Response Magazine July - October 2016

JULY-OCTOBER 2016

Response Your insight into religious freedom

“She was killed before my very eyes” It was an ordinary afternoon for Mrs Bridget Agbahime.

The 74-year-old pastor’s wife was running her shop in Kofar Wambai market, northern Nigeria, as she had ever since she retired from her job at the Union Bank.

But this ordinary afternoon would end in tragedy - just hours later Bridget would be beaten to death by an angry mob.

Continued on page

See inside:

2

On the Frontlines: Bangladesh

CSW welcomes Cardinal Bo to the UK

Dignity in Diversity

Page 3

Page 4

Page 6

www.csw.org.uk

/Cswuk

@csw_UK

Country in focus:

Continued from page 1

NIGERIA

You see, another regular feature of Bridget’s day was the arrival of a man named Dauda, who ran a shop nearby. Dauda had been harassing her for a long time, and would often perform his pre-prayer ablutions at the door of her shop, damaging her goods.

He continued to bother her, despite several official warnings. On 2 June, when she politely asked him to move away from the door, Dauda started shouting that she had committed blasphemy.

17,000

people have died in terrorist-related violence since 2009

Over

2,000,000

The inside track:

people have been forced to flee their homes

“She was peace-loving…killed because of envy over a shop” What happened next was as tragic as it was shocking: a mob of more than 500 people gathered and, though another Muslim trader tried to hide Bridget and her husband inside his shop, they assaulted him, broke in and beat her to death in front of her husband.

He was saved by the arrival of the police, and has returned to his ancestral home in Imo State, southern Nigeria, to ensure his own safety.

A local lawyer who knew the couple well told CSW-Nigeria, “The allegation of blasphemy levelled against her is a pure lie.

I have been in Kano since 1983 and met her and her husband here in Deeper Life Bible Church. I worked under them as a group pastor for years. She was the Women’s

Worsening situation for Christians in Sharia states Bridget is the second Christian in northern Nigeria to be killed by a mob this year following allegations of blasphemy. In May violence erupted in Pandogari Town, Niger State after Emmanuel Methodus, a trader, was accused of a blasphemous posting on Facebook. Emmanuel was murdered and his body burned. In the riot that followed, three other people were killed, 25 Christianowned shops were looted, and four churches were destroyed along with several Christian homes.

In another indication of a possible rise in religious extremism, Francis Emmanuel, a 41-year-old Christian carpenter, was beaten and stabbed by a group of young men in Kaduna State for eating during the Ramadan fast.

The situation for Christians in Shari’a states is worrying. In June information emerged that 466 Christians had been murdered

by Boko Haram in a single day in three villages in the Gwoza area, for refusing to convert. They were part of a group of 3,000

Reverend yunusa, CSW-Nigeria You’ve read about the challenges facing Nigeria’s religious minorities. Now we’d like to introduce you to Reverend Yunusa Nmadu, who runs our partner organisation, CSW-Nigeria. Rev Yunusa spends his days working with communities affected by religion-related violence.

Why did you want to set up CSW-Nigeria?

When I first came to the CSW UK office in 2008 for two weeks’ work placement, I came face to face with information about persecution in my country, especially in northern Nigeria. Although I had been a victim of persecution in Nigeria myself, and knew of the issues in that part of the country, CSW’s report impressed more on my heart the realities of Christian persecution in northern

2

Leader in the church for many years. She was known to be quiet, not talkative, and peace loving. She was killed because of envy over a shop.”

Nigeria. I wanted to identify and partner with CSW in their work in Nigeria. I believed that if CSW was able to accomplish what they had from the UK, then we would be able to accomplish so much more with a team on the ground.

So, for the love of creating the awareness of what the church is going through in northern Nigeria, and standing in solidarity with victims of persecution, I offered to pioneer the work of CSW-Nigeria.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My typical day is usually crazy! I am pastor of a church with a membership of 700 and I am a district pastor responsible for over 100 other pastors. I am a husband and I am the CEO of CSW-Nigeria. Indeed, this is a little too much for one person!

