INTERNATIONAL NEWS 22nd January 2007

AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* IRAQI CHRISTIANS LOOK FOR PROTECTION FROM THE STORM

* EVANGELICAL CHURCHES FLOURISHING IN EUROPE

* RELIGIOUS POLICE RETURN TO AFGHANISTAN

* SOUTH KOREAN CHURCH CALLS FOR YEAR OF PRAYER FOR NORTH KOREA IN 2007

* MAN WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN

* WORLD EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE APPLAUDS CEASE FIRE AGREEMENT IN DARFUR

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IRAQI CHRISTIANS LOOK FOR PROTECTION FROM THE STORM

Most attention in Iraq is focused on Sunni and Shia families forced to leave their home towns by sectarian violence. The fate of non-Muslim minorities, particularly Christians, deserves equal attention. The Iraqi Christian population has fallen to a third of its level of twenty years ago. As the dawn light struggles to illuminate the tiny one-roomed apartment in a run-down suburb of Damascus, George begins the daily struggle to provide for his grown-up daughters. A member of Iraq’s Christian minority, he arrived in Damascus in late December, bringing just the clothes on his back and the family he so nearly lost. Until late 2006 he lived in Baghdad. A widower and father of three, he divided his time between his work as an electrician and caring for his eldest daughter, who has terminal cancer. Then one morning the masked militia arrived at his door. They sacked and looted the house, took all his savings, and told him to leave the country if he wanted to live. George had no reason to doubt that they would carry out their threat. He has seen many Christians in his neighbourhood die at the hands of the militant gangs. Not far away Mariam awakes in the small room she shares with her family and another couple. An Assyrian Christian in her late 20s, she used to live in Mosul. When her husband disappeared in April 2006, she feared the worst. His body was later discovered, half-buried under rotting rubbish on wasteland outside the city, riddled with bullets. Unable to provide for her children and fearing for their lives, Mariam fled with her three children, aged 14, 11 and 10, taking their meagre savings and what they could carry. Such stories are typical among the thousands of Iraqi Christian refugees in Syria’s capital. As running battles between Sunni and Shia insurgents engulf Iraq, the Christian minority is being caught in the middle. Iraqi Christians numbered some 1.4 million in the early 1980s. Today that figure stands at around 500,000. Most who have left Iraq now live as refugees in neighbouring countries, with Syria hosting the largest number of Iraqi Christian refugees. Christians are particularly vulnerable because of their religion. To many Sunni and Shia militia living in Iraq, Christians are the enemy within. Militants see an automatic link between Iraqi Christians and the ‘Christian’ West, and so hold them responsible for the invasion and subsequent hardships, as well as the previous Persian Gulf War of 1991 and UN sanctions. Militant gangs target Christians from all walks of life. Whatever the motive – financial, religious, territorial – they have one thing in common; they want the Christians out of Iraq. The anonymous notes posted to Christian families in Mosul in December say it all: ‘Leave, crusaders, or we will cut off your heads.’ For those that manage to leave Iraq, life as a refugee is a continual struggle for survival. Neighbouring countries may provide shelter, but they are not equipped to offer a living to refugees. Living space in the cities hosting refugees comes at a premium, and the costs of basic necessities rise almost daily. Most refugees leave Iraq with nothing in the way of possession, and what savings they have disappear rapidly on food and rent. Entire families are living in their cars as they drive from place to place, looking for shelter and work. Work is not easy to come by. Mariam picks up some work as a cleaner to try to earn enough money to keep a roof over her children. George is not so fortunate. Along with hundreds of others, he relies on charity and the local church community to keep a roof over his family. Leaving the country is not an option for all Iraqi Christians. Getting out of the country is expensive and difficult; many do not have the funds to get across the border. Others, understandably, simply do not want to leave their homeland. Particularly amongst the churches in the North, where there have been Christians since the first century AD, many see it as unforgivable to leave this land so rich in Christian history. For Christians remaining in Iraq, the question of where they can go for protection is difficult. Some are heading to the Kurdish area in the north of the country, where they are being given a cautious welcome by Kurdish leaders. With an autonomous Kurdistan proposed in the north of the country, Christians and Kurds are talking about providing an area of the Nineveh Plains for Iraqi Christians. However, even if such a plan goes ahead, the problems do not end there. With the collapse of Iraqi society has come the collapse of the economy. Finding employment to be able to provide accommodation and food is a major struggle. “Next to security, money and employment are the biggest problems the Christian population face”, according to one Christian community leader. “Our brothers and sisters abroad cannot work, and rely on charity for their daily needs. Those who remain in Iraq also need food and shelter. Without that, we cannot survive.” Neighbouring countries are beginning to sound alarm bells about their continued ability to offer asylum. Both Jordan and Syria indicated in December 2006 that they may be forced to close their borders to refugees, as they do not have the capacity to cope. If this occurs, those Christians left trapped in Iraqi cities with a hostile majority population face a stark future.

