Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 265 | Wed 18 Jun 2014

UPPER MESOPOTAMIA: CHRISTIANS AT THE MERCY OF ISIS

by Elizabeth Kendal

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham/Syria (ISIS) formally split from Al-Qaeda earlier this year over long-disputed matters of principle and strategy. (1) Regarding principle: Al-Qaeda's more seasoned leaders - the 'old guard' - are prepared to co-operate with Iran / Shi'ites in pursuit of higher goals. The 'young-guns' of ISIS are not. Rather, ISIS is sticking uncompromisingly to the Saudi Wahhabi / Salafi creed which is vehemently anti-Shia. (2) Regarding strategy: Al-Qaeda's more seasoned leaders have learnt that fighters must treat local Muslims gently and win their hearts and minds if they are to avoid generating local resistance. On the other hand, ISIS regards that as compromising and soft. Rather, ISIS is enforcing strict Sharia codes and enacting cruel Sharia punishments, including public lashings, amputations and execution, even crucifixions. It is not that al-Qaeda is 'more moderate' than ISIS, it is just more rational. Al-Qaeda still wants to annihilate Israel, establish a Caliphate and take jihad to the West. Al-Qaeda is well aware that division and intra-Muslim conflict will weaken the global jihad movement.

ISIS has ruled Syria's Raqqa Province, plus territory along the Euphrates River and Iraq's restive Sunni Anbar Province since February. The border between Syria and Iraq (pencilled in by Sykes and Picot in 1916) now exists only in theory. Last week Iraqi security services (mostly Shi'ites) melted away as ISIS advanced through Northern Iraq's Nineveh Province. In a blitzkrieg ISIS captured its capital, Mosul (Iraq's second largest city), along with its airports, banks (holding an estimated $500 million), armouries (stocked with US-made materiel) and more. The immediate goal of ISIS is to restore Sunni power in Baghdad. Shi'ite militias (including Iranians) are defending the Shia heartland and Shia holy places. Kurdish peshmerger forces are defending the Kurdish heartland and oil-rich Kirkuk. While launching terror attacks and incursions, ISIS will consolidate its rule over the Sunni-dominated but ethnically and religious diverse region of Upper Mesopotamia (Arabic: al-Jazira). Spanning north-east Syria and north-west Iraq, Upper Mesopotamia is the ancient Christian heartland.

World Watch Monitor (WWM) has confirmed that some 1000 Christian families fled Mosul last week as ISIS invaded. Displaced Christians have fled to Christian churches, monasteries and schools. Many thousands of Iraqis from across Nineveh Province have fled into Erbil, the Kurdish capital. One Christian couple from Mosul who found refuge for themselves and their young children in a church in Erbil told WWM (12 June) that they had been eating dinner, having already made plans to leave, when two homes around them burst into flames after being hit by rocket fire. The family fled carrying nothing but their papers. The Archbishop of Mosul, Amel Nona, told WWM (13 June) that in the 11 years following the 2003 US-led invasion, Christians in Mosul had declined from 35,000 to 3,000. Now 'all the faithful have fled the city'. There are reports that ISIS has taken an unconfirmed number of Christians hostages. With such a vast area to defend ISIS will doubtless secure its bases with human shields.

In Nineveh, as in Raqqa, Syria [See RLPB 250, 4 March 2014], ISIS is enforcing strict Sharia codes. Christians in Mosul had been paying jizya (protection money) to al-Qaeda for years. In 2008, the then archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Rahho, was killed for refusing to pay jizya. Now ISIS has released a 'Contract of the City' laying down the rules and penalties. Theft will be punished with amputation. Those who are corrupt face the penalties of Sura 5:33 [http://quran.com/5/33 ] i.e. death, crucifixion, cross amputation or exile. If police, soldiers and other government workers fail to repent they will be killed as apostates. All shrines and graves will be destroyed. Women should not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary, and if they do, must wear the niqab, the full black covering with a slit for the eyes. Such conditions make it unlikely that the displaced Christians will ever return to their homes. Upper Mesopotamia's Christians are caught in 'the eye of the storm'. Though they do not have their own army, they do have Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Heaven's Hosts.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* 'frustrate the way of the wicked' (Psalm 146). May the Lord's enemies continue to divide and weaken. 'Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while [God's people] pass by safely.' (Psalm 141:10 ESV)

* aid, protect and provide for the thousands of displaced Christian families, along with those who give them shelter.

* graciously open the eyes and hearts of all those Muslim families who are sheltering with Christian families in Christian churches, monasteries and schools across Nineveh; may Muslims, who essentially view God as a 'strongman' in the sky too transcendent to love or relate to humanity, be transformed by what they witness and experience of Christians finding and sharing grace through faith, assured of God's ear and his heart. May no Muslim be left unchanged.

Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.' (John 9:39 ESV)

* awaken the suffering-averse Church in the West to see and respond to the suffering Church before the Western Church's light is taken away.


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

CHRISTIANS AT THE MERCY OF ISIS IN UPPER MESOPOTAMIA

Last week, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham/Syria (ISIS), which controls Raqqa (in Syria) and Anbar (in Iraq), advanced through Iraq's northern Nineveh Province, capturing Mosul city in a blitzkrieg. Since the US-led invasion in 2003, the growth of al-Qaeda elements in Mosul has seen the Christian population decline from 35,000 to 3,000. Amel Nona, Archbishop of Mosul, says now 'all the faithful have fled the city'. The whole province is affected. Whilst many Christian families have fled to local Christian churches, monasteries and schools, others have fled to the Kurdish capital of Erbil, which is being protected by Kurdish peshmerger forces. In Nineveh, as in Raqqa, ISIS is enforcing strict Sharia codes and enacting cruel Sharia punishments. The security and humanitarian situation is dire. Please pray.


* EGYPT: CHRISTIAN TEACHER FOUND GUILTY OF BLASPHEMY

An Egyptian court has sentenced a Christian woman, school teacher Demyana Abd al-Nour (25) to six-months' jail after finding her guilty of blasphemy. When Islamic activist parents who had targeted Demyana falsely accused her of blasphemy in April 2013, Demyana fled the country. The court ruling guarantees she will now spend her life in exile and at risk. The ruling bodes ill for Christians in Egypt.

* KENYA: AL-SHABAAB MASSACRES SOME 50 CHRISTIAN MEN

On Sunday evening 15 June, al-Shabaab jihadists flying the black flag and shouting Allahu Akbar (Allah is greater) invaded Kenya's coastal town of Mpeketoni, possibly with the aid of local political figures. They torched cars and properties and killed some 50 local men who identified themselves as Christian. 'They came to our house at around 8 pm and asked us in Swahili whether we were Muslims,' said resident Anne Gathigi (38). 'My husband told them we were Christians and they shot him in the head and chest.' According to Morning Star News, every church in the mostly Christian town has been affected. Al-Shabaab claimed the massacre was to avenge Kenya's military involvement in Somalia, and declared Kenya a 'war zone'.

* SYRIA: KESSAB LIBERATED

Kessab, an Armenian town near the border with Turkey seized by jihadists and ethnically cleansed in March [RLPB 253, 26 March 2014] was liberated by pro-government forces on 15 June.

To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM (Religious Liberty Monitoring) archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of  'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' 
(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 264 | Wed 11 Jun 2014

SCOTLAND: FIGHTING A FLAWED LAW

by Elizabeth Kendal

The Government of Sudan continues to wage war against its non-Arab, non-Muslim people, with the aim of annihilating the predominantly Christian Nuba peoples of oil-rich South Kordofan. In Nigeria, Boko Haram is waging a full-scale terrorist insurgency in the north-east, targeting Christian towns and enclaves, abducting and massacring dozens of civilians almost daily. In Syria, the Battle for Aleppo continues, with Armenian neighbourhoods - in particular Nor Kyugh - suffering endless rocket-fire from rebels, who are mostly international jihadists and Turks. In BREAKING NEWS, the ISIS has seized control in Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Province, Northern Iraq. Dozens are dead, at least 70 women have been abducted, some thousand Christian families have fled and the monasteries are filling up with refugees. [See Religious Liberty Monitoring for details.] With such serious conflicts raging like fire - consuming churches and whole Christian peoples - it can be easy to overlook or miss new threats rising like smoke signals on the horizon. While we must always be in prayer for Christians in lands where persecution is 'hot', we must also be alert so that, by God's grace, we might prevent new fires from spreading or even breaking out.

A law has been passed in Scotland that raises the prospect of a coming persecution. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill includes a mandate that the state appoint a 'Named Person' or state guardian for every single Scottish child under 18. It was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 February 2014 (103 for, with 15 abstentions) and it received Royal Assent on 27 March 2014. The scheme should be fully implemented by August 2016. With the aim of 'early intervention', each child will be monitored by a Named Person who will intervene (i.e. report to the authorities) if they have 'concerns' about the child's 'well-being'. For pre-school children, the Named Person could be a healthcare worker; for school-age children, the Named Person could be a school teacher. Named Persons will be obliged to report incidents as trivial as a missed doctor's appointment. Opponents of the scheme regard this as 'a monstrous invasion' of private family life that threatens to bring suspicion and mistrust into a whole range of relationships. It appears to be quite sinister, as home-schooler Alison Preuss points out, 'Under the guise of GIRFEC - "Getting it right for every child" - the government is getting information recorded on every citizen.'

The Christian Institute (CI) is preparing a legal challenge, receiving advice from Aidan O'Neill, a senior human rights lawyer and one of the UK's most eminent QCs. CI has promised to 'drag' the Scottish government through the courts 'in defence of family life against state intrusion'. O'Neil maintains that The Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill represents an 'unjustified interference' into private and family life while failing to provide proper protection against 'arbitrary and oppressive powers'. CI will argue that the legislation breaches the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), specifically Article 8 which guarantees a 'right to respect private and family life'. A 'No to Named Persons' (NO2NP) campaign [see http://no2np.org/ ] was officially launched on Monday 9 June, at a conference in Edinburgh organised by leading academic Dr Stuart Waiton. Waiton, a sociology professor at Abertay University, laments that the government 'appears to be blind' to the law's dangers.

It can be imagined readily how this law could become a weapon in the hands of anti-Christian elements, of state guardians with agendas and of all manner of social engineers. This law will turn state employees into informants to enforce state ideology and conservative Christian parents will be powerless to prevent it. The law is wide open for abuse. Is a child's 'well-being' threatened by home-schooling; or by parents who are seeking less invasive medical treatment; or by devout parents who teach that Jesus is the only Saviour or that God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman? Are children's 'well-being' at stake if they are set curfews, denied their 'sexual rights', and taken to church when they would rather play football? There are many who would say emphatically 'yes'. The Christian Institute has so far raised 30,000 British Pounds to fund the court action. Whilst currently it may not look like a religious liberty issue, the way is open for it to become one.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* bless the Christian Institute and provide all its needs as it challenges this flawed law in the courts; may the law be repealed or amended before it does serious damage or is used as a model elsewhere.

* redeem this crisis and use this campaign for the awakening of many; may he use the NO2NP campaign not only to expose the flaws in the law, but to highlight the responsibilities and preciousness of family life as God intended.

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
- that the mountains might quake at your presence ... Isaiah 64:1 ESV

* revive and empower the Church in Scotland - indeed across the UK - to be the light and salt it is called to be for the benefit of all.

[Jesus] put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.' (Matthew 13:13-32 ESV)


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

FIGHTING A FLAWED LAW IN SCOTLAND

A law has been passed in Scotland mandating that Scottish children under 18 be appointed a 'Named Person' or state guardian charged with monitoring their 'well-being'. Opponents of The Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill are describing it as 'a monstrous invasion' of private family life. The 'unjustified interference' comes without proper protection against 'arbitrary and oppressive powers'. A leading QC advises that the law breaches the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 8). A campaign - No to Named Persons (NO2NP) [http://no2np.org/ ] - was launched on 9 June. The Christian Institute is preparing a legal challenge. The law is wide open for abuse by social engineers and anti-Christian elements. Whilst currently this may not look like a religious liberty issue, it could become one quite readily.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM (Religious Liberty Monitoring) archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com


We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'
(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 263 | Wed 04 Jun 2014

LAOS: HIGH COST OF FAITH - plus update on North Korea

by Elizabeth Kendal

The Communist regime in Laos has long been committed to 'eliminating Christianity' which it regards as a 'foreign' religion linked to its enemies. [The Lao Hmong aided US troops against communist forces during the Second Indochina / Vietnam War, in which the US bombed Laos heavily. After the war, a massive crackdown on the Hmong saw most Christians flee Laos for the US.] For decades, severe, targeted and systematic persecution of the Hmong continued and has included even the use of chemical weapons (see RLM Oct 2003). While the situation has improved, Christianity is still regarded as a problem and a threat by both the government and local people. Christians are still being imprisoned for their faith - often constrained in shackles or stocks - and torture is endemic. The most common forms of persecution involve high-level pressure to abandon their faith, with sanctions commonly including forced eviction, denial of service and social exclusion. Despite all this, and due to the amazing witness of local believers, the Church continues to grow. In fact stories like this from 2012 are not uncommon: 'Another Christian was expelled from a village in Bolikhamsay Province (east of Vientiane) for "having made 300 villagers embrace the Christian faith" (UCA, 21 May 2014).' Yet, as Operation World 2010 notes: 'The remarkable growth of the church is still dwarfed by the size of the task remaining.' Only 3.4 percent of Laotians are Christians and the cost of faith can be high.

