North Africa "Underground" Christians And Missionaries Face Death Threats
Monday, May 28, 2007 (12:00 am)
By BosNewsLife News Center
CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife) — Hundreds of indigenous missionaries and other believers in North Africa's expanding underground churches are "constantly in danger of persecution, imprisonment, and death," amid Muslim extremism in the region, a mission group said Friday, May 25.
Christian Aid Mission (CAM), which supports indigenous missionaries in the region, made the announcement after learning that a woman, identified as Fatima, was nearly killed by her husband, Salam, after he discovered she was a Christian.
"Fatima refused his demands to renounce Christ and follow Islamic rituals of praying and fasting. Salam stabbed her in the chest, and if neighbors had not intervened, he would have cut her hand off," CAM told BosNewsLife in a statement.
"Weak from loss of blood, in and out of consciousness, Fatima rode a camel across the desert for 12 hours to get medical treatment. Though recovering, she will never have the use of her hand [again'," the US-based group said.
UNDERGROUND MISSIONARY
The woman, whose exact country was not revealed for "security reasons" and her husband were approached by Saad, an indigenous underground missionary supported by CAM, the group explained.
He, "had witnessed [the Gospel of Jesus Christ] to Salam and Fatima after several months of helping their destitute family with food, housing, employment, and the delivery of their 4th child," CAM said, adding that the missionary "is helping [Fatima] now."
Fatima is apparently he latest victim among Christians trying to survive in a mainly Muslim environment. CAM said it is "in contact with hundreds of indigenous missionaries," and other believers in "underground churches", who it claimed face similar threats as Fatima. "Saad, Fatima, and all believers in North Africa are constantly in danger of persecution, imprisonment, and death," CAM said.
Christians form a minority in several areas of North Africa, the northernmost region of the African continent. It is generally divided politically from Sub-Saharan Africa and includes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and the Western Sahara. (With BosNewsLife Research).
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