Source: Barnabus Fund

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EVANGELICAL CHURCHES FLOURISHING IN EUROPE

Church attendance in Europe has been steadily decreasing in recent decades. Traditional Protestant and Roman Catholic churches have a hard time drawing in new members, particularly young people. But Evangelical churches are booming across the region, particularly those attended by immigrants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It is late morning on a sweltering Sunday, and the first morning service at Impact Christian Centre is finally wrapping up. But the boisterous congregation is still singing and swaying to Gospel music. Outside, a waiting line to get into the second morning services stretches down half a block of this gritty working-class neighbourhood. Half of France may be away on summer holiday, but this Evangelical church remains packed. Impact is not the only Evangelical church where attendance is soaring. Evangelical Christianity is flourishing in Europe. France has witnessed an eight-fold increase in Evangelical Christians during the past half century, from roughly 50,000 to 400,000. Those numbers are small in absolute terms. Evangelicals represent less than two-percent of the European population. But Christopher Sinclair, an expert on Evangelical movements at the University of Strasbourg in France, say they show that spirituality is not dying out in Europe. In a country where people are a bit disappointed by traditional religion, Sinclair says, they are impressed by the way these Evangelical churches are alive and welcoming. The churches underscore the fact that while secularization continues to progress in Europe, there has been what Sinclair calls a spiritual turning in recent years. Roman Catholic and traditional Protestant churches are increasingly borrowing from the Evangelicals’ energetic and inclusive doctrine. Impact was founded by French-Congolese twin brothers Yves and Yvan Castanou, who are both pastors at the church. Since it opened four years ago, the church’s attendance has jumped from 200 to 600 members today. Pastor Yves Castanou takes a break from greeting parishioners at the church’s small community centre to explain Impacts success. “This is just a church focusing on the needs of people. Spiritual people, spiritual issues as well as social issues, family issues, financial issues, all different kinds of issues,” he said. “The church is there to solve all problems, not only spiritual problems. And that is what really makes a difference.” Serge Didikouko, a native of Ivory Coast, says he likes the multi-ethnic flavour of Impact, where parishioners are from many different countries. He says there is a better atmosphere here than at the last Evangelical church he attended. Some native French like 26-year-old baker Luc Perrin, have also joined Impact. Perrin says he likes Impact because the faith is alive here. He says African churches like Impact are warmer and more open to God than European churches. Some Roman Catholic parishes have adopted Evangelical-style bible study classes.

Source: Intercessors Network

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RELIGIOUS POLICE RETURN TO AFGHANISTAN