Many Laotian villagers follow traditional religions that involve continuously appeasing ancestral spirits so as to avert disasters such as storms and crop failures. Consequently, Christians who refuse to engage in traditional religion are viewed as a threat to village prosperity. Village chiefs are enlisted to evict Christians from the village. Content to see the Christians persecuted, government authorities do not defend the rights of Christians but rather will exploit any opportunity to arrest them. Washington think-tank Freedom House ranks Laos as the least free country in South-East Asia and second only to North Korea in East Asia. According to one rights group that monitors Laos, dozens of Christians remain behind bars for practising their faith. Persecution is most intensive in the fertile highlands of Savannakhet Province.

On 11 May 23 Christians were detained in Paksong Village in Songkhone district, Savannakhet Province after being arrested for meeting in what authorities said was an 'unauthorised' location. Twelve were released after signing documents agreeing not to meet there again but eleven remain in prison. It seems the former village chief had given the Christians permission to meet but the new village chief had not.

On 20 May the chief of Saisomboon village in Atsaphangthong district of Savannakhet Province deemed that by becoming Christians, three female students had forfeited their right to an education. Noi (15), Net (15) and Nut (14) have been told they will not be permitted to sit their exams. Local Christian leader, Mrs Kaithong, has since appealed the case to the Atsaphangthong district education chief, who is negotiating with the school's director.

On Sunday 25 May police raided the home of Pastor Phupet in Donpalai village, Atsaphangthong district, where some 80 believers had gathered for worship. After abusing and intimidating the believers, the police confiscated 53 Bibles. This police raid occurred without the consent of the village chief.

On 29 May Lao police, under the order of the Loynam village chief, seized a Christian man, Sort (40), from his home in Nong district, Savannakhet Province. Sort was tied to a pole and publicly mocked and berated for refusing to recant his faith. About one year ago, Sort, along with his wife and two children, became the first family to embrace the Christian faith in the whole sub-district of Nathorn. The police had been trying to coerce Sort to renounce his faith since 15 May, when they threatened to confiscate all his property. At that time, Sort told them, 'I've embraced the Christian faith over a year and I have not broken any law!' Even after they confiscated Sort's savings, he still refused to recant. So on 29 May, after publicly humiliating Sort, they arrested him for refusing to renounce his faith in Jesus Christ. Sort is now being held in the Nong district prison.

[Source: Human Rights Watch Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF) http://hrwlrf.net/ ]


HIGH COST OF FAITH IN NORTH KOREA [Updating RLPB 251 (11 March)]

On Friday 30 May a court in Pyongyang sentenced South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook (50) to a life of hard labour. Kim had been found guilty in February on charges of espionage, anti-government agitation, and setting up an underground religious institution. Reportedly the North Korean defence attorney requested that the court commute the death sentence demanded by prosecutors on the grounds that Kim 'sincerely repented of his crimes and apologised for them'. The severity of Kim Jung-wook's sentence puts Pyongyang in a strong bargaining position with South Korea and it should discourage internal dissent also. As one high-ranking defector told DailyNK (2 June), Kim Jong-un 'is showing that he is going to eradicate any element capable of changing the people's consciousness and preserve systemic integrity'. In April 2013 Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae was sentenced to 15 years' hard labour on similar charges. When North Korean Christians are found practising Christianity they are executed and their extended families are sent to the gulag.


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT -

* all Christians suffering in Laotian prisons will know the comforting presence of Jesus Christ who promised 'behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age' (Matthew 28:20b ESV); may God restrain their captors and open their eyes to recognise righteousness and their hearts to receive the Gospel.

* Noi, Net, Nut and other Christian students will not be denied an education because of their faith in Christ; may God bless and work through the advocacy and witness of Christian leader Mrs Kaithong. 'Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us ...' (Ephesians 3:20 ESV)

* God will bless Pastor Phupet and his 80-strong house church in Donpalai village; may he supply more Bibles and continue to build his Church there. [Aid groups including Open Doors, Voice of the Martyrs, Bible League etc raise funds to facilitate provision of Bibles.]

* God will pour out his Holy Spirit (Joel 2:25-32) in generous abundance on Laos' capital city, Vientiane, so that, just as in Beijing (China), Christians might be found at every level of society, ready for when God brings freedom to their land. [NB: 4 June is the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, an event that led many Beijing professionals and elites to abandon communism and embrace the Gospel. Today Beijing has Christians at every level of society.]

PLEASE ALSO PRAY FOR -

* South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook, Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae and the tens of thousands of North Korean Christians incarcerated for their faith in North Korea; may God preserve them and end this wicked regime's reign of terror.


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

HIGH COST OF FAITH IN LAOS & NORTH KOREA

Despite some improvement in recent years, persecution continues to bring great suffering to Laos' small but growing Christian community. The Communist government views Christianity as a 'foreign' religion linked to its enemies (mainly the US). Local residents who practise Buddhism and traditional religions view Christians as a threat to social order. Persecution commonly involves forced eviction, denial of service and social exclusion. Furthermore, Christians who continue to witness and refuse to recant their faith in Jesus Christ are arrested and imprisoned in shocking conditions where torture is routine. Please pray for the Church in Laos. Pray also for the Church in North Korea where on 30 May, South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook was sentenced for life with hard labour, and where tens of thousands of Christians are incarcerated.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM (Religious Liberty Monitoring) archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com


We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'
(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 261 | Wed 21 May 2014

SUDAN: CHRISTIAN WOMAN FACES DEATH FOR APOSTASY

by Elizabeth Kendal

On Thursday 15 May a court in Khartoum, Sudan, convicted Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag (27) of apostasy and sentenced her to death by hanging. Having deemed her marriage to a Christian man null and void, the court also found Meriam guilty of adultery, for which she was sentenced to 100 lashes. The court ruled that Meriam, who is 8 months pregnant, should receive the 100 lashes once she has recovered from giving birth. She will be hanged in two years' time after she has weaned her infant. Meriam and her first-born son, Martin Ibrahim (now 20 months), have been in Omdurman Federal Women's Prison since 17 February. Daniel Wani, Meriam's husband and Martin's father, is a South Sudanese American citizen. He is deeply concerned about the conditions under which Meriam will give birth. Daniel's appeals to the US Embassy in Khartoum went unheeded for far too long.

Some sources say that Meriam was raised as a Christian by an Ethiopian Christian mother and, as such, never apostasised because she was never a Muslim. Others say Meriam was raised Muslim by a Muslim mother from a Muslim tribe, but then disappeared for several years before turning up again professing Christ and married to a Christian man. The details however are irrelevant as every human being - no matter how or where they were raised and irrespective of their occupation or status - must be free to seek after God.

One detail that is consistent though is that Meriam's father is Muslim. In Islam, religion is a state matter, as distinct from a faith matter. Sharia Law (Islamic law) mandates that children inherit the religion of their father. Consequently, any child born to a Muslim man is regarded as Muslim from birth and leaving Islam is forbidden. Sharia mandates that a Muslim woman cannot marry a Christian man unless he first converts to Islam to ensure the children are born Muslim. Anyone who says the rulings in Khartoum are contrary to Islam is either misinformed or is wanting to misinform. Islam underpins not only these rulings, but many thousands of honour killings committed annually, along with the impunity afforded the killers. [For a full explanation see Religious Liberty Monitoring: 'Khartoum's rulings are totally consistent with Islam', 21 May 2014.]

Concerned somewhat by the extensive international outcry, the authorities in Khartoum have opened an escape hatch, letting it be known that the ruling is not final and can yet be appealed. However, the reality is, even if Meriam is acquitted on appeal or is eventually released on compassionate grounds, this family will remain gravely imperilled just as they are gravely imperilled right now. They are at risk from those who would spare no effort to take Islamic law into their own hands, restoring Islam's honour and eradicating fitna (temptation, strife, chaos). This family needs to be rescued out of Sudan.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD -

* the giver of life (Isaiah 42:5), will intervene in power to preserve the lives of Daniel, Meriam, little Martin and the new baby.

* the creator of families, will intervene in mercy and faithfulness to protect and preserve this faithful Christian family. '... they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.' (Matthew 19:6 ESV)

* the Redeemer, will redeem this suffering - and all the suffering caused by Islam - by using it for his ultimate purpose: to bring down false religion so that God alone (the only Saviour) will be exalted. (See Isaiah 2:12-18.); may momentum continue against the unreasonableness and inhumanity of Islam.

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

SUDANESE CHRISTIAN WOMAN FACES DEATH FOR APOSTASY

Professing Christians, Daniel Wani, a South Sudanese US citizen, and Meriam Ibrahim were married in Khartoum, Sudan, in 2012. However, according to Islam, Meriam is a Muslim because her father is a Muslim. As it is illegal for a Muslim woman to marry a Christian man, in September 2013 officials in Khartoum deemed Daniel's and Meriam's marriage void. Accordingly she was charged with adultery and sentenced to 100 lashes. When she protested that she was a Christian, she was charged with apostasy (leaving Islam). She was found guilty on 15 May and sentenced to hang. The case has attracted international condemnation. This family - Daniel, Meriam, Martin (aged 20 months) and the baby due very soon - are gravely imperilled. They need to be rescued out of Sudan. Please pray.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'

(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 260 | Wed 14 May 2014

KOREA: HOPES FOR PEACE FADE

by Elizabeth Kendal

Koreans desperately need peace, as distinct from a frozen conflict that regularly threatens to blow hot. North Korea boasts nuclear weapons and South Korea boasts support of the US military. If peace could be achieved and the two sides stop threatening each other then perhaps the situation could normalise and efforts to improve the lives of North Koreans would make headway. The alternatives to forging peace are the totally unacceptable status quo with its paranoia and related gross human rights abuses, or conflict with the prospect of the peninsula running red with blood.

As noted in RLPB 248 (19 February) and RLPB 251 (12 March), the North Korean regime's main concern is managing the state monopoly on information in the face of severe challenges posed by new communication technologies, while endeavouring to raise living standards so as to ward off revolt. Whenever the regime feels threatened it intensifies repression and magnifies propaganda. According to a 12 May report in DailyNK (from Seoul), because a wave of executions has failed to stem the inflow and sharing of banned materials, security forces are now conducting surprise night-time raids on homes in Pyongyang. Citizens accused of viewing, possessing or copying banned content - particularly South Korean DVDs and magazines - are exiled virtually immediately upon arrest. In the past two months, at least 100 Pyongyang citizens reportedly have been internally exiled, 'disappeared' to remote mountainous areas after night raids. According to the source, 'people are panic-stricken'. Though these exiles might be alive, they have lost not merely their homes, but all that is available only in the capital, such as food rations, water and electricity. The border with China has been tightened significantly to ensure that no South Korean content or recording equipment of any kind enters the state. Restrictions on the entry of journalists and on tourists talking to locals are being rigidly enforced. Needless to say, the Church is gravely imperilled.

All the while, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continues to consolidate his power. As was noted in RLPB 248, by the end of 2013, four members of Kim Jong-il's 'Gang of Seven' - an inner circle of elites tasked with guiding and mentoring the young Kim Jong-un - had been purged while another had been demoted. One of those purged was Kim Jong-un's uncle, Jang Song-taek who was executed on 13 December 2013. Stepping up to fill Jang's role as principal mentor and deputy was Choe Ryong-hae (64),the man Kim Jong-il had reportedly personally chosen to mentor his son, and the man believed to be responsible for Jang's execution. In early May, Kim Jong-un demoted Choe, replacing him with his own long-time minder and protector, Hwang Pyong-so (64). Having shaken off the last of his father's minions, Kim can now rule unchallenged. As one analyst comments, anyone waiting for a collapse of the regime is going to have to wait a lot longer.

On the other hand, tensions are soaring on the peninsula with North Korea firing rockets into the sea and flying surveillance drones over the South. Pyongyang denies it was spying, calling the accusation a 'conspiracy' devised by South Korean president Park Geun-hye, whom it called a 'disgraceful political prostitute'. Kim has referred recently also to US President Obama (who visited Seoul in April and is proposing further sanctions) as a 'wicked black monkey', a 'cross-breed' and Park's 'pimp'. To protest what it calls 'US and South Korean hostility', Pyongyang has threatened to conduct another nuclear test. On Monday 12 May South Korean Ministry of Defence spokesman Kim Min-seo struck back saying, 'North Korea isn't a real country is it? ... It exists solely to prop up a single person,' adding that it would be best if it 'vanished as soon as possible'. On Tuesday 13 May the North's powerful National Defence Commission described President Park and South Korean military officials as 'the root of evil' and vowed to wipe them out entirely with merciless force. Hopes of peace are fading fast.


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT -

* the Almighty God will intervene in North Korea to transform the situation radically for the benefit of the Church and for the sake of North Korea's repressed and suffering millions. (See Jonah 4:10,11)

'When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.' (Matthew 9:36 ESV)

* God will give wisdom to fools and patience to hot heads, repentance to persecutors and grace to victims, so that the Church might be spared further calamity and delivered from her adversity to be the light and salt (Matthew 5:13-16) North Korea so desperately needs.

* the Holy Spirit will revisit Pyongyang in mercy and grace, to open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf and set the captives free. (See Psalm 146, Luke 4:14-21 and Isaiah 35:3-7)

[The Great Korean Revival of 1907, which transformed the Korean peninsula, began in Pyongyang, which subsequently came to be known as 'The Jerusalem of the East'.]

