Barnabas Aid November/December 2010

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

HOPE AND AID FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH www.barnabasfund.org

IN THIS ISSUE

Floods in Pakistan: providing help to destitute Christians

The churches of Iran: oppressed by a persecuting regime

Where are converts from Islam most at risk?

Pull-out SupplementChristian converts from Islam: where are they most at risk?

To guard the safety of Christians in hostile environments, names may have been changed or omitted. Thank you for your understanding.

Front cover: Hina, a Pakistani Christian, with her baby son, Barnabas, who was born at the height of the flooding crisis (see pp 6-9)

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version®.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission for stories and images used in this publication. Barnabas Fund apologises for any errors or omissions and will be grateful for any further information regarding copyright.

© Barnabas Fund 2010

Contents

3 Project NewsHealing wounds and rebuilding lives in East Africa

6 FocusAid for suffering Christians in flood-stricken Pakistan

ResourcesDVD and other materials for Suffering Church Sunday

11 Operation NehemiahUpdate on Barnabas Fund’s new campaign

12 NewsroomElder stabbed and pastor beaten in Indonesia

“It’s a miracle!” said Hina, a Pakistani Christian, after the birth of her baby son at the height of the flooding crisis in Pakistan earlier this year. Heavily pregnant, Hina had become trapped in her remote flooded village in Punjab Province, and was afraid for the health of the baby to be born in such a dangerous situation. Then Barnabas Fund’s local Pakistani partners arrived to rescue her, along with scores of other Christian families. They took her to safety and, when her labour began, to hospital. Hina’s husband, Aftab, works as a labourer and would have struggled to afford the hospital fees, but Barnabas Fund covered the costs.

To Hina it was a miracle that our partner was there to rescue her, to take her to hospital and provide her with everything she and her baby needed. Hina and Aftab asked where the help had come from. When they learned it was sent by “Barnabas Fund”, they decided to name their little boy Barnabas.

As the Christmas season approaches, we will begin to focus our thoughts on another baby, far more of a miracle than Baby Barnabas. The birth of Baby Jesus, likewise in difficult though very different

circumstances, was the wonderful miracle of the Virgin Birth (Luke 1:34-35) and the even more wonderful miracle of the Incarnation, of God taking human flesh (John 1:1,14). Mary and Joseph had no need to decide on a name for their baby, because the angel had already told each of them to give Him the name Jesus (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31), showing that He was born to save His people from their sins.

The birth of a baby should always be a cause for joy and celebration, as a new life comes into the world. Wilson Saraj, Barnabas Fund’s regional co-ordinator for South Asia, met Hina and Aftab while visiting flood-affected families throughout Pakistan and said, “Amid countless scenes of human tragedy and devastation, it was heart-warming to see the joy which this new life – born at such a tumultuous time – has brought to his parents and their community.”

Let us rejoice this Christmas in the birth of our Lord Jesus, the Light of the World, who brings us hope, joy and salvation.

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo International Director

Welcome from the Director

Baby Barnabas and Baby Jesus

� BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

10

18 In TouchBarnabas gift cards for your family and friends

14 Country ProfileIranian Christians face a persecuting regime

BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

These are the pages where we bring you news about some of our recent grants to help our persecuted and suffering brothers and sisters in Christ. It is because of your generosity that we are able to send this help, which means so much to those who face discrimination, harassment and perhaps violence because of their love for the Lord Jesus. Thank you for enabling us to transform their lives. Please pray as you read.

When catastrophic flooding began in Pakistan in late July, Barnabas sent immediate grants totaling £58,080 (US$89,814; €69,440) through five Christian partners on the ground to provide aid for Christians affected by the disaster. As international news media later highlighted, Christians and other non-Muslims were being left out of much of the aid distribution through other agencies. So we are very thankful for the quick and generous response of Barnabas Fund supporters that enabled us to help our Christian brothers and sisters as soon as this crisis hit.

Pakistan: Aid for Flood Victims

At the time of writing we are still waiting for detailed reports from most of our partners, but one has told how he fed 142 Christian families from the village of Rangpur, Punjab. Stranded by the flood water, they had been rescued by the Pakistani army but deposited in a place where there were no arrangements for feeding flood victims. From 9 to 17 August, our partner gave them three meals a day and after that provided each family with flour, rice, sugar, pulses, clean water, tea, salt, cooking oil, dried milk, dried chillis and soap.

�

00-634 (Disaster Relief Fund)

Project News

41-919 Sponsoring a Pakistani Christian flood victim family

One of the Christians from the flooded village of Rangpur, fed with help from Barnabas

There are now major needs for the long-term rehabilitation of the flood victims. Please turn to pages 6-9 to find out how you can help, and to read about how Christians who had lost everything found strength in the Lord.

But where can Christian parents send their children? Of course, they need Christian schools, but there are not enough, and anyway many Christian families are too poor to afford normal school fees.

Barnabas Fund has been helping for some years with the running costs of several Christian schools in Pakistan; this enables the schools to offer places to poor Christian children for very low fees. We have also helped with some school building costs.

Project News

Building a new Christian primary school

Eritrea: Christian Prisoners and Their FamiliesA recent grant of £7,000 (US$10,800; €8,400) is helping Christians who are held prisoner in Eritrea because of their faith in the Lord Jesus. Many are held in appalling conditions, some in metal shipping containers, from which they eventually emerge – if they survive – with severely damaged health.

Almost all pastors and church leaders who are not affiliated to the denominations recognised by the government are currently under arrest, reported our project partner in Eritrea when thanking us for this grant. “Any Christian who shares his faith publicly or practises his faith publicly is also arrested indefinitely. We support them through providing medication, food and clothing.” Most prisoners have families who depend on them for their needs; when the breadwinner is in prison the family need help with basics such as food and shelter, so our grant is also used to help them. After prisoners are released, they are given help with security and health needs.

Project reference 12-863

A recent report on Pakistan states that, in one constituency, 70% of all government schools are not functioning: 20% of the schools exist only on paper and another 50% have buildings but no teachers. In Pakistan as a whole, about a quarter of the teachers in functioning government schools fail to show up for work on any given day. It is hardly surprising that many Pakistani parents send their children instead to the madrassas (Islamic schools), which give shelter, food, a little general education, and a lot of teaching on Islamic extremism, leading the children into violence.

Pakistan: Christian Schools for Christian Children

41-499 running costs and land for new classrooms

Examples of project references

Fellowship and Teaching for Iranian Christians A Christian conference can be such a boost for our spiritual life. What encouragement comes from the fellowship, the worship and the teaching! Imagine how much more important a conference is for Christians from a Muslim background who have to endure hardship and persecution, and often cannot meet with other believers Sunday by Sunday.

The Lord is bringing many Iranian Muslims to Himself, both within Iran and outside Iran. A grant of £9,600 (US$14,800; €10,603) enabled 120 Farsi (Persian)-speaking Christians to attend a summer Christian conference in a European country. At this annual event, not only do Iranian Christians find spiritual nourishment and fellowship, but some who live in remote places are able to be baptised at last, to their great joy.

While some participants could cover all their own costs, these

120, being mainly students and asylum-seekers, could only pay a small percentage. The grant from Barnabas covered 80% of their needs, including food, accommodation and travel.


Now we are making it an urgent priority to provide more school places for Christian children in Pakistan, through a programme of grants for building new schools or adding classrooms to existing ones.

Ten recent grants totalling £58,456 (US$90,348; €69,918) have helped with the running costs of four Christian schools, building costs of two new schools, extensions for three existing schools, and the purchase of a plot of land for another school to build an extension.

Lord willing, further grants will be made to another seven or eight new school buildings as well as running costs for a further six schools. The total number of Pakistani Christian children being educated with help from Barnabas will then be around 3,266.

BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010�

Worship at a summer Christian conference for Iranian converts from Islam. Many could attend this spiritually enriching event only because of a grant from Barnabas to help with the costs

These children are looking forward to having a Christian school in their own village, built on this land

41-893 two new schools and an extension

The brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) terrorises the populations of South Sudan, northern Uganda and other nearby countries, with Christians and churches a frequent target. One of their most horrifying tactics is to kidnap children from their families and turn them into ruthless child soldiers. A grant from Barnabas Fund of £8,522 (US$13,165; €10,207) is supporting three Ugandan Christians, who have been trained in appropriate counselling methods, to work for a year with communities of LRA victims and help them to recover from their trauma.

Uganda: Rebuilding the Lives of LRA Victims

Syria: Security for Christian Schools

Project News


East Africa: Hospital Fees Paid for Converts Attacked at BaptismEarlier this year, on a secluded part of an East African beach, 18 baptismal candidates and eleven other Christians met together for a baptism ceremony. No one else was in sight, except some distant fishermen far out at sea. Suddenly a crowd of around 100 Muslim men appeared from the nearby bush and began throwing stones, iron bars and bottles at the Christians, then attacking and beating them with pipes and wooden clubs.

After ten minutes the Muslims departed, leaving five of the baptismal candidates lying


bleeding on the sand and other Christians with lesser injuries. A woman was unconscious with a deep cut on her head, while one of the men had a broken arm and had lost two teeth. Three other people had severe cuts. Hospital treatment for these five cost £819 (US$1,210; €981), which was covered by a grant from Barnabas Fund.

Project reference 00-345 (Victims of Violence Fund)

A grant of £15,836 ($24,468; €18,958) has provided a metal security fence for the top of the wall surrounding a Christian middle school and high school in Syria. When the schools were built, the wall was considered sufficient on its own, but now there is concern that extra security is needed to keep the students and buildings safe. Barnabas Fund had previously contributed about 40% of the building costs of the high school.

Twenty new Christians live in a Christian-run drug rehabilitation centre. As former drug addicts and also converts from Islam, they find it very difficult to get employment, but at the centre they are learning skills that will help them to find jobs. Ministries like this bring many to Christ in Central Asia. A grant of £3,579 (US$5,532; €4,285) helped with equipment and running costs for the centre.

Tajikistan: Training Brings Hope for Converts

Project reference 00-113 (Convert Fund)

Community counselling with a strong Christian basis is helping to heal Ugandan families devastated by the Lord’s Resistance Army

“Here Live Faith, Hope & Love” declare the words on the middle school. “Here Live Truth, Light & Peace” says the high school. Christian schools in Syria are not allowed to have a cross on them, but they are allowed other Christian words or symbols. Barnabas helped to build the high school and has now provided a security fence for the whole complex, which will be added on top of the wall

Catering skills will help these converts to get work

�BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

Baptism: outreach to Muslim drug addicts brings many to Christ

FOCUS: Pakistan Floods

FAITH IN THE FLOODS: HOW YOUR GIFTS BUILD UP FAITH AND HOPE AMONG CHRISTIAN FLOOD VICTIMS“The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.” (Psalm 29:10)

“When water attacked our house, I watched my parents who were worried and confused. I asked my mother, ‘What is happening?’ She just kissed me and took my hand and told me, ‘Just pray.’ Next day I was hungry and I asked my mother, ‘I am hungry. Shall I go home and bring some food?’ She told me, ‘My son, God will send everything for us. Just pray.’” Little Stephen was too young to comprehend what was happening around them, and that they had been evacuated from their village, leaving everything behind. Thankfully, one of Barnabas Fund’s Christian partners arrived with food parcels for Stephen Jhon and his family the next day.

n 80 Christian families need to rebuild their homes completely. A simple brick house consisting of two rooms, a washroom and a veranda, and a concrete block roof will cost £2,500 (US$3,800; €3,000).

n 550 Christian families need to repair their damaged homes. Estimated cost: £760 (US$1,192; €894) per home.

Your gift to our Disaster Fund will enable Barnabas Fund’s partners on the ground in Pakistan to assist the Christians in need, according to priority, and will strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters who have lost everything. (Project Reference 00-634)

But how will the Christians manage until their homes and livelihoods are re-established? At least 1,000 Christian families will need ongoing, long-term food support while they rebuild their lives. Can you sponsor a family? For just £30 ($45, €35) a month, you can provide the food needs of one flood-affected family while rehabilitation work is carried out.

BARNABAS FUND HELPING THOSE IN NEED

In response to the initial emergency, Barnabas Fund quickly stepped in to channel support to Pakistani Christians through local churches and Christian organisations in Pakistan, providing food parcels. These parcels contained such items as rice, flour,


On 27 July torrential monsoon rains started in the northern areas of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The continuous rainfall was followed by heavy floods that engulfed towns, villages and cities from Swat valley in the north to Sindh in the south.

n More than 17 million people have been affected.

n At least 1.2 Million homes were destroyed.

n 5 million people are now homeless.

n Families lost everything in the flooding and subsequent landslides – livestock, homes and businesses were swept away; dozens of bridges were washed away; roads and rail tracks were submerged.

*Figures are estimated at the time of writing and may change. Prices are likely to rise because of post-flood shortages. Numbers of families in need are likely to rise as our partners make contact with more isolated Christian communities.

From the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan to Sindh in the south, hunger, confusion and homelessness afflicted millions of people following the devastating floods earlier this year. The United Nations has described it as the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history.

As people struggle to rebuild their lives, the Christians of Pakistan, already marginalised and discriminated against, are particularly vulnerable. Neglected by many other aid channels, they trust in the Lord and look to their Christian brothers and sisters for help. “Christians are crying out for help!” said one church leader.

Will you answer their call?*n 500 Christian families need non-food

items such as soap, cooking utensils, mattresses and pillows. Cost: £80 (US$125; €94) per family.

n 1,000 Christian families have lost their means of livelihood and desperately need help to become self-sufficient again. In Sindh and Punjab, families require £65 (US$102; €77) per acre for seed, fertiliser and ploughing. For those who had shops or small businesses, the estimated cost to help them start up again is £530 (US$830, €623) per family.

Stephen Jhon, aged 8, and his mother could do nothing to help themselves after the devastating floods in July 2010; they could only pray. But the Lord answered through Barnabas Fund and provided for their needs



grains, pulses, dry milk, cooking oil, tea, sugar, salt and spices. (Turn to page 3 to read more.)

Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province is home to about 100,000 Christian families, many of whom have been left reeling by the devastating floods. In one small town near Peshawar, a group of 45 Christian families had worked laboriously for 25 to 30 years to construct small houses. But in 20 short minutes on 29 July their hard work was swept away. At least twelve families saw their entire homes destroyed by the gushing waters, while the others lost most of their belongings.

As flood water carried away their simple homes, many Christian families had to seek refuge in church buildings and Christian schools. There are very few jobs available since the disaster, making daily wages extremely difficult to find. For those fortunate enough still to have employment, the wages are likely to be so meagre that families will not to be able to afford the deposit to rent accommodation, let alone save up to reconstruct their own homes.

But it is not just homes and possessions that have been lost in the flooding. Across the country, 8.9 million acres of farmland have been ruined by the waters and farmers are concerned that fields will be too waterlogged to sow the winter wheat. An estimated 1.2 million livestock, including cattle used for ploughing, have drowned in the floods. It is also thought that up to a third of the harvest in Sindh, which is known for growing rice, sugar cane, vegetables, citrus fruit and pulses, has been spoilt.

Receiving aid in this time of national crisis shows our Christian brothers and sisters how much we care, and serves to strengthen their faith. Turn to pages 8 and 9 to read testimonies of how eight Pakistani Christian families have been affected by the floods.

BEDROOM

VERANDAH

LAWN

FLOOR PLAN

BATH

KITCHEN

BEDROOM

COURTYARD

“Despite this suffering and agony I was moved by the strong faith of these homeless people.” Barnabas Fund’s coordinator for South Asia visited Pakistan following the flooding to see how we could help our Christian brothers and sisters.