Most days my day begins at 2 or 3am. After family devotion in the morning at 6am, I leave for the office at 8am where I would attend to my various responsibilities. In the evening I spend time with my family, and church members who need my attention.

families who had believed assurances four months earlier that it was safe to return to their homes. In addition, 218 women and girls aged between 15 and 30 were forcibly ‘married’, and 1,000 people taken hostage, 192 of whom died of starvation.

Attacks by armed Fulani herders, as well as abductions of underage girls in Shari’a states, have become everyday realities for too many of Nigeria’s people.

CSW-Nigeria pioneering inter faith work But CSW, in partnership with CSW-Nigeria, continues to fight for religious freedom despite the challenges. Recently, CSW-Nigeria met the Emir of Kano state – one of the foremost religious and traditional Muslim leaders – an amazing opportunity to discuss religious coexistence and to raise problems that Christian communities in the area are experiencing. They have also pioneered interfaith and peacebuilding initiatives, as well as working to support survivors of violence.

Christians in Nigeria are under pressure, but we are making sure that their voice is heard.

You can help our work in Nigeria by making a gift, using the enclosed form.

Join us in praying for Nigeria using page 13 of the Prayer Diary

What inspires and motivates you to persevere on the most difficult days?

My motivation is in the fact that I am serving God. And because this is so, the results of my service encourage me to carry on. I am also encouraged by the fact that those I serve are appreciative of what we are doing because they are seeing results in their own lives, whether it be church members, victims of persecution or the pastors I am responsible for. I am always satisfied when what I am doing is touching lives in such a positive way.

What’s your vision for your country?

I hope to see a Nigeria where no one will be defined by their religious persuasion or tribal affiliation, but by the merits of their character. I dream for a Nigeria where Christians, Muslims and those of no faith will be free to believe what they want to believe, and change that belief whenever they feel convinced to do so, without molestation or threat to life. My vision is for my country to be a just, equitable and fair society for all.

On The FRONTLINES

Bangladesh over 40 attacks on religious minorities, bloggers and activists in two years.

It’s a staggering hidden statistic from a country that you may not know much about. Last month, a CSW team went on a fact-finding visit to Bangladesh to gather evidence on what life is like for religious minorities.

We met with activists, bloggers, lawyers and journalists, as well as leaders and victims of attacks from the Christian, Buddhist and Hindu communities. We also met the Human Rights Commission on Bangladesh. We discovered that the situation is much more complex and politicised than the world’s media portrays.

Another key reason why we were in Bangladesh was to offer solidarity and support through prayer. Many of the people we met felt very alone in the face of increasing targeted killings, and there is a real sense of fear and anxiety among minority communities. Advocate Rana Dasgupta, Secretary General of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council of Bangladesh, told us, “The entire community has been terrorised and is feeling very insecure. We are not seeing any active role by the political parties to find solutions to these problems that we are facing.”

Since returning to the UK, our team has already raised the attacks and other religious freedom concerns with the UK parliament.

Shortly after we arrived back in the UK, we received news of another attack on a Christian and a Hindu.

Please pray for Bangladesh using page 12 of our Prayer Diary.

3

photos: mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

In REVIEW

Cardinal Bo meets with representatives of the Catholic Church in the UK. During the visit, he also met with the Archbishop of Canterbury Cardinal Bo and Speaker of the House John Bercow

The UK welcomes Burma’s first ever Cardinal!

It’s not every day you get to host a Cardinal! In May we were blessed with the enormous privilege of hosting Cardinal Charles Maung Bo on a visit to the UK, along with several other organisations.

Last year he became Burma’s first ever cardinal, and has proven to be one of the most outspoken voices for religious freedom and human rights in that country.

In his Easter message in 2014, he said “The task of Christians is to move fences, to tear down walls.” His country, he said, has been through “our way of the Cross for the last five decades”.