'The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein ... Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.' (from Psalm 24)


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

HOPES FOR PEACE FADE IN KOREA

Koreans - especially North Koreans - desperately need peace, as distinct from a frozen conflict that breeds paranoia-inspired gross human rights abuses and routinely threatens war. In the North, whenever the regime of Kim Jong-un feels threatened, it intensifies repression and magnifies propaganda. Recently, North Korean security forces have been conducting surprise night raids on homes in Pyongyang, arresting and then exiling anyone suspected of viewing, sharing or copying banned materials, particularly South Korean films and magazines. At least 100 people have been 'disappeared' in the last two months, triggering widespread panic. Meanwhile, tensions between North Korea and the US-South Korea alliance are also soaring; the belligerent, threatening rhetoric coming out of both states is frightening. Pray for the Church in North Korea. Pray for Korea's peace and transformation.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'

(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 259 | Wed 07 May 2014

CAR: MAY GOD EMPOWER THE PEACEMAKERS

by Elizabeth Kendal

CAR: MAY GOD EMPOWER THE PEACEMAKERS

In early 2013 the Central African Republic (CAR) government desperately appealed for help as bands of local and international Islamic jihadis backed by Sudan and Iran advanced on the capital, Bangui. But President Bozize had recently signed oil concessions with China, leading the US and former colonial power France to think that regime change in Bangui might serve their interests. They therefore refused assistance and let CAR - which is French-speaking and 70 percent Christian - fall to Arabic-speaking local and international Islamic rebels. Only when CAR was in total chaos did France send in peacekeepers. Contrary to reports, the conflict was religious from the very beginning. Likewise, the Seleka Muslim forces did not kill and burn 'indiscriminately'; rather, they targeted Christians and spared Muslims. Compounding the tragedy, many Muslims betrayed their Christian neighbours and welcomed Seleka, anticipating that it would usher in an Islamic order wherein Muslims would be privileged simply by virtue of being Muslim. Some Muslims even joined in the looting of their Christian neighbours. Consequently, all trust has been shattered. With nobody coming to their aid, the traditional village self-defence units known as 'anti-balaka' went on the offensive to liberate CAR from the scourge of Seleka and exact revenge. Whilst Church leaders, with support from some local Muslim clerics, have been leading the call for reconciliation, leaderless rogue anti-balaka and ex-Seleka militias are out of control, making it impossible to break the cycle of violence.

As was noted in RLPB 258 (30 April) Seleka rebels are still killing and plundering throughout the centre and north-west of CAR. Around 100 people were killed in the past week in dozens of villages across north-west CAR close to the border with Chad. The fighting commenced on 1 May, allegedly after armed men, some reportedly in uniform, plundered Seleka's food reserves. According to the head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Amy Martin, several armed groups are operating in the border area, including Seleka fighters who have formed alliances with armed Fulani herdsmen. Though it is not clear who is committing the violence, the deputy prefect in Markounda, Lucian Mbaigoto, said the killers were speaking Arabic and Fulani. Everaldo de Souza, a priest in Dekoa, told Reuters that ex-Seleka rebels had killed at least seven people in three nearby villages, though he expected the death toll to be much higher. In Mala, terrified citizens sought shelter in the Catholic church until it too was targeted. Yetina Isaac, a resident of Markounda, described how rebels entered homes, killed the occupants and set fire to the houses, burning the frail and the dead. She also reported having seen children 'thrown alive into the fire'.

Muslims in the north are calling for partition and for a separate state. Apart fron Sudan and Iran and possibly some other Islamic states, there is no support for that as most recognise that such an entity would simply become a base for international Islamic mercenaries operating mostly at the behest of Sudan and Iran. While Seleka violence is receiving little media coverage, news of 'Christian ethnic cleansing of Muslims' is rife, not just in non-Muslim media, but in Muslim media. For example, Iranian media are warning Muslims that a 'Christian' genocide of Muslims is under way, with echoes of Rwanda. This creates a seriously dangerous climate for Christians. Foreign militants should be expelled, rebels must be disarmed and leaderless rogue anti-balaka need to be reined in or the situation could become much worse. CAR desperately needs peace.


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* fill CAR's Church leaders and evangelists with a fresh out-pouring of his Holy Spirit so they will speak with boldness and authority and lead the nation to Jesus Christ for transformative grace to make peace and reconciliation possible.

* pour out his Holy Spirit in generous abundance on the citizens of CAR, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, healing the traumatised and freeing those held captive to pain and rage. (Luke 4:16-21)

* work powerfully so that this nation, which has been invaded and ravaged by enemies, betrayed and abandoned by friends and torn asunder from within, will seek grace and healing from him who is both willing and able to save.

'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' (Matthew 19:26 ESV)

By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. (Psalm 65:5-8a ESV)


* UPDATE & COMMENT ON THE BORNO, NIGERIA, ABDUCTIONS
- updating RLPBs 257 & 258

In the early hours of Monday 5 May, Boko Haram struck again, abducting eight girls aged 12 to 15 from Warabe village on the outskirts of the Christian enclave of Gwoza town, Borno, near the Sambisa forest and the border with Cameroon. While the Borno abductions have captured international headlines, it is important to realise that the phenomenon is neither new nor unique. In Raqqa, Syria, young girls including Christians are also being seized and forcibly married to Salafi jihadis (see RLPB 250, 4 March). [Salafis imitate Muhammad who took women as war booty and slaves and gave his followers permission to have sex with any woman their right hand possessed (Qur'an, Sura 23:5,6).] As noted in RLPB 258 (30 April), thousands of Christian Pakistani and Coptic (Egyptian) girls are trafficked across religious lines every year, being abducted, converted and married to Muslim men with complicity from local police, courts and government officials all working to hasten the decline of Christianity through the removal of its child-bearers. Even if these Pakistani and Egyptian girls manage to escape they cannot get their religious identity restored because the Islamic state will not permit apostasy (leaving Islam). According to Sharia Law, a Muslim woman may only marry a Muslim man, leaving the forcibly converted girl with no other option than to flee and risk her chances as a refugee. This is what contemporary persecution looks like - violent and life-destroying. Please pray for the persecuted!


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

MAY GOD EMPOWER THE PEACEMAKERS FOR CAR

Central African Republic (CAR) is trapped in violence. Whilst rogue anti-Muslim militias known as 'anti-balaka' are driving Muslims out of Bangui, ex-Seleka Islamic rebels continue to terrorise the centre and north-west. On 26 April ex-Seleka militants massacred 16 people (including three staff) at a medical clinic in north-west CAR. In the past week some 100 people have been killed across dozens of villages in the north-west close to the border with Chad. The killers, who were said to speak Arabic and Fulani, committed appalling abuses, killing civilians, burning homes and reportedly throwing live children into the fires. Iranian media are falsely reporting genocide of Muslims, saying that Christians are killing Muslims with impunity. Unless there is peace, the situation will deteriorate significantly. Please pray for CAR and its Church.

To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'
(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 258 | Wed 30 Apr 2014

by Elizabeth Kendal

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:3,4 ESV)

WELCOME to the intercessors who have joined the list this month.

APRIL 2014 UPDATE - During April we prayed concerning ...

* ELECTIONS IN INDIA AND INDONESIA (RLPB 254).

UPDATE: Voting continues in India until mid May. Meanwhile, Indonesia's Election Commission reports that it may not be ready to announce results on 9 May as scheduled. However, voting trends indicate that the next Indonesian government will be much like the previous government, i.e. restricted by coalition politics and compromises. Secular nationalist parties won 68 percent of the vote while Islamic parties won 32 percent (up from 29 percent in 2009) and parties with an overtly Islamist position are coming in last. Pray that Islamists will be marginalised as they ought to be and not empowered through quid pro quo deals.

* CHINA (RLPB 255), where officials in Zhejiang province have moved to 'rectify' the problem of too many large churches and crosses corrupting the skyline. Since early April the struggle has centred on the Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou, where some 3000 local Christians rallied together to save the church that had been threatened with demolition because leaders refused to remove the cross.

UPDATE: SANJIANG CHURCH DEMOLISHED After a long stand-off, the local Communist authority and the church negotiated a deal whereby the church agreed that two levels of a newly built, seven-storey annex could be removed. However, the government removed four floors, not two, angering church members. Nevertheless, the main church building and its prominent cross was to remain untouched. Then on Monday 28 April, armed Special Task Force officers blocked the roads leading to the church so that heavy equipment could move in and demolition of the main sanctuary begin. According to local sources, at least six leaders were arrested - five from the Sanjiang Church and one from the nearby Tengqiao Church. While local authorities are defending the demolition, local Christian leaders have expressed outrage. Chen Yilu, the head of the Government-approved Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, slammed the provincial government for its 'crude and hard-line' handling of the Sanjiang Church crisis. He said the incident would damage the Communist Party's image and risk 'social stability'. Religion expert Fenggang Yang warned of an escalating struggle between the rapidly growing Chinese Church and the ruling Communist Party which is determined to rein it in. According to reports, orders have been issued for cross removals and partial demolitions ('rectifications') at 10 or possibly more churches in the area.

* BORNO, NIGERIA (RLPB 257), where Boko Haram had abducted more than 200 teenage girls from a secondary school in the Christian enclave of Chibok.

UPDATE: GIRLS MARRIED TO FOREIGN JIHADIS The mass abduction of schoolgirls has rocked the nation and triggered widespread outrage. According to reports, most of the abducted schoolgirls have already been married to third parties abroad - mostly other Boko Haram militants in Cameroon and Chad. Dowry payments of 2,000 Nigerian Naira (US$12.50) per 'bride' were paid to the abductors. The Chibok community is traumatised and frustrated by government inaction. Locals who witnessed girls being taken towards Cameroon tried in vain to alert the local senator before going directly to the local army barracks where they were told to put their concerns in writing. Of course this gave the militants time to escape across the border. Women from across Nigeria will stage a 'One Million Women' march in Abuja on Wednesday 30 April, under the banner 'Free Our Girls'. The women are also calling for prayer and fasting that God might 'touch the hearts of the insurgents to release the girls'. At this point, the use of force is simply too dangerous. Muslims and Christians are coming together for the children of Nigeria.

* SYRIA (RLPB 257), where the Battle for Aleppo has entered a new phase as jihadists intensify efforts in the north-west, seizing Kessab and surging into Aleppo. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is pushing back.

ALEPPO UPDATE: LIFE TENUOUS FOR ALEPPO'S CHRISTIANS On Sunday 27 April Aleppo was shaken by several massive explosions. Jihadist forces seeking to advance into government-held areas had tunnelled into the heart of the Old City and detonated explosives underneath the Chamber of Industry, where government forces have their headquarters. Dozens were killed and wounded. After the bombing, heavy clashes ensued between jihadists and the SAA. Jihadists have increased their shelling of government-held areas too, causing many casualties. Pray for Christians trapped in Aleppo.


APRIL 2014 ROUND-UP - also this month ...

* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (CAR): INSECURITY CONTINUES

On Saturday 26 April Muslim rebels attacked a medical clinic run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Nanga Boguilla in north-west CAR, killing at least 16 people, including three MSF staff. While some rebels looted the clinic, others stormed the open area where MSF staff and community members had gathered for a meeting and opened fire with automatic weapons. Seleka leader Mohamed Moussa Dhaffane denied that the killers were Seleka, asserting that Muslim rebels from Cameroon were operating in the area. The central region of Bossangoa is still wracked with insecurity. 'There is a situation of total chaos in my diocese,' says Mgr Nestor De sire Nongo-Aziagbia, Bishop of Bossangoa. He also was seized by Seleka rebels on Easter eve, a day after one of his priests was killed on Good Friday. 'The rebels continue to kill and plunder,' he says. 'Last weekend in a village on the border with Chad, four people were killed, among them two catechists.' Mgr Nongo-Aziagbia says jihadists have infiltrated Bangui (the capital). 'It is public knowledge,' he says, 'that the Central Mosque of the city has become a powder keg, because the extremists have transformed it into their arsenal.' Instead of fulfilling their mandate - disarming fighters and protecting the vulnerable - French and African peace-keepers are escorting Muslims to the north, where CAR authorities fear they will eventually establish a Seleka-run state within the state.


* IRAN: EASTER RAID AND ARRESTS

According to Mohabat News, human rights news sources in Iran have reported that on 18 April plain-clothed security officers raided the private apartment of Nazi and Maryam Asadi, breaking up a Good Friday worship service taking place there. The Asadi's, Ehsan Sadeghi, Vahid Safi and Amin Mazloomi were all arrested and taken into custody. The security personnel also searched the home and smashed the satellite dishes on the roof of the apartment block.


* NIGERIA: CHURCH TORCHED IN ADAMAWA

Late on Monday 28 April Boko Haram militants attacked Gubla village in Madagali Local Government Area in Adamawa State, killing four residents. More than ten homes were torched, as was an EYN (Brethren) Church, including the pastor's official quarters. Many more villagers would have been killed had they not fled so quickly into the bush.


* PAKISTAN: SOME 700 CHRISTIAN GIRLS STOLEN/TRAFFICKED ANNUALLY

The Movement for Solidarity and Peace (MSP) in Pakistan has released a report entitled 'Forced Marriages & Forced Conversions in the Christian Community of Pakistan' (published April 2014). According to this report around 1000 minority girls - some 300 Hindus and 700 Christians - are forced to marry Muslim men in Pakistan every year. Furthermore, the MSP acknowledged that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as most cases either go unreported or fail to progress.

