Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 070 | Wed 25 Aug 2010

‘For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning
and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your
strength.”‘ (Isaiah 30: 15 ESV)

AUGUST 2010 UPDATE — During August we prayed concerning . . .

IRAN, where persecution is escalating in line with Iran’s ascendency.

BEKASI, West Java, Indonesia, where churches have been forced to close
and Islamic militants have been violently attacking worshipping
Christians with impunity.

* UPDATE: On Sunday 15 Aug 2010, some 1200 Indonesians — predominantly
Christians — protested in Jakarta against government inaction in the
face of escalating Islamic intolerance and violence. The rally was
organised by the Forum for Religious Freedom Solidarity. Some
protesters marched with their mouths taped and some waved Indonesian
national red-white flags at half-mast. According to the Setara
Institute for Peace and Democracy, there were 17 incidents of violence
against churches in 2008, 18 in 2009, and the tally for January through
July 2010 is 28, with seven attacks in Bekasi and six in Greater
Jakarta. If the government does not act against the militants and
allows the trend to continue, then the 2010 total will eventually
triple that of 2009. These are watershed days for Indonesia.

PAKISTAN, where chaos and lawlessness, combined with widespread
radicalisation is resulting in a dramatic escalation in persecution of
Christians. This is the culmination of decades of Saudi-funded
Islamisation via mosques and madrassas. The situation is very serious
indeed when local Muslims — as distinct from the totalitarian
dictators or trained paramilitaries — are so radicalised they commit
violent hate-crimes including gang-rape, torture and murder against
their Christian neighbours. If radicalised Muslims come to be confident
that subjugating and killing Christians will be rewarded with impunity,
then jihad and religious cleansing will be inevitable. Pray for the
Church in Pakistan.

(For more details see Religious Liberty Monitoring
.)

AUGUST 2010 ROUND-UP — also this month . . .

* AFGHANISTAN: AID WORKERS EXECUTED AS TALIBAN CONSOLIDATES

On 5 August 2010 eleven aid workers returning to Kabul from a medical
expedition were ambushed by militants in Badakhshan, north-eastern
Afghanistan. Whilst one Afghan who recited portions of the Qu’ran was
spared, the other ten — six Americans, two Afghans, one Briton and one
German — were massacred. On 7 August Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah
Mujahed, claimed Taliban responsibility for the attack saying, ‘They were
Christian missionaries and we killed them all.’ Badakhshan Province fell
from NATO to Taliban control in the weeks prior to the massacre. As the
Taliban consolidates, the risk to Christian aid workers will increase, for
even if they never ‘preach’ they will always be guilty of ‘fitna’. (Fitna
is absolutely anything — including Christian grace — that could shake
the faith of a Muslim. Islam requires fitna to be eliminated. )

* EGYPT: SHARIA MEANS NO EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW

The Assyrian International News Association (AINA) reports that on 13
August Sheikh Tobah, Imam of the village of Shimi 170km south of Giza,
used Friday prayers to incite local Muslims to wage jihad against the
local Coptic Christian community. Within hours an Islamic hard-liner named
Mohamed Ali Almstaui had attacked a local Copt, Maher Amin, who was
washing his taxi. That evening Almstaui led a mob of some 20 Muslims
against the Amin family home. When the security forces arrived they
arrested the Christians, ignoring their injuries, so they could pressure
them to accept ‘reconciliation’. (To uphold the Sharia provision that
Christians may not testify against Muslims in court, the Egyptian
government enforces ‘reconciliation’ whereby Christians are forced to drop
charges in exchange for Muslim assurances that the conflict has ended.)
Less than 24 hours after ‘reconciliation’ was brokered, Almstaui led a
Muslim mob in a fresh persecution attacking Copts in their homes, on the
streets and in their fields. The Copts are greatly distressed by their
evident helplessness, knowing that in the absence of legal protection they
are essentially without rights and are extremely vulnerable to further
violence. Since the government started enforcing ‘reconciliation’ in 2007,
violent persecution has soared. The situation in Egypt is very serious
indeed. Pray for the Church in Egypt.

* KENYA: CHURCH SPLIT OVER REFERENDUM ISSUES

On 4 August Kenyans voted to accept a new constitution which the
government strongly supported. While the constitution contains many
positive and essential political reforms, some church leaders have opposed
the softening of abortion laws, the enshrining of khadi (Islamic) courts
and the establishment of ethnic federalism. As the referendum approached,
splits emerged in the church and clerics came out supporting the
government line, even denouncing the ‘sharia-phobia’ of the ‘No’ campaign
clerics. Since the referendum the ‘No’ clerics have appealed for
amendments. On 21 August Kenyan Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka urged
church leaders to put aside their concerns and support the constitution
for the sake of unity and harmony. In other words, the government wants
the concerned clerics to keep quiet. The pro-constitution clerics agree,
denouncing the concerns of the ‘No’ clerics as ‘intolerant’ and
‘divisive’. The Kenyan Church has entered a new and risky era. (See
Religious Liberty Monitoring . )

* SAUDI ARABIA: CHRISTIANS THREATENED — AND HONOURED

On 11 August deputy leader of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP),
Said al- Shihri, posted an audio message to the Internet calling for the
overthrow of the al-Saud regime, attacks on Israel and killing all
Christians living in the kingdom. Meanwhile, quite a stir has been caused
by the popular sitcom ‘Tash Ma Tash’ (‘No Big Deal’) which screens every
Ramadan and pokes fun at the problems of daily living in Saudi Arabia. The
writers’ stated purpose is to ‘criticise social customs, traditions,
administrative procedures and political habits’. While the royal family is
protected, religion is not. Naturally, Saudi clerics hate and denounce the
show, but it gets spectacular audience ratings and every day Saudi
newspapers devote pages to discussing its episodes and themes. This year a
two-part episode entitled ‘Uncle Boutros’ has ignited intensive debate
over its positive portrayal of Arab Christians as pleasant, honest and
charitable. Outraged Islamic clerics have urged Muslims to stop watching
the series as it could shake their faith. Pray that God will shake the
faith of Saudi Muslims that truth might prevail. Pray that God will
protect all Christians living in Saudi Arabia, especially his Saudi
Church, which is a reality despite Saudi claims to the contrary.

* UZBEKISTAN: BELIEVERS HARASSED AND INTIMIDATED IN TASHKENT

On 28 July twenty-three Baptists from an unregistered church were meeting
informally in the home of Yuriy Garmashev in Tashkent’s Mirzo-Ulugbek
District, when police raided the home, confiscating Bibles and songbooks.
The officers aggressively manhandled the believers and their children,
taking them in waiting cars to the District Police Station. Ten of those
held were cautioned and released the next day, whilst the others had to
face the District Criminal Court which imposed short-term detentions or
heavy fines for meeting illegally and ‘obstructing’ police. Yuriy
Garmashev was detained for five days, nine others spent three days in
detention and the remaining three were each fined 80 times the minimum
monthly salary. The police continue to harass and intimidate the church.

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We usually provide a summary to use in news-sheets unable to
run the whole of an RLPB. As a summary is not practicable with
this monthly update posting we suggest one or more of the above
items be used instead.

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For more information, updates and helpful links see Elizabeth Kendal’s
blog ‘Religious Liberty Monitoring’ .

This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious
Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international
religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.
Previous bulletins may be viewed at .