Coptic Blogger in Egypt Pressured to Convert in Prison

Will Morris

November 3, 2009

ISTANBUL (CDN) — A Coptic Christian blogger in Egypt entering his second year of prison without charge is being pressured to convert to Islam in exchange for his freedom, his attorneys said.

On Oct. 3, 2008, Hani Nazeer, a 28-year-old high school social worker from Qena, Egypt and author of the blog "Karz El Hob," was arrested by Egypt's State Security Investigations (SSI) and sent to Burj Al-Arab prison. Although police never charged him with any crime, Nazeer has been detained for more than a year under Egypt's administrative imprisonment law.

Gamel Eid, executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the group representing Nazeer, said Nazeer was arrested unfairly and now is being coerced to abandon his faith.

"Hani complains about that, it happened, and it's true," said Eid. "But the police do it in a subtle way. They do it by inspiring the inmates to suggest to Nazeer that if heconverts to Islam, police will work to get him out of prison."

Nazeer is confined in what is commonly known as the "general population" area of the prison, meaning he is housed with both violent and non-violent felons. Nazeer told his attorneys he is often treated harshly. Despite this, Eid said Nazeer is constant in his faith.

A few days before his arrest, on Oct. 1, 2008, a group of young Muslims in Nag Hammadi saw his website and clicked on a link to an online copy of "Azazil's Goat in Mecca," a novel written under the pseudonym "Father Utah." The book is a response to "Azazil," a novel critical of Christianity by Yusuf Zidane that is famous in Egypt.

While Zidane's critique of Christianity garnered him awards throughout the Arab world, locals protested the link to Utah's site.

Insulting religion is considered a crime in Egypt, although typically the law is only enforced when Islam is criticized. Police have not publicly produced any evidence linking Nazeer to Utah's work. After Nazeer was arrested, posts continued on Utah's website. It is unclear if the teenagers who saw Nazeer's website and were offended were students at his school.

Eid said the deeper issue was that Nazeer upset Islamic authorities by criticizing the increasing Islamization of Egyptian civil society and irked church leaders by lamenting political involvement of the Coptic Orthodox Church. In one post, Nazeer wrote that a gathering of activists at a Coptic church was inappropriate because churches were meant to be venues for prayer, not for politics.

Police had detained Nazeer's relatives at a police stationand threatened to hold them until he came out of hiding, Eid said, and Nazeer turned himself into a police station in October 2008 - on the advice of Bishop Kirollos of Nag Hammadi, Nazeer reported to his attorneys.

Kirollos assured Nazeer he would be detained no more than four days and then be released. According to Nazeer and the ANHRI, the bishop colluded with authorities to get rid of Nazeer, whose online criticism had become bothersome.

"[Kirollos] is the one who turned me in after he denounced me to security," Nazeer told his attorneys. "He bluffed [Kirollos] we were going for a short investigation and it will be all over. Then I found out it was a charade to turn me in to state security."

Eid claimed the arrest achieved two complementary goals for police and Kirollos - calming those protesting "Azazil's Goat in Mecca," and silencing a blogger who had been critical of Islamic hardliners and the Coptic Orthodox Church.

All attempts to reach Kirollos were unsuccessful. Several attempts to reach Bishop Anba Yoannes, authorized to speak about the case on behalf of the Coptic Orthodox Church's Pope Shenouda III, were also unsuccessful. Egypt's SSI, a political police force run by the Interior minister, routinely declines to comment on cases.

Release Orders Invalidated

Nazeer's attorneys were set to appeal his imprisonment on Sunday (Nov. 1), but it is unclear how or even if the appeal will affect his case. Courts have ordered Nazeer's release several times before. The SSI has rendered the orders for release invalid by invoking the country's longstanding emergency law, which supersedes court authority.

When local police execute a court order to release prisoners held under the emergency law, security policecommonly re-arrest them minutes later. The law, enacted after the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat, allows authorities to hold people without charge. Eid estimated that there are approximately 14,000 people imprisoned under this law.

Eid said Nazeer's case is extremely difficult.

"Hani is in between the hate of the Islamists and the hate of the Christians," he said. "The Islamists of course are against him, and the church [Kirollos] is against him, so he's being badly squeezed between the two."

