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OCTOBER 2015
PERSECU ION
Overview A Global
of Persecution
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GLOBAL OVERVIEW
Persecution World View
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ebruary 15, a video released by Al Hayat Media, the media arm of the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, showed the brutal execution of 21 Christians on a beach in Libya. Dressed in orange jumpsuits, the 21 men were led down the beach by Islamic jihadists and then forced to kneel before they were beheaded as martyrs who chose to identify with Jesus. The video was labeled “A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation of the Cross,” and it was a gripping demonstration of the incred-
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Boko Haram members display their weapons.
ible dangers that Christians around the world face for following Jesus. Atrocities like this continue to be committed by ISIS across the region. In Iraq and Syria, they have controlled an area of land that was home to more than 200,000 Christians. In March, two suicide bombers from the Pakistani Taliban tried to enter the gates of the St. John Church and Christ Church in Yohanabad, Lahore, Pakistan. The attackers were stopped at the gates, but still 19 were killed and more than 80 injured as they celebrated Palm Sunday, something consid-
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ered too dangerous for Islamic extremists in Pakistan. Across Africa, from Boko Haram’s brutal attacks in Nigeria to the massacre of more than 100 university students in Garissa, Kenya, Christians were repeatedly the targets of Islamic terrorists. Due to increasing persecution at home, thousands of Christians have fled their homes — some choosing to risk their lives in an attempt to migrate north through Libya and across the Mediterranean into Europe. They face dangers not just from crossing the desert and sea in the hands OCTOBER 2015
ISIS cleansing the land of Christianity by destroying crosses on gravestones of human traffickers, but also from ISIS jihadists in Libya who actively hunt down Christians. Numerous eye-witness accounts have explained that the militants will stop a caravan and go person by person searching for Christians and then either force them to swear allegiance to Islam or face execution. Such was the fate of more than 30 Ethiopians and Eritreans in March. Christian persecution is not just the domain of Islamic terrorists. Increasingly, authoritarian regimes or established religious leaders are cracking down on the church, attempting to tear down their crosses in China, doing
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all they can to prevent Christians from worshiping in a building in Indonesia, banning Christianity in entire villages in India, imprisoning house church leaders in Iran, and using blasphemy and apostasy laws in Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Saudi Arabia to silence those who believe in Jesus. Yet as persecution continues to rise around the world, it is a testimony to the endurance of faithful Christians who continue to follow Jesus no matter the cost. It is also a call to the global church to stand up for and identify with their brothers and sisters who face persecution.
In response to each of these issues, ICC serves as your bridge to the persecuted church. The following articles give an overview by geographical region and insight into some of the ways ICC is making a difference. Whether it is by bringing awareness of issues that have gone unnoticed, advocating before world leaders or providing life-saving or liferestoring assistance in the world’s most difficult places, your support allows us to bandage and build the broken body of Jesus.
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MIDDLE EAST OVERVIEW
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cross the Middle East, persecution is at an all-time high. Every day, thousands of Christians are facing the question of whether to attempt to stay in their homes and risk death and imprisonment or to flee and try to start a new life somewhere else. In Iraq and Syria, Christians face a modern day genocide at the hands of Islamic extremists. Since the Syrian conflict started in 2011, an estimated 600,000 Christians have fled
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their homes either relocating to a safer area inside Syria or leaving the country, first to Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey, and, in many cases, attempting to go onward to Europe or the United States. Iraq’s Christians have been fleeing the country since 2003, but ISIS swept through the last remaining stronghold of Christians in the Nineveh Plain in 2014 and pushed the remaining 150,000 Christians into Iraq’s Kurdistan region. There, they are struggling to survive, fighting just for food, water and shelter and searching for a reason to stay in the country. The situation for Egypt’s struggling Christian community improved with the election of President Sisi. He is attempting to crack down on the Islamic extremism that has been responsible for much of the persecution of Christians. Yet Christians remain the frequent targets of kidnappings, and churches are the prime targets for arson and makeshift bombs. The centuries long discrimination in education and business continues to force many Christian workers to risk their
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lives taking jobs in Libya just to earn an income to support their families. There, they face new risks as ISIS has targeted Egypt’s Christians for abduction and execution. In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani continues to speak of reform and greater rights and freedoms for their citizens, while the secret police continue to raid house church meetings and imprison Christians. American Pastor Saeed Abedini remains in prison, even while the United States and other world powers have negotiated an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program. Nearly 100 Christians have been arrested over the past year, and many others face the choice of whether to stay and face prison or flee for asylum. OCTOBER 2015
Buildings on the Syrian border lay in rubble after government bombing raids
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Standing with the Martyrs
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hen ICC learned of the abduction of seven Christian Egyptian workers in Sirte, Libya, on December 30, 2014, and then of 13 more on January 3, we knew what their likely fate would be. We immediately began working with contacts in Egypt to reach their families in order to help advocate with both Egyptian and U.S. officials to learn if anything could be done to secure their release, but our options were limited. After their execution was confirmed on February 15, ICC continued to stand with the families in the midst of their grief and pain. Within a few days, we visited them just to pray, encourage them and, through small food packages, remind them that the global Church was standing with them. Now we are working with them to make sure their future is secure. Through livestock projects, small businesses and a clothing shop, we are helping not just these families, but the community as a whole to recover.
