Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 123 | Wed 31 Aug 2011
AUGUST 2011 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal
‘Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand
of the Most High.” I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will
remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and
meditate on your mighty deeds . . . You are the God who works
wonders.’ (Psalm 77:10-12,14a ESV)
WELCOME to the intercessors who have joined the list this month.
AUGUST 2011 UPDATE — during August we prayed for . . .
INDONESIA (RLPB 119), where Christians are facing escalating violent
persecution fuelled by impunity, primarily in Papua and West Java,
especially the Bogor and Bekasi districts. It is reported there were 64
violent attacks on religious freedom in 2010, up from 18 in 2009 and 17
in 2008.
UPDATE: In December 2010, Indonesia’s Supreme Court and Ombudsman
Commission ruled in favour of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian
Church in Bogor, West Java, confirming the legality of its building
permit. Despite this, the church remains sealed and Bogor authorities
continue to obstruct and threaten the members. Now the mayor of Bogor,
Diani Budiarto, is pushing for a law to forbid churches opening on
streets bearing Islamic names. The Yasmin church is on Jalan Abdullah
bin Nuh, a street named after the noted Islamic cleric Abdullah bin Nuh
(died 1987). President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is remaining silent on
the issue. If mayor Budiarto can defy the courts with impunity, the law
will be rendered meaningless. Pray for Indonesia.
SUDAN (RLPB 120), where the predominantly Christian Nuba peoples of South
Kordofan are facing starvation at the hands of a genocidal regime.
UPDATE: On Tuesday 23 August, while visiting Kadugli, the capital of
South Kordofan, Sudan’s President Omar el-Bashir announced a two-week
ceasefire. He also confirmed that no humanitarian aid groups would be
permitted to enter the war-ravaged region where hundreds of thousands
of predominantly Christian Nuba have been displaced. The
Secretary-General of the SPLM-N, Yasir Arman, is accusing Bashir of
‘using food as a weapon’. Arman regards Bashir’s declaration of a
ceasefire as nothing more than a ‘public relations stunt’. He believes
Bashir is actually preparing for a major military offensive in South
Kordofan. Despite the ceasefire, bombing is reportedly continuing. Pray
for God to intervene for his people.
VIETNAM (RLPB 121), where religious persecution is escalating against
Christian activists in the cities and the ethnic minority Christians in
the Central Highlands.
UPDATE: AsiaNews reports (29 August) that the disappeared Catholic
activists are imprisoned in Hanoi and will go on trial shortly. They
are charged with attempting to ‘overthrow the people’s administration’,
under Clause 2, Article 79 of the Vietnam Penal Code. Sources told
AsiaNews the prisoners have been allowed to receive food and clothing
but not prayer books. The fate of two Protestants arrested at the same
time is unknown. In the coming weeks, Vietnamese Christians across the
nation — Catholics and Protestants — will hold candlelight prayer
vigils for religious freedom. Pray in solidarity with them.
PAKISTAN (RLPB 122), where Christian security is increasingly tenuous.
UPDATE: As noted in RLPB 122, anti-blasphemy law campaigner Salman Taseer
was assassinated on 4 January. Now his son Shahbaz Taseer has been
kidnapped, seized in an ambush on 26 August. Some experts believe
Shahbaz might be used as a bargaining chip by militants seeking the
acquittal of Salman Taseer’s assassin, Mumtaz Qadri. Meanwhile, in
increasingly Islamised and Talibanised Karachi, a virtual war between
militias backed by political parties and sectarian groups has left some
400 dead. The violence is also hastening the ethnic-religious
polarisation of the city. Christians are especially vulnerable amidst
such lawlessness. Christian homes and churches have been threatened and
pelted with rocks recently in Karachi, mostly by the ethnic Pashtuns.
They are backed by the Taliban and live in Pashtun-dominated districts
near the Christian colony. Pray for all Pakistan’s Christians and
religious liberty advocates.
AUGUST 2011 ROUND-UP — also this month . . .
