Iran: U.S. Congregational Budget Cut to Affect Christians

BY SUCCESS KANAYO UCHIME

The decision by the United States (U.S.) Congress to cut-down on its congregational budget, a program that rescues persecuted Christians from Iran may affect Christians in that country, as the debate is ongoing in the Congress.


This revelation is part of a report by the Regional Manager for the Middle East, International Christian Concern (ICC) (http://www.persecution.org/), Aidan Clay adding that the program is set to be chopped just days after reports surfaced that an Armenian Christian and his Jewish wife were executed in Tehran.

(Barack Obama, the U.S President)

He noted that the Lautenberg Amendment was established in 1989 to offer U.S. refugee status to persecuted Jews and Christians from the former Soviet Union and was expanded in 2003 to assist Christians, Baha’is and Jews in Iran.

According to Clay, without the program, persecuted Christians and other religious minorities in Iran