How Christians are Being Victimized Somalia

Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed

Somalia has continued its suppression of the Christian minorities in the country despite both internal and international outcries as a Christian was reportedly killed while his children were kidnapped.


In a release by the Open Doors Prayer Communications team, www.opendoorsuk.org/pray/loik, it noted that one Abdullah – Christian man had been murdered on 21 July in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

It said that suspected al-Shabaab rebels entered Abdullah's house and gunned him down in front of his wife and children adding that when the attackers left, they took the wife, who was later released, and the children with them.

“It appears that Abdullah was killed for his faith. Sources described him as an influential member of his community. Over recent years a number of Somalis suspected of leaving Islam to follow Christ have been murdered,” the release said.

According to the release, the extremist al-Shabaab movement has vowed to topple Somalia's shaky transitional government and impose a strict version of Islamic law stressing that the situation in the country had been very tense in the lead up to Ramadan, the month of Muslim fasting which started on 11 August.

“Al-Shabaab rebels were said to have ordered residents to hand over their televisions and satellite dishes in preparation for Ramadan. Anyone who refused would be considered a spy – an accusation al-Shabaab rebels deem deserving of death,” it also noted.

Further to that, it observed that the Al-Shabaab are known for their reign of terror in the areas under their control: amputating the legs of youngsters for theft; decapitating Christians for ‘espionage'; and claiming responsibility for blowing up a nightclub in the Ugandan capital Kampala in July, killing more than 70 people. This is apparently because of the country's participation in peace-keeping operations in the war-torn Horn of Africa.

“Please pray for God's comfort for Abdullah's family, and for the release of the children who appear to still be in the custody of their father's murderers. Also pray for the protection of Christians in Somalia and the Somali-dominated regions of the neighboring countries - Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya - during this time of Ramadan.”

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Persecution of Christians in Vietnam Takes a Drastic Turn

Vietnamese Prsident, Nguyen Minh Triet

Tragic details emerge in Vietnamese persecution of Christians as new details about recent religious persecution in the country and the following brutal cover-up has been revealed.


The Advocacy Officer, International Christian Concern (ICC) Logan Maurer, in a recent release said that Vietnamese authorities ordered the Christian Con Dau village, near the city of Da Nang, to be abandoned to build a resort on the site.

He noted that when the people resisted water irrigation was shut off to the rice fields, cutting the main source of income and food adding that on May 4, 2010, Vietnamese police surrounded and attacked a funeral as it approached the cemetery.

“Police arrested and beat 62 persons including women that were stripped naked. One pregnant woman, Le Thi Van, was struck in her stomach until she had a miscarriage.

After the initial incident, special police units have since returned to Con Dau multiple times, demanding information and forcing villagers to sign self-incriminating statements and to spy on each other,” he stated.

Maurer said that those suspected of taking pictures and communicating to the outside world have been beaten and that some villagers have been forced to return to the local police station for further interrogation and torture.

He observed that one of the funeral procession leaders, Thomas Nam Nguyen, refused to return to the police station after being recalled and beaten multiple times stressing that on July 2, the police came to his house and caught him as he tried to escape.

“He was handcuffed and ordered to kneel with his head on the ground while the police kicked his back, chest and head. His wife was present and begged the police to stop. They continued to beat him for approximately four hours, and then released him in critical condition. On July 3, he died at home in the hands of his mother, surrounded by his wife and three children,” he added.

Maurer stated that the Vietnamese government has exposed its brutality and greed, torturing and killing Christians to make room for their ambition. The tourist resort they plan to build in Con Dau will have its foundation in blood. “In 2006 the US State Department removed Vietnam from the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list, citing progress in religious freedom. This incident shows it could not be more wrong.”

“Please contact the Vietnamese embassy in your country and politely ask the Vietnamese officials if they are aware of what has occurred in Con Dau. Vietnamese embassy contact info: (US) 202.861.0737, (UK) 44.20.7937.6108, (Canada) 613.236.0772

In his own reaction to these developments, the Executive Director of Boat People SOS, the organization representing the Con Dau victims, Dr. Thang Nguyen said that the people of Con Dau are living in desperate fear and confusion and that hundreds of residents have been fined, and many have escaped to Thailand.

He said that eight individuals are still in police custody and are waiting trial adding that to date no family members have been able to see them. “Their names are Nguyen Huu Liem, Tran Thanh Viet, Doan Cang, Le Thanh Lam, Nguyen Thi The, Phan Thi Nhan, Nguyen Thi Lieu, and Nguyen Huu Minh.”

Nguyen stated: “On August 18, Congress held a hearing on Vietnamese persecution, focusing on the Con Dau incident. Witnesses included the brother of Thomas Nam Nguyen, a brother of a villager who escaped to Thailand, and a sister of two who are currently imprisoned. It was noted that the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael W. Michalak, said that the incident was a land dispute and refused to become directly involved.”

ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides awareness, advocacy, and assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information log on to their website: http://www.persecution.org/