza Khan.

"My daughter is 13 years old, but the abductors made an affidavit of her age showing 19 years old," Sarker said.

The headmaster of Agoiljhara Shrimoti Matrimangal Girls High School, where the girl is a student, issued a certificate denoting that Silvia Merry Sarker is even younger than 13 - born on Dec. 24, 1997, which would mean she is not yet 12 years old.

The fabricated affidavit provided by the kidnappers states that she accepted Islam and has married, said Sarker.

"I am shocked how a minor girl is shown as an adult in the affidavit," Ghosh said. "It is illegal, and there should be proper action against this kind of illegal activity."

Al-Amin Faria had tried to get the girl's two older sisters to marry him, but their early marriages saved them from falling prey to him, Sarker said.

"I married off my two elder daughters at an early age immediately after finishing their schooling," said Sarker.

Before they married, Sarker said he felt helpless to keep Faria and his family from accosting and harassing his other daughters.

"I could not take any legal action against them since we are the only Christian family here," he said. "I tolerated everything. I did not inform it to police or they would get infuriated."

When Faria "targeted" his second daughter for marriage, Sarker informed the headmaster of the school and its managing committee, and they warned the Muslim not to disturb the family, Sarker said. Nevertheless, he said, he felt he couldn't send his older daughters to school because he feared Faria would harm them.

"The relation of us with those Muslim neighbors is 'predator-and-prey,'" he said. "I saved my other family members from his lechery, but I could not save my youngest daughter."

Sarker said he felt alone and helpless as a Christian minority but that he doesn't understand how the entire justice system also can be so helpless.

"Why and how can the court, law enforcement agencies, police, administration, society and the country be helpless against him? Why can't they rescue my daughter?" he said.

Dilip Gabriel Bepari, an activist for Bangladesh Minority Watch, told Compass that the group had informed national and international officials in seeking help to find the girl.

"We informed it to various ministers, political leaders and police high officials," Bepari said. "We also informed it to the Vatican ambassador in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, the girl is still missing."

Archbishop Paulinus Costa of Bangladesh said theCatholic Church's impassioned plea to the government is to rescue her as soon as possible and bring the kidnappers to justice.

"It is unfortunate that the girl is not rescued yet in three months," Costa said. "There must be negligence and indifference to the Christians from the government, otherwise the girl would be rescued."

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) this year removed Bangladesh from its "Watch List" of countries requiring close monitoring of religious freedom violations, but it urged the new Awami League administration to strengthen protections for allBangladeshis.

USCIRF also indicates that it hopes the government of Bangladesh will investigate and prosecute perpetrators of violent acts against members of minority religious communities.

Seminary Students in Indonesia Evicted from Two Locations

Compass Direct News reports that in the past week hundreds of students from Arastamar Evangelical Theological Seminary (SETIA) were evicted from two sites where they had taken refuge from Muslim protestors last year. With about 700 students earlier evicted from Bumi Perkemahan Cibubur campground, officers appointed by the West Jakarta District Court on Oct. 26 began evacuating more than 300 other students from a former West Jakarta municipal building. In response, the more than 1,000 evicted SETIA students demonstrated in West Jakarta the next day, clogging traffic and leading to altercations with police that led to the arrest of at least five students. Six officers were injured. The eviction from the former West Jakarta mayoral office came after the city settled accounts last week with the Sawerigading Foundation, which officially gained ownership of the site from the city after a long court dispute.

Church Officials: 15,000 Bibles Seized in Malaysia

The Associated Press reports that Malaysian officials have confiscated more than 15,000 Bibles in recent months because the Bibles refer to "God" as "Allah." Most of the Bibles were imported from neighboring Indonesia. Recent court rulings in Malaysia have forbidden Christians to use "Allah" to refer to the Christian God, as they say it could confuse and upset Muslims. The Muslim-majority country practices a moderate brand of Islam, but has increasingly discriminated against religious minorities. The Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia, said the Roman Catholic Churchis challenging the "Allah" ban in court. "For most of the Christians, this is not an issue of going against the authorities. They have been using (the word "Allah") for a long time," he said.

Church Renovation Prompts Muslim Mob Attack in Egy

Assyrian International News Agency reports that interfaith violence continues to simmer in Egypt. A Muslim mob reportedly held a church congregation captive during theirTuesday evening service until the village mayor and police dispersed the mob. The Church of St. George in the village of Nazlet Albadraman recently obtained the necessary permits and began restoring the church's tower, apparently irritating the town's Muslim population. The incident began after a Muslim man accused the church on its front steps, saying, "This way you are causing sectarian sedition, you have to stop your building works." The mob broke church windows and vandalized cars, shops and Coptic homes before security forces intervened. Pastor Habib Ghattas told reporters that he had to call state security as well as the town's security forces, but "they did take their time arriving on the scene, as usual."

Petition Seeks Repeal of Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws

Religion News Service reports that a petition calling for the repeal of Pakistan's blasphemy laws has been delivered to the United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights. The laws impose the death sentence on a person found desecrating the Quran, often with little evidence. The signatories say the law is used to settle scores with non-Muslims and has been exploited to incite hatred and attacks against Pakistan's minority Christian community in recent times. "These laws condemn to death any person who desecrates the Holy Quran," said the petition, which bears more than 9,000 signatures. "The testimony of just one Muslim is sufficient to bring charges against the alleged culprit who is then immediately put in jail, where he often remains for months or years pending trail."