Christians in Pakistan live in great poverty, despised by their Muslim neighbours and suffering widespread social and political discrimination; the disastrous flooding has worsened their already precarious position. The Pakistani government was criticised for its ineffective response at the beginning of the flooding crisis, and international support was also slow to arrive.

On 26 August, Pakistani national newspaper Dawn reported that flood victims were being refused shelter and discriminated against in the distribution of healthcare and aid because of their ethnicity, caste or religion (http://bit.ly/af7RHG). Concern was also specifically expressed over the treatment of Christians in the distribution of aid; one local volunteer reported, “The Christian refugees are

often ... not identified and registered. Thus, they are automatically excluded from any health care or food, as they supposedly do not exist.”

Bishop Humphrey Peters of the Church of Pakistan’s Diocese of Peshawar (in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province) said, “We are sure that some countries will come forward with aid packages, but hardly anything will reach the minority Christians.”

Yunis Lal Din, leader of the Fellowship of Brethren Churches in Pakistan, told Barnabas Fund on 5 August: “Many Christians were already in poor circumstances and are now doubly affected and do not know where to find help.” He praised Barnabas for being so quick to send funds for Christians, right at the beginning of the crisis.

WHO WILL HELP THE CHRISTIANS?

The basic design of a new house for Christian families who lost their homes in the flooding

Christian families like this one could do nothing but watch as their homes were levelled by gushing waters in the recent flooding in Pakistan

To help restore and rebuild the lives of Christian families who lost everything in the flooding, please fill out the form on the inside back cover of this magazine or contact your nearest Barnabas office (address details on back cover).


TrusTing The Lord

Marry Daniels (23) and her family, who live in Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, lost their home and belongings in the floods – but they have not lost their faith in the God who watches over His people.

Marry described the moment the waters hit: “Initially we moved our belongings to higher ground, but the water was sharply rising, and we got worried and started crying. My cousins had already left the house. I told my mum, ‘Let’s leave.’ I was crying and the water level reached more than four feet. My mother and I left the house, and all the time I was telling my mother, ‘We will drown, we are going to die.’

“But my mother recited Psalm 23 for me and held me close to her. I thank my mum for her strong faith that encouraged me to walk along with her in deep dirty water. I thank God for keeping my family safe. I will never forget this experience of how God saved me and my mother from the clutches of death as long as I live.”

“I was happy to help my uncle in the time of his need.”This 12-year-old boy with bare feet, small hands and a servant heart came to help his uncle clear up the muddy mess left behind when the floodwaters poured into his house in Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. There were not many people to help young Waqar’s uncle Yousaf Masih, and the school boy – who wants to be a civil engineer in the future – gladly volunteered for the grim task.

Kamal Masih (30), of Tarnab, is married with four children and survives on a monthly income of just £39 (US$60; €47). Floodwaters had half destroyed their small house, where he had lived for decades. The belongings the family left behind were stolen by local Muslims. Despite their sufferings, Kamal is continuing to trust in the Lord.He said, “All these blessings were given by God, I am happy that my wife and children are safe. I just pray that God will grant me the strength to rebuild my house and continue the schooling of my children.”

“It’s a miracle!”

Those were the words of a new mother whose first baby was

born at the height of the flooding crisis in Pakistan. Hina

Gull and her husband, Aftab Masih, named their bundle

of joy “Barnabas” because of the help they received from

Barnabas Fund before, during and after his delivery.

Our local partner helped to rescue heavily pregnant

Hina, who, along with scores of other Christian families,

was stranded in the remote village of Rangpur Khare,

Muzaffargarh, in Punjab Province when the area flooded.

She went into labour just days after the evacuation and was

taken to Rangpur District Hospital by our partner. Aftab is a labourer, and because the couple would have struggled to afford the high hospital costs, Barnabas Fund covered these expenses. The newborn, who weighed a healthy 7lb 11oz (3.5kg), is doing well.

Stories of Christian Flood Victims in Pakistan



TrusTing The Lord as the WaTers rise

Youngster Nadia Joseph feared she would never see her parents again when they were separated during a frantic evacuation from their village. She described the scene as “busy and confused”, with people

running around shouting. Nadia’s friends left the village, and

she was stranded until nightfall waiting for her parents.

Nobody came to Nadia’s rescue until Barnabas Fund’s local

partner found her and took her to the relief camp, which her

parents had already reached. Nadia said that at one point she

had lost hope of ever seeing her parents again, adding, “But

the messenger of God came for our help. Many people met

each other in the camp as I met with my parents.”

Younis Masih (59) of Tarnab near Peshawar toiled for around 25 years to construct his own house. It stood just 20 feet from the river bank and collapsed under the strain of the gushing floodwaters. Younis said he has never seen a catastrophe of this magnitude and, at his age, can hardly imagine rebuilding and re-furnishing his home when his monthly income merely covers basic household expenses.

“God gave this to me and He took it from me, I do not blame God. God took away everything from Job but later He blessed him as well. I trust God will bless me again.”

“I don’t know what the future holds for my family.” When Rashid Masih’s house in Kot Addu was flooded with six feet of water, his family – like so many others – could save only their lives. Their meagre belongings were destroyed by the waters, leaving them with nothing. Rashid’s daughter Tahira was due to get married in November, but because they lost the dowry – an important part of the marriage arrangement in Pakistan – the wedding is unlikely to go ahead. Rashid, who had worked hard to provide for his daughter’s marriage, said that the flood had left them with nothing in a matter of minutes. He added: “It took me so many years to build my household; now I don’t know what the future holds for my family.”

“On my present salary, even in 50 years I cannot rebuild my house.” Joseph Bashir (38) had to flee his lifelong home near the Kabul River in the city of Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, when the floodwaters began pouring in on 29 July. He carried his six children, aged between one and eight, and his paralysed father to the road wondering where to turn for help. The Bashirs – the only Christian family in the area – found shelter in a relief camp set up by Barnabas Fund partners. Like thousands of Christian families made homeless by the floods, they are contemplating how they will ever begin to rebuild their lives.

Stories of Christian Flood Victims in Pakistan



NEW BOOK Tainted Legacy: Islam, Colonialism and Slavery in Northern Nigeria Yusufu Turaki

Thousands of Christians have died in violent attacks by Muslims in Nigeria in the last few years. In the North of the country Christians are a small and vulnerable minority, and in 12 northern states Islamic sharia is the main source of law. Some Islamists there are calling for an Islamic state to be established.

In this important new book Professor Yusufu Turaki traces the roots of the current crisis to the effects of Islam on Northern Nigerian society through the centuries. He describes the Muslim practices of colonialism and slavery in West Africa, and how their influence was reinforced by British colonialists. He also shows how they have left a tainted legacy of discrimination and

Resources

To order this book, please visit www.barnabasfund.org/shop. Alternatively please contact your nearest Barnabas office (addresses on back cover). Cheques for the UK should be made payable to “Barnabas Books”.

“Be on Your Guard” – Suffering Church Sunday 2010-11This year’s Suffering Church Sunday resources focus on the need for Christians to be prepared for persecution. We invite your church or fellowship to choose a Sunday in November (or another month in the next year if this suits you better) to remember those members of our Christian family in other parts of the world for whom persecution is part of their regular experience. It is also an opportunity for you and your church to prepare yourselves to face the serious challenges that confront Christians in the West.

The following resources are available either to download or to order free of charge from our online shop www.barnabasfund.org/scs or your national Barnabas Fund office (addresses on back cover).

cruelty to the Christians of Northern Nigeria.

“Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the role of Islam in Africa and its impact on the slave trade needs to read this important book, but also it speaks into some of the difficult issues we see in the world today.”

Malcolm L. McGregor, SIM International Director

Yusufu Turaki is a Professor of Theology and Social Ethics at the Jos ECWA Theological Seminary (JETS) and Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion, Church and Society (CRCS).

Isaac Publishing, paperback. Offer price £9.99 plus £2.00 postage

BE ON YOUR GUARD

SUFFERING CHURCH SUNDAY 2010 – 2011Preparing for Persecution

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Prayer for the Suffering Church

Our Father in heaven,

We give you thanks and praise that You revealed Yourself to us in Your Son and drew us to Yourself. We pray for those who endure discrimination and persecution, violence and injustice for the sake of Your Holy Name. We pray that you will grant them daily strength to persevere in the hardships they may face.