Cardinal Bo had a packed schedule that included celebrating Mass in churches up and down the country - including Westminster Cathedral! He also had the chance to address many people about the situation in Burma following the recent election. Cardinal Bo shared his hopes for the future of his country, that though “Burma is just emerging from over half a century of cruel, brutal military dictatorship, a country torn apart by war”, it is, hopefully, now emerging “into a new Easter dawn of democracy.”

We were inspired and moved when he spoke at our staff daily devotions. He talked about the importance of solidarity between faiths in the struggle for religious freedom. He reminded us that “those of us who share the values of freedom of religion, democracy, peace and justice must work together against the merchants of hatred. Anyone who is not against us is for us.”

Cardinal Bo also attended a reception at Speaker’s House, Westminster, and a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Burma, a great opportunity to raise the profile of religious freedom in Burma – including the plight of Rohingya Muslims, who are one of the most persecuted people groups in the world.

Cardinal Bo has now returned to Burma, and his - and CSW’s - work promoting religious freedom in the country continues.

In a park in Lahore, Pakistan, the Christian community was celebrating Easter. Nearby, a bomb was detonated next to the park entrance, close to the children’s swing area.

The attack, by an Islamic terrorist group, killed 74 people and left over 300 injured. Many of the victims were women and children. Today, the entire community is still living with the devastating consequences.

We asked our South Asia team to help us unpack what caused that horrific attack…

increasing violence

biased education

blasphemy laws

The Easter Sunday attacks in Lahore didn’t come out of nowhere. In fact, they’re part of an increasing trend of violence against religious minorities in Pakistan - a trend that’s encouraged and enabled by several key factors.

The national curriculum in Pakistan is heavily biased towards xenophobia and religious intolerence. Textbooks often promote Islamic interpretations, not just in religious education but also in history, literature and science. Derogatory remarks against non-Muslim faiths, as well as factual and historical omissions or inaccuracies, encourage children to be hostile to the idea of religious diversity.

Some improvements have been made in recent years, but many children in Pakistan are using outdated, harmful textbooks.

The government must fulfil its commitment to reform the curricula.

Section 295 of Pakistan’s penal code makes it a criminal offence to insult another person’s religion. The most dangerous parts are section B and C, which specifically address defilements of the Qur’an and insults against the Prophet Mohammed.

We want to explain what’s behind these attacks and why it’s so dangerous to be a religious minority in Pakistan.

it’s happened before...

Accusations against both Muslims and non-Muslims can trigger targeted and mass violence.

2014

2015

2016

MARCH

NOVEMBER

MARCH

MARCH

September

A double suicide bombing at All Saints Church, Peshawar, kills at least 81 people.

Cardinal Bo celebrates Mass at Westminster Cathedral

Both sections ignore the question of intent - and Section C carries the death penalty.

While these laws were intended to combat hate speech, they are more often misused to settle personal scores.

2013 A blasphemy accusation against a young Christian triggers violent reprisals in Joseph Colony, Lahore.

As many as 100 homes are burned down.

Cardinal Bo celebrates Mass at St Andrew’s Church in Glasgow

4

what’s behind the lahore attack?

Behind The Headlines

Shehzad Masih and pregnant mother Shama Bibi were lynched and burned to death after false rumours of blasphemy.

Two churches are bombed in Youhanabad, Lahore, leaving 14 dead and 68 wounded.

A bomb attack in a park in Lahore kills over 74 people and injures around 300.

APRIL

Noman Masih, 13, is set alight by two men after professing his Christian faith. He later dies from his injuries.

What can you do? pray for pakistan using page 6 of the prayer diary

5

Get

Perspectives

Diversity

Dignity in diversity As part of Cardinal Charles Maung Bo’s visit to the UK, he preached during Mass at Westminster Cathedral. Reproduced below, with his permission, is an extract of his inspiring, yet challenging message…

“Today [in Burma] democracy has its dawn. Burma is an island of hope in a world that has chosen bloodshed. I am here on a mission to the UK, to talk about our people, especially those who are excluded.

