Persecution magazine, January 2014, 3/3

PERSECU ION International Christian Concern | January 2014

central asia

ISSUE 3/3

THE LIFE-GIVING POWER OF THE SCRIPTURE UNLEASHED IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

ICC IS BUILDING AN UNDERGROUND BIBLE PRINTING PRESS

Help us Bring Life into the Darkness Right now, ICC is in the final stages of launching an underground Bible printing press in a closed Muslim country that will open the Word of God to a million or more people. We initiated this project and are working with several ministries to pull it off but need your help in the final push to get Bibles coming off the press.

AN UNDERGROUND PRINTING PRESS WILL: •

Provide 600,000 or more Bibles and the Gospel of John portions

•

Meet the huge demand for Bibles in this country

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Safeguard those smuggling Bibles from being arrested

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Bring life to millions!

OUR GOAL:

$100,000 See the enclosed card for details on giving.

DONATE TODAY! B Y M A I L complete the enclosed card B Y P H O N E call 800-422-5441 8:30-5:00 p.m. EST O N L I N E visit www.persecution.org and designate your gift to “Bibles to the Persecuted.”

Photos of various projects from our “Bibles” fund.

CENTRAL ASIA

a pastor in the crosshairs

A Letter from the Fight to Save Pastor B.K. As you read these words, a man sits in prison in Kazakhstan. You’ve never met him, but his life hangs in the balance. His name is Pastor Bakhytzhat Kashkumbayev (Pastor B.K.) and his only crimes were to convert from Islam to Christianity and then to pastor a church. To be Christian is not a crime in Kazakhstan, but to be ethnically Kazakh and to choose to not be Muslim is apostasy. In May of 2013, Pastor B.K. was arrested by authorities and hauled off to prison for his faith in Christ.

Even worse, Pastor B.K. worked to lead his family, his neighbors, and complete strangers to Christ as well. Not only is he considered a traitor for revoking his own faith, he is now considered a dangerous one who leads others away from Islam as well.

In order to make an example of him, authorities arrested Pastor B.K. and charged him with “harming the health” of one of his church members by putting hallucinogenic drugs in the communion juice. The charge is as bogus as it sounds, and even the woman he supposedly harmed has publicly

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You can help today! www.persecution.org

come forward to say she was never hurt, and that the charges should be dropped.

At 67, Pastor B.K.’s health is failing, but that has not deterred the Kazakh authorities from torturing him. While incarcerated, the authorities admitted the ailing pastor to a psychiatric hospital in another city; an old Sovietstyle tactic. Right before being taken away, Pastor B.K. managed to write a letter from prison to the United Nations, begging for help and warning that, “it won’t take much for them to make me a vegetable.”

ABOVE: The communion bread and wine were confiscated from Pastor B.K.’s church. The media reported that the pastor was drugging his parishoners, and he was arrested on charges of extremism and endangering the health of others.

In the psychiatric hospital, Pastor B.K. was subjected to 19 examinations over the course of a single month (the average patient received roughly three in that amount of time) before he was sent back to prison. During these examinations authorities attempted to “break” Pastor B.K. so that they could declare he was mentally unstable. However, the pastor was able to remain calm and no declaration was made.

In October, the ICC staff all breathed a collective sigh of relief when word of Pastor B.K.’s impending released surfaced, and that he would be allowed to finish his pre-trial detention at home due to his worsening health.

That relief was incredibly short lived. Just minutes after authorities allowed Pastor B.K. to walk out of prison with his wife (who was denied visitation during her husband’s detention) the police re-arrested Pastor B.K. on new charges of “extremism” which carries possible imprisonment of seven years. His son Askar said, “they’re trying to turn my father into a terrorist.” As of press time, Pastor B.K. is still sitting behind bars, stripped of a lawyer and denied the right to see his family or know the details of why he has been charged with “extremism.”

You can help today! 800-ICC-5441

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SO CE UN TT H RE A LS TA S A ISAI A

s wife.

d hi Pastor B.K. an

Pastor B.K .a the first ti nd his wife are re united fo me in mo r nths sinc arrest. M e his first inutes la ter, he wa on false c s rearres harges. ted

Since his arrest, ICC has actively worked to have him released. ICC alerted the State Department and launched phone call campaigns to Kazakh embassies around the world. In September, ICC’s Advocacy Manager hand-delivered a petition to the Kazakh Embassy with nearly 3,000 signatures from more than 70 countries around the globe demanding that the Kazakh authorities release him. More than a dozen other human rights organizations have been contacted in an effort to raise the profile of Pastor B.K.

