JANUARY–APRIL 2018
Response Your insight into religious freedom
Faith and a Future Jacob was taught that because he’s a Christian, all he’ll ever be is a cleaner. He was forced to give up on his dreams. José Gabriel missed out on vital years of school because his family were thrown out of their village and not permitted to register him at a local s chool. Across the world, children are denied a fair education simply because of their religion or belief. We’re launching a bold new campaign, Faith and a Future, tackling the discrimination and abuse that’s seen in schools from Pakistan to Mexico, from Nigeria to Burma. Together we want to ensure that no child is punished for their faith. Will you join us? Continued on page
Editor: Jennifer Watkins. Writers: Emma Howlett, Dave Mance, Jennifer Watkins, Olivia Watkinson. Graphic design: EPLS Design.
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News Update Continued from page 1
Muslim and Christian children hand in hand in Nigeria
of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more José Gabriel, naturally to the human Chiapas, Mexico heart than its o pposite.’
Schools have enormous power – to broaden young minds, to introduce them to new ideas, to show them the world’s endless possibilities. But all too often, that power is used to teach hate, to tell children that they’re worth nothing, and to tell other children that they should look down on them. That’s what Jacob endured at school in Pakistan. Gurinder, a Sikh boy, was beaten by his teacher twice a week from age four to age six. Then, as he got older, the abuse took a different form, as the constant pressure to convert became more than he could endure. He dropped out of school with no qualifications. These injustices happen to children of all faiths, all over the world. Christian children in Nigeria are forced to take Muslim names just to get into school. Rohingya Muslim children in Burma see their schools knocked down. Baha’i students in Iran are expelled from university if their religious beliefs are discovered.
So what can I do?
This is a truly global problem.
Stopping hatred before it starts “Education is our best hope for tackling fundamentalism.” These are the words of Michelle Chaudhry, one of our long-term partners in Pakistan. Michelle is devastated by the religious extremism that has gripped her country, with terrorism and
targeted attacks claiming hundreds of lives over the past few years alone. Yet she urges that to stop this tide of violence, we need to tackle hatred before it can take root. So many of the injustices we see in our world today are rooted in hatred that’s learned in a child’s early years. As Nelson Mandela said, ‘No one is born hating another person because
Lend your voice to our new campaign! Faith and a Future is fighting religious discrimination in schools around the world. Our research is truly groundbreaking – no one else has effectively tackled this issue. Together with supporters like you, we’re campaigning for biased textbooks to be rewritten, for discrimination in school admission to be removed, and for abuse to be dealt with effectively. The first step is to make sure the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office knows how urgent this issue is, by signing the petition we’ve enclosed with this newsletter. We’ll be launching the report in parliament at the end of February – please invite your MP to the event. You can do this quickly and easily at www.faithandafuture.com Sign the petition and speak up for Gurinder, who’s scared to go to school. For Jacob, who was told to forget his dreams. For Jose Gabriel, who’s missing out on vital years of school. For every child, and their right to both faith and a future.
On The FRONTLINES
Sign the enclosed petition, get as many signatures from your friends/church/small group as possible, then return it to us – the address is at the bottom of the petition. And feel free to photocopy it if you need extra copies!
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A crisis in Burma Thank you for everything you’ve done to support the Rohingya during the ongoing crisis in Rakhine State, Burma. An ethnic and religious group that the government considers not even citizens, they’ve been suffering persecution and discrimination for decades.
Since 25 August last year, the Rohingya, a largely Muslim ethnic group, have been targeted by the Burma Army in truly shocking violence. Homes have been burned, and rape and violence have been rampant, claiming the lives of thousands of men, women and children. CSW has been campaigning to bring the fate of the Rohingya to international attention as the crisis continues to worsen. Most recently, we brought the situation in Rakhine State to the
Around the world Iran Authorities have informed Christian students they must study the Qur’an or repeat the school year. Schoolchildren from the Church of Iran denomination, to which Pastor Nadarkhani belongs, face having their education blocked unless they agree to study Islam.
Nepal
New legislation has made it illegal to persuade someone to convert to another religion, amid strong concerns from human rights activists that this will make life even harder for Nepal’s millions of religious minorities. Similar legislation in India causes multiple violations of freedom of religion or belief every y ear.