According to MSP, the forced marriages follow a distinct pattern: a Christian girl aged between 12 and 25 is abducted, 'converted' and married to the abductor or a third party. The victim's family files a report with the police, accusing the abductor. The abductor files a report with the police accusing the Christian family. The case goes to court where the girl - who normally remains in the custody of her abductors - is asked to testify whether or not she left home, converted and was married of her own free will. When the girl testifies that she acted of her own free will (making a false testimony to protect her family) the case is settled. These girls are subjected to violence, rape, forced prostitution, trafficking and sale. [The same pattern exists in Egypt where Coptic girls are routinely abducted, 'converted' and married to Muslim men.]

This is human trafficking across religious lines. Such large scale systematic abuse could not endure without the tacit consent and overt co-operation of Islamic clerics, law enforcement officers and government officials. This shameful reality leaves Christian girls in a state of permanent insecurity.


* SYRIA

(1) DAMASCUS: ANOTHER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TARGETED

On 15 April one child died and 61 people - children, parents and teachers - were injured when a rebel rocket hit an Armenian Catholic School in Damascus. This was not the first time rebels have targeted a school full of children. On 11 November 2013 rebels fired mortar rockets at the Armenian Christian Tarkmanchats High School in Damascus just as the children were leaving for the day. Their school bus was hit and four first-graders and the bus driver were killed.

(2) MAALOULA LIBERATED

On 4 Sepembert 2013 jihadists with the Free Syrian Army and al Nusra Front launched a surprise attack on SAA soldiers guarding the ancient, predominantly Christian town of Maaloula, 60km north of Damascus. Some 20 soldiers and 25 civilians were killed in the assault that forced about 3000 locals to flee. The town was then systematically looted and vandalised. On Monday 14 April the Syrian government declared the town liberated. On Easter Sunday 20 April Syrian President Bashir al-Assad visited Maaloula. Syrian media footage shows him touring the town with church leaders, inspecting ancient churches, Bibles and icons ruined by jihadists, and being mobbed by grateful locals.

(3) RAQQA: DISAPPEARANCES, EXECUTIONS AND CRUCIFIXIONS

(Updating RLPB 250, 4 March 2014.) Every day, mothers of Raqqa's growing number of 'disappeared' gather outside the ISIS headquarters (formerly the Armenian Church) weeping and begging for information. Sema Nassar, a prominent human rights activist, says ISIS is believed to be holding 'over 1000 Syrians in Raqqa province', adding that those suspected of opposing ISIS or violating Sharia Law simply vanish without a trace or are publicly executed. A group of courageous dissidents has launched a campaign called 'Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently' and is using Facebook and Twitter to share photos and raise awareness of abuses. One photo dated 26 March is of a young Christian man who had been accused (without evidence or witnesses) of killing a Muslim. The Christian was executed and left tied to a cross in a public square for three days for all to see. A set of crucifixion photos dated 29 April show four young men all crucified in a public place. Please pray for God to intervene in Syria.

To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

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.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'

(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 257 | Wed 23 Apr 2014

NIGERIA: BOKO HARAM RAIDS CHRISTIAN ENCLAVE
- 187 teenage girls still missing from Chibok, Borno

by Elizabeth Kendal

On 25 February 2014 Boko Haram militants slaughtered at least 59 teenage boys boarding at the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, Yobe State, Nigeria. After rounding up the female students, the militants sent them off with orders to abandon their education and get married. [See RLPB 249 Feb Update.] According to Morning Star News, in a subsequent video released on March 23, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau threatened to kidnap schoolgirls. Escalating violence across Borno had already forced the temporary closure of the state's 85 secondary schools.

At 11pm on Sunday 13 April, Boko Haram militants invaded the Christian enclave of Chibok in the south of Borno State. After looting and burning shops and homes, the militants attacked the local Government Girls Secondary School where some 300 girls aged between 16 and 18 were sleeping, having come to sit for a physics exam. The attack, which lasted until 4am Monday, culminated in the abduction of around 270 girls, some of whom managed to escape as they were being sped away in open trucks. The Rev Titus Pona, chairman of Borno State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) told Morning Star News most of the kidnapped girls were members of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN). Christians in Borno are at a loss to explain how such violence and terrorism can continue with impunity in a state under emergency rule.

When Borno governor Kashim Shettima later visited Chibok, parents presented him with 234 names of missing girls. Distressed and frustrated from lack of action, parents and volunteers formed a search party on Maundy Thursday (17 April) and set off on some 1500 motorcycles to storm Sambisa forest where it is believed Boko Haram is hiding and where it is presumed the girls are being held captive. Deep in the forest they found makeshift camps and met people who claimed to have seen their daughters. Eventually they came across a man who confirmed that the base camp was near, but warned them that the militants were heavily armed and would not hesitate to kill. Without military back-up, there was nothing the parents and volunteers could do. Returning to Chibok empty-handed, they appealed to Governor Shettima to deploy security forces and rescue the girls.

On Easter Saturday (19 April) Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video in which he claimed responsibility for the 14 April terror attack at the Nyanya Motor Park in the national capital, Abuja, which claimed at least 75 lives and left over 120 wounded. He said the bombing was a 'tiny incident' compared with what was coming. Chuckling and tapping his chest, he said, 'This is me, Abubakar Shekau whose turban you don't like seeing; whose armoured shirt you so much hate; this is my usual gun with which I kill. Get more annoyed, because I am still here; yes, I am the Shekau that does not like Christians, and I don't like Muslims that relate with Christians. We have been commanded by Allah not to associate with infidels because they cannot be trusted until they accept your religion. So you cannot say you are a believer and then go and follow democracy; we cannot allow you to ridicule the religion of God; never!' [See http://quran.com/3/118 & http://quran.com/5/57]

On Easter Sunday (20 April) the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Borno State chapter, announced three days of prayer and fasting for the immediate release of the abducted schoolgirls. On Tuesday 22 April, parents confirmed that more than 40 girls had escaped and 187 were still missing. Grave concerns are held for the girls' welfare as they are doubtless being used as human shields and possibly also as wives or slave-girls with whom sexual relations are lawful according to Islam [http://quran.com/23/1-7]. Please pray!

'The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.' (James 5:16b-18 ESV)

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT OUR FAITHFUL GOD WILL -

* protect and sustain the captive girls spiritually, emotionally and physically, and give special grace to those who know him so they will encourage, care for and witness to the girls who do not. May God be glorified!

* open the way for the girls to be liberated and reunited with their families. May God be glorified!

* call to account Boko Haram's wicked, arrogant leader Abubakar Shekau [see Psalm 10]; may Boko Haram become leaderless and the militants be beset with confusion.

* cause Nigeria's Muslim masses to reject violence and intolerance, and may the wisdom and beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ be evident to all. May Christ build his Church and may God be glorified!


* SYRIA: THE BATTLE FOR ALEPPO

With the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) ascendant in the south, the rebels are escalating their attacks in the north - seizing Kessab (see RLPB 253) and escalating the Battle for Aleppo. Christians in Aleppo are again facing siege conditions as rebels advance, cutting supplies to government-held areas and leaving Christians without food, water and electricity. By Maundy Thursday (17 April) one Christian pastor in Aleppo was expressing his fear that the Battle for Aleppo would result in the Christian quarter being overrun by Islamists. This pastor was so concerned for people's safety that he chose not to advertise Easter services. However, on Good Friday some 100 people braved the rockets and mortars to come to his church telling the pastor, 'We would rather die worshipping in our church than sitting in our homes.' A local doctor told World Magazine reporter Mindy Belz that the endless bombing and rocket fire has felt 'like an earthquake'. Dozens have been killed. By Easter Sunday the SAA had reportedly regained control of al-Ramouseh road, restoring some supplies. The fighting continues and the trauma is profound, as is the danger. Pray that the Lord of Hosts will protect and provide for his faithful people in Aleppo. May God bring peace to Syria.

ALSO: At the behest of Saudi Arabia (the world's leading sponsor of international terrorism) the US is now supplying sophisticated armour-piercing weapons to the 'good' and 'moderate' rebels, despite the fact that the Free Syrian Army openly aligns with the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusrah Front and routinely stages joint operations with their 'brothers in Islam', including against Christian communities. The US is so committed to regime change in Damascus that it simply seems not to care about costs or consequences. Pray that God will thwart every wicked scheme that threatens his precious children.

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

EASTER TRAUMA IN NIGERIA & SYRIA

Easter was a time of great distress for the parents of 187 teenage girls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants from the Christian enclave of Chibok, in Nigeria's Borno State. On 17 April parents and volunteers on some 1500 motorcycles found the militants deep in the Sambisa forest but without military backing there was nothing they could do. Weeks have passed since the mass abduction and the girls still have not been rescued. Pray that God will liberate these girls. Meanwhile, in Syria, the Battle for Aleppo has intensified. The Syrian Army is fighting rebels who are attempting to invade Christian areas. Shaken by rockets and bombs, traumatised and besieged Christians have been without food, water and medical supplies for weeks. Please pray for the Church in Aleppo.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'

(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 256 | Tue 15 Apr 2014

PERSECUTED BECAUSE OF THE CROSS

by Elizabeth Kendal

To those who believe that Jesus of Nazareth was a mere man, the Cross is a symbol of Christian foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18). 'Jesus was executed,' they scoff, 'and it is ridiculous to suggest that a dead man would rise.'

To Muslims, who believe that Jesus was a mere prophet of Allah, the Cross is a symbol of Christian blasphemy. 'Jesus was never crucified,' they object, 'and it is blasphemous to suggest that Allah would permit such a thing.' (http://quran.com/4/157-159)

To Satan, who knows exactly who Christ is, the Cross is a symbol of his defeat. 'It must not be seen,' he demands, 'and it must not be heard, lest people come to understand what it means.'

To Christians, who believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah), the Cross is a symbol of everything we believe about sin, judgment, justice, redemption, salvation, hope . . . and most of all, love. 'It is in the Cross that God shows his love for us,' we say, 'because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' (Romans 5:8)

On 4 November 2013, as part of Australia's 'Festival of Dangerous Ideas', an episode of the ABC program 'Q&A' was broadcast from the Sydney Opera House. Peter Hitchens, the lone conservative and Christian amongst a panel and audience of 'progressives', was laughed at, mocked and pilloried for an hour. Finally the panellists were asked: 'Which so-called dangerous idea do you each think would have the greatest potential to change the world for the better if it were implemented?'

Peter Hitchens responded, 'The most dangerous idea in human history and philosophy remains the belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and rose from the dead and that is the most dangerous idea you will ever encounter.'

The panel and audience laughed and cheered until they realised that something must be wrong if they were agreeing with Peter Hitchens! At that point, confusion took over and Peter was asked to explain. 'Because,' he said, 'it alters the whole of human behaviour and all our responsibilities. It turns the universe from a meaningless chaos into a designed place in which there is justice and there is hope and, therefore, we all have a duty to discover the nature of that justice and work towards that hope. It alters us all. If we reject it, it alters us all as well. It is incredibly dangerous. It's why so many people turn against it.'

[Video and transcript - http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3868791.htm ]

To fallen humanity, the Cross represents a truly dangerous idea, a dangerous choice. For some the Cross represents a threat to their personal sovereignty, sexual freedom and status in the world. For those in hostile environments the Cross represents a threat to their family, liberty and even life. Across the world, including Kosovo, Egypt, Raqqa (Syria) and Zhejiang (China), crosses have been pulled down and smashed, sending a loud message to the Church and the local population that 'Christianity is not welcome here'.

The Cross will always be a symbol of persecution at the hands of a hostile world that wants to be rid of Christ. But for those who understand and believe, the Cross will always be wondrous, a symbol of divine love, hope and life in all its fullness.


WE THANK YOU LORD for your amazing love, which led you to the Cross for us.

WE PRAISE YOU LORD for your perfection, which meant death could not hold you and now cannot hold any who are 'in Christ'.

MAY WE never be ashamed of the Cross of Christ our Saviour.

MAY WE never be ashamed of those who are persecuted because of the Cross of Christ.

LORD GIVE US boldness and faith to exalt your Cross at all times so that peoples and nations might see, hear, understand and believe.

AMEN


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

PERSECUTED BECAUSE OF THE CROSS

The Cross of Christ is the most obvious and enduring of all Christian symbols. Satan cannot abide the Cross for it symbolises his defeat. Fallen humanity hates the Cross because it threatens personal autonomy, sexual freedom, power and all that fallen humanity holds dear. In many parts of the world today the Cross is under attack and Christians are suffering persecution because of the Cross of Christ. In Kosovo, Egypt, Raqqa (Syria), Zhejiang (China) and beyond, crosses have been pulled down and smashed to send a loud message to the Church and the local population that 'Christianity is not welcome here'. But for Christians, the Cross will remain a symbol of all we believe and hold dear. The spiritual battle continues - please pray for the persecuted Church this Easter.

To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed praise and prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'

(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 255 | Wed 09 Apr 2014

CHINA: THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY AND THE CROSS

by Elizabeth Kendal

With a population of some 10 million, Wenzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang Province, is one of China's great coastal megacities. A 480km drive south of Shanghai on the East China Sea. Wenzhou is often referred to as 'China's Jerusalem' as it is believed to have the largest Christian population of any city in China - possibly as high as 30 percent. Wenzhou is a business hub known for its many successful Christian entrepreneurs who actively promote Christianity in their workplaces. Whilst the Christian entrepreneurs do strive to maintain good relations with local authorities, that they hold considerable economic power in Wenzhou is doubtless one reason why the churches seem able to be quite active. According to China expert, Dr Kurt Selles, Wenzhou has some 1800 churches which operate openly despite most not being registered with the government. For more than a decade, the success of Wenzhou's Christianity-infused businesses has aroused government interest in the link between Protestant Christianity and successful capitalism. [See the RLPB blog for related articles.] This demonstrable link has created a dilemma for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which is keen to exploit any business model that generates wealth, yet believes it must rein in and control Christianity lest it undermine Communist Party authority.

