Today’s Headlines:

NEW RESTRICTIONS ON HOUSE CHURCHES GO INTO EFFECT IN CUBA

HINDU RADICALS IN INDIA ASSAULT CHRISTIANS WHO REFUSE TO DENY FAITH

CHINESE CHRISTIAN PRISONER RELEASED AFTER FINISHING 2-YEAR SENTENCE

MALAYSIAN COURT RULES CONVERSION FROM ISLAM ‘ILLEGAL’

CHRISTIAN RADIO PROGRAMS IN ALBANIA REACH OUT TO ROMANI PEOPLE

Today’s Top Stories:

NEW HOUSE CHURCH RESTRICTIONS GO INTO EFFECT IN CUBA

Government regulations aimed at curbing the growth of Christian house churches in Cuba went into effect Thursday, Sept. 22, sparking fears that evangelicals on the island could face a period of heightened religious persecution. The regulations increase the amount of information churches must provide to become legal and stipulate that no church can exist within 1.2 miles of another of the same denomination. House church meetings are restricted to three per week and to certain hours. House churches that fail to register, or whose request for authorization is denied, will be forced to close. “These regulations have no other logic except to try to shut down the church,” said one Cuban pastor. Some local authorities have reportedly invoked the new regulations to close house churches, but so far they have not sparked a widespread crackdown. (Compass)

HINDU RADICALS IN INDIA ASSAULT CHRISTIANS WHO REFUSE TO DENY FAITH

Radical Hindu villagers in Jamanya in the Jalgaon district of west-central India’s Maharashtra state remain hostile to Christian families who were attacked on May 16, threatening to assault them if they refuse to renounce their faith. They recently detained and beat a Christian visitor and attacked the house of another believer. On Sunday, Sept. 25, the Jamanya court pressured the 11 Christian families that were attacked to renounce their faith. On Friday, Sept. 23, the villagers detained and beat one of the victims (Neta Gyansingh) of the May 16 attack. The previous day three men allegedly sent by one of the Hindu extremists broke into the house of a local Christian, Saimal Mohan Singh Barela. “Barela has not yet returned to his house and is living in his relative’s house with his wife and children for fear of his life,” a local pastor said. (Compass)

CHINESE CHRISTIAN PRISONER RELEASED AFTER FINISHING 2-YEAR SENTENCE

After serving his two-year sentence, Christian historian and church leader Zhang Yi-nan was released from custody in China Sunday, Sept. 25. Before being allowed to return home, however, he was taken to a police station where he was “instructed” on what to publicly say and do upon his release. Police reportedly told him that he was “very defiant” because he refuses to admit his “mistakes” — being a Christian and part of an unregistered house church. He was finally allowed to return home to his wife and son in the early afternoon. Zhang expects that his activities will continue to be monitored. The China Aid Association reported that a Public Service Bureau officer refused to return his identification card in order to restrict his movements. “Compared to the testimony of Pastor Allen Yuan and Wang Mingdao, my suffering is nothing,” Zhang said. “Both of them were imprisoned for about 20 years for the sake of the gospel. I am just so privileged to taste a little bit of the Lord’s cross.” (Voice of the Martyrs)

MALAYSIAN COURT RULES CONVERSION FROM ISLAM ‘ILLEGAL’

On Monday, Sept. 19, a superior court in Malaysia upheld an earlier judgment that Malay people cannot renounce Islam. The country of Malaysia consists of four main ethnic groups: Malay, Chinese, Indians and tribal peoples. According to the Malaysian constitution, “A Malay citizen is a person who professes Islam.” This means that the approximately 15,000 Malay Christians retain the official status of a Muslim, regardless of their religions beliefs. In 1998, Azalina Jailani converted to Christianity and changed her name to Lina Joy. She went to court to force the National Registration Department to change her religious status from Islam to Christian so that she could be married in a civil ceremony to her Christian husband. Her request was rejected; two of the three judges on the panel ruled that she could only change her status with the permission of Muslim religious authorities. The third judge, a Hindu, held that she had the right to renounce Islam without permission, since the Malaysian constitution guarantees the freedom of religion. (Voice of the Martyrs)

CHRISTIAN RADIO PROGRAMS IN ALBANIA REACH OUT TO ROMANI PEOPLE

The Roma people of Eastern Europe are often ostracized and forgotten. Researchers estimate the worldwide Romani population at 44 million. About half of the people group are nomadic and when they do settle down, generally shun cultural integration. When Christian radio began sharing the love of Christ, the message gained momentum in Albania, says Lee DeYoung from Words of Hope. The ministry’s Romani programs began airing from Trans World Radio’s 500,000-watt AM transmitter in Albania two years ago. “The majority of Albanian people living in the signal area of that station enjoy hearing the programs,” DeYoung said. “Their response makes it possible to expand even more. We’re looking forward to producing some Balkan-Romani programs inside Albania in the future. Up till now, all of them have been produced in Bulgaria. We were able to go to a number of Romani neighborhoods and different towns, and we were able to play program samples for the people. The response was very encouraging.” Romani people tend to be suspicious of outsiders, but this barrier was overcome by using native Romani speakers to host the programs. (Mission Network News)