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APRIL 2016
PERSECU ION
ALIVE!
Remembering Those We’ve Lost ICC marks the anniversaries of some special martyrs
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President’s Letter
On the morning of December 22, 1899, Dwight L Moody, the Billy Graham of his day, awoke to speak his last words. Speaking slowly he said, “Earth recedes, heaven opens before me!”
Jeff King, President International Christian Concern
His son, Will, who was guarding his bedside, asked him if he was dreaming. His father’s reply left him stunned. “No. This is no dream, Will, it is beautiful, like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. God is calling me, and I must go. Don’t call me back.” He died a short time later. Years earlier, in a sermon he said, “Someday you will read in the papers that Moody is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now…. I was born of the flesh in 1837; I was born of the Spirit in 1855. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit shall live forever.” I recently was at the deathbed of an old friend who passed yesterday (at the time of writing-see page 12). Like Moody and the martyrs that we remember in this issue, don’t believe for a second that he or she is dead. They have passed into life and soon, so will you if you have found Christ (or rather if He has found you)! So let us mourn the injustice of lives wrongly taken. Let us cry with their loved ones as they suffer a pain that is too much to bear on their own. Let us care for those left behind who are vulnerable or defenseless. But let’s also rejoice in the fact that unlike the lost and like the amazaing martyrs we cover in this issue, we can face life and death with courage and hope. As always, your donations will be used efficiently, effectively, and ethically. I promise!
Jeff King President International Christian Concern www.persecution.org
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Christian Tortured to Death by Police
Police respond to ISIS attack on shopping center.
Seven Killed in ISIS Attack on Jakarta 1 | INDONESIA In January, Islamic State-inspired terrorists attacked a shopping center in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. This attack led to the deaths of seven people, in addition to injuring 19 others. In a similar manner to the 2015 Paris terror attacks, bombers entered a heavily populated area and proceeded to detonate explosives. This incident served as an unfortunate reminder that the Islamic State is a global threat and reaches far beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria. This attack came at a difficult time for the country’s Christian population, as persecution within Indonesia is already on the rise. Indonesia’s northwestern Aceh region, which has the authority to govern according to Sharia law, has closed over 1,000 churches since 2006 and demolished 10 churches in a two-week time span in October 2015. The rising threat of ISIS influence in Southeast Asia has potential to place Christians, as well as other religious minorities, at risk of further persecution for their faith.
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2 | PAKISTAN On January 14, the body of a Pakistani Christian, Liaqat Masih, was returned to his family by local authorities. Prior to his arrest and murder, Masih was employed as a servant for a Muslim businessman named Hameed. While Hameed and his family traveled out of town, their home was robbed. Shortly after notifying the police, Hameed accused his servant, Masih, of the crime. Upon this accusation, Masih and his son Khurram were arrested and forced to undergo intense interrogation. Both Masih and his son were stripped naked and beaten in an attempt to obtain a confession. During his detention, police also hung Masih from the ceiling by his hands, leading to the dislocation of his shoulders. Police continued to beat Masih with wooden logs until a guard noticed that he had stopped breathing. Doctors claimed to have determined from an autopsy that Masih died as the result of a heart attack, but failed to record the many injuries he suffered during his time in police custody. The Organization for Legal Aid, which is representing the Masih family, has filed a petition calling for a secondary autopsy with official supervision of the doctors. Masih is survived by four children, whose ages range from nine to 20.
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Christian Teen Killed For Rejecting the Advances of Muslim Men 3 | PAKISTAN Female Christians in Pakistan often find themselves victims of violence and discrimination, as their gender and religion make them “double minorities.” When 17-year-old Kiran, 18-yearold Shamroza and 20-year-old Sumble were walking home, they were approached by a group of four Muslim men in a car. The men spouted lewd comments and attempted to coerce the girls into the car. When the girls rejected their advances, the men ran their car into the girls. Shamroza and Sumble were both thrown to the ground. Shamroza suffered broken ribs, and Sumble’s hip was broken by the impact. Kiran was swept onto the hood of the car and thrown to the ground shortly after the car came to a sudden halt. The impact broke several of her bones, which resulted in internal bleeding that killed her in a matter of minutes. Please pray for all those involved in this attack. APRIL 2016
Niger: January 2015
A man protects his eyes and lungs from the smoke and flames that engulfed Niger last year in the aftermath of Charlie Hebdo protests.
One Year Later: Niger’s Christian Community is Still Rebuilding 4 | NIGER In January, the world recognized the first anniversary of the riots that shook the Christian community of Niger. On January 16 and 17 of 2015, angry protests swept across Niger — supposedly in response to Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, publishing a cartoon of Muhammad. Unconfirmed numbers of Christians, ranging from five to 10, were killed in these attacks, and countless homes were destroyed.
ISIS Destroys Historic St. Elijah Monastery in Iraq 5 | IRAQ On January 20, the Associated Press confirmed via satellite imagery that the Islamic State had completely destroyed St. Elijah Monastery in Iraq. This 1,400-yearold Christian monastery had been preserved over the years and was treasured by Iraq’s Christian community as the oldest in the nation. The Chaldean Christians of Iraq view this attack as an assault on a major pillar of their history and culture and as yet another attempt to eliminate Christianity from the region entirely. Iraq’s Christian population once totaled approximately 1.3 million individuals; however, the population has now been reduced to slightly under 300,000.
St. Elijah Monastery was leveled by ISIS in Iraq.
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Bombs Rip Through Christian Quarter of Syrian City 6 | SYRIA More than 16 people were killed and dozens more wounded when suicide bombers tore through three restaurants in the Assyrian and Syriac Christian quarter of Qamishli. The attacks took place in the midst of a week of Christmas celebrations in a street filled with families celebrating the holidays. The town of Qamishli, located near the Turkish border, had generally been viewed as a safe haven for Christians facing violence in the region.