On 8 January 2014 Zhejiang's Communist Party secretary, Xia Baolong, was conducting an inspection in Zhoushan (north-east Zhejiang) and was shocked by the proliferation of large churches. While passing a church in Baiquan town, Xia reportedly objected that the cross atop the church was 'too conspicuous', and demanded that the local Religious Affairs Bureau 'rectify' the problem by removing it. The CCP might want to reap the benefits of Christianity, but it certainly does not want the Church to grow! And so began a campaign to de-Christianise the landscapes and skylines of Zhejiang.

On 27 February officials from the Zhoushan Religious Affairs Bureau demanded that believers at the government sanctioned church in Baiquan, Zhoushan, help tear down the cross on top of their building. The Christians refused and a stand-off ensued. The cross on a government sanctioned church in the Yuhang Disctict of Hangzhou (Zhejiang's provincial capital) was forcibly removed on the same day after the authorities deemed it 'too conspicuous'. Two other local churches reportedly had their crosses forcibly removed also that day. Believers told ChinaAid that forced cross removals were also taking place in neighbouring Anhui Province as well.

Sanjiang church in Wenzhou's Ou Bei township at eight storeys tall and covering 1000 square metres is large by any standards. It has spaces for worship, teaching and accommodating the elderly. The church is registered with the authorities and is part of the government-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). The members, along with many relatives working overseas, raised the US$4.8 million for the construction. Everything was approved by the Wenzhou municipal government, which designated the church a 'model project' in September 2013. When the Christians refused to remove the cross and several spires from the rooftop, the authorities responded by threatening to demolish the entire building, falsely accusing the church of adding illegal structures in violation of building codes that rendered it structurally unsound. Meanwhile, demolition notices were reportedly also sent to churches in Taishun, Wencheng and Ruian townships. A church in Yongjia County also is understood to have been ordered to remove its cross and the top floor of the church.

On 25 March members of Sanjiang church commenced a protest and on 3 April the pastors were notified that the church would be demolished by 18 April (Good Friday). Since then some 5000 local Christians have been participating in round-the-clock prayer vigils and sit-ins, praying that the church might be saved from demolition. He Hongying (81) said she would stay in the church day and night for as long as necessary. 'We feel at peace,' she said, 'and fearless when we are with our God.'

The struggle for Sanjiang church has come to represent the struggle between Chinese Christians who are unashamed of the transformative power of the Gospel and abusive CCP officials who love money and despise the Cross.

'For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.' (Ephesians 6:12,13 ESV)

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* use the crisis at the Sanjiang church to open the eyes and ears of multitudes of Chinese, locally, nationally and inside the CCP; may they believe what the Church has been showing - that Christianity is good not only for business, but for families and all of society, because Jesus cleanses from sin, the Holy Spirit enables righteousness, and God's wisdom is truth!

* raise up voices for justice across Wenzhou and throughout Zhejiang, so that CCP officials will be forced to relent and stop abusing their power to attack the churches.

* protect and bless all those believers who are risking their security and liberty to stand for their right to lift up the Cross of Christ as the hope of the nation; may the Lord hear their prayers and bring revival to Zhejiang.

'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.' (Isaiah 55:8,9 ESV)


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY AND THE CROSS

Wenzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang Province, is a coastal megacity of some 10 million residents. Known as 'China's Jerusalem', it is home to as many as three million Christians. They include many Christian entrepreneurs. Objecting to the 'conspicuous' nature of large crosses atop many large churches, Zhejiang's Communist Party secretary recently demanded that authorities 'rectify' the situation by removing the crosses. The campaign to de-Christianise landscapes and skylines across Zhejiang is coming to a head in Wenzhou where a major stand-off is under way at the eight-storey, 1000 square metre Sanjiang church. When the church refused to remove its cross and spires, authorities ordered the church's demolition. Some 5000 local Christians are participating in prayer vigils and sit-ins, day and night, to prevent demolition. Please join them in prayer.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 254 | Wed 02 Apr 2014

CRITICAL ELECTIONS IN INDIA & INDONESIA
plus Pakistan update from Joseph Colony, Lahore

by Elizabeth Kendal

* INDIA: STORM CLOUDS GATHER OVER INDIAN CHURCH

Voting for India's 16th Lok Sabha (House of the People, parliament) will be held in nine phases between 7 April and 12 May. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - the political wing of the Hindutva forces (collectively known as the Sangh Parivar) - is poised for a landslide win. While the BJP lost the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections, it was not because Hindutva was in decline. Favoured to win in 2004, the BJP's narrow loss - only evident in the last phase of voting - was a complete surprise. Then in April-May 2009, the BJP lost narrowly yet again despite being expected to win. Clearly their belligerent rhetoric after the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack frightened many voters. Meanwhile, the Sangh Parivar's unchallenged activism has ensured Hindutva's advance, despite the BJP's losses. Sadly, the inept and corrupt Congress-led UPA government has failed to arrest or even address the spread of Hindutva, wasting two terms in office (ten years) as violent persecution of Christians has escalated and spread nationwide.

The BJP's candidate for Prime Minister is Gujarat Chief Minister and Hindutva hardliner, Narendra Modi. One of India's most divisive and sectarian figures, Modi was Chief Minister (CM) of Gujarat in February 2002 when Hindutva forces incited a Hindu pogrom that left as many as 2000 Muslims dead. Modi was also Gujarat's CM in February 2006 when Hindutva forces propagated the slogan 'Hindu Jago, Christio Bhagao' (Arise Hindus, throw out the Christians) and set the stage for a pogrom against Christians in Dangs. Calling upon Hindus to kill Christians just as the Hindu god Ram killed the demon Ravana, the Hindutva ideologues aimed to deal a 'death blow' to Christian missionary activity in Dangs (see RLM Jan & Feb 2006). Praise God he answered the prayers of many and the deadly plot of the Hindutva protagonists failed.

To hide his rabid sectarianism and to woo minorities, Modi is running on an anti-corruption, pro-economic development platform (see RLM, 2 Oct 2013). Enormously popular, Modi could well be India's new Prime Minister by mid-May. Should the BJP win power, it will doubtless move to have anti-conversion legislation at the federal level. Freedom of religion could be redefined along Hindu nationalist lines, so that anti-conversion laws can be fully enacted in accordance with a re-written or re-interpreted constitution. India's population includes over 70 million Christians (5.8 percent) or possibly as many as 100 million (9 percent) according to Operation World. Furthermore, India is the world's second largest missionary-sending nation, with some 83,000 Indian missionaries working cross-culturally, mostly in India. The Indian Church stands to be impacted profoundly by these elections.


* INDONESIA: ISLAMISTS NEED TO BE MARGINALISED

Whilst the majority of Indonesians are tolerant and enjoy Indonesian pluralism and traditional cultures, fundamentalist Islam is spreading through the nation, just as it is globally. Although President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) could be described as a 'moderate' - i.e., a nominal Muslim who enjoys traditional Javanese culture - he has been willing to broker quid pro quo deals with Arabised Islamists whenever he has needed their endorsement or vote. Consequently, though SBY has impressed international mainstream media and foreign diplomats with his liberal tolerant rhetoric, intolerant fundamentalist Islam has advanced not simply under his watch, but with his complicity. Under the present government, numerous Sharia-inspired laws have been passed and belligerent Islamists have been permitted to defy the Supreme Court and persecute Christians with impunity. [The RLPB blog has links to reports.] Voting for the next parliament will take place on 9 April, followed by a presidential election in July.


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* awaken Indians to the threat and ugliness of Hindutva; may the BJP not win the majority it seeks.

* grant the Church in India great wisdom, peace, courage and grace, that the Gospel will continue to go forth, breaking through the darkness and blessed with great effectual power from the Holy Spirit. 'How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news . . . ' (Isaiah 52:7 NIV)

* awaken Indonesians to the threat of Islamist influence; may the winning party or coalition have a convincing victory, so that Islamists will be marginalised and Islamisation wound back.

* influence the Indonesian elections to produce a result that will help rather than harm the gravely threatened predominantly Christian Melanesians of Papua.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV)


UPDATE: DEATH FOR 'BLASPHEMER' IN PAKISTAN

On 9 March 2013 - a little over a year ago - as many as 7000 local Muslims attacked a Christian enclave in Lahore known as Joseph Colony after a local Muslim accused a Christian of blasphemy. The police advised the Christians to flee and then stood back as the rampaging Muslims looted and burnt some 160 homes, 18 businesses and two churches. (RLPB 201, 12 Mar 2013). To this day, none of the attackers has been convicted of looting or arson. However, on 27 March 2014, Sawan Masih (26) was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death despite the total absence of any material evidence. The ruling will be appealed in the Lahore High Court. Please pray that wickedness and injustice will be exposed and condemned.


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

CRITICAL ELECTIONS IN INDIA & INDONESIA

Voting for India's next Lok Sabha (parliament) will be held in nine phases between 7 April and 12 May. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - the political wing of the Hindutva forces collectively known as the Sangh Parivar - is poised for a landslide victory. If elected, the rabidly sectarian, vehemently anti-missionary, militant Hindu nationalism of the BJP will impact profoundly the nation's over 70 million Indian Christians and 83,000 Indian missionaries. Pray that the BJP will not secure a majority. Meanwhile, Indonesians will vote for their next parliament on 9 April, with a presidential election in July. Pray that Islamists will be marginalised so that they can no longer influence policy. Please pray the result will help and not harm the persecuted and gravely threatened Melanesian Christians of Papua.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'

(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 253 | Wed 26 Mar 2014

by Elizabeth Kendal

Jesus said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

WELCOME to the intercessors who have joined the list this month.

MARCH 2014 UPDATE -- During March we prayed concerning . . .

* SYRIA (RLPB 250), where the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham/Syria (ISIS) controls large tracts of territory from eastern Aleppo through Raqqa and along the Euphrates all the way to Fallujah in Iraq. Thousands of Christians are being forced to submit to Islam and pay jizya (protection money) as demanded in the Qur'an (Sura 9:29). Their lives are gravely imperilled.

UPDATE: JIHADISTS DRIVE ARMENIANS FROM KESSAB Kessab, in Syria's far north-west, is a historic Armenian (Christian) city in Alawite-dominated Latakia province. In recent years its population has grown as Armenians from Aleppo and other war zones have fled to Kessab seeking sanctuary. In the early hours of Friday 21 March jihadists from al-Nusra Front, Sham al-Islam and Ansar al-Sham entered Syria from Turkey via the Kassab border crossing. As the jihadists advanced, most of the 3500 Armenians living in Kessab (some 670 families) either fled into the hills or were evacuated to the port city of Latakia. Only those too frail and infirm to flee remained. By the end of the day, Kessab city, the border crossing and the strategic hill known as Observatory 45 were under rebel control.

On Saturday 22 March the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) launched a counter- offensive with SAA jets attacking rebel positions, driving back the jihadists. On Sunday 23 March jihadist reinforcements arrived. The remaining Armenians were taken hostage as homes were looted and churches desecrated. That afternoon, Turkish fighter jets shot down an SAA MIG-23 jet that was assisting SAA ground forces repelling the jihadists. According to Turkey, the MIG-23 was 1.2km inside Turkish airspace but Syria denies this. Interestingly, the SAA pilot ejected and landed safely inside Syria and the plane crashed inside Syria.

Turkey's President Erdogan -- who is down in the polls ahead of elections scheduled for 30 March -- is now promoting himself as the defender of the motherland. The Armenian National Committee notes that this is the third time in a hundred years that Turkey has been complicit in the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Kessab. According to Armenian media, some 80 Armenians have been killed in the rebel assault. Amongst the jihadists killed is the head of the Ansar al-Sham faction, a Saudi national known as Sanafi al-Nasr.

* NORTH KOREA (RLPB 251), where 33 North Koreans have been sentenced to death charged with anti-state crimes for having contact with South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook.

* UZBEKISTAN (RLPB 252), where the young but growing Church struggles in the face of repressive legislation, especially in the area of religious literature and training.


MARCH 2014 ROUND-UP -- also this month . . .

* BURMA (Myanmar): REGIME DRAFTING AN ANTI-CONVERSION LAW

Burma is drafting laws to protect race and religion. The impetus for the move is a petition presented to Burma's President Thein Sein in July 2013 by the Organisation for Protection of National Race and Religion (OPNRR), headed by Ashin Tilawka Biwuntha, member of the government appointed National Head Monks Committee. The petition, which calls for legislation to protect national race and religion, had 1.3million signatures and has since gathered a further 3 million supporters. On 7 March Thein Sein ordered his twelve-member Presidential Commission to draft a law banning polygamy and conversion to another religion, and the Supreme Court to draft a law to regulate interfaith marriage and restrict Muslims to two children. The Buddhist nationalist OPNRR wants to ban Buddhist women from leaving Buddhism while legislating that a non-Buddhist man wishing to marry a Buddhist woman must first convert to Buddhism. Whilst the law is targeting Muslims and Islam, it will impact also Burman Buddhist converts to Christianity.