Kalldas Fakhry Girgis, Nazeer's cousin, saw him 15 days ago. Girgis said that despite Nazeer's confinement, he is in good spirits. He remains strong in his faith and his convictions.

"He wants to know why he's been arrested," Girgis said about his cousin. "He's hopeful. His morale is high. But he is feeling stressed."

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.

Government Orders Tehran Church to Stop Some Services

Farsi Christian News Network reports that a church in Tehran has cut the number of its services to avoid being completely shut down by authorities. On Friday, the Central Assemblies of God Church cut its Friday services and announced that only its two Sunday services will continue, despite the church's position as the largest public gathering of Iranian Christians. Security from the Ministry of Information has reportedly put extreme pressure on the church, saying they would personally close the church if they refused to comply by the end of October. Rev. Soorik, the bishop and overseer of the Assemblies of God Churches in Iran, said he reportedly made the decision to protect the security and well-being of the church's members and visitors.

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.

Lutherans Ask Forgiveness for 16th-Century Persecutions

Religion News Service reports that the Lutheran World Federation leaders plan to apologize for their predecessors' 16th-century persecution of Anabaptists, religious reformers whose successors include Mennonites and the Amish. "We ask for forgiveness -- from God and from our Mennonite sisters and brothers -- for the harm that our forebears in the sixteenth century committed to Anabaptists," says a statement adopted unanimously on Monday (Oct. 26) by the LWF's council. The apology is now recommended for formal adoption by the highest LWF governing body, its assembly, meeting in Stuttgart, Germany, in July 2010. Anabaptists, whose originally pejorative name means "re-baptizers", stressed the need to baptize Christian believers, including those who had been baptized as infants. They were persecuted as heretics by both Protestants and Catholics, and many of them fled to America.

New, More Dangerous Hindu Extremist Groups Emerge in India

Vishal Arora

November 2, 2009

PUNE, India (CDN) — After more than a decade of severe persecution, India's Christian minority is growing increasingly concerned over the mushrooming of newer and more deadly Hindu extremist groups.

Gone are the days when Christians had to watch out only for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and its youth wing, Bajrang Dal, which are closely linked with the most influential Hindu extremist umbrella organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). With voter support faltering for the RSS's political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), moderate and extremist sections within the Hindu nationalist movementare blaming each other, and militant splinter groups have emerged.

Claiming to be breakaway factions of the RSS, new groups with even more extreme ideology are surfacing. The Abhinav Bharat (Pride of India), the Rashtriya Jagran Manch (National Revival Forum), the Sri RamSene (Army of god Rama), the Hindu Dharam Sena(Army for Hindu Religion) and the Sanatan Sanstha(Eternal Organization) have launched numerous violent attacks on Christian and Muslim minorities.

The Sri Ram Sene was one of the most active groups that launched a series of attacks on Christians and their property in and around Mangalore city in the southern state of Karnataka in August-September 2008, according to a report, "The Ugly Face of Sangh Parivar," published by the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), in March 2009. In Jabalpur city in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, suspected extremists from the Abhinav Bharatattacked the Rhema Gospel Church on Sept. 28, according to the Global Council of Indian Christians. They had earlier attacked Pastor Sam Oommen and his family in the same city on Aug. 3.

The Hindu Dharam Sena has become especially terrifying for Christians in Jabalpur. Between 2006 and 2008, Jabalpur was plagued by at least three anti-Christian attacks every month, according to The Caravanmagazine. In the western state of Gujarat and other parts of the country, the Rashtriya Jagran Manch has also violently attacked Christians, according to news website Counter Currents.

At an ecumenical meeting held in New Delhi on Saturday (Oct. 24), the secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandes, said the rise of fundamentalism was "seriously worrying" the church in India. The meeting was held to discuss prospects for immediate enactment of federal legislation to counter religious extremism with the proposed Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill.

RSS 'Too Mild'

The new groups, formed mostly by former members of RSS-connected outfits, find the Hindu nationalist conglomerate too "mild" to be able to create a nation with Hindu supremacy.