One in Four People Worldwide Are Muslim

Baptist Press reports that about one in four people worldwide is Muslim, according to a comprehensive demographic study by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The estimate is in line with previous data from other sources like the United Nations and the U.S.Central Intelligence Agency. The statistic should remindSouthern Baptists that the world is full of people who need to hear the Gospel, a spokesman for the International Mission board said. The study found that 1.57 billion, or 23 percent, of the world's estimated 6.8 billion people are Muslim. By comparison, the worldwide Christian population is estimated to be about 2.2 billion, or 1 in 3 people on the planet, according to the CIA Factbook. More than 60 percent of the global Muslim population lives in Asia while about 20 percent is in the Middle East and North Africa.

Christian woman kidnapped, believers assaulted in Egypt

Myrna Hanna Photo from AINA

A group of Coptic Christians in Alexandria were recently assaulted and arrested by Egyptian officials following an attempted rescue of a young Christian woman kidnapped by Muslims, according to an October 5 report from Assyrian International News Agency.

Ten months ago, 19-year-old Myrna Hanna was kidnapped and forced to marry a Muslim man. On September 30, she phoned her father, Gama Labib Hanna, and pleaded with him to rescue her. Hanna, his brother-in-law and another believer, Rafat Girges Habib, then went to Myrna's apartment where they were ambushed and threatened by her father-in-law along with five other Muslims. Myrna was eventually able to leave with her father. Her father-in-law immediately filed a report with authorities and Myrna's uncles and father were promptly charged with abduction and detained. They were all reportedly physically assaulted by authorities. The Hanna family's home was broken into by police and Habib's shop was demolished. Myrna's uncles were released in order to bring her to the police station, where she was handed back to her father-in-law. Her father was released from custody on October 2. The next day, authorities arrested a number of Habib's relatives and assaulted their wives. Officials continued to make arrests until Habib turned himself over to police.

Pray that Myrna will be released from her captors. Ask God to sustain her and give her an added measure of strength, as she is six months pregnant. Post a prayer for Myrna and the Christians involved in this case on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

To learn more about the opposition of Christians in Egypt, visit the Egypt Country Report.

Christians targeted and threatened in Bangladesh

The Voice of the Martyrs received several reports in recent weeks from AsiaNews about attacks on Christians in Bangladesh by militant Muslims.

William Gomes interviewing Photo from AsiaNews

On September 25, Muslim militants attempted to kill a convert from Islam to Christianity, along with his wife and child, by setting his home on fire. In the days before the arson, militants had threatened William Gomes with death for intervening in an assault on his cousin by a Muslim man. Gomes, a journalist and human rights activist, had sought protection from police following the threats. However, it was only after the fire that they guaranteed police intervention.

Anup Rodrigues (25) was brutally beaten on September 27 by members of an Islamist group after attending evening Mass. Rodrigues was waiting at a park for friends when four men dressed in traditional Muslim clothes attacked him from behind with iron rods and bamboo sticks. They accused him of insulting Muhammad and said Christians were a "curse on the nation" who wanted to convert Muslims. Rodrigues was eventually able to escape his assailants. The week before, he was threatened by a Muslim man who overheard him speaking with friends about the prophets of different religions. The Muslim stated that he belonged to an Islamist group and that they had the duty of carrying out jihad to punish people like Rodrigues.

Pray for safety for William Gomes, Anup Rodrigues and their families. Pray that they will not be fearful but will trust God (Revelation 2:10). Pray that attacks on Christians in Bangladesh will cease.

Go to the Bangladesh Country Report to find out more about the trials Christians are facing in Bangladesh.

Muslims Demand Arrest of Christians for 'Provoking' Gojra Violence

ASSIST News Service reports that Muslim residents of Gojra have demanded that Christians who have been accused of provoking violence be arrested by today. The violence ended in seven Christian being burnt alive by a Muslim mob on Aug. 1. The calls for Christian men's arrests became strident on Tuesday after a Muslim man who had allegedly opened fire on Christian residents on Aug. 1 died in Allied Hospital, Sargodha. The man, Amjad, had suffered injuries during the Gojra violence. The Muslims gave police a 48 hour ultimatum, warning that the onus of consequences will be on the administration if the Christian accused of provoking violence were not arrested. So far, heavy contingents of police have been deployed around the local Christian colony, apparently to prevent further violence. Police also stood outside the Bishop House and the Catholic Church.

Egypt Muslim Council: Building Churches Is 'Sin'

The Christian Post reports that a human rights group are fighting an Islamic council after the council issued a fatwa (Islamic edict) declaring that building a church is "a sin against God." According to Egyptian Union Human Rights Organization President Dr. Naguib Gabraeel, the controversy began after his group found a troubling passage in a Cairo University textbook. The passage, dealing with inheritance and execution of wills, said that "it is forbidden for a person to donate money for what would lead to sin, such as donating in his will money towards build[ing] a church, a nightclub, a gambling casino, towards promoting the alcohol industry or for building a barn for rearing pigs, cats or dogs." When asked, the Fatwa Council upheld the passage even though it contradicts Egypt's constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.

Mediation Next Step in Teen Muslim-Christian Case

CNN reports that a Christian teen who ran away from her Muslim family in Ohio will stay in Florida for now, but will have to face her parents again. A Florida judge ordered Rifqa Bary and her parents, Mohamed and Aysha Bary, to seek mediation within 30 days. Seventeen-year-old Rifqa maintains that her father threatened to kill her when he discovered her conversion, while Rifqa's parents deny such allegations. "We wouldn't do her harm," the father said, adding that he knew his daughter was involved withChristian organizations. The Bary family is originally from Sri Lanka, and Rifqa says she fears being sent back to be killed or put in an asylum there. The teen ran from home in July to meet a pastor's family in Florida whom she met via Facebook.