* KENYA: CHURCH ATTACKED NEAR MOMBASA

On Sunday morning 23 March, two Islamic militants visited the Joy in Jesus Christ Church in Likoni, near the coastal city of Mombasa. They reportedly walked in freely and mingled with the congregation before taking out their weapons and opening fire. They killed two worshippers, wounded dozens and casually walked away. The death toll has since risen to seven, with as many as ten still in a critical condition. (See Morning Star News and Christian Solidarity Worldwide for full reports.)


* LAOS: EIGHT CHRISTIAN FAMILIES FACE EXPULSION

On 2 December 2013 Lao authorities sent expulsion orders to five Christian families in Natahall village, Phin District, Savannakhet Province. The Christians were to be expelled for failing to obey a directive to abandon their 'foreign' faith. Village elders believe that Christians anger the ancestral spirits, bringing calamity to the village, while the Communist authorities are always pleased to persecute Christians in the name of advancing 'harmony'. As the Christian families stood firm, unashamed of the Gospel, three more families put their faith in Christ. On 11 March all eight Christian families were mocked and ordered to abandon their faith or face expulsion. They have appealed to the Phin district religious affairs authorities, but to no avail. Please pray.


* NIGERIA: JIHAD AND TERROR IN KADUNA, TARABA and BORNO

Taraba State (eastern Middle Belt). On 8 & 9 March more than 30 Fulani Muslim cattle herders attacked Christians in the Ibi Local Government Area killing ten residents and burning homes. Kaduna State (central Middle Belt). Starting at 11pm on 14 March and continuing the next day, Fulani Muslim cattle herders descended on many predominantly Christian villages in Bondong district in Kaduna's Christian dominated south. Three churches and 240 homes were set ablaze while more than 150 people were killed. The dead, who were mostly hacked to death, have been buried in three mass graves. Predictably the survivors are highly traumatised and some 2000 are now displaced.

Taraba, 16 March -- Some 70 Fulani Muslims attacked ten predominantly Christian communities from 2am until 10am, killing around 35 residents.

[What the southward migrating Fulani are doing is classic Islamic jihad: advancing Islam through offensive territorial expansion. The Fulani are receiving support from Boko Haram and rogue Muslims in the Nigerian military.]

Borno State (far north-east). Starting at about 10 pm on 16 March and continuing the next day, Boko Haram militants armed with AK-47 rifles, petrol bombs and improvised explosive devices attacked the village of Pela Birni, a remote Christian enclave in Hawul LGA. Shouting 'AllahuAkbar' (Allah is greater), they burnt homes, razed three churches and killed at least two people.

(See Morning Star News and World Watch Monitor for full reports.).


* SAUDI ARABIA: ADVOCATING FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

As US President Barak Obama is in Saudi Arabia this week to 'mend fences', many advocates are hoping he will raise the issue of religious freedom. However, Obama does not want Egypt and Saudi Arabia turning elsewhere for their arms (especially not to Russia!). Consequently he will be striving desperately to repair the damage done to the US-Saudi alliance through US support for the Muslim Brotherhood and rapprochement with Iran (Saudi Arabia's two greatest enemies). Even if Obama were to speak to the Saudis about justice and righteousness (as he should -- see Proverbs 31:8,9) the Saudi royals cannot advance Christianity without riling the Wahhabi clerics who keep them in power (i.e. it is not going to happen).

In February Fox News reported that at least 53 mostly Ethiopian believers had been arrested while praying together in a private residence in the city of Dammam in Eastern Province; three were allegedly charged with seeking to convert Muslims to Christianity. African believers imprisoned in Saudi Arabia are routinely subjected to appalling treatment. Please pray.

Remember, 'Prayer is the highest form of advocacy.' ('Turn Back the Battle'. Elizabeth Kendal, p111.)


* UNITED KINGDOM: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LEGAL FROM 29 MARCH

The UK's Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 will come into force on Saturday 29 March. Procedures for people who are in civil partnerships to 'upgrade' to marriage are expected to be in place by the end of the year, as are procedures for same-sex marriage ceremonies in Scotland. Same sex marriages conducted overseas have been legally recognised since 13 March and the first same sex-marriages will take place in England and Wales on the 29th. From this point, new curriculum will be introduced to schools to normalise same-sex relationships via the mandatory sex education classes. Officials at the Education Department conceded in 2012 that teachers may be under a legal obligation to teach children about same-sex unions once the Act has passed into law. Doubts have been expressed about the rights of teachers and parents to conscientiously object. A survey taken in February 2013 revealed that more than 74,000 teachers would teach the course though actually opposed to it and a further 40,000 teachers will refuse to teach the material, even at the risk of losing their jobs.

Whilst the Church of England (CofE) and Church of Wales are legally safe-guarded from marrying same-sex couples, this will be challenged. Father Andrew Cain is a CofE priest at St Mary's with All Souls in Kilburn. He has announced his engagement to an atheist man and has vowed to be the first to challenge the CofE's right to refuse to marry same-sex couples. The battle intensifies!


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

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.


This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

RLPBs are issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'
(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 252 | Wed 19 Mar 2014

Uzbekistan: Church leader outlines history and vast needs of the registered and ethnic churches

By 'AV', a religious liberty advocate with a particular concern for and involvement in the former USSR. 'AV' based this RLPB on a recent interview with one of the key Uzbek Church leaders.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s there was a large influx of missionaries from Western countries and South Korea to Uzbekistan. From then until approximately 1998, missionaries planted many new churches, organised discipleship seminars and social charity projects, and held youth and children's camps.

Following several terrorist acts in 1998 organised by Islamic extremists, the Law on freedom of conscience and religious organisations was tightened. As a result many religious organisations lost registration. The number of members needed for registration of a church or any other religious organisation was increased to 100. The Law prohibits proselytism, missionary activities and printing, storing or distributing religious literature. The changes in the Law mainly targeted Islamic extremist groups but Christian and other religious groups were affected also.

For some time after the changes were made, the Law was not enforced. However, in 2003 the government started applying a policy of getting missionaries to leave Uzbekistan. They were asked to leave voluntarily, but no visa extensions were granted. Many missionaries who left the country temporarily were not able to get back into Uzbekistan. Later the amendments to the Law were published, disclosing harsher punishment for violating the Law, including heavy fines and in some cases imprisonment.

After the political protests and massacre in the city of Andijan in 2005, the government started escalating severe measures against religious organisations, continuing until 2013. Believers experienced oppression and persecution that targeted especially evangelism, group meetings and religious education. Their homes were searched, literature, DVDs and other educational resources were confiscated. Believers were detained, interrogated, sentenced to pay very large fines and sometimes were imprisoned. During that period Christian churches and other religious organisations and groups faced sustained oppression on a massive scale.

The case of Pastor Dmitry (David) Shestakov, who was imprisoned for 'religious extremism' in 2007-11, became well-known globally and many Christians participated in a prayer campaign for Dmitry and publicised his situation. Many Christians, especially ethnic believers, left the country or moved elsewhere during that period because of persecution. Other factors were financial hardship and unemployment. However, the Church continued to do God's work despite the oppression.

The situation for religious organisations began to improve in 2013 and the authorities started to dialogue with Christian organisations. They no longer searched or watched homes at random but only in response to specific allegations. Because the authorities clearly defined what is and is not permitted, the churches came to understand their boundaries better. To meet in homes is prohibited. There are few registered ethnic churches so the majority of ethnic believers have to meet secretly. Religious freedom is especially restricted in Karakalpakastan because there are still no registered churches.

The situation with Christian literature is very critical. It is practically impossible to get an official permit to publish or import Christian literature. Any unauthorised printing, storage and distribution of literature is punished by huge fines, which can have a devastating effect on individual believers who are struggling with financial hardship.

The restrictions on religious freedom also affect the education of Church leaders and members. There is only one registered seminary in Uzbekistan which is allowed to take only seven to ten students each year. The department of religious affairs controls the process and no ethnic believers are allowed to study there.

Despite all the difficulties and pressure from the State, the churches in Uzbekistan faithfully continue to worship God and fulfil the great commission of the Lord Jesus Christ to make disciples in their country and beyond. They need daily prayer support from the global Christian community while they go through a long, difficult period of severe restriction of religious freedom.


* Praise God for the growing unity and good co-operation among Christian churches in Uzbekistan.

Please pray specifically -

* for the registered organisations and that God will use them to help the unregistered churches.

* that the ethnic churches will continue to grow and get freedom to worship.

* that Christians can have Christian literature without fear of fines.

* that the applications for entry of religious experts will be successful and be granted quickly; for God's protection from demands for bribes.

* that Christians can get good quality theological education within the country and that ethnic believers will be allowed to study.

* that the authorities will not consider Christians a threat to national security.

* for the safety and God's protection of all Christians in Uzbekistan.

'They have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me. Ploughmen have ploughed my back and made their furrows long. But the LORD is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.' (Psalm 129:1-4 NIV)


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

UZBEKISTAN CHURCH IS RESTRICTED AND OPPRESSED

After the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, Uzbekistan experienced an influx of missionaries from Western countries and South Korea who initiated considerable Church growth. However, following Islamic extremist terrorism in 1998, religious restrictions were imposed. Whilst targeted at the extremists, Christian groups were affected also. The regime oppressed believers severely. Missionaries were expelled and producing or possessing religious material incurs massive fines. Access to resources is a vast need. Meeting in homes is prohibited. Many churches meet secretly, unable to register. There is just one registered seminary which is allowed an annual intake of ten, thus restricting the education of Church leaders and members. Despite all the State oppression, the churches continue to worship and fulfil Christ's great commission to make disciples. Please pray for Uzbekistan and its Church.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.


Thankyou to 'AV' who authored this RLPB during the absence of Elizabeth Kendal speaking at conferences in Sydney and Canberra, Australia. Elizabeth will author RLPB 253 as usual.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 251 | Wed 12 Mar 2014

NORTH KOREA: DOZENS DETAINED, 33 TO BE EXECUTED

by Elizabeth Kendal

On 27 February South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook (50) fronted a North Korean press conference in Pyongyang to 'confess' to his crimes and plead for mercy. For seven years, Kim Jung-wook had been providing food, clothing and sanctuary to North Korean refugees and job-seekers in the Chinese border city of Dandong. Kim was arrested in North Korea on 8 October 2013, a day after crossing into the state, although a source in China told South Korea's Chosun Ilbo that Kim was kidnapped by North Korean agents in Dandong. In the press conference, Kim confessed to conducting 'anti-State' crimes with funding and assistance from South Korea's intelligence agency. When arrested, Kim reportedly had Christian literature and DVDs that allegedly he was going to use to set up 500 underground churches to spy on and overthrow the regime.

When Hong Kong-based Australian missionary, John Short (75), was arrested in North Korea in mid-February, he confessed to his 'crimes', apologised and was expelled. As an Australian, Short was of little value to the regime in Pyongyang. The situation is more serious for Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae. Arrested in late 2012 while leading a tour, Bae gave a similar press conference confession in April 2013 before being sentenced to 15 years' hard labour. In August 2013 Bae was transferred to a hospital due to his deteriorating health. However, on 20 January the regime returned Bae to the labour camp to protest American B-52 bomber flight drills around the Korean Peninsula. As an American, Bae is a pawn of great value.

There is no word yet as to what punishment Kim Jung-wook will face. According to Radio Free Asia, 'dozens' of people have been detained, accused of assisting Kim. Border guards who let Kim slip through security, North Korean believers, new converts and the families of the accused are amongst those banished to labour camps upon Kim's 'confession'. Now South Korean news agencies report that 33 of the accused have been sentenced to death, charged with conspiring with Kim to overthrow the regime. It is reported they will be executed in a secret cell at the State Security Department. Doubtless these 33 are predominantly Christians, probably significant Christians who may or may not ever have been in contact with Kim but whose ministry is deemed an existential threat to the regime. This will be a terrible and traumatising blow to North Korea's remnant Church.

As noted in RLPB 248 (18 Feb 2014), the regime's main concern is managing the state monopoly on information in the face of severe challenges posed by new communication technologies, while endeavouring to raise living standards so as to ward off revolt. In response to pressure, the regime is ramping up repression, spreading darkness and stoking fear. Security on roads has reportedly doubled, making it more difficult for North Koreans to travel around the country. Furthermore, North Korean security agents now have new signal detectors, enabling them to intercept mobile phone signals in real time. Now people using cellphones smuggled in from China can be arrested within minutes. The recent wave of arrests will ensure that people stop using their cellphones.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* 'lift up his hand' to 'break the arm [instrument] of the wicked' and 'call his wickedness to account'. Pray Psalm 10 for North Korea.

* spare the lives of the 33 who are to be executed. However, if that is not to be, then sustain and comfort them so that instead of being overwhelmed with fear, they will know 'the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding' (Philippians 4:7 ESV) as God himself encompasses them. 'And he will become a sanctuary [Hebrew: miqdas, the place where God dwells] . . .' (from Isaiah 8:11-14a ESV).

[For more on this subject of the promised presence, see http://www.turnbackthebattle.com/pdf/Reflections-ThePromisedPresence.pdf ]

* comfort and encourage the North Korean remnant Church; may they know 'the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding' (Philippians 4:7 ESV). 'When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."' (See 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 ESV.)

* take this evil event of the executions and use it for his glory to effect the exact opposite of the regime's intent. May the news of these executions spread through all the country, establishing not terror, but the link between Christianity and freedom.

