Thousands of extremist Muslim fighters armed with automatic weapons are attacking Christian villages in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province, burning churches and thousands of homes and sending residents fleeing.
Details emerging from recent detentions and interrogations of Christians in Brunei point to a growing government concern that the growth of “cults” in this predominately-Muslim nation could lead to political and religious instability.
Reports from Laos say authorities closed two churches in the southern part of the country earlier this year.
On October 16, 2000, twenty-one-year-old Liu Haitao from Henan province in central China died as the result of severe police beatings. Although the immediate cause of his death was a kidney ailment that flared up after police mistreatment and a harsh imprisonment, there is no question his death was the result of his witness for Christ, which makes him a martyr for the faith. Local Christians in the area plan to observe October 16 as a memorial day to the life of the young Christian.
Evangelical Christians blamed for the unrest in Vietnam’s Central Highlands in early February have been abducted, tortured and prevented from worshipping together by security police, according to reports from the region.
Two Christians were sent to jail yesterday for seven days on charges of “disobeying the police” in the town of Ismailly, 120 miles west of the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.
The wife and children of Baptist prisoner Shageldy Atakov in Turkmenistan have been told by the local mullah, administration officials and officers of the country’s political police, the KNB (former KGB), that they may not believe in Jesus Christ and must convert to Islam. According to a statement from local Baptists — passed on to Keston News Service by the German-based Friedensstimme mission — officials in the town of Kaakhka, close to Turkmenistan’s southern border with Iran, also warned Atakov’s wife, Artygyul, that the family home would be confiscated if Christians continue to meet there.
A fundamentalist Hindu mob attacked a church in the eastern Indian state of Tripura on February 25. Church leaders say the Krishnanagar Baptist Church in the capital Agartala was attacked as Christians were attending the Sunday service. The mob forced the pastor to stop the service.
Police in Pakistan’s Punjab province registered another questionable blasphemy case against one of its Christian citizens on April 1, jailing a respected high school principal for slander he allegedly spoke two months ago against Mohammed, the prophet of Islam. Pervaiz Masih, founding director of the Iqbal Memorial High School in Chelay Kay village near Sialkot, was arrested at his home on April 1 during a late-night police raid.
ATLANTA (ABP) — Southern Baptist leaders have informed the Roman Catholic Church that they are cutting off official conversations between the two groups that have been going off and on for 30 years.
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Pressing forward despite criticism of President George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers has unveiled the sweeping “Community Solutions Act.” The law would expand funding of religiously oriented social services and allow non-itemizers to deduct charitable giving from their taxable income.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP)–A 9-4 federal court ruling for Ohio’s motto, “With God, all things are possible,” is “an important victory for freedom and a sound defeat for those who want to strip our nation of its religious heritage,” constitutional attorney Jay Sekulow said.
Responding to urgent pleas for help, Christian Aid has joined a campaign to raise $1.2 million to rescue Christians feared targeted for conversion or extermination by Muslim jihad warriors in Indonesia.
Sharply different perspectives on religious persecution in Indonesia have been laid before the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Instead of convicting the Muslim murder suspects accused of killing 21 Christians in last year’s El-Kosheh massacre, a judge in southern Egypt has accused the local Coptic clergy of responsibility for the three-day rampage.
More Christians died for their faith in the twentieth century than at any other time in history, says Christian Solidarity International. Global reports indicate that over 150,000 Christians were martyred last year, chiefly outside of the United States. However, statistics are changing: persecution of Christians is on the increase in the United States. What’s happening to bring about this change?
Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem
Yesterday (February 5, 2001) the American Secretary of State, Colin Powell, retreated from Bush’s campaign promise to start moving the Embassy of the United States from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President Bush had promised that his first step on taking office would be to move the Embassy.
A Pakistani high court acquitted three Christians of blasphemy, calling for an investigation as to whether their Muslim accuser had fabricated a false case against them two years ago.
A third New Year’s Eve attack against a Christian church in the Central Asian state of Tajikistan has been confirmed this past week by Korean Christians linked with Grace Sonmin Church in Dushanbe.
After eight days in jail, two Pakistani evangelists arrested in Jacobabad for distributing Christian literature and tapes of the documentary “Jesus” film were released on bail January 19.