Korean-American Pastor Detained 7 | NORTH KOREA According to reports, a 62-year-old Korean-American Christian pastor named Kim Dong Chul was arrested in October 2015 on “spying” charges. Chul was formerly a resident of Virginia before he moved to Yanji, China. Chul was traveling in Rason, North Korea, for business when he was detained. In 2013, Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae was arrested for similar charges and sentenced to 15 years. Thankfully, Bae was released after serving two years in a North Korean prison camp. North Korea is widely known for its abysmal human rights record and is designated as a Country of Particular Concern by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
A Korean-American pastor is arrested in North Korea.
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India has seen an increase in Christian persecution since the election of Prime Minister Modi.
Report Indicates Violence Against Christians on the Rise in India 1 | INDIA In an annual report published in January, a Christian rights group named Indian Christian Persecution reported that violence against Christians in India saw a dramatic increase in 2015. The report indicated that last year, India saw more than 365 documented incidents of violence against Christians. This statistic included the murders of seven individuals. These 365 incidents varied greatly in nature, but included the vandalism of churches, sexual assaults, the disruption of religious services and violent assaults. Unfortunately, the group’s director, Joseph Dias, stated that the number of violent attacks is likely much greater than the reported 365 incidents. Many crimes against Christians and other religious minorities go unreported due to fear of retaliation. Dias said that many Indian Christians stay silent in the face of persecution because they “do not want to antagonize those in power.” This rise in violence is due, in part, to the return to power
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of Hindu nationalist groups. Since the 2014 election of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has witnessed a substantial increase in violence against nonHindus. In 2014, Christians in India’s Bastar district began to experience abnormally severe discrimination. Soon after, a resolution was passed that effectively outlawed Christianity by banning “all non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers and speeches” in more than 50 villages. These resolutions, which are continuing to spread, have only led to an increase in blatant discrimination and violence against Christians in the districts where they exist. Extremists have begun using these resolutions as an excuse to justify their violent acts against religious minorities.
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Nigeria’s Kidnapping Cartels Targeting Christian Pastors Two Pastors Kidnapped, One Shot 2 | NIGERIA For years, Nigeria has been plagued with kidnapping cartels that target leaders in the fields of business and government. However, recently, some of these groups have shifted their attention to religious leaders, specifically Christian pastors. On January 10, in the capital of Kogi state, Pastor Ayo Raphael was abducted from Redeemed Christian Church of God Resurrection parish in the middle of a worship service. A member of the church reported that gunmen stormed into the service and swept Raphael away at gunpoint. Reports indicate that his abductors demanded 50 million naira ($249,000 USD) as a ransom. On January 25, a group of gunmen kidnapped David Onubedo, the pastor of Kogi state’s Deeper Life Bible Church, following a Bible study. Pastor Onubedo’s captors also demanded 50 million naira as a ransom. In addition to the recent kidnappings, a pastor was shot and wounded on January 24 as he was delivering a sermon before his congregation in Bayelsa. This violence raises suspicions about the origin of the attackers because Kogi state and Bayelsa are located in southern Nigeria, much farther south than Boko Haram’s usual area of operation. However, the targeted nature of this persecution raises questions as to the true influence and reach that Boko Haram has in southern Nigeria. APRIL 2016
Government-Run Chinese Church Removes Pastor for Opposing Cross Removals 3 | CHINA Recently, two government-controlled Christian organizations, the local Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the China Christian Council, forcibly removed Pastor Gu Yuese from his position at China’s largest government-approved church. Although the organizations stated that the decision was made in order to bring the churches closer to proper management, it is likely that Gu was demoted due to his public opposition to the removal and destruction of crosses and churches in China.
Public opposition to the destruction of crosses and churches in China may have cost Pastor Gu Yuese his pastoral position.
Families Expelled for Refusing to Recant
4 | MEXICO On January 26, 10 Christian families, comprised of 18 adults and 10 children, were expelled from their community of Tuxpan de Bolanos in the Mexican state of Jalisco for refusing to recant their faith. A town agreement to evict the families was executed, and the families were gathered and abandoned in the nearby mountains shortly after. This is yet another incident in the ongoing persecution of evangelical Christians in rural Mexico and the government’s reluctance to protect religious minorities.
School Forced to Stop Saying, “God Bless America” 5 | UNITED STATES Since 2001, New Jersey’s Glenview Elementary School students and faculty have said, “God bless America” at the conclusion of the Pledge of Allegiance in commemoration of the September 11 attacks. However, after the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) issued a complaint, the school district terminated the practice in fear of a lawsuit. Despite the fact that no one was forced to say the phrase, but instead were doing so voluntarily, the ACLU-NJ claimed that the practice was unconstitutional.
Swiss Missionary Kidnapped in Mali for Second Time 6 | MALI Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly, who was abducted for 10 days in 2012, has been kidnapped for a second time in Timbuktu, Mali. Stockly initially arrived in Timbuktu as a missionary with a Swiss church in 2000, but later began working independently. Stockly was abducted from her home in the early hours of January 8 by a group of armed attackers. Although Stockly returned to Switzerland briefly after her previous attack, she returned to Mali despite the ongoing threat. Northern Mali has been overrun by Muslim extremists who have imposed Sharia law, which has led to the death, displacement and social exclusion of countless Christians, in addition to the destruction of many places of worship. Thousands seeking safety have been forced to flee northern Mali in order to seek refuge in southern Mali or neighboring countries.
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Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly has been kidnapped a second time in Timbuktu, Mali.
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