To be a Christian today is not an easy task.

The message of Christ is challenging to the status quo. His simple message of love shook the foundations of evil in those days. The first ended up as martyrs. Today, Christians in many countries live under threat to their life and dignity. I belong to a church that underwent its own quota of suffering during the dictatorship. I wish to pray for all those who are persecuted for their religion.

More than ever, we are called upon to bear witness, as Paul was instructed by the Lord.

Man and woman, says the Bible, are created in the image of God. The apostle Paul will say that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The worth of human beings is infinite according to the Christian tradition. Christianity’s contribution to this world is this extraordinary perception of human dignity.

Unity of the human family, dignity in diversity.

These are the messages for the modern world.

My country was taken through five decades of Calvary by evil men. Everyone thought this was a country without an Easter. You have witnessed from afar the suffering of this nation. Our Calvary was marked by enforced starvation, denial of education to the youth, arrest and incarceration of thousands for asking for basic rights, death and disappearance of thousands. The Catholic Church was singled out for persecution. Overnight the

missionaries serving the poor and the vulnerable were expelled. Land, schools and medical institutions were confiscated. It was not the Church that was victimised but the poor of the country.

Thousands were left without skills to survive life.

Nearly a million became refugees.

Yet God did not abandon our nation. The Church was like a mustard seed but like the Biblical example it grew into a tree. We were like the persecuted first Christians. The odds were against them. Yet Paul could cry out: What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us! (Rom 8:31-32). In history persecuted Churches knew the presence of God intensely. It was our grace to be wounded and our healer was God. Amidst one of the most suffocating oppressions, the Church grew. From just three dioceses we grew into 16 dioceses. From 100,000 people we are now 700,000 faithful, from 160 priests we are now 700 priests, from 300 religious we are now more than 2,200.

God walked with us in our way of the Cross ensuring that our Easter was enriched in faith.

We are a confident and growing church in south east Asia.

We are not yet totally free, but we have proved that we cannot be pruned from history.”

It’s been a busy start to the summer at CSW! We not only hosted an acoustic airstream stage at the Big Church Day Out to a packed audience, but a few weeks later 23 brave CSW supporters abseiled down Guildford Cathedral to raise money for us- including our own Chief Executive!

INVOLVED

Music, fun, sun…an d bringing real change for re fugees Over the May bank holiday weekend, CSW was at Big Church Day Out in West Sussex. It was a fantastic time where we got to catch up with many of our supporters and even meet a few new ones! Over 400 people signed our petition to bring Real Change for Refugees, and CSW’s Airstream Stage was reportedly one of the most popular of the weekend. And, as you can see from the photos, we were blessed with good weather - at least for some of the time!

Going over the edge!

Last month we gathered at the base of Guildford Cathedral to watch our Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas conquer 160 feet and a severe fear of heights to raise money for religious freedom!

He was joined by a brave team of 22 other CSW supporters. We’re really proud of Mervyn and the whole team. Our oldest abseiler was 82, while the youngest supporter going down the tower was only ten! It was an amazing day and we’re so proud of everyone who faced their fears for us. So far the team have raised over £15,000 for our work. Thank you to everyone who supported us!

Want to get involved?

up! iting opportunities coming We’ve still got plenty of exc r ou nvolved to find out about Visit www.csw.org.uk/geti s. latest events and campaign

6

7

“So you asked God for us, and the result now is that I am standing in front of you.

It is because God heard your prayers.�

REV PETER REITH CSW mobilised prayer and action for Rev Peter Reith when he was in prison in Sudan in 2015.

Join an outpouring of prayer for the persecuted Church

20 November 2016 www.csw.org.uk/prayjustice

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)845 456 5464 F: +44 (0)20 8942 8821 E: admin@csw.org.uk www.csw.org.uk @csw_uk /cswuk Registered Charity No. 281836