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Sustaining and Life Springing Keeping the Forth in Iran Church in Iraq A
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he rise of ISIS in June 2014 sent more than 150,000 Christians fleeing from their homes in central Iraq to the Kurdistan region. The churches there have done an incredible job of caring for their brothers and sisters, as well as many of the others who have been displaced — a total of more than 3 million people across Iraq. As an especially cold winter hit, the need for jackets and boots was urgent. Then the Iraqi summer returned, bringing temperatures regularly exceeding 110 degrees and making the cinder block buildings resemble ovens. Your gifts helped us provide relief for hundreds of families. Without prospects for finding jobs, many families have left their countries. By providing microgrants to enable families to start earning an income again, we are helping to slow the tide and help Iraq’s Christians stay in Iraq.
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midst all of the chaos happening in the Middle East, there is good news bubbling out from beneath the surface. Within the Islamic Republic of Iran, many are choosing to follow Jesus, despite the incredible cost. For years, ICC has been working with church leaders who faithfully and boldly share the message of the Gospel across the country. As Iran’s hardliner Ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guard continue to crack down on Christians, imprisoning believers like Farshid Fathi and Saeed Abedini, raiding meetings and outlawing any Persian-speaking ministries, the house churches continue to grow. Many Iranians are tired of an external religion that has been forced on them but brings no peace, joy or purpose for life. They are searching for real life, and many are finding it in Jesus through your support of pastors on the frontlines. OCTOBER 2015
Life to Broken A Future for Caring and Communities in Egypt’s Children Providing for War-Torn Syria L Egypt’s Widows
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he conflict in Syria has now stretched into its fifth year. The number of Syrians living as refugees continues to climb, and the prospect of returning home grows more dim with each passing day. As they watch their country torn apart by Islamic jihadists fighting in the name of religion, many are looking for something that teaches love rather than hate. Among the Syrian refugees, ICC is partnering with one refugee who is leading a number of house churches that have emerged from Muslims who have embraced the message of the Gospel of Jesus. Each week, our partner is going house to house, sitting and encouraging the families and sharing with them the story of a God who brings love, justice and healing to a shattered world. And the message, just as it did in the first century, is bringing new life to broken communities.
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ife as a Christian in Upper Egypt is incredibly challenging. Generation after generation has struggled to make a living here. The education system is already poor, and Christians are regularly discriminated against, leaving the next generation trapped in a cycle of poverty and persecution from which many never escape. Through ICC’s Kids Care program, we’re helping to change the future for many Egyptian kids. We provide small food subsidies, clothes, school supplies, discipleship programs, health and hygiene seminars and educational support. It is reaping fruit for students like Hanna who recently wrote ICC: “God bless you for every sweet action you do for me and for the food that you sent me. Also, for the beautiful clothes and the chicken. You know what? I am excelling at school, and all the teachers are very happy because my educational level is higher than before. Thanks that you helped me with the tutoring money.”
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s Egypt has gone through a time of political instability, Christians have borne much of the brunt of the violence from Islamic extremists and criminal gangs. From the burning of churches and car bombs to kidnappings and shootings, persecution has been a near daily occurrence. The election of President Sisi has helped to crack down on many of the Islamist groups, but security is still far from guaranteed. When the families of four Coptic men murdered in 2013 continued to press for a trial for the killers, one of the cousins and key witnesses was gunned down in cold blood. ICC is helping this man’s widow to not just survive, but to be able to provide a stable life for herself and her young children. Together with her family, she has been able to put her skills as a seamstress back to work, and her cousin is selling the fabrics in the city.
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You Can Help Today!
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