* cause interest in the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ and in his power and grace to spring up all across the nation. 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.' (John 12:24 ESV)

'Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.' (Psalm 24:7 & 9 ESV)


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

DOZENS DETAINED IN NORTH KOREA, 33 TO BE EXECUTED

On 27 February captured South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook (50) fronted a North Korean press conference in Pyongyang to 'confess' to 'anti-State' crimes and plead for mercy. Dozens of people accused of assisting Kim were immediately arrested and banished with their families to labour camps. It now emerges that 33 of the accused have been sentenced to death and will be executed in a secret cell at the State Security Department. This will be a horrific and traumatising blow to North Korea's remnant Church. Furthermore, security agents now have new signal detectors that enable them to intercept mobile phone signals in real time and arrest mobile phone users within minutes, further isolating the State. Please pray that God will intervene in North Korea and pray for the remnant Church.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and is issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 250 | Wed 05 Mar 2014

RAQQA, SYRIA: CHRISTIANS IN THE LIONS' DEN

by Elizabeth Kendal

Raqqa is a province in northern Syria, east of Aleppo. Its capital, Al Raqqa City is situated on the Euphrates River and is home to some 300,000 Syrians of whom around 3000 are Christian. In March 2013 Al Raqqa fell to rebel forces. During the latter part of 2013, tensions escalated in northern Syria between the Al-Nusra Front (loyal to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri) and the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham/Syria (ISIS; loyal to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi). In January this year the ISIS ousted the Al-Nusra Front from Al Raqqa to take full control of the city. In February al-Nusra ordered ISIS out of Aleppo. Rather than fight, the ISIS opted to retreat from Aleppo and consolidate in Raqqa, which is 'a larger area than the state of Kuwait', as one ISIS jihadist boasts.

Al-Raqqa is the only provincial capital under rebel control. There, ISIS is enforcing Sharia Law and dhimmitude just as in the Middle Ages. Everyone must adhere to strict Islamic codes. Women must wear the niqab (a full black covering, with just a slit for eyes) and men and women must not mingle. Separate bakeries have been set up for males and females. 'Al-Khansa' and 'Um Riyan' brigades comprised of young female Islamists have been established to search women. Horrifically, young girls are being forcibly wed to ISIS fighters in marriages which are mostly temporary and routinely violent. One young girl recently suicided just to escape the perpetual sexual violence.

In late February ISIS took 20 Christian leaders captive and gave them three options: convert to Islam, submit to Islam as dhimmis, or 'face the sword'. Faced with this choice, the Christian leaders signed an agreement committing the Christian community to dhimmitude, a state of humiliation and subjugation under Islam. According to the agreement, while the Christians of Al Raqqa may remain Christian, they must always demonstrate respect for Islam and Muslims. Furthermore, they must abstain from all public expressions of Christianity and from renovating their churches and monasteries. The Christians must also pay the 'jizya' (protection money) as mandated by the Qur'an (Sura 9:29). Wealthy Christians must pay four golden dinars (currently worth about $US730), those of average wealth must pay two and the poor must pay one. Jizya will be collected from each adult Christian twice annually. While they abide by the agreement, the Christians will be permitted to live as 'protected' dhimmis, that is as subjugated, second-class citizens. However, the agreement reads, '. . . if they disobey any of the conditions, they are no longer protected and ISIS can treat them in a hostile and warlike fashion.' ISIS militants have ripped crosses and bells from churches and replaced them with black flags of Islam.

In reality, the State of Syria as known hitherto no longer exists. In June 2013 the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) won a highly strategic, pivotal victory when it liberated Al-Qusayr. Since then the SAA has been advancing and consolidating its hold over the Damascus to Aleppo north-west corridor and the coastal Alawite heartland of Latakia. However, the SAA cannot defend all of Syria. So the Kurd-dominated north-east province of Al-Hasekah, home to many Assyrian Christians and contiguous with Nineveh Province, northern Iraq, has been abandoned to the Kurds, who have been fighting the al-Nusra Front there. Meanwhile, the vast, sparsely populated rural Sunni east, contiguous with Anbar Province, Iraq, has been abandoned altogether and this is where ISIS is establishing its base. ISIS controls large tracts of territory east of Aleppo and along the Euphrates River through Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor in Syria, all the way to Fallujah in restive Anbar Province, Iraq. (ISIS controls Fallujah with local support and is fighting the Iraqi Army there.) On Friday 28 February ISIS live-Tweeted the public amputation of a man's hand in Maskanah, on the eastern edge of Aleppo Province, between the provincial capitals of Aleppo and Al-Raqqa. Lashings, beatings and public executions are also being reported in Al-Raqqa. This is a reign of megalomania, blood-lust and sheer terror.

So who will fight for the Christians of Upper Mesopotamia? Not Iran, not Saudi Arabia, not Turkey, not the SAA and not the West (so it seems). Who will save them? Who will help them? Who will care for them? Who will raise their voices for them?

'I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.' (Psalm 121:1-2 ESV)

[RLPrayerBulletin blog has photographs and links to reports and video testimony.]

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* restrain the jihadis so they do not harm the Lord's faithful ones.

'The king declared to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?" Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever!My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me . . . "' (from Daniel 6)

* intervene in Syria's abandoned, rebel-controlled regions: to facilitate the escape of those who must flee; to provide security and supplies for those who must stay; to comfort, encourage and strengthen his loved ones and to confound and shatter his enemies.

* facilitate radical change for the sake of his Church, for the benefit of all peoples, and so everyone might tremble before our amazing God.

'. . . people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.' The decree of King Darius in Daniel 6.


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

CHRISTIANS SUBJUGATED IN RAQQA, SYRIA

Since January 2014 the terror group ISIS has ruled the northern city of Al Raqqa. Sharia is enforced and the whole community lives in terror of ISIS's extreme violence. Recently 20 Christian leaders were taken captive and given three options: convert to Islam, submit to Islam as dhimmis (humiliated and subjugated under Islam) or 'face the sword'. The Christian leaders signed an agreement committing the Christian community to submission. Just as in the Middle Ages, Christians must now pay protection money (jizya) as mandated by the Qur'an (Sura 9:29). They must demonstrate respect for Islam and Muslims and abstain from all public expressions of Christianity and from renovating churches and monasteries. If they breach the agreement, ISIS will resume war against them. Please pray for Syria and its Christians.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and is issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 249 | Wed 26 Feb 2014

by Elizabeth Kendal

WELCOME to the intercessors who have joined the list recently.

May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him. Summon your power, God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before. (Psalm 68:1,28 NIV)

FEBRUARY 2014 UPDATE - During February we prayed concerning . . .

* NIGERIA (RLPB 246), where the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Boko Haram (which regularly targets the Church) is waging a jihad against the Nigerian government with the aim of making Nigeria an Islamic state and northern Fulani Muslims (backed by Boko Haram and rogue military units) are waging a jihad to colonise and extend control deeper into the Christian-dominated south.

UPDATE: In mid-February, Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, warned that Boko Haram is better armed and more motivated than the Nigerian military. The government wrote off the governor's comment as 'civilian perception' and insisted it was winning the war against Boko Haram.

However, the killings continue and indeed have escalated, especially in Borno State where some 500 people have been killed in recent weeks. On the night of 15 February Boko Haram militants shouting 'Allahu Akbar [God is greater]' targeted the mostly Christian village of Izghe in Borno. The jihadis gathered the men of the village together and then turned on them. At least half the 106 men or more who were killed were Christian. The jihadis also looted and destroyed homes and shops. A week later Izghe was raided again and this time the militants burnt it to the ground. On Tuesday 25 February Boko Haram militants raided the boarding house at the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi in neighbouring Yobe State at 2 am and massacred at least 59 teenage boys. The militants also assembled the female students, ordering them to abandon their education and get married.

On 19 February Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video statement, claiming responsibility for the killings and threatening more, saying, 'The reason why I will kill you is you are infidels. You follow democracy. Whoever follows democracy is an infidel.' Shekau also threatened to attack the oil-rich Niger Delta.


* BURMA (RLPB 247), where the war between the autonomy-seeking Christian Kachin and the resources-craving Burman-Buddhist regime in Naypyidaw rages on.

* NORTH KOREA (RLPB 248), where Christians continue to suffer extreme persecution for refusing to bow to the cult of Kim.


FEBRUARY 2014 ROUND-UP - also this month . . .

* ACEH, INDONESIA: SHARIA FOR EVERYONE

Aceh's provincial administration and legislative council have approved a new by-law that will force everyone in Aceh to abide by Sharia (Islamic) Law. The Qanun Jinayat (a by-law governing behaviour) will apply to the territory of Aceh as distinct from applying to Muslim individuals. Muslims and non-Muslims, local population and visitors, will all have to observe Sharia, following Islamic codes of dress and behaviour. Christians who violate Sharia will be tried under Islamic law and punished accordingly (usually lashing). Councillor Abdulah Saleh said it was important to have one law for all so that Muslims did not feel they were being treated unfairly. Clearly Saleh fears that Christian liberty could cause fitna (strife or temptation for Muslims) and accordingly Christian liberty must end so that everyone suffers equally.


* ERITREAN REFUGEES IN SINAI: ALERT

Human Rights Watch (HRW www.hrw.org ) has released a new report: 'Egypt/Sudan: Traffickers Who Torture', HRW 11 Feb 2014. [Many if not most Eritrean refugees are Christians fleeing from persecution in Eritrea seeking religious freedom in Israel or in Europe.]


* IRAN: PASTOR IRANI RETURNED TO PRISON AFTER SURGERY

Sentenced to five years in jail on charges of 'crimes against national security', Pastor Behnam Irani (40) has since come close to death due to internal injuries caused by routine beatings and severe stress. There has been much prayer for his life. We thank God that on 22 February Pastor Irani finally received surgery to treat his internal injuries and painful bleeding stomach ulcers. He was returned to Ghezal Hesar Prison on 25 February. Please pray for Behnam Irani, his wife, children and congregation. Please pray for Iran's Christian prisoners and that God will continue to build his Church in Iran.

'. . . I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' (Matthew 16:18 ESV)


* TANZANIA: CHURCHES TARGETED IN ZANZIBAR

On Sunday 23 February a home-made bomb reportedly containing a mixture of ball bearings and chemicals exploded at an Evangelistic Assemblies of God Tanzania (EAGT) Church in Zanzibar. The explosion shook the building just as worship was concluding and there were no casualties. The next day a bomb was remotely detonated outside Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in Stone Town, Zanzibar, about 1 pm. Minutes later, another bomb exploded at a nearby seafront restaurant popular with tourists. The attacks may or may not be connected to the news on 19 February that British police will now join the hunt for the attackers who doused two teenage British girls (both Jews) in acid while on a gap-year in Zanzibar in August 2013. The girls had been working in a local Catholic nursery school and were volunteering at a local charity.


* UKRAINE: JEWS THREATENED IN KIEV

Conservative Rabbi Reuven Stamov comments that, whilst anti-Semitism is not an official policy of the protest movement nor of the new government in Kiev, anti-Semitism is indeed flourishing as anti-Semitic elements exploit the chaos and advance their ideology. Some Jews in Kiev have been threatened and some have received letters telling them to leave; many are afraid. Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman, a Chabad rabbi in Ukraine, has advised his congregation to leave Kiev and the country, if possible. Representatives of Ukrainian Jewry report that they feel a general sense of unease. This is fuelled mostly by the prominent presence of the far-right, neo-Nazi Svoboda Party, as well as scattered sightings of swastikas spray-painted on walls and the presence of anti-Semitic vigilante groups. Nevertheless, Jews in Ukraine plan to celebrate Purim on 15-16 March. [Purim celebrates the deliverance of the Jews in Persia at the time of Esther.] Despite the insecurity and volatility, the Ukrainian Church must speak out against anti-Semitism. Please pray for Ukraine.


* VIETNAM: CHRISTIAN LAWYER-BLOGGER JAILED

One of Vietnam's most prominent Catholic dissidents and human rights lawyers lost his court appeal on 18 February and will be jailed for 30 months for alleged tax evasion. In 2006-07, Le Quoc Quan (43) spent five months in Washington, DC, as a Fellow of the National Endowment for Democracy. He was first arrested in March 2007, four days after returning to Vietnam, for alleged subversion. He was subsequently disbarred. Quan was arrested again in December 2012 after the BBC published an article he wrote criticising the Communist Party's place in Vietnam's constitution. Quan was sentenced in October 2013 and on 18 February lost his appeal. On 2 February he began a hunger strike to protest the fact that he is not being permitted access to his religious books or to a priest for confession and communion. Outside the court, Quan's supporters sang hymns and prayed. Catholics held prayer vigils for Quan the following Sunday across Hanoi. Please pray for the Church in Vietnam.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

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.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. It is issued as a ministry of EA in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 248 | Wed 19 Feb 2014

NORTH KOREA: TENUOUS SITUATION NEEDS WISE HANDLING

by Elizabeth Kendal

On 21 March 2013 the United Nations Human Rights Council passed Resolution A/HRC/RES/22/13 which established the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Resolution gave the Commission a 12-month mandate to investigate systematic and widespread human rights abuses in North Korea. North Korean Ambassador So Se Pyong denounced the Resolution as 'an instrument that serves the political purposes of the hostile forces in their attempt to discredit the image of the DPRK', adding, 'those human rights abuses mentioned in the resolution do not exist in our country.' The Commission of Inquiry's report was released on 17 February. It documents 'a wide array of crimes against humanity' and details 'unspeakable atrocities' and concludes: 'The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.' As noted in the report: 'The State considers the spread of Christianity a particularly serious threat, since it challenges ideologically the official personality cult and provides a platform for social and political organisation and interaction outside the realm of the State. Apart from the few organised State-controlled churches, Christians are prohibited from practising their religion and are persecuted. People caught practising Christianity are subject to severe punishments . . . .' (Article 31)

The report also remarked on what is without a doubt the key dynamic of North Korea today: 'Strengthening market forces and advancements in information technology have allowed greater access to information from outside the country as information and media from the Republic of Korea and China increasingly enter the country. The State's monopoly on information is therefore being challenged by the increasing flow of outside information into the country and the ensuing curiosity of the people for "truths" other than those provided by State propaganda. Authorities seek to preserve their monopoly on information by carrying out regular crackdowns and enforcing harsh punishments.' (Article 30)

Groomed to rule, Kim Jong-un assumed power after his father ('Dear Leader' Kim Jong-il) died in December 2011. At his father's funeral, Kim Jong-un accompanied his father's casket along with the 'Gang of Seven' - an inner circle of elites tasked with guiding and mentoring the young ruler. By the end of 2013, four of the seven had been purged and one demoted. Kim Jong-un is consolidating power and establishing a new order that he hopes will have a better chance of holding on to power through the challenging times ahead. According to analysts, '. . . the upper ranks of North Korean leadership are now sprinkled with people who hold a known interest in [economic] reform.'