Our work has not gone unnoticed.

Recently one of our contacts in the country told us that if not for the international attention his case was getting, Pastor B.K. might simply

how you can help As of press time, Pastor B.K. is still in prison. You can change that, by making noise. Call the Kazakhstan Embassy and demand the release of Pastor B.K. info.persecution.org/Kazakh-Embassies Join the movement online and share Pastor B.K.’s story with others: 19

You can help today! www.persecution.org https://www.facebook.com/FreePastorBK

be allowed to die in prison. We are determined not to let that happen. Will you join us and raise your voice on behalf of Pastor B.K.?

Pastor B.K. on trial.

a court order for the arrest of pastor b.k.

Left: a snapshot of the actual court order for Pastor B.K.’s arrest. In attempts to deminish his credibility, authorities have accused Pastor B.K. of absurd charges.

Part of the document reads: Article 233-1. Advocate terrorism or public incitement to commit an act of terrorism.

1. Advocate terrorism or public incitement to commit an act of terrorism , as well as distribution of materials specified content, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

2 . The same act committed by a person using his official position, or head of a public association or using the media, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of three to eight years.

You can help today! 800-ICC-5441

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YOUR DOLLARS AT WORK HELPING WIDOWS IN EGYPT Suffering Wives and Children

When the lives of four families near Luxor, Egypt were torn apart, ICC helped to repair the damage and help these suffering wives and children move forward. When ICC learned that four men were killed and that their homes were among the 27 destroyed, we sent immediate aid to assist their families with food and other necessities, and to begin repairing their homes. ICC’s Regional Manager, Todd Daniels, was able to visit the families shortly after these attacks and help each of these families establish a small business to begin earning a sustainable income.

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You can help today! www.persecution.org

STANDING WITH SYRIAN CHRISTIANS IN NEED Community Rebuild The Syrian civil war has created one of the largest humanitarian crises in recent history. There are an estimated 9.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, inside and outside of Syria. ICC’s supporters have provided a full month’s worth of aid to over 1,500 believers and a donor from another persecution ministry is matching our giving 4 to 1 meanging that 6,000 Syrian Christians will receive blankets, food, and clean water. Our regiona manager met with everal of these Syrian Christians who expressed their deep gratitude to American Christians for their help.

You can help today! 800-ICC-5441 8

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You can help today! www.persecution.org

INVESTING IN EGYPT’S FUTURE Kids Care Purposeful, systematic and broad persecution is the norm for Christians in Upper Egypt. Through local partners and the Egyptian church, ICC is working to reverse the impact of this persecution for more than 70 children in two villages in Upper Egypt. ICC’s “Kids Care” fund is supporting these kids to stay in school, make sure they have the supplies they need, and support a local staff member who provides them with regular house visits to invest in both their educational and spiritual growth.

Thanks to the generous gifts of Church in Houston, we were also able to hand deliver gift packages to each of the children.

You can help today! 800-ICC-5441

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TWENTY STUDENTS GRADUATED THIS WINTER! Save our Sisters This past quarter, 20 of the 100 young women currently enrolled in ICC’s vocational training centers in Pakistan graduated. After completeling a nine-month seamstress course, they received a additional training in small business management. A graducation ceremony was held where each graduate was publically recognized for their achievements and received a diploma, sewing supplies, and a sewing machine so each young woman to start their own seamstress shop in the safety and comfort of their home. This project has not only removed these young women from vulnerable working environments, but also given them a chance at a new life!

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You can help today! www.persecution.org

YOU CAN HELP TODAY! SEND DONATIONS TO: ICC PO BOX 8056 SILVER SPRING, MD 20907 OR ONLINE AT WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG

GIVING TO ICC VIA YOUR WILL Provide now for a future gift to ICC by including a bequest provision in your will or revocable trust. If you would like more information on giving to ICC in this way, please give us a call at 1-800-ICC-5441.

ICC makes every effort to honor donor wishes in regards to their gifts. Occasionally, a situation will arise where a project is no longer viable. In that case, ICC will redirect those donated project funds to one of our other funds that is most similar to the donor’s original wishes.

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