The Sri Ram Sene, mainly active in south India, was started by Pramod Muthalik after he was expelled in 2007 from the Bajrang Dal, one of the most radical groups in the RSS family, for being an extremist, according to the daily newspaper DNA. The Hindu Dharam Sena was started by Yogesh Agarwal, former worker of the Dharam Jagran Vibhag (Religion Revival Department) of the RSS, also in 2007, as he felt "the RSS did not believe in violence," according to The Caravan. He had earlier launched the Dharam Sena, an offshoot of the RSS, inMadhya Pradesh and neighboring Chhattisgarh state in 2006.

The founding members of the Abhinav Bharat, which was started in Pune in 2006, also believe that the RSS is not militant enough. Outlook magazine notes that its members were planning to kill top leaders of the RSS for their inability to implement Hindu extremist ideology. TheRashtriya Jagran Manch, also a breakaway group of the RSS founded in 2007, has close links with the Abhinav Bharat.

Based out of Goa, a western state with a substantial number of Christians, the Sanatan Sanstha provides the ideological base for Hindu militant groups. It has close links with the Sri Ram Sene and publishes a periodical,Sanatan Prabhat, which occasionally spews hate against Christians.

Media reports warn of tensions due to the recent spurt in activity of the splinter groups.

"The hardliners are now getting into more extreme activities," The Times of India daily quoted V.N. Deshmukh, former joint director of India's Intelligence Bureau, as saying on Oct. 21.

The most extremist sections are disillusioned with the way the RSS is functioning, said Mumbai-based Irfan Engineer, Director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. Most RSS cadres were mobilized with an ideology that called for elimination of minorities, mainly Muslims and Christians, he told Compass, adding that many of them were highly disappointed with the way the movement was being led.

He said the BJP was restricted when it led a coalition government at the federal level from 1998 to 2004, keeping it from effectively working towards a Hindu nation. A majority of the BJP's allies in the National Democratic Alliance were not Hindu nationalists.

"One section of the [Hindu nationalist] movement believes in acquiring state power by participating in parliamentary democracy, and the other wants to create a Hindu nation by violent means," Engineer said.

It is believed that the divide within the RSS family may deepen even further.

Analysts believe that Hindu nationalism is losing relevance in national politics, as was evident in the two successive defeats of the BJP in the 2004 and 2009 general elections. Consequently, the RSS and the BJP may distance themselves from the hard-line ideology or make it sound more inclusive and less militant.

After this year's elections, the RSS increasingly has begun to talk about the threat China poses to India and the need for development in rural areas, instead of its pet issues like Islamist terrorism and Christian conversions. This has disappointed sections of the highly charged cadres even more, and the splintering may accelerate.

For the next few years, "we will see more new names and new faces but with the same ideology and inspiration," said Anwar Rajan, secretary of the PUCL in Pune.

Whether the new groups truly have no connection with the RSS is not fully known - that appearance may be an RSS strategy to evade legal action, said Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, chairman of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism in Mumbai.

He said relations between the RSS and the new groups can be compared with the ones between Maoist (extreme Marxist) rebels and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in India. While the CPI-M distances itself from Maoist violence, it speaks for the rebels whenever security forces crack down on them.

At base, the newer rightwing groups surely have the sympathy of the RSS, said Pune-based S.M. Mushrif, former Inspector General of Police in Maharashtra, who has been observing Hindu extremist groups for years.

Have You Ordered Your 2008 Church Resource Kit Yet?

Nov. 8 is this year's International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. We hope your church or group will join us in praying for persecuted believers around the world. You can order our 2009 Church Resource Kit to help you get started. The kit contains the Chora DVD, a story about Shafia, a young woman in Pakistan who experienced atrocities because of her Christian faith. The kit also has an Action Pack, a special pre-printed vacuum seal bag to send needed items to Christians living in poverty, 10 current prisoner profiles for prayer, 25 Prayer Brochures with a free book offer, 10 Special Issue newsletters and an 8-page Kids of Courage prayer resource.

Read more here

CHINA - Update: Chinese pastor released

Praise God! On Oct. 12, Pastor Hua Huiqi, was released from prison, according to China Aid Association. Pastor Hua was arrested by Chinese officials on Sept. 17 and thankfully, he was not physically mistreated during his detention. Upon his release, however, officials reportedly threatened to harm his 13-year-old daughter if he "caused any trouble." Pastor Hua, who is recovering at home, has urged the international community to continue praying for his ailing Christian mother, Shuang Shuying, who has also faced imprisonment...