Kim, who did his secondary schooling in Switzerland, and his younger clique know that the information seeping in will generate anger and dissent as North Korea's impoverished masses become aware of their plight relative to the outside world. So in a race against time the regime is implementing agricultural and economic reforms designed to raise the living standards of ordinary Koreans. The regime is also easing the way for foreign investment and undertaking major infrastructure projects - highways, theme parks and resorts - designed to make North Korea more attractive to North Koreans as well as to Chinese tourists. It is a delicate balancing act, for Kim knows that while things have to change, change is incredibly risky. [See footnote for access to RLM where the details will be posted.]

It is commendable that the UN report is shining a spotlight on the horrific situation inside North Korea. However, the situation needs to be handled with great care and wisdom rather than belligerently. For example, if too much pressure is applied or if 'hostile forces' use the report to fan the flames of revolution for their own political, economic and geo-strategic ends, then repression could escalate to unprecedented levels or the state descend into a widespread bloodbath. Neither would benefit the Church in North Korea. Realistically, the report can only be used as leverage to get prisoners released and rights improved if the regime is assured it will not be threatened. When faced with such an unpalatable truth, it is essential to keep focused on North Korea's long-suffering Church which so desperately needs deliverance and freedom.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* hear the prayers and cries of his people and bring deliverance and freedom to his long-suffering Church in North Korea. (Isaiah 59:14-19)

'Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.' (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

LORD, IN YOUR MERCY: give wisdom to fools and patience to hot heads; repentance to persecutors and grace to victims; so that your Church might be spared further calamity and delivered from her adversity to rise as light to overcome darkness.

'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.' (Isaiah 55:8,9 ESV)


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

NORTH KOREA NEEDS WISE HANDLING

The UN's Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK [North Korea] released its report on 17 February. It documents a wide array of 'crimes against humanity', details 'unspeakable atrocities' and concludes: 'The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.' Tens of thousands of Christians struggle to survive in labour camps where they endure starvation, hard labour and unparalleled systematic cruelty. This report will expose the horrific situation inside North Korea. However, the risk is it could be unhelpfully politicised, causing repression to escalate or the country to descend into a bloodbath. Neither would benefit the Church in North Korea. Please pray for North Korea and its Church.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and is issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 247 | Wed 12 Feb 2014

BURMA (Myanmar): CONTINUED ETHNIC CLEANSING OF CHRISTIAN KACHIN

by Elizabeth Kendal

The Burmese Army (the Tatmadaw) is continuing its campaign of ethnic cleansing in resource-rich Kachin State. The Christian Kachin have long resisted the Burman Buddhist regime's brutal dictatorship. While the Kachin want autonomy so they can freely maintain their culture, the Burman Buddhist elite and military want complete control of Kachin land so they can exploit its resources. The situation in Burma is reminiscent of that in Sudan, where the Islamist-Arab regime in Khartoum is doing the same in the resource-rich, mostly Christian, African south. Similar situations exist in Papua, Indonesia and in Vietnam's Central Highlands. In each case, the resistance of the predominantly Christian ethnic peoples is met with extreme military violence and ethnic cleansing motivated by greed and fuelled by state-sanctioned racial and religious hatred.

On the morning of 30 January, Burma Army troops attacked Nam Gau Village of Mansi township in south Kachin State. More than 2000 people had already fled attacks in the area in November-December 2013 and now the remnant has also fled. The Burma Army took 20 villagers captive and thoroughly looted the village. Later that day soldiers of the Kachin Army led some villagers back to help them gather what remained of their belongings. At that point the Burma Army returned and a fierce fire-fight ensued. The next day Burma Army reinforcements arrived and the fighting escalated with the Burma Army attacking nearby Nam San Village also, firing heavy mortar rounds on civilian homes. Whilst ultimately the Kachin Army was driven out, it moved on to attack the Burma Army base, forcing the Burma Army to abandon the villages to defend their base. Other Kachin soldiers helped the local people collect what remained of their belongings. When the Free Burma Rangers relief teams conducted a medical clinic for those displaced in nearby Nam Lim Pa on 30 January, they found three bodies with clear evidence of torture. The ethnic cleansing continues.

Despite propaganda to the contrary, the situation faced by the Kachin is actually worse than ever. In the past, when Burma was aligned with China, the West would attack the junta by exposing human rights abuses and championing the rights of the persecuted ethnic nations. However, when Burma re-aligned and sought rapprochement with the West, everything changed. All the West can see now is an opportunity to make great economic and geo-strategic gains in Burma. Nevertheless, before Western politicians could engage with Burma, Burma's image problem had to be dealt with. In reality, Burma's political 'reforms' are cosmetic and 'peace talks' are a stalling tactic. The government is essentially powerless, a mere front for the military which still calls the shots. The reforms are really all about image.

In an act of extreme betrayal, the 'international community' is allowing the regime in Naypyidaw to control all distribution of international aid. Therefore the Kachin Army fights to defend the Christian Kachin from Burma Army aggression and expansion but the regime controls the aid. Like the regime in Sudan, the regime here uses this tactic to infiltrate deep into hostile territory where it then sets up offices and distribution centres and consolidates its presence. Thus the war-ravaged Christian Kachin are forced to choose between holding their ground and starving, or opening the door to the regime. As a retired US Army Special Forces officer, Tim Heinemann, notes: 'This is effectively international support for Burman-led counter-insurgency operations.' (Asia Times, 23 January 2014). It seems the West is prepared to ignore gross human rights abuses and war crimes to get access to Burma's vast and untapped resources, markets and cheap labour. Once their champion, now the West wants the ethnic nations to submit and co-operate. In July 2013 the British government even approved arms export licences to Burma worth over US$5 million.

[International Day of Prayer for Burma: 9 March 2014
See www.freeburmarangers.org ]

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* preserve, sustain and raise up godly leaders amongst the severely persecuted Christian Kachin; may these leaders be blessed with great and effective power from the Holy Spirit to comfort and encourage their traumatised, war-ravaged peoples so that they do not fall into despair and lose hope in the LORD; may their faith shine brightly in Burma's darkness.

'My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, "My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD." . . . But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."' (Lamentations 3:17,18 and 21-24 ESV)

* intervene in Burma to defend and sustain his people, shielding them from harm and providing their needs while exposing and fighting their enemies. (See Isaiah 40:10,11 and 59:14-19)

'Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain . . .' (Habakkuk 2:9 NIV)

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

BURMA (Myanmar) - CONTINUED ETHNIC CLEANSING OF CHRISTIAN KACHIN

Behind a smokescreen of political 'reform', the Burmese Army is continuing its campaign of ethnic cleansing in Kachin State. The Christian Kachin have long resisted the Burman Buddhist regime's brutal dictatorship. Whilst the Kachin seek autonomy so they can freely maintain their culture, the regime wants full control so it can exploit the Kachin's resource-rich lands. The extreme military violence meted out against the Kachin is motivated by greed and fuelled by State-sanctioned racial and religious hatred. Fighting rages in south Kachin State where the Burma Army is attacking village after village, employing heavy artillery, rape and torture, kidnapping villagers and looting. The Kachin are traumatised, the regime controls the aid supplies and the West appears to have abandoned them for economic gain. Please pray for Burma and its Church.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and is issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 246 | Wed 05 Feb 2014

NIGERIA: ONE WEEK'S JIHAD IN THE NORTH

by Elizabeth Kendal

Boko Haram is waging a jihad to Islamise Nigeria. Their jihad is supported by al-Qaeda which is seeking to gain strategic depth in sub-Saharan Africa. Their base is in Borno State, in the far north-east of Nigeria. Meanwhile, Fulani Muslims are waging a jihad to colonise and extend control deeper into the Christian-dominated south. Their jihad is supported by Boko Haram and rogue Muslim elements within the security forces who see the advance of the Fulani as furthering their own goals. Their front-line is the Middle Belt, in particular the states of Kaduna and Plateau. This is classic Islamic jihad: strife/war/terror to expand the territory over which Islam rules.

* ADAMAWA STATE (north-east Nigeria, bordering northern Cameroon)

Sunday 26 January 2014: unknown gunmen attacked St Paul's Roman Catholic Church in Chakawa village in Madagali Local Government Area (LGA). They stormed the church, locked the doors behind them, threw improvised explosives (IEDs) and opened fire on the worshippers. Moses Yohanna told reporters that several believers had their throats slit. 'My brother was slaughtered like a ram,' he said. At least 45 Christians were killed in the attack. Rahilla Ibrahim, who is pregnant, lost her husband and child and her home was burnt. According to a local Muslim, the militants set up a road block in a nearby area where they killed many Christians, before attacking Chakawa. Nigerian media report that a new tactic of Boko Haram appears to be attacking highways, including the use of 'snap road blocks'.

Friday 31 January: unknown gunmen attacked the EYN Church [Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria / the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria] at Sabon Gari Gemadai in Madagali LGA around 8:30pm when a prayer vigil was being held. The attackers opened fire on the worshippers, killing the pastor and ten members of the congregation. Two church members are reported to be missing.

* BORNO STATE (far north-east)

Sunday 26 January: Boko Haram militants in 26 vehicles, including two armoured personnel carriers and six vans painted in army colours, attacked the weekly farmers' market in Kawuri Village in Konduga LGA. They torched over 300 homes and opened fire on the local population. Dozens have been hospitalised and 85 are dead. Some were shot or burnt. Others were killed later by IEDs planted throughout the area. In total more than 4000 people were affected, with over 2000 becoming internally displaced.

Friday 31 January: seven people were killed and three others seriously injured when their bus ran over an IED on the Gwoza-Madagali road near Kuthra village.

* KADUNA STATE (Middle Belt)

Friday 31 January: a mob of around 20 Fulani herdsmen (Muslims) invaded Manchok town in Kaura LGA, southern (Christian-dominated) Kaduna about 1 am. They set fire to at least one home and massacred a Christian family of seven, six of them slaughtered 'silently' as they slept in their beds. Traumatised and distraught relatives then launched a reprisal attack on a nearby Fulani settlement. Tensions are soaring. Though stationed in the area, security forces arrived at the scene only hours later, once the killers had long gone. At the funeral, Manchok Gaiya, the Catechist of St Francis Catholic Church, queried how such an attack could go unchallenged in an area that boasts a high concentration of security officers.

As Christian Solidarity notes: 'Kaura LGA borders Plateau State and is in relatively close proximity to Riyom, Bokkos and Birkin Ladi LGAs, where night attacks on non-Muslim villages have occurred regularly since 2010.' 'And how many cities have We destroyed, and Our punishment came to them at night or while they were sleeping at noon.' (Quran, Sura 7:4)


Despite jihad, Christian mission is strong and Muslims are turning to the Lord in unprecedented numbers. This is ultimately a spiritual battle.


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* give the Nigerian government the clarity, conviction and courage to deny the Islamists their goals and preserve Nigeria as a united, secular state into the future.

* intervene to protect his people, confound the enemy and empower all Christian witness.

May those who seek to turn back the battle, find their wisdom and strength in the LORD of hosts. 'In that day the LORD of hosts will be . . . strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.' (Isaiah 28:5,6 ESV)

* stir up deep compassion and righteous indignation in the free and prosperous southern Christians to take up the cause of the profoundly suffering church in the north in a new, fresh and revitalised way, such that prayer and mission flow out on an unprecedented scale.


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

NIGERIAN JIHAD

Christians in Nigeria's north-east continue to suffer at the hands of the al-Qaeda-linked Boko Haram which is waging a jihad to Islamise Nigeria. Meanwhile, Christians in the volatile Middle Belt - Nigeria's ethnic-religious fault-line - continue to suffer at the hands of Fulani Muslims who, with the support of Boko Haram and rogue security forces, conduct night raids to slaughter Christians while they sleep. Whole communities are being terrorised off their lands. Christians in Northern Nigeria are repressed, persecuted and traumatised. They are being attacked and killed while at worship in their churches. Despite this, mission is strong and Muslims are turning to the Lord in unprecedented numbers. This is a spiritual battle. Please pray for Nigeria and its Church.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and is issued as a ministry of the Evangelical Alliance in Australia.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org