* IRAQ: MANY CHURCHES BOMBED IN KIRKUK
On Monday 15 August a bomb exploded outside Saint Ephrem’s Syrian Orthodox
Church in Al Ummal Square, central Kirkuk, causing major damage but no
casualties. It was the third church bombing in Kirkuk in two weeks. The
previous night, four bombs exploded simultaneously inside Kirkuk’s Saint
Afram Syriac Orthodox Church. Whilst there were no casualties, it was the
first time insurgents had managed to detonate bombs planted inside a
church. On 2 August, 15 people were wounded including church staff when a
car bomb exploded about 5:30am outside the Holy Family Syrian Catholic
church in Kirkuk. Bombs were subsequently found and defused outside the
Saint Giwargis Church of the East and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church
in the Almass district. Kirkuk Archbishop Louis Sako told Aid to the
Church in Need, ‘This is only happening because we are Christians. Maybe
the people responsible want to empty the city of Christians. Please pray
for us. Pray for peace and stability. We are afraid. ‘ Pray for Iraq’s
besieged Christians.
* IVORY COAST: ONGOING DIRE SITUATION FOR CHRISTIANS
The UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast is deeply concerned about
continuing serious human rights abuses in Ivory Coast. From mid-July to
mid-August the mission documented 26 extra-judicial killings, 85 illegal
arrests and 11 rapes, all committed by the former rebels who now make up
the official army of Ivory Coast. According to the acting human rights
chief in the UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI), Guillaume Ngefa,
predominantly Christian ethnic groups continue to suffer cruel and
inhumane treatment and violation of property rights at the hands of pro-
Ouattara Islamic forces. Pray for the Christians of Ivory Coast.
* NIGERIA: CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN PLATEAU STATE
Twenty-four Christians were killed in Plateau State during August in
targeted attacks by Islamic militants in collusion with uniformed Muslims
from the Nigerian Army. Ratsa Foron village was attacked on 11 and 15
August: 6 dead. Chwelnyap community in Jos was attacked on 14 August: 2
dead. Heipang village was attacked on 15 August leaving 10 dead, including
9 members of one family. Kwi, Loton and Jwol villages were attacked on 21
August: 6 dead. In each attack uniformed soldiers of the Nigerian
military, including those from the Special Task Force (a unit tasked with
stopping sectarian attacks), accompanied the militants and even
participated in the killings. Plateau governor Jonah Jang has called for
immediate withdrawal of the Nigerian Army because, he said, Muslims in the
army are taking sides with the Islamist assailants. This situation is
extremely serious.
Gada-biu is the Christian-dominated district of North Jos Local Government
Area where multiple bombs exploded on 24 December 2010 resulting in around
90 deaths. (Boko Haram claimed responsibility.) Consequently, local
Christians did not want Muslims celebrating Eid-el-Fitri (end of Ramadan)
in that area and so made a formal request that they celebrate elsewhere.
On Monday 29 Aug 2011 strife erupted between the district’s local ethnic
Christians and Muslims going down Rukuba Road to celebrate Eid-el-Fitri in
the sensitive area. The clash left 20 people dead and more than 100
wounded. Reportedly ‘most’ of the dead and wounded were shot by soldiers
firing indiscriminately. At least 50 vehicles, 100 motorcycles and two
shops were torched. Accounts vary widely about who provoked whom and what
actually occurred. Tensions are high. Please pray for Nigeria.
ZIMBABWE: ANGLICAN PASTORS EVICTED
On 4 August Zimbabwe’s Chief Justice issued a temporary ruling placing all
Anglican properties under the control of excommunicated, pro-Mugabe bishop
Norbert Kunonga. (See ‘Zimbabwe: Chief Justice grants excommunicated
Kunonga control over Anglican properties’,
http://elizabethkendal.
grants.html
Zimbabwean (27 August) Kunonga’s thugs have evicted 27 Anglican pastors
and their families violently from their church-owned homes since the
ruling was issued. Reverend Jonah Mudowaya was severely beaten in Chinhoyi
on Wednesday 24 August by a Kunonga gang. In a bid to stop the evictions,
lawyers representing the Anglican Diocese of Harare have filed a
Constitutional appeal against the Chief Justice’s ruling on the grounds it
was issued while the matter was the subject of a Supreme Court appeal. The
Chief Justice has noted the Constitutional appeal but says it will not
interfere with his order. While the Anglican Church awaits the Supreme
Court ruling, the excommunicated Kunonga is exploiting the opportunity
this gives him to seize the church’s assets. Please pray for justice in
Zimbabwe.
For more information, updates and helpful links see Elizabeth Kendal’s
blog ‘Religious Liberty Monitoring’ <http://elizabethkendal.
Previous RLPBs may be viewed at <http://rlprayerbulletin.
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.
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