Read the full story here

UKRAINE - Church bombed

On Oct. 14, a homemade bomb was thrown into theCalvary Chapel church building in Kaharlyk, Ukraine, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. The building is also the residence of Pastor Wayne Zschech and his family. At 7 a.m., Pastor Zschech's wife awoke to the smell of smoke...

Read the full story here

Christian in Somalia Who Refused to Wear Veil is Killed

Simba Tian

October 30, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya (CDN) -- Three masked members of a militant Islamist group in Somalia last week shot and killed a Somali Christian who declined to wear a veil as prescribed by Muslim custom, according to a Christian source in Somalia.

Members of the comparatively "moderate" Suna Waljameca group killed Amina Muse Ali, 45, on Oct. 19 at 9:30 p.m. in her home in Galkayo, in Somalia's autonomous Puntland region, said the source who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Ali had told Christian leaders that she had received several threats from members of Suna Waljameca for not wearing a veil, symbolic of adherence to Islam. She had said members of the group had long monitored her movements because they suspected she was a Christian.

The source said Ali had called him on Oct. 4 saying, "My life is in danger. I am warned of dire consequences if I continue to live without putting on the veil. I need prayers from the fellowship."

"I was shocked beyond words when I received the news that she had been shot dead," the source in Somalia told Compass by telephone. "I wished I could have recalled her to my location. We have lost a long-serving Christian."

Ali had come to Galkayo from Jilib, 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Kismayo, in 2007. She arrived in Puntland at the invitation of a close friend, Saynab Warsame of the Darod clan, when the Islamic extremist group al Shabaabinvaded Kismayo, the source said. Warsame was born in Kismayo and had lived in Jilib but moved to Puntland when war broke out in 1991.

The source said it is not known if even Warsame knew of Ali's conversion from Islam to Christianity.

"She might not have known, because Warsame is not a Christian," he said.

In 1997 Ali, an orphan and unmarried, joined the SomaliChristian Brothers' Organization, a movement commonly known as the Somali Community-Based Organization. As such she had been an active member of the underground church in the Lower Juba region.

Muslim extremists have targeted the movement, killing some of its leaders after finding them in possession of Bibles. The organization was started in 1996 by Bishop Abdi Gure Hayo.

Suna Waljameca is considered "moderate" in comparison with al Shabaab, which it has fought against for control over areas of Somalia; it is one of several Islamic groups in the country championing adoption of a strict interpretation of sharia (Islamic law). Along with al Shabaab, said to have links with al Qaeda, another group vying for power is the Hisbul Islam political party. Whileal Shabaab militia have recently threatened forces ofHisbul Islam in Kismayo, Suna Waljameca has declared war on al Shabaab.

Among Islamic militant groups, Suna Waljameca is said to be the predominant force in Puntland.

It is unknown how many secret Christians there are in Somalia - Compass sources indicate there are no more than 75, while The Economist magazine hedges its estimate at "no more than" 1,000 - but what is certain is that they are in danger from both extremist groups and Somali law. While proclaiming himself a moderate, President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has embraced a version of sharia that mandates the death penalty for those who leave Islam.

Christian Servants

In 1994 Ali worked with the Belgium contingent of United Nations Operations in Somalia as a translator. The same year she was a translator during a peace conference aimed at bringing together warring clans in the lower Juba region.

Her death follows the murders of several other Christians by Islamic extremists in the past year. Sources told Compass that a leader of Islamic extremist al Shabaabmilitia in Lower Juba identified only as Sheikh Arbow shot to death 46-year-old Mariam Muhina Hussein on Sept. 28 in Marerey village after discovering she had six Bibles. Marerey is eight kilometers (five miles) from Jilib, part of the neighboring Middle Juba region.

On Sept. 15, al Shabaab militants shot 69-year-old Omar Khalafe at a checkpoint they controlled 10 kilometers (six miles) from Merca, a Christian source told Compass. Al Shabaab controls much of southern Somalia, as well as other areas of the nation. Besides striving to topple President Ahmed's Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu, the militants also seek to impose a strict version of sharia.