There are two battles raging in Afghanistan: the battle between the US and allied forces against a resurgent Taliban; and the battle between Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist conservatives and reformist West-leaning moderates. The reality is that the government is only one of many power groups in the nation. The government does not control anything much outside Kabul. The countryside is politically fragmented and controlled by warlords who fight either with the Taliban or against them according to their own interests at any time. America’s primary weapon against the Taliban has been their ability to manipulate and buy the co-operation and allegiance of the warlords. But, as Stratfor Intelligence comments: “As Taliban power increases, the willingness of regional warlords to collaborate with the government and the United States decreases. No one wants to be caught on the wrong side of a war in that country.” When Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban, strict conservative Islamic practice and values were enforced by the religious police of the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. This force, famous for beating women, destroying art and turning executions into spectator sport, was disbanded after the Taliban was ousted in 2001. In a clear sign that Afghanistan’s reformist moderates are drastically lacking support and struggling for political survival, President Karzai’s Cabinet has approved a proposal from the government-appointed council of Muslim clerics to reinstate the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The decision was clearly made for short-term political gain but the long-term implications for Afghanistan are deeply worrying. The Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs, Nematullah Shahrani, says, “The job of the department will be to tell people what is allowable and what is forbidden in Islam. In practical terms it will be quite different from Taliban times. We will preach … through radio, television and special gatherings.” Shahrani denied that the department would have police powers but said it would oppose the proliferation of alcohol and drugs and speak out against terrorism, crime and corruption, adding that it would also encourage people to behave in more Islamic ways. There would be no violent punishment, only education, preaching, and encouragement to help move people towards God. The assurances of moderation provide little comfort to multitudes of Afghan citizens who have traumatic memories of Taliban repression and violence. Likewise, analysts and human rights groups have expressed great concern that the new Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice could become a force of political and religious oppression in the guise of protecting Islamic values.

Source: Elizabeth Kendal World Evangelical Alliance

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SOUTH KOREAN CHURCH CALLS FOR YEAR OF PRAYER FOR NORTH KOREA IN 2007

On the centenary day of the Pyongyang Great Revival, the South Korean Church proclaimed an international Year of Prayer for North Korea in 2007. The proclamation states ‘As we mark this centenary day of the outbreak of the 1907 Pyongyang Great Revival, we desire to see love, freedom and peace restored in Korea. We thus proclaim 2007 as a Year of Prayer for North Korea and call the global Church and Christians worldwide to join the South Korean Church in actively praying for North Korea this year.’ A new website address was launched as a vehicle for prayer for North Korea. The site at http://www.pfnk.org carries information and resources to inform and equip Christians everywhere to pray for North Korea and its people. Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s International Advocate, Elizabeth Batha, said ‘The contrast between the spiritual climate in North Korea today and one hundred years ago could not be starker. Pyongyang has moved from being a city known throughout the Christian world as ‘the Jerusalem of the East’ to now being the capital of probably the most brutal suppressor of Christianity. The population is subject to enforced idolatry of the political leadership, there is a ruthless ban on the gospel and Christians are brutally persecuted, imprisoned and executed. All these reasons make it imperative that the worldwide Church recognises North Korea as a top prayer priority and stands in the gap to intercede for these most beleagured of people’.

Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

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MAN WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN

A frail old man had just entered the chief minister’s office when Nitish Kumar looked up. The man at the helm of affairs stood up and offered his chair. After all, he was standing face to face with Dasrath Manjhi, the man who had moved a mountain. At 60, Manjhi is a legend. He dug a 3 km long passage through a mountain, with a hammer, a chisel and his bare hands, to connect his village, Gahluar, to civilisation. It took him 22 years but he succeeded. Manjhi built the road as a memorial to his wife who died because he could not get her to hospital in time. The road that Manjhi built cut the time for people to travel to the next village from six hours to one, which, had it been in place when his wife was alive may have saved her life. Now that the road is finished the government has fulfilled its promise to grant Manjhi five acres of land.

Source: Intercessors Network

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WORLD EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE APPLAUDS CEASE FIRE AGREEMENT IN DARFUR

The World Evangelical Alliance has applauded the agreement reached this week to cease all hostilities between the Khartoum government and rebel groups for 60 days as they work toward a durable end to the conflict in Darfur. “We applaud this significant step toward peace in Darfur,” said Geoff Tunnicliffe, the International Director of the World Evangelical Alliance. “We truly hope this process will lead to ending the suffering of the people in Darfur.” Other agreements negotiated during the talks included concessions to improve humanitarian aid and media access to Darfur and ensuring a “zero tolerance” policy for gender-based violence in Darfur. Tunnicliffe expressed hopes that President al-Bashir and rebel leaders will uphold the commitments they agreed to in the coming days. “We have seen promises made before. We will continue to be vigilant in praying and advocating for an end to the genocide,” said Tunnicliffe.

Source: World Evangelical Alliance

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