We pray for those who seek to persecute Your children, that they will turn their eyes to You and come to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

We pray too for ourselves. Lord, we know that we are not immune to mockery, harassment and even persecution for Christ. Should we find ourselves suffering because of our faith in You, we ask that You will enable us to stand firm in all our trials. May we know that You are with us and that You are always faithful to your people.

In Jesus’ Name

Amen

I/We would like to receive regular news and prayer information about thepersecuted Church

Please find enclosed our/my gift of for thesuffering church to be used:

Where it is most needed

To support Christians suffering through violence

To help Christians support themselves by starting up a small business

To support Christian pastors and evangelists

To help feed our persecuted brothers and sisters

To help Christian children to get a Christian education

Your Response

UK9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EXTelephone 024 7623 1923Fax 024 7683 4718From outside the UKTelephone +44 24 7623 1923Fax +44 24 7683 4718Email [email protected] Charity Number 1092935Company Registered in England Number 4029536

AustraliaPostal Suite 107236 Hyperdome, Loganholme QLD 4129Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365799Fax (07) 3806 4076Email [email protected]

JerseyLe Jardin, La Rue A Don, Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands JE3 9GBTelephone 700600 Fax 700601Email [email protected]

New ZealandPO Box 27 6018, Manukau City, Manukau, 2241 Telephone (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805Email [email protected]

USA6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1-866-936-2525Fax (703) 288-1682Email [email protected]

International HeadquartersThe Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030From outside UK Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030 Email [email protected]

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Name of church:

Postcode:

Please tear off and send to your nearest Barnabas office with you gift SCS 08/10

■ DVD “Be on Your Guard”. This contains an 8-minute testimony from a young Christian woman who was born in the Gambia and raised a Muslim. She shares the story of her journey to faith in the Lord Jesus and some of the trials she has faced in her life so far.

Also included on the DVD:

- The words (including a PowerPoint) and music for “Broken Bones for Jesus”, a new song by a Barnabas Fund staff member, and recorded versions with and without accompanying vocals

- A PowerPoint presentation to accompany the sermon outline (see below)

- All these items may also be downloaded individually.

■ A3 poster (approx. 300x420 mm) to advertise your church service or meeting

■ Prayer-and-response cards, including a prayer for Suffering Church Sunday and a response form, for distribution to everyone in your congregation

■ Sermon outline on John 15:18 – 16:4, “If the World Hates You” (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)

■ Bible study on John 15:18 – 16:4, “Facing Hostility for Christ” (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)

■ Timeline showing a selection of incidents of persecution throughout history (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)

■ Testimony from a young Christian woman caught up in anti-Christian violence in Orissa, India (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)

■ “Persecution in the New Testament” What is its teaching? (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)

■ “What is persecution?” Its forms, contexts and sources (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)

■ Prayer, suggested songs and how your church can support persecuted Christians (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)

i

Christian C

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CONVERT DANGER INDEXBarnabas Fund has recently carried out a survey of 24 Muslim-majority countries to discover where in the Muslim world converts from Islam are most under threat. We have ranked each country according to the risks faced by its converts. The survey also highlights the different types of problems that converts encounter in different contexts1.

CREATING THE SURVEYThe ranking system we have created focuses upon two key areas: the legal structure of Muslim countries and the actual incidents of persecution suffered by converts. We have given each country a score in each of these areas, and then added the two scores together. The higher the score a country has, the worse it is considered to be for converts from Islam.

First, the legal threats to converts were analysed by looking at the laws that can be used against them in different countries. Important here is the role of sharia. Some Muslim countries make sharia one of several sources of law, while others make it the main source. Under sharia the punishment for leaving Islam is death. Even though this punishment is rarely enforced officially, it is written into the legal codes of some Muslim countries and influences attitudes in their societies. While most Muslim countries have subscribed to international treaties that protect religious freedom, such as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many of them consider sharia more important than such treaties, making the treaties virtually useless.

The ranking system also takes into account many other legal factors that affect converts’ lives. These include prohibitions on worshipping freely and and meeting together, prohibitions on evangelism and the production of religious literature, and limitations on converts’ changing their religious status in law from Islam to Christianity, which in turn impacts on their freedom to go to church, to marry a Christian, and their children’s freedom to inherit.

The ranking also reflects how strongly certain norms of Islamic behaviour (for example, regarding dress or education) are legally enforced, as converts often find life harder if they are in an environment where the population is legally obligated to adopt these norms. Finally, it acknowledges positively the legal rights to change one’s religion and to propagate religions other than Islam that exist in (relatively few) Muslim countries.

However, the laws of Muslim countries provide only half the picture. To complete it we need also to focus on the actual incidents of persecution that converts face, because it is these that impact most directly upon their lives. It is possible for a country to have lenient laws but for converts to experience much persecution from society or even from officials acting outside the law. We have graded such incidents according to severity: official executions by government are ranked as the most severe, followed by unofficial murders of converts, and then by imprisonment, fines and other forms of harassment. The incidents are also graded by how frequently they have occurred in particular countries over the last three years, relative to the number of converts in that country: regular occurrences are treated as more significant than occasional ones.

CHRISTIAN CONVERTS FROM ISLAM: WHERE ARE THEY MOST AT RISK?

For those who convert from Islam to Christianity their decision to follow Christ is a costly one. They may face many kinds of persecution.

In its core texts Islam prescribes a range of severe punishments for any of its adherents who choose to leave their faith. Sharia law requires the death penalty for adult men who leave Islam, and some schools of law require it for women too. Although this punishment is rarely written into national law or carried out officially by the government, many converts (apostates) still live in fear of violent and fatal reprisals from their families and communities, or mysterious murders that may have been organised by the authorities.

Even when converts’ lives are not threatened, they often lose their spouses and children, their homes and their jobs. They may be arrested, tortured or imprisoned, sometimes on another pretext, but really as a punishment for leaving Islam. Moreover, apostasy is a cause of deep offence to many ordinary Muslims, who see it as betrayal of the Muslim community and may harass converts relentlessly, making it impossible for them to live a normal life.

These very common forms of persecution are supplemented in some countries by more unusual ones specific to particular cultures. For example, in the Maldives the 2008 constitution declared that a non-Muslim could not become a citizen, raising the possibility that converts would be stripped of their citizenship and with it the protection of the law.

But although apostates may face danger in any Muslim context, the risks are much greater in some countries than in others.

1The following countries were omitted from the survey owing to lack of data or other reasons: Albania, Bahrain, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Niger, Oman, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, United Arab Emirates.

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2. AfghanistanMost Afghan Muslims believe that death is the

tnemhsinup etairporppafor conversion from Islam. Abdul Rahman was charged with apostasy in 2006, and Muslim clerics led calls for his execution. Eventually he was freed but had to leave the country. In June 2010 two converts were pilloried on national television: a senior politician called for their execution, and the president has promised action to prevent further conversions. Over 20 Afghan Christians were arrested following the broadcast.

3. Saudi ArabiaSaudi law is based on sharia, which prescribes the death penalty for apostates, so the small number of Saudi Christians have to practise their faith in secret. In 2008 Fatima Al-Mutairi had her tongue cut out and was burned to death by her family when they discovered that she had converted from Islam to Christianity.

6. ComorosOnly a few hundred converts from Islam are known to live in the Comoros, although there may also be many secret believers. Apostasy is prohibited by the country’s penal code. Comoran Christians have

discrimination and harassment. There is concern that Islamic radicalism is increasing, threatening a stricter interpretation of sharia law.