In August al Shabaab extremists seeking evidence that a Somali man had converted from Islam to Christianity shot him dead near the Somali border with Kenya, sources said. The rebels killed 41-year-old Ahmed Matan in Bulahawa, Somalia on Aug. 18.

In Mahadday Weyne, 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, al Shabaab Islamists on July 20 shot to death another convert from Islam, Mohammed Sheikh Abdiraman, at 7 a.m., eyewitnesses told Compass. The militants also reportedly beheaded seven Christians on July 10. Reuters reported that they were killed in Baidoa for being Christians and "spies."

On Feb. 21 al Shabaab militants beheaded two young boys in Somalia because their Christian father refused to divulge information about a church leader, according toMusa Mohammed Yusuf, the 55-year-old father who was living in a Kenya refugee camp when he spoke with Compass.

Compassion International Sends Ethiopia $1M in Aid

Responding to Ethiopia's ongoing famine, Compassion International is sending $1.4 million to the beleaguered nation. The emergency aid will go to help 6.2 million people facing starvation. Most of the funds, part of an effort that began in March and will continue at least through the year's end, will be used for direct food relief and medical supplies. Part of the money will help develop small businesses in the hardest-hit communities. "In these communities that are continuously dealing with food source issues, we are helping individuals to withstand and perhaps even avoid food crises in the long term - not just by helping them in the short term but also by supporting small business enterprises," said Mark Hanlon, senior vice president of Compassion International, USA. The group has been working in Ethiopia since 1993.

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."

Zimbabwe Church Leaders Appeal for Government Unity.

The Christian Post reports that Zimbabwe's faith leaders have taken an encouraging role in the country's government as its power-sharing agreement crumbles.Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from a tenuous partnership with President Robert Mugabe's earlier this week. "To us, this may indicate the first step towards the disintegration and failure of the inclusive government," the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance said. "We are concerned that the collapse of the inclusive government may lead to widespread violence in the country which will have a negative impact on the region." The interdenominational group says they still "pray and hope that the agreement can be retrieved and made to work," said the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance. "It is clear to us that the total failure of this transitional government may lead to chaos and bloodshed."

Two Evangelists in Ethiopia Released from Prison

Compass Direct News reports that the latest in a series of false charges against two Ethiopian evangelists was put to rest on Friday (Oct. 23), and they were released. A court in Debiretabor, Ethiopia acquitted the two evangelists of insulting the Ethiopian Orthodox Church(EOC) in prison, an accusation made by fellow inmates after the two were jailed on false charges of offering money for people to convert. Temesgen Alemayehu and Tigist Welde Amanuel had been sentenced to prison for six months on the false charge of offering money to people to convert but successfully appealed the punishment; after a lower court in Amhara state had thrown out their appeal on Sept. 21, the State Supreme Court in Bahir Dar ordered them to be to be released after paying a 500 birr (US$40) fine. "Thank you to those who prayed for us," Alemayehu said after his release, adding that he was eager to return to ministry.

Religious Hostility Case Heads to the 9th Circuit

Advocates for Faith & Freedom reports that the case against a teacher who denounced creationism as "religious, superstitious nonsense" is headed to the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals. A lower court found thatDr. James Corbett had violated the Establishment clausewith these and other statements critical of religion. One of Corbett's Advanced Placement students, Chad Farnan, filed the suit after tiring of his teacher's disregard for religion. On May 1, 2009, District Judge James V. Selnaagreed, saying that Corbett's statement "constitutes improper disapproval of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause." This case recognizes that far too often the Establishment Clause is invoked when there is a perceived promotion of religion by a governmental actor, but is not applied with equal force where a government actor like Dr. Corbett shows disapproval of religion.

