The Persecution & Prayer Alert The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada http://www.persecution.net Wednesday, July 09, 2003

A summary of news concerning the Persecuted Church and how you can respond. *********************************** Contents: 1. Church Ordered to Cease Construction (Vietnam) 2. Five Christians Released from Prison (Myanmar) 3. Islamic Leaders Issue Fatwah (Sudan) 4. Catholic Priest Murdered at Home (Pakistan) 5. More Church Leaders Detained (China) 6. Question of the Week *********************************** 1. Church Ordered to Cease Construction (Vietnam)

An evangelical church in Ho Chi Minh City has been ordered to cease construction on their church building and to destroy what has already been built by July 12. According to reports received by The Voice of the Martyrs in Australia, police originally destroyed the Thu Thiem Evangelical Church in July 2000. The believers continued to meet on the concrete slab for four months until moving to a house church.

On June 9, the congregation quietly began rebuilding at 4:00 a.m. Two hundred police officers descended upon the congregation three hours later, surrounding the site and attempting to stop the building project. According to a report from Compass Direct, the church’s pastor, Truong Van Nganh and Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, a Vietnamese Mennonite activist, spoke with the police, who reluctantly left when they realized they could not legally stop the building project. A gang of troublemakers arrived later in the day and tried to provoke those who were praying nearby. Authorities were called in to remove the agitators and, while there, cut off the electricity to the site. However, the church had a generator and continued working. Eventually construction stopped when the authorities confiscated the building materials.

On July 6, Pastor Truong called the people together for a service at the site. Police surrounded the 140 believers who met and ordered them to dismantle the new construction by July 12. On July 8, police interviewed the assistant pastor for most of the morning and it is expected that Pastor Truong will be questioned today.

The church has received support from Christians throughout Vietnam, including a letter of solidarity written by two Catholic priests. The church members are asking for Christians around the world to join with them in prayer during this difficult time. Pray for wisdom and strength for Pastor Truong and the other leaders as they deal with the authorities. *********************************** 2. Five Christians Released from Prison (Myanmar)

On June 18, the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported on five Christians who had been arrested in Myanmar. (For more information, see http://www.persecution.net/pnparchive/arch4.htm). The charges arose from a dispute with the government over orphanages confiscated for military use. In court, the men were convicted of selling children and given the option of life in prison or death.

However, on July 8, news was received by VOM Australia that the five men had been released after court proceedings. Praise God for His intervention in this matter. Pray for these men and other Christians facing continued harassment at the hands of the military dictatorship in Myanmar (formerly Burma). *********************************** 3. Islamic Leaders Issue Fatwah (Sudan)

As peace talks between the Sudanese government and southern rebels resumed in Kenya, and in advance of student union elections at Khartoum University, leading Islamic scholars issued a “fatwah” or religious edict on Friday, July 4. The fatwah, published in the independent weekly Akhbar Alyoum and signed by fourteen prominent scholars, including two university professors, declared that communists, socialists and others adhering to non-Sharia law in Sudan are apostates deserving of death.

The latest round of peace talks started on Sunday as a debate raged in Khartoum over whether Khartoum should become a secular national capital accommodating different religious creeds and beliefs. Last Wednesday, eighteen opposition parties, fifteen non-government organizations and more than forty individual opposition leaders released a declaration calling for Khartoum to be a national “secular” capital in the event of a peace deal between the Islamist government in Khartoum and the SPLA, which has been fighting for the rights of Christians and animists. The Khartoum Declaration also called for the end of one-party rule during a transition period of six years, as well for a transition government designed to supervise general elections. Last month, Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir lashed out at his leading opponents for advocating a national capital free of Islamic Sharia laws. In the last week, several opposition leaders involved in drafting the declaration have been arrested.

Last July, the Sudanese government and the SPLA signed a protocol providing for the separation of state and religion in southern Sudan. Glenn Penner, spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs, said, “It is obvious that this separation will not extend to the parts of the country where the government maintains control. We must not be so na ¯ve as to believe that the Islamist government of Sudan has modified its position on the preeminence of Sharia law in Sudan as a whole. This is a brutal regime with a shameful human rights record regarding religious liberty.”

Pray for those who are advocating religious liberty throughout Sudan. Pray that the international community will continue to hold Sudan accountable for its religious liberty record. *********************************** 4. Catholic Priest Murdered at Home (Pakistan)

Father George Ibrahim was brutally murdered in the early hours of July 5 as six armed assailants entered his home in Renala Khord and shot him and his parish assistant. Local police are claiming that the attack was a robbery but church leaders believe that Father Ibrahim was murdered and his assistant wounded because of the government’s decision last fall to return a former Catholic school to Ibrahim’s parish after thirty years of state control. When the Supreme Court declared in the early 1990’s that the forced nationalization of Pakistan’s Urdu-language schools in 1972 had been unconstitutional, private school owners began to apply for the return of the schools. Government-employed teachers and administrators, and militant Muslim groups have often opposed such applications. Shahbaz Bhatti, head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, told VOM that Father Ibrahim had been receiving death threats and that there are militant Islamic groups in the area who do not want Christians to be prosperous. Private schools run by Christians are typically seen as offering superior education to state or Islamic schools. Christian schoolmaster Pervez Masih was accused of blasphemy in 2001 by a rival Muslim schoolmaster because of the success and popularity of Pervez’s school.

Pray that those responsible for this murder will be brought to justice. Pray for Christian schools and their administrators and teachers in Pakistan. Pray that God would give them strength and courage as they faithfully serve Him. *********************************** 5. More Church Leaders Detained (China)

Five clergy members of China’s underground Roman Catholic Church were detained on July 1 in Baoding, Hebei, a city 70 miles west of Beijing, China. According to the report from the Cardinal Kung Foundation, Fathers Kang Fuliang, Chen Guozhen, Pang Guangzhao, Joseph Yin, and Li Shujun, were arrested when they were on their way to visit another underground priest, Lu Genjun. Lu Genjun had recently been released after serving three years in a labour camp.

Earlier, on June 16, Father Lu Xiaozhou (Bosco), was arrested while ministering to a dying Catholic in Wenzhou, Zhejiang.

While the Chinese constitution officially declares freedom of religion, actions like this clearly demonstrate a continuing oppression on those who are not part of the official church in China. Pray for believers throughout China, that they may stand firm in their faith in the face of this opposition.

Pray also for believers in Hong Kong. Article 23 of its Basic Law is expected to pass in the Hong Kong Legislative Council today (July 9, 2003). If implemented, the Hong Kong government could potentially bar or close down any organization that is banned by the Chinese government on the pretense of national security. There is fear that this law will be used against religious groups in Hong Kong labeled “evil cults” by the Chinese government. *********************************** 6. Question of the Week

In countries such as Sudan, Pakistan, and even here in North America, Christians sometimes find themselves on the same side as other religious, secular, and even anti-Christian organizations on specific issues such as abortion, civil rights, religious liberty and other societal concerns.

This week’s question is: “In the pursuit of advocating for issues that are of importance to Christians, should believers ally themselves with others they might otherwise oppose?”

To participate in our poll and discussion, go to http://www.persecution.net and click on “Discussion Forum.” If you have not registered on our forum in the past, click on “Register” and select a username and password. *********************************** The Persecution & Prayer Alert is a ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada. Website: http://www.persecution.net *********************************** Contact Person: Glenn Penner, Communications Director.

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