7. Sudan (North)The South of Sudan is predominantly Christian, but the North is mainly Muslim, and sharia is in force there. Converts from Islam face violence from their families

nehW .seitirohtua eht yb noitucesrep dnaAlladin Omer Ajjabna Mohammed was charged with apostasy, he was prevented from leaving the country, tortured, injected

8. EgyptThere is no law in Egypt against apostasy, but Christian converts often face harassment and severe pressure from the authorities and from society and cannot change the religion shown on their identity cards from Islam to Christianity. In 2009 Maher el-Gohary was refused permission to have his card amended, and since then he and his daughter have both been forbidden to leave the country and subjected to physical assault.

9. MauritaniaMauritania is governed by sharia. Conversion from Islam is forbidden, and apostasy is punishable by death, although the penalty has not been imposed in recent years. The Christian population is a tiny proportion of the whole, and almost all of them are expatriates rather than Mauritanian converts. Converts have to practise their faith in secret for fear of legal or communal reprisals.

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Christian Converts from Islam

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BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 iii

1. SomaliaConverts in Somalia live in greater peril than most. Many have been murdered by Muslim radicals. In 2008 David Abdulwahab Mohamed Ali was killed by his cousin and members of the militant group al-Shabaab when he acknowledged to them that he was

sah strevnoc fo gnillik ehT .tsirhC fo rewollof acontinued to the present time.

4. IranConverts from Islam are persecuted more severely than other Christians in Iran, and arrests and detentions are common. The authorities try to intimidate the converts into abandoning their faith or leaving the country. In 2005 Ghorban Tori, a convert who had converted other Muslims, was kidnapped by the security forces, and soon afterwards he was found stabbed to death. Convert and church leader Hossein Soodmand was accused of apostasy in 1990 and was executed by hanging.

5. YemenIn Yemen apostasy is punishable by execution. In 2000 Muhammad Haj Omar was sentenced to death by a Yemeni court for his conversion to Christianity, and only after an international outcry was he deported instead. Although there are no recent reports of the death penalty being carried out, Christian converts face arrest, torture and murder by the

CONVERT DANGER INDEX

1 Somalia 225

2 Afghanistan 219

3 Saudi Arabia 210

4 Iran 193

5 Yemen 159

6 Comoros 156

7 Sudan (North) 150

8 Egypt 143

9 Mauritania 129

10 Algeria 117

11 Morocco 105

12 Pakistan 98

13 Uzbekistan 96

14 Turkmenistan 91

15 Indonesia 81

16 Tajikistan 77

17 Tunisia 63

18 Turkey 60

19 Kyrgyzstan 57

20 Jordan 56

21 Iraq 53

22 Bangladesh 48

23 Syria 32

24 Azerbaijan 28

This table and map show 24 Muslim-majority countries ranked on how they treat Christian converts from Islam, according to the overall ranking devised by Barnabas Fund.

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resuLTs of The surveYThe Convert Danger Index has revealed the most dangerous countries for converts from Islam in the Muslim world. The top five on the CDI are:

1. Somalia is ranked as the most dangerous and restrictive country for converts. Aggressive Islamic radicals exercise immense power, and although only a few hundred converts are believed to be living in the country, regular reports are received of their being murdered for leaving Islam. The radicals aim to kill all of them.

2. Afghanistan is home to a particularly radical and intolerant form of Islam, and converts are very unsafe there. The government has recently launched a crackdown against missionaries and converts, and the Taliban have also killed apostates from Islam.

3. Saudi Arabia’s legal structure is completely intolerant of converts from Islam. As almost all are secret believers, it is hard to estimate the numbers. The law gives a death sentence for apostasy.

4. The large numbers turning to Christ in Iran have prompted a harsh government backlash. Converts face harassment, imprisonment and torture. One has been executed and others have been kidnapped and murdered.

5. Yemen’s legal system officially prescribes the death penalty for anyone who chooses to leave Islam.

The rankings also show that some countries that have a reputation for representing a tolerant form of Islam are in fact very intolerant of converts.

The survey has shed some light on the different types of problems converts face in different countries. Some countries, such as Yemen, have harsh laws against converts but relatively few incidents of persecution. In these countries there are a very small number of converts, most of whom are living in complete secrecy. Other countries, such as Turkey, have a relatively liberal legal system, but some converts are targeted by radicals and there is a strong feeling in society against them.

It appears also that in some countries – notably Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh – converts are relatively safe. They may not be completely free and may sometimes face dangers, but they can for the most part lead normal lives and do not have to live in secrecy.

But it is important to remember that the safety of converts also depends upon their families, and even in Muslim countries that are relatively safe (and also in non-Muslim countries) converts’ families can put heavy pressure on them or even threaten them with violence and death.

LegaL ranKing 1 Saudi Arabia 110

2 Afghanistan 109

3 Iran 108

4 Yemen 104

5 Somalia 95

6 Comoros 94

7 Sudan (North) 83

8 Mauritania 79

9 Egypt 73

10 Morocco 60

11 Algeria 57

12 Tunisia 43

13 Uzbekistan 31

14 Indonesia 31

15 Turkmenistan 31

16 Jordan 26

17 Pakistan 23

18 Iraq 23

19 Tajikistan 22

20 Syria 22

21 Bangladesh 13

22 Azerbaijan 13

23 Kyrgyzstan 8

24 Turkey 5

inCidenT-Based ranKing 1 Somalia 125

2 Afghanistan 110

3 Saudi Arabia 100

4 Iran 85

5 Pakistan 75

6 Egypt 70

7 Uzbekistan 65

8 Algeria 60

9 Comoros 60

10 Turkmenistan 60

11 Yemen 55

12 Turkey 55

13 Kyrgyzstan 55

14 Sudan (North) 55

15 Tajikistan 55

16 Indonesia 50

17 Mauritania 50

18 Morocco 45

19 Iraq 30

20 Jordan 30

21 Bangladesh 25

22 Tunisia 20

23 Azerbaijan 15

24 Syria 10

These tables show the ranking of treatment of Christian converts from Islam in 24 Muslim-majority countries, according to the legal and incident-based ranking

Freedom to Believe: Challenging Islam’s Apostasy Law by Dr Patrick Sookhdeo explains Islam’s law of apostasy and the punishments it requires for those who leave Islam. It vividly illustrates the dangers faced by Muslim converts to Christianity in many parts of the world.

Freedom to Believe is available to order at the offer price of £6.99 plus £2.00 postage and packing. Please visit our website, www.barnabasfund.org/shop, or contact your nearest Barnabas office (addresses on back cover).

Islam stands alone among world religions in officially prescribing a range of severe punishments for any of its adherents who choose to leave their faith, punishments that include the death sentence. As a result of this aspect of Islamic teaching, most Muslim people feel a strong hostility towards apostates, and many feel they are justified – indeed duty-bound – to harass, attack or even kill former Muslims. In some countries apostasy is officially punishable by death (although the sentence is seldom carried out), and in some others it is treated as illegal and carries lesser punishments. As Islam becomes increasingly conservative and its calls for the full implementation of shari‘a become more insistent, the danger of a more consistent and widespread enforcing of the apostasy law increases considerably. (p.14)

Operation Nehemiah UpdateA call to rebuild

Mission Statement: Operation Nehemiah is committed to maintaining Christian values of freedom of conscience, speech and religion for the next generation in church and society.

As the people of God under Nehemiah’s leadership took decisive action to rebuild the

disintegrated foundations of Jerusalem, now is the time for Christians in the UK to join together and take action in a hurting society that desperately needs reconstruction. A team at Barnabas Fund has begun implementing various aspects of this campaign, but we need your help. Here are some areas where you can assist:

11BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

Operation Nehemiah

A call to prayer1. THE GOVERNMENT

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

(1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Pray that our country’s leaders will listen to the voices of Christians and acknowledge God in their decision-making. Pray for Christian MPs and MEPs in all parties that they will be strong ambassadors for God. Pray against the strong challenges they face from secular humanism and Islamism. Pray for government support for legislation that promotes freedom of conscience and freedom of speech.