Massive 'Reconversion' Event in India Aimed at Christians

Compass Direct News reports that hundreds of tribal Christians and adherents of aboriginal religion from villages were reportedly "reconverted" to Hinduism on Oct. 26. Hindu nationalist Swami Narendra Maharaj's goal was to "reconvert" 6,000 Christians in the so-called purification ceremony in Maharashtra state, reported The Hindustan Times, which put the number of "reconversions" at around 800. Hindu nationalists believe all Indians are born Hindu and therefore regard acceptance of Hinduism by those practicing other religions as "reconversion." Many reports of "reconversions," however, have been found to be false. In 2007, a Hindi-language newspaper reported that four Christian families had "reconverted" to Hinduism. But a fact-finding team from the All India Christian Council revealed that none of the members of those families had ever converted to Christianity.

Religious Freedom Report Lacks Specifics, Experts Say

Adelle M. Banks

October 29, 2009

WASHINGTON (RNS) -- Religious freedom experts called for more specifics in the State Department's policies on international religious liberty, but welcomed a new report that highlights abuse faced by people of faith throughout the world.

Released by the State Department on Monday (Oct. 26), the status report on religious freedom in 198 countries and territories pays particular attention to authoritarian governments that control religious expression or are hostile to religious minorities.

"President Obama has raised religious freedom in his speeches abroad without those sentiments being translated into concrete policy actions," said Leonard Leo, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, "and our hope is that this report will be the administration's call to action."

The independent commission also disagrees with the State Department on the status of religious freedom in some countries. In particular, the USCIRF has called forPakistan and Vietnam to be added to the State Department's list of "countries of particular concern."

The State Department report notes that "serious" and "significant" problems remain in those countries. Michael Posner, assistant secretary for the department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told reporters he hopes new the list of "countries of particular concern" will be made public by January.

Thomas Farr, the first director of the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom, said the report shows an improvement in U.S. policy on the issue, but more than incremental progress is needed.

"It is an approach that focuses on people who are being persecuted, as it should, but it tends to talk about cases rather than the structural problems that lead to persecution," said Farr, citing China as an example.

The report notes that China's "repression of religious freedom remained severe in Tibetan areas." It also said: "Citizens do not have the ability to bring legal action based on the Constitution's guarantees of religious freedom."

Religious freedom experts knocked Obama earlier this month (Oct.) for refusing to meet with the Dalai Lama, whom China considers a "splittist." The White House said Obama will meet with the exiled Buddhist leader after he returns from a summit in China next month.

Farr, who directed the religious freedom office from 1999 to 2003, criticized the administration for not yet naming an ambassador at large for religious freedom. But he praised its opposition to efforts by the Organization of the Islamic Conference to seek "defamation of religions" resolutions at the United Nations.

In her remarks introducing the report Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton noted her disagreement with such proposals, saying an "individual's ability to practice his or her religion has no bearing on others'freedom of speech."

In addition to chronicling restrictions and improvements in religious freedom, the report also included what Clinton called a "special focus" on international initiatives promoting interfaith dialogue.

"We are encouraged by this growing recognition by governments and religious leaders that extremism is a common enemy and that freedom and respectful religious coexistence are critical to our shared future," the report's executive summary concluded.

Somali Christian woman killed for refusing to wear veil

According to an October 27 report from Compass Direct, Amina Muse Ali (45) was murdered in her home in Galkayo, Puntland region, Somalia on the evening of October 19 by three masked members of Suna Waljameca, a militant Islamic group. Ali had earlier received threats from militants for not wearing a veil to show her adherence to Islam. They had reportedly been monitoring Ali for some time as they suspected her of being a Christian. Ali, a long-time believer, had been actively involved in the underground church and the Somali Christian Brothers' Organization, a movement that has been targeted several times by Muslim militants.

Pray for those mourning the loss of Amina Muse Ali. Pray for the small, suffering community of believers in Somalia. Pray that those who persecute Christians in Somalia will know Christ's love, forgiveness and blessing through the lives of believers (Romans 12:14, 21).

To learn more about God's suffering children in Somalia, click here.

Christians throughout India targeted in violent attacks

The Voice of the Martyrs received several reports of violence against Christians in India throughout the week, including the following two incidents.

On the morning of October 25, four men entered the Assembly of God church building in Old Hubli, Karnataka during a worship service and started taking notes and photographing the worshippers. When the pastor's wife, Radha David (42), asked the men to sit quietly and listen to the sermon, they immediately left. A few minutes later, a group of approximately 50 Hindu militants stormed into the church. They threatened the believers and dragged Pastor K.M. David Raj (47) outside. The militants then collected the Bibles, Christian literature and banners and burned them in front of the church building. Police arrived on scene and brought Pastor Raj, Radha, and three other believers to the police station. At last report, the five remained in police custody.