ERITREA Faith leaders were detained after protesting the government’s attempts to seize all schools, including faith schools, and hand over control of them to the local communities. This would make faith schools open to the public. On 20 October Hajji Musa Mohammed Nur, Honorary President of Al Diaa Islamic School in Asmara, was arrested, along with several others who were taken into custody after expressing strong opposition to the government’s plans. A priest and a nun were also detained in connection with similar attempts to close a Catholic school.
A teacher in Kwet e village, Nigeria
attention of EU authorities as they met in November, and called them to put pressure on Burma’s government to end the crisis. To date, over 600,000 Rohingya have fled to nearby Bangladesh, and approximately 120,000 people are confined in squalid camps where access to humanitarian aid is severely restricted. The UN Secretary-General has called the situation a ‘catastrophe’ and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has described it as a ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing.’ It’s a desperate situation that urgently requires o ur p rayers.
For more information on the crisis in Burma and why we advocate for and pray on behalf of people of all different faiths, read Benedict Rogers’ piece on page 6. Meanwhile, join us in praying for Burma using p.4 of our Prayer Diary.
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Country in focus:
SRI LANKA Yasmin arranges stock in her reopened shop. Her shop and house were burnt down during the 2014 Aluthgama violence, leaving her with no income to provide for her three children. Donations enabled her to restart her business, and she testified in court on behalf of her community. Despite the courage she displayed in reopening her shop, Yasmin lives in constant fear of further attacks.
“What did we do to them, for them to harm us like that?” On a recent visit to Sri Lanka, CSW staff saw first-hand the harsh reality for religious minorities. We met countless families from both Christian and Muslim communities who are facing daily harassment. Meanwhile attacks on church buildings are common, as Buddhist fundamentalists continue to stir up hate.
Bashir stands in front of his father’s car repair garage, which was completely burnt out during the 2014 Aluthgama violence.
Main image: Pastor Hari’s church has existed for over 20 years in a predominantly Hindu area. They are facing threatened closure. Inset left: A young girl is looked after by her uncle, after the death of her father in the 2014 Aluthgama violence.
Bashir recollects, “There was someone in a helmet who approached us, I couldn’t see his face but recognised his voice clearly. He was my friend. I told him not to hurt my father but he continued beating my father in front of me. What did we do to them for them to harm us like this? I feel like I am living on rent in this country.”
In September 2013 a mob of 30 villagers led by three Buddhist monks broke into Pastor Dilanka’s church. They destroyed the musical instruments and set the church on fire. The pastor who was leading prayer was assaulted by one of the monks. All 40 of the church’s members have stopped attending the church for fear of further violence. Pastor Dilanka suffered permanent spinal injuries in the attack, and is unable to take on labour work. Names have been changed for security reasons.
View our full photo story online www.csw.org.uk/peopleandreligion
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Perspectives
Why do we help people of all faiths and none? It was many years ago that I first met someone from Burma’s Rohingya Muslim ethnic group. His haunting eyes stayed with me long after our interview was over. Rahimol* told me about the terrible violence his people were suffering – described by the UN as a ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing’. Hounded out of their villages, slaughtered by the army, hundreds of thousands forced to live in temporary camps. He begged me and my organisation to help in whatever way we could. How could I possibly have said no? How could I say that my God does not allow me to help people who are not Christian? Is not every human being made in the image of God, and loved by God? I have heard of Christians who say that while they feel compassionate towards those of other faiths who are suffering, they couldn’t advocate for the rights of people of other faiths – although to be honest, I don’t know any personally. Instead, I know many Christians who are actively working to help people of other faiths like the Rohingyas in various ways, through visiting refugees, distributing humanitarian aid on the ground, praying for them and speaking out for them. Those who do speak out for the human dignity of everyone are truly living out Christ’s mission. How can we look at a crowd of starving children who have just seen their parents drown, and ask them whether they believe in Jesus or Mohammed before we give them food? There are many, many verses in the Bible about God’s love of justice. Not a single one of them says ‘Only do justice to those who follow Christ.’ We just need to ask that simple question: What would Jesus do?