2. THE CHURCH“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

(Matthew 5:11 NRSV)

Pray that the Church will give a clear and strong response to the challenges facing the UK, raising awareness amongst Christians and calling believers into action. Pray that controversies, confusions and compromises within the Church will be resolved as it becomes proactive in confronting the key issues affecting society. Pray for the growth and mission of the Church, particularly in regions impacted by Islamist agendas.

3. THE CHILDREN“So the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

They would not be like their forefathers – a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle.”

(Psalm 78:6-9 )

The children in this country are growing up in an environment that is increasingly anti-Christian and anti-God. Remember in prayer our children, the next generation, and the formidable challenges they face daily. Pray against the effects of secular humanism and Islamism in our schools. Pray for an increase in the number of Christian

teachers, for their protection, and for the preservation and growth of Christian schools. Unlike the children of Ephraim, may the children of today not turn back in the day of battle!

A call to researchWe would like to invite you to send any news articles or personal reports that might be relevant for any of the issues covered by the Operation Nehemiah booklet. We need this material to help our research, monitor the impact of secularism and Islam and facilitate 24/7 prayer. Together we can start the work of rebuilding.

Please send your contributions to Operation Nehemiah, Barnabas Fund, The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB.

A call to respondWe trust that, with the Lord’s help, Operation Nehemiah will be delivered by a broad coalition of Christian organisations, churches and concerned individuals. Please contact us if there is an area where you believe you can help.

We will be facilitating training across Britain on Islam entitled Greater Understanding of Islam. Topics will cover effective outreach to Muslims and answering Muslim objections to the Gospel. Dates to be announced.

For more information on Operation Nehemiah, please contact us at the addresss above, or at [email protected].

Halal meat could be served to children in 52 primary schools in Harrow if current plans go ahead. This is despite Muslims’ comprising merely 7 per cent of the population in the London borough. Halal is meat from an animal killed and prepared in accordance with Islamic teaching, including prayer over the meat by a Muslim butcher.

The Chief Coordinator of Harrow Pakistani Society has responded to such developments by arguing, “For Muslim children the only option they have to eat is

halal whereas it isn’t a problem for children of other faiths to eat halal. This isn’t about Islamification or pandering to Muslims. It’s just common sense.” However, this is a problem for non-Muslim children, who are in the majority, especially the Christian child who doesn’t want to offend God. Interestingly, the slaughter of animals without their being stunned, a common practice in the preparation of halal meat, has also been a great concern for animal welfare groups, who consider it cruel.

Tensions were raised in many Muslim-majority parts of the world when a Florida pastor threatened to burn copies of the Qur’an on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. In some places specific threats were voiced against local Christians. In the end the burning did not go ahead, but rumours that a Qur’an had been desecrated elsewhere in the United States provoked a violent Muslim response in one Indian town.

Late at night on Sunday 12 September the one Christian church in Malerkotla, the only Muslim-majority town in the

INDIA / PAKISTAN: REPORTS OF QUR’AN DESECRATION SPARK ATTACKS ON CHURCHES

Indian state of Punjab, was attacked by a Muslim mob. They dragged the church furniture out of the building and set it on fire, and also tried to demolish parts of the church. The authorities confirmed that the trouble was sparked by a report about the alleged defiling of a Qur’an in Michigan.

Other incidents in the region have been connected to similar rumours. In Kashmir a Christian school was set ablaze on 13 September during a violent demonstration. And that same weekend a bomb exploded outside a church in the Cantonment area of Mardan, Pakistan. Two people were injured and were taken to hospital.

China’s “house churches” (unregistered churches) continue to suffer many harassments at the hands of the authorities. On 30 August the police entered a prayer centre owned by a house church in Zhejiang province and forcibly ejected 20 Christians from the building. The believers then watched helplessly as their prayer room, school room and training centre were demolished.

Earlier in August three churches belonging to one of the major unregistered networks, which has an estimated 5-7 million members, were also targeted. The network’s leaders had been invited to the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in South Africa in October, but the Public Security Bureau learned of this and put pressure on them not to attend. When the leaders refused, the three churches were closed down. (Source: www.ChinaAid.org)

Two Indonesian church leaders from Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) were assaulted while on their way to conduct morning prayers on 12 September. Asia Sihombing was stabbed as he walked towards an outdoor area to hold a worship service. Luspida Simandjuntak went to his aid, but she was beaten with a stick by the attackers. Sihombing was taken to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery for his injuries.

Local police claimed that this attack was not religiously motivated. However, Luspida said she recognised the attackers as men who frequently demonstrated during their services, and after Sihombing had been stabbed, she reported, “I heard people at the nearby mosque shouting ‘Allah Akbar’.” (This is a traditional Islamic cry meaning “god is great” and is often used in the mosque and also in jihad.)

This is now the sixth reported attack on this congregation, which has been forced to meet in an open field following a dispute with local authorities. On 8 August, a mob of 300 Muslims surrounded worshippers during their service. They threw shoes and water bottles, then chased down and punched several members of the group, injuring at least a dozen Christians, including one of the church leaders.

INDONESIA: CHURCH LEADERS ATTACKED

Newsroom


A policeman surveys the damage at the church in Mardan

Chinese Christians sit amidst the rubble outside their demolished church in Zhejiang province (Source: www.ChinaAid.org)

CHINA: PRAYER CENTRE DESTROYED, CHURCHES CLOSED

further appeals and gives a bleak outlook for the other churches who have also contested the refusal of their applications.

On 9 January the tent used by Cathedral of Praise Church for worship was destroyed in a fire; the CRA refused permission for the congregation to rent alternative premises for church services.

Newsroom

1�BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

The Iraqi government has pledged to help exiled Christians return to their homeland after thousands were forced to flee amid intense persecution.

Over the last 20 years, Iraqi Christians have been targeted in waves of savage anti-Christian violence, resulting in a massive decline in the Christian population of Iraq, from 1.5 million in 1990 to perhaps as low as 400,000 today. Much of this decline took place after the invasion of 2003, with many of the remaining Christians now internally displaced.

Following a meeting with the Pope in July, the new Iraqi ambassador to the Vatican, Habbeb Mohammed Hadi Ali Al-Sadr said that the government had offered assistance to those Iraqi Christians who had fled the country. He said, “For its part, the government has committed itself to all those who return, to give them a job, a plot to

IRAQ: HOPE FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS

Three leaders of an underground church in North Korea have been executed and 20 Christians have been sent to a prison labour camp in Yodok. Sources say the arrests and executions were carried out in mid-May when police raided a house in Kuwal-dong in Pyungsung County, Pyongan Province, and arrested 23 believers who were gathered there. The leaders were tried and sentenced to death, and the authorities wasted little time in carrying out the executions.

North Korea is one of the most difficult places in the world to be a Christian, and it is estimated that there are at least 400,000 Christians, all of whom are living under constant threat of imprisonment, torture or public execution if the authorities discover their Christian faith. It is thought that between 40,000 and 60,000 Christians are currently in prison labour camps because of their faith. Such camps are notorious for brutal treatment, starvation and torture, sometimes to death.

NORTH KOREA: THREE CHRISTIAN LEADERS EXECUTEDrebuild their homes and 1.5 million

Iraqi dinars.” He affirmed that the Iraqi Constitution sanctions the total equality of rights for Christians and also gave them the possibility of creating a semi-autonomous region like Kurdistan.

This follows years of campaigning on behalf of the decimated Iraqi Christian community on an international stage by Barnabas Fund. In addition to sending practical help, Barnabas Fund stepped up efforts in 2003 when it became apparent that most of the international community was unaware that a Christian presence remained in Iraq – and nobody else was speaking up for them. In July 2010, Barnabas Fund’s International Director, Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, held high-level talks about the plight of the Iraqi church in Washington DC, where a prayer vigil involving senior Iraqi church leaders also took place.

On 30 July, a church in Azerbaijan lost its fight to win back legal recognition after being refused registration under a new religion law.