On the same day, Pastor Pavithra Kumar (28) was brutally beaten following a morning worship service in Mastoori town, Madhya Pradesh. Approximately 11 Hindus called Pastor Kumar outside where they attacked him with their fists, wooden rods and field hockey sticks. Pastor Kumar was able to escape his assailants and run back inside the church building. However, he was badly injured on his hands, chest, back and head.

Pray that these believers will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere in their faith, and not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 10:32-39, Hebrews 12:1-3). Pray that those who seek to hinder the work of the Church in India will see the love and grace of Jesus in the lives of Indian Christians. We invite you to post a prayer for suffering Christians in India on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in India, click here.

Chinese student expelled from school for his Christian faith

Chen Le Photo from ChinaAid

Chen Le, a second-year high school student, was officially expelled from Huashan Middle School on October 20 after he signed a document confirming his Christian faith, according to an October 25 report from ChinaAid. The official notice of expulsion stated, " was found by Bazhou Public Security Agency and other related agencies to have engaged in Christian gatherings. His school was notified that it should educate the student and persuade him to mend his ways. However…this student persists in his belief that he should not renounce his Christian belief. He can't promise that he will not believe in Christianity or attend Christian activities."

Due to the expulsion, Chen Le is now barred from taking the mandatory college entrance exam, disallowing him to pursue further education. Chen Le has responded saying, "I would rather be forced out of school, than deny my faith."

Thank God for the bold faith of Chen Le. Ask God to open a door for him so he may continue in his education. You can stand in solidarity with Chen Le by posting a prayer for him on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

Learn more about how Christians are persecuted for their faith in China at the China Country Report.

Update: Imprisoned believers tortured following Islamic attack in Pakistan

Nauman Masih Photo from Compass Direct

Two Christians who were arrested by officials following an Islamic attack on believers in Gojra, Pakistan (click here for more information), have faced brutal torture and abuse from authorities, according to an October 23 report from Compass Direct. Naveed Masih (32) and his brother, Nauman Masih (25), were arrested in early September for "rioting with deadly weapons and spreading terror with firing." Naveed has been accused of firing shots into the air and at the feet of Muslims in an attempt to disperse them during the August 1 violence. However, both brothers deny using weapons and believe they have been targeted because they provided shelter to over 300 women, children and seniors on the day of the attack.

The brothers were kept in detention illegally for 18 days at the Police Training Centre in Choong. During that time, police officers attempted to coerce the brothers into saying they fired the shots and had ties to terrorist organizations by denying them food and drink, beating them, hanging them upside down and preventing them from sleeping. Nauman has since been released on bail.

Update: Day of prayer and fasting called for kidnapped foreigners in Yemen

The three Christians who were killed in June

Four months after their abduction, there continues to be no reliable news on the condition of the remaining six expatriate Christians kidnapped in mid-June by unknown assailants in Yemen (read the story). On June 12, nine foreign Christians were abducted -- four German adults, three small German children, a British man and a South Korean woman -- after they ventured outside the city of Sa'ada. All of them worked at a hospital in the city. Shortly afterwards, Rita Stumpp (26) and Anita Gruenwald (24), German nurses in training, and Eom Young-sun (33) of South Korea were killed and their bodies found by local shepherds. Still missing are German doctor Johannes (36), his wife Sabine (36), their three children Lydia (4), Anna (3) and Simon (1) and British engineer Anthony S. Their whereabouts and condition remain unknown. Anthony is married but his wife did not accompany him on this trip.

As Middle East Concern (MEC) has noted, the work of the hospital where they worked has been severely reduced as a result, affecting the city and the wider area. No one has claimed responsibility for the abductions and killings, which MEC notes is "unusual within Yemeni culture, and heightens the concern and anxiety." The search for the missing has been greatly hindered by the intense fighting between the government forces and the Houthi armed group in Sa'ada province, which has flared up again since June.