Galatians 6:10 reads ‘Let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.’ Whatever you think he meant the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote ‘especially’, I am convinced that he did not mean ‘and only’. To give another person aid in their time of need is not to endorse their beliefs. It is simply to treat them as our Lord and Saviour would. How shall we show the world what Christ is like? Hundreds of foodbanks have been set up all over the UK in recent years, providing food, toiletries and other essentials to people who are struggling. Many foodbanks are based in churches. Do these churches ask the needy people who arrive, “Are you a Christian?” before they give out the pasta, the baked beans, the sanitary products? They do not. Because that is not what Jesus taught, and it is not what Jesus did. I have been a Christian for 24 years, since I came to know the Lord as a university student. I know very well that the world does not read the Bible to get its idea of Christianity – it looks at Christians. The word Christian means Christ-like. What better way to show the world what Christ is like, than to help people who are suffering, just as Christ would help them? *Name has been changed for security reasons. Benedict Rogers, East Asia Team Leader
#RedWednesday a view from the bus! Did you see our faith & freedom bus around London on 22 November – or the photos on Twitter? That Wednesday, CSW joined with Aid to the Church in Need to stand up for faith and freedom. And we’re so grateful that so did many of you! It was an amazing day that was made all the more special because of your support. It was so wonderful to see pictures of everyone’s churches lit up in red, to see you wearing red or holding events with red-themed food! Above
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“God will not allow a single hair to fall from our heads”
Feature Pastor Yang Hua Photo: China Aid
My name is Wang Hongwu, and I would like to tell you about the history of my church – Living Stone Church, in China. Living Stone Church started in 2009. Services were open to all, and many people came. This drew attention and the local authorities began to visit us. Our church leaders, Pastor Yang (my husband) and Pastor Su said they wanted to have some form of legal recognition for the church, but they would not join the [state-sanctioned organisation known as the] Three Self Patriotic Movement, because they didn’t want to be controlled by the g overnment. That was when our troubles began. From 2009 to 2015, every time the church held big activities, for example at Christmas or Easter, or for baptism services, local officials would come and try to intimidate us. Despite this, the church still grew. At Christmas over 1,000 people came to our service. This worried the authorities, and they called my husband and Pastor Su in
to the police station to interrogate them all through the night. But the church leaders persisted, and with God’s help, we continued. Our church grew very rapidly. In 2009, we had less than 100 people, but in 2015 our congregation had more than doubled in size. We also had other kinds of visitors. Government officials came to every Sunday service, and manufactured other excuses to come and talk to us, for example fire safety, using local laws to try to restrict and punish the church. Next, our accountant was taken away by the police on her way home after checking the accounts. She was detained for two years and only recently released. In December 2015 the authorities phoned many members of our congregation and told them they would be arrested if they went to
Pray for Wang Hongwu, her husband Pastor Yang, and Living Stone Church. or courage, endurance and unity for the remaining F members of Living Stone Church For protection for Wang Hongwu and the leadership team Asking God to strengthen and encourage Pastor Yang as he suffers imprisonment and poor health.
church: 700 government officials surrounded the church building and wouldn’t let anyone in. They also confiscated many things. From then on, things got even worse. The authorities followed church members to work. If church members were renting their homes, officials forced their landlords to evict them. Our church used to have more than 20 cell groups. After this incident, many left, afraid of what would happen next. We have around five small groups now, and we don’t gather all together any more. Then my husband, Pastor Yang, was arrested. He isn’t allowed a Bible and I can only see him once a month. Since going into prison, his health has been terrible – at one point he could barely walk. In my view, the Bible says that God will not allow a single hair to fall from our heads. The church may experience persecution, but we still give thanks to God and trust in his w ill. But we have come through all this, so we praise God. Please keep praying for us.
all, it was so encouraging to know that you were all praying with us. Here’s a few pictures from the bus, as well as some of the most inspiring quotes from the evening’s prayer and praise service: “We must stand up and speak out so that the world’s media takes notice” Mervyn Thomas, Founder & CEO, CSW “We are so thankful to you and we feel the impact of your prayers” Rev Yunusa Nmadu, General Secretary, ECWA and CEO, CSW- Nigeria “Love for all, hatred for none” Ahmadiyya UK
Thank you so much for taking part. Check out some highlights of the day at www.csw.org.uk/redwednesday17 7
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Find out more and book your free tickets at
www.csw.org.uk/pursuejustice Christian Solidarity Worldwide is an organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice. PO Box 99, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 3YF, United Kingdom T: +44 (0)20 8329 0010 E: admin@csw.org.uk www.csw.org.uk @csw_uk /cswuk Registered Charity No. 281836