The law, passed in 2009, required all previously registered religious organisations to gain new accreditation. All churches had to submit documents to re-register by the start of 2010, and many were required by the authorities to amend their constitutions, particularly with regard to outreach and children’s summer camps. Churches then began receiving

AZERBAIJAN: WORRYING PRECEDENT SET AFTER CHURCH LOSES LEGAL FIGHT

letters informing them that their applications had been refused, including Cathedral of Praise Church, Baku City.

On 25 May Pastor Halilov, from Cathedral of Praise Church, wrote to the Committee of Religious Affairs (CRA) to contest the refusal, but two months later, a judge delivered the disappointing verdict that the CRA had not acted unlawfully in rejecting the application. This ruling sets a worrying legal precedent for

The remains of Cathedral of Praise Church, Baku City, which was destroyed in a fire in January


Country Profile

IranIran is a country often in the news. Its development of nuclear energy, its suppression of political opposition after a disputed election, its threat to stone or lash a woman accused of adultery: all these are widely covered in the media and seize the attention of Western observers.

But another story from Iran goes almost untold and unnoticed: the story of Iran’s Christians, and especially of its Christian converts from Islam, who are among the most severely persecuted believers in the world.

The churches of IranChristianity began to spread in the territory that is now Iran shortly after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. During its long history in the region the churches have seen first significant growth, even numbering 25% of the population before the Arab invasion of the 7th century, and then steep decline as a result of wars, massacres and Muslim pressure. In recent years, however, they have both lost and gained large numbers of people.

In 1979 a revolution led by Muslim clerics overthrew the secular, modernising and pro-Western government of Iran and established an Islamic Republic. There followed a sharp increase in anti-Christian

discrimination and persecution, which reached a peak in the 1990s when several prominent church leaders were assassinated or executed. A more moderate government eased the pressure on the churches for a while, but then the hardliners made a comeback with the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2005, and hostility against Iranian Christians increased once again.

Many Christians have fled to the West to escape the harsh treatment that they suffer in their homeland. The Armenian and Assyrian churches (the historic Christian communities) have been badly affected by this trend. But at the same time, the believers who remain in Iran have been joined by a rapidly increasing number of converts from Islam. Precise figures are unavailable, as these new Christians have to practise their faith mainly in secret, but the many reported incidents of harassment and arrest suggest strongly that the Islamic government regards the scale of conversion to Christianity as a serious problem. A significant level of dissatisfaction with Islam, produced by 30 years of Islamic rule, is helping to turn many people to Christ. (See further below.)

According to the United Nations the number of Christians in Iran today is around 300,000, which is only a small fraction of what it was before the revolution. But this figure is likely to be a significant under-estimate, as it does not include the believers who have converted from Islam and are thought to number at least in the tens of thousands. Some

estimates would now put the total Christian population as high as 1-2 million.

A persecuting regimeThe Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the hardest places in the world to be a Christian. In the annual “Hall of Shame” produced by International Christian Concern the country was ranked third in 2009, and it holds fourth place in the Barnabas Fund list for the persecutors of converts (see pp i-iv). It is not the community in general that is hostile to Christians; most Muslim citizens are prepared to co-exist with their Christian neighbours and leave them largely undisturbed. But the government and its agencies have consistently oppressed the churches, along with other religious minorities.

A totalitarian Islamic regime such as the Iranian government will inevitably regard Christians as a threat to its religious and political authority. In the short term its persecuting zeal seems to be aimed especially at checking the flow of conversions from Islam to Christianity and intimidating converts into renouncing their new faith. But President Ahmadinejad has reportedly pledged to “stop Christianity in this country”, and some commentators believe that his longer-term goal is to “cleanse” Iran – and perhaps the whole of the Middle East – of its entire Christian population.

Although some Christians in Iran can worship in an impressive building, the life of the churches is closely regulated (Source: Avemundi, Wikimedia Commons)


Country Profile

The constitution of Iran offers recognition to some religious minorities. Shi‘a Islam is the state religion, but “other Islamic denominations are to be accorded full respect”, and the country’s pre-Islamic religious groups (Zoroastrians, Christians and Jews) are given “protected” status, with freedom to practise their faith.

But the constitution also states that all laws and regulations must be “based on Islamic criteria” and consistent with the official interpretation of sharia (Islamic law), and in practice the government severely restricts religious freedom. Even members of the supposedly protected religious groups report harassment and intimidation, arrest and imprisonment on the grounds of their beliefs. These actions, together with hostile rhetoric and inflammatory statements from political and religious leaders and in the media, have served to create a deeply threatening atmosphere for Christians in Iran. They are often accused of activities against the regime.

Anti-Christian antagonism takes many forms, but the most common are discrimination, regulation of churches, attacks on church leaders and persecution of converts.

Discrimination Christians in Iran suffer discrimination in many areas of life, and at local, provincial and national levels. With respect to employment, they are disqualified from serving in senior positions in the government or public sector, as regular officers in the armed forces, and in any role in the judiciary or security services. They cannot be elected to any representative body, except for three seats in the 290-seat Iranian parliament (the Majlis).

No Christian religious teaching is allowed in government schools. The government allows Christians to educate their children in their own schools, but the directors of these schools must usually be Muslims, and the Ministry of Education has to approve all textbooks used. Christian schools are monitored closely by the authorities, and this supervision is seriously restrictive in some cases. Christians are also unfairly treated with regard to university admissions.

There is clear and explicit discrimination against Christians in both the civic and the religious courts, and Islamic laws on marriage and inheritance are applied to them as well as to Muslims. They are also disadvantaged in the provision of housing.

Gender segregation is enforced throughout the country on people of all faiths, and Christian women are expected to wear Islamic clothing in public; the government periodically cracks down on “non-Islamic dress”.

Regulation of churchesThe authorities keep a close watch on events and organisations run by the churches, and spies from the Ministry of Information or the Ministry of Islamic

LeADeRs AnD conveRTs suffeRIng foR chRIsT

Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh, both converts from Islam, were arrested in 2009 and held for 259 days in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. In court the young women refused the demands of their prosecutors

to renounce their Christian faith. Eventually they were released and acquitted, but they left Iran after being warned against any future Christian activity there.

Hamid Shafiee and his wife Reyhaneh Aghajary, also converts and church leaders in Isfahan, were detained on 28 February 2010. When Reyhaneh protested, officers insulted and assaulted her and squirted her with pepper spray. Bibles, books, CDs and computers were confiscated from the couple’s home. They too were released later, but are expected to face a court hearing.

Wilson Issavi, a church leader, was arrested at a friend’s home and taken away. For weeks his family had no news of his whereabouts. When his wife was finally allowed to visit, she found that he was being kept in dreadful conditions and

bore visible marks of torture. He was set free after 54 days, but awaits further investigation of his charges by the courts.

Abbas Amiri and his wife Sakineh Rahnama, a couple in their 60s, were physically assaulted by security officers at a church meeting that they hosted in their home in July 2008. Abbas, who was a convert, was savagely beaten, and he died of his injuries two weeks later. Sakineh also died of her wounds and from stress-related causes the following month.

A Bible in Farsi, the language of most Iranian Christian converts from Islam. It is illegal to sell or even possess one of these Bibles in Iran, or to hold services or Bible studies in the Farsi language


Country Profile

Guidance often attend services. Permits are required for many activities and are not always granted. Church leaders in particular are subject to intense surveillance, and some even have their phones tapped.

Congregations are required to register with the authorities, to compile and submit membership lists for them, and to inform them before admitting new people. Their members have to carry membership cards and provide photocopies of these to the government. Worshippers are subject to identity checks outside church buildings, and some churches are allowed to hold services only on Sundays.

It is illegal to conduct church services and Bible studies in Farsi, the language of the Muslim majority in Iran. This means that while members of the historic churches are allowed to worship in their own languages, converts from Islam, who are Farsi-speakers, cannot do so. Sharing one’s faith with Muslims is strictly prohibited, and Christians can be put under extreme pressure to reveal the names of any Muslims to whom they have spoken about their faith. Some church leaders are pressured by the authorities to sign pledges saying that they will not evangelise or baptise Muslims or even allow them to attend church services. Such pledges can be a condition for the issuing of government licences for ministry. Muslims are discouraged from even entering Christian premises.

Many conversions from Islam to Christianity have resulted from satellite television and radio broadcasts. The government has responded by putting up towers in major cities to jam signals and controlling telephone lines to Christian

television programmes. The main telecommunications company was recently bought by the Revolutionary Guards.

Sometimes the government refuses applications for the construction of new church buildings or forces existing ones to be closed. Christian training centres and other institutions have also been shut. A ban is in place on the publishing or importing of scriptures and Christian literature, and it is an offence even to possess or sell a Bible.

Attacks on leadersSince the 1979 revolution a number of prominent Christian leaders have been violently attacked, and several have been murdered. It is alleged that at least some of the assassinations were carried out by a death squad operating within the security services and acting on orders from the highest level. There was a spate of such killings in the 1990s, though more recently these have become rarer.

But leaders remain in danger, especially those who are involved in ministry among Muslims or who lead convert churches – especially if they are converts themselves. Those who refuse to collaborate with the secret police are threatened with arrest, indefinite detention and even death.

Persecution of convertsConverts from Islam to Christianity are persecuted more harshly than other Christians in Iran. Converts are the primary target of the Iranian authorities. For this reason they cannot participate openly in Christian worship, and many choose to keep their faith secret. The growth of house

churches in Iran has happened in response to this persecution to provide a way for Muslim converts to worship.

Apostasy from Islam is seen by many Muslims as equivalent to treason, and all schools of Islamic law specify the death sentence for adult male converts from Islam. The connection between conversion and treason has been reinforced recently by the government’s linking of converts with the West and Israel. At a time of international tension this poses a significant risk to them.

But according to the 1989 Iranian constitution, judges must make their judgments first on the basis of Iranian law; only in cases where Iranian law has nothing to say are they directed to use authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatwas. Thus far Iranian judges have been able to impose the death penalty in apostasy cases only on this second basis, not on that of Iranian law. There have been no reported executions of converts since the hanging of Hossein Soodmand in 1990.

But in September 2008 the Iranian parliament gave provisional approval to a bill that mandates the death penalty for (male) apostasy as part of Iranian law. In June 2009 a committee of the parliament recommended removing this provision from the bill, but no further news has been received since then. If it were passed into law, converts to Christianity would be in greater danger of judicial execution.

Even without this ultimate sanction, however, the Iranian authorities have effective means of persecuting converts. In recent years there have been numerous reports of their systematic arrest and indefinite detention.

there. The Christians were all arrested and held for a week and were subjected to harsh interrogation. Though most were then released, three of those arrested, Stephen Reza (48), his wife Maria and Ehsan Behrooz (23), remain in detention at the time of writing.

1989 he was arrested and charged with apostasy and insulting Islam by his own conversion and his efforts to convert other Muslims, and with allegedly being an American spy. A Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death.

Twenty years later, converts from Islam are still being persecuted in Mashhad. On 18 July 2010 a bus carrying 15 newly-converted Christians was forced to stop by government security forces in the city. The group were on their way to a provincial town to spend time with fellow believers


Country Profile

BARnABAs funD’s suPPoRT foR IRAnIAn chRIsTIAns

Barnabas Fund is assisting with a number of projects that help Iranian Christians, but we cannot usually publicise what we are doing in case it puts them at risk. If you would like to support this work, you may like to send a donation to the Iran General Fund (project reference 19-940) which will be distributed between the various projects.

Turn to page 4 to read about a project supporting Iranian Christians that we have been able to publicise.

Although charges are rarely pressed as far as conviction and sentencing, the authorities’ tactic appears designed to intimidate the Christians into either abandoning their new faith or fleeing the country. In this hostile environment the conversion of so many Iranian Muslims to Christianity is all the more remarkable – and even greater ground for thanksgiving.

For many years the Iranian government has also been threatening Iranian converts to Christianity outside the country. Then in September 2008 the Iranian parliament gave it the authority to reach beyond the borders in pursuit of Iranians who have left Islam. Converts have been harassed even in the West.

storm clouds gatheringUnder its hard-line president, and with its barely disguised ambitions to become a nuclear power, Iran has become a serious threat to the stability of the Middle East.

conveRTs sTILL PeRsecuTeD In MAshhAD

Hossein Soodmand, a Christian convert from Islam, was charged with apostasy and other “crimes” and executed in 1990

On 3 December 1990 Hossein Soodmand was executed by hanging in the Iranian city of Mashhad. He converted from Islam to Christianity in 1964 and acted as a pastor and evangelist in a local church. In

A mosque in Mashhad, where a group of Christian converts from Islam was detained in July (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Western governments are currently considering their options for containing this threat, and it seems that military action of some kind is a real possibility.

Western intervention in Iraq and the internal strife that followed it have been disastrous for the churches, with vast numbers of believers displaced within the country or forced to become refugees elsewhere, and many killed in savage outbreaks of anti-Christian violence. Their tragic story suggests that if similar action is taken against Iran – whether justified or not – the consequences for the Iranian churches are likely to be enormous. And if there is indeed a backlash against Christians, converts from Islam will suffer the most.

Please pray for strength and courage for our brothers and sisters in Iran, that they may be protected from harm and stand firm in their faith in the face of persecution and an uncertain future.

In Touch

Have you ordered your copy of the Barnabas Fund year journal? This valuable devotional resource has pages for you to record your thoughts and reflections throughout the months, as well as uplifting Bible verses and short testimonies, prayers and poems from Christians around the world who have drawn closer to the Lord through trials and suffering.

My Devotional Journal can both encourage you in your own spiritual journey and make an ideal present for your Christian friends. It is available now at the special offer price of £5 (plus £2 P&P). Please contact your nearest Barnabas Fund office to order your copy.

My Devotional Journal


Barnabas Goes DirectYou may have noticed that some of our donation forms have changed. Barnabas Fund has taken the decision to move from Standing Orders to Direct Debits, as they are more efficient and cheaper for us to process. If you already have a Standing Order with us, you do not need to worry; we will not be making any changes to existing orders. However, if you would like to set up a regular gift to Barnabas Fund, please complete the new Direct Debit form on the inside back cover.

Christmas Cards to Support BarnabasWith this edition of Barnabas Aid we are enclosing a form to order packs of Christmas cards by post. Barnabas Fund has partnered with Just Cards Direct, a Christian organisation that supports the work of Christian aid agencies. They import and sell handmade greeting cards from Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa as well as printed cards from around the world.

Supporting a Barnabas Fund project as a gift for a friend or relative is a valuable means of resourcing vital ministries. Why not do this as an alternative Christmas present for your loved ones this year?

If you choose to support a Barnabas Fund project, we can supply you with an attractive “Thank you” card, which you can send to the person on whose behalf you have made the donation.

Please fill in the details as you would like them to appear on the card. Please write clearly.

If you would like to have the card sent directly to the recipient, or if you would prefer to receive blank cards and fill them out yourself, please contact your national office (address details on back cover).

If you would like more cards, please photocopy this page and send it with your donation.

supporting Barnabas as an alternative Christmas Present

A B C D

“Dear __________________________

A gift of £_______ has been received on your behalf from __________________

This gift will assist Christians who are persecuted for their faith.

With many thanks on behalf of the persecuted Church”

Tick here if you do not want the amount to be stated on the card

Tick here if you do wish details about the project to be included on the card

Please state your preferred card choice (see below): _______

You can purchase these cards using this form or online at www.justcardsdirect.com. Simply select “Barnabas Fund” on their website at the payment stage and we will receive 10% of the proceeds from all sales.

“Dear __________________________

A gift of £_______ has been received on your behalf from __________________

This gift will assist Christians who are persecuted for their faith.

With many thanks on behalf of the persecuted Church”

Tick here if you do not want the amount to be stated on the card

Tick here if you do wish details about the project to be included on the card

Please state your preferred card choice (see below): _______

Barnabas Aid November/December 2010

Documents

Transcript of Barnabas Aid November/December 2010