According to MEC, Christians in Yemen have backed calls for a day of prayer and fasting on Saturday, October 31. For specific prayer requests, click here. Please plan to be involved if you can and encourage others to do so as well. Show your solidarity for the missing, their families and colleagues by posting a prayer on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

Update: Kidnapped priest alive but ailing in the Philippines

On October 10, Michael Sinnott, a 79-year-old priest from Ireland, was abducted by six armed men in the city of Pagadian near Zamboanga (Mindanao), Philippines as he was conducting evening prayers in his home (click here for more information). While the identities of his abductors remain unknown, authorities have been able to make contact with them and have been assured that the priest is alive but ailing. Medicines for Sinnott, who suffers from heart problems, were sent by a local church through an emissary and confirmation was received that he had obtained them. In July, Sinnott underwent a quadruple bypass. Pray that negotiations for his release will be successful.

Indonesian Islamists Bully Villagers into Revoking Church Permit

Samuel Rionaldo

October 28, 2009

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CDN) -- The regent ofPurwakarta regency, West Java has revoked his decision to permit construction of a Catholic worship building in Cinanka village after Islamists threatened residents into withdrawing their approval of the project.

Dedi Mulyadi on Oct. 16 revoked the permit for construction of Catholic Church of Saint Mary after Islamists threatened some of the local residents whose approval is required by Indonesian law, the priest of the church told Compass.

"Those who had signed were continually terrorized by the FPI [Front Pembela Islam, or Islamic Defenders Front]," the Rev. Agustinus Made said. "They became so frightened that when they were called to a meeting by the Interfaith Communications Forum, many did not attend. Also, the members of the Interfaith Communications Forum and the Department of Religion were also terrorized by the FPI so that they were afraid to say that they agree to the church building."

The FPI also intimidated the regent, resulting in his revoking the building permit he himself had signed two years ago, Made said.

"Since the end of the Islamic month of fasting [Aug. 22], the FPI has staged repeated demonstrations in front of the regent's office demanding that the building permit forSanta Maria Church be rescinded," he added.

The 5,000-square meter residential lot had been zoned for a house of worship. Jaenal Arifin, head of the National Unity and Community Protection Purwakarta RegencyOffice, said Regent Mulyadi signed the Oct. 16 decree revoking the building permit.

A Joint Ministerial Decree promulgated in 1969 and revised in 2006 requires the permission of more than 60 neighbors and a permit from local authorities to establish a place of worship. The more than 60 local citizens giving their approval must provide photocopies of their identity cards.

The regency office's Arifin said that, after a review of a community survey taken by the Interfaith Communications Forum of Purwakarta Regency and the Purwakarta Regency Department of Religion, 15 citizens had withdrawn their support. Additionally, he said, the church had not secured permission from the block captain.

"Based upon the latest developments, only 45 citizens have agreed," Arifin said. "Therefore the requirement is not fulfilled."

The congregation of 1,000 people has been holding services in a warehouse belonging to a steel factory located far from the proposed building site. The church has been worshipping in the warehouse since 2002.

With the revocation of the building permit, the church is also in danger of losing its place of worship. There is fear, Made said, that a radical group will approach the owner of the warehouse to stop services there.

The church is preparing to bring a lawsuit in a West Java court, he said.

"We are building on land that was set aside [zoned] for a house of worship, and which we have purchased," Made said. "We demand that justice be firmly enforced.Intimidation by radical groups must cease."

Church Registration in Vietnam Inches Along

Compass Direct News reports that the Assemblies of God (AoG) in Vietnam have received an "operating license," which the government described as "the first step . . .before becoming officially legal." This operating license, officially given on Oct. 19, gives permission for all of the congregations of the Vietnam AoG to "carry on religious activity" anywhere in the country for the next year. During this time the church body must prepare adoctrinal statement, a constitution and bylaws and a four-year working plan to be approved by the government before being allowed to hold an organizing assembly. The operating license is the first one granted since five were granted two years ago. The last of those five churches, the Christian Fellowship Church, was finally allowed to hold its organizing assembly in late September. Only about 10 percent of the many hundreds of applications have received a favorable reply, they said, leaving most house churches vulnerable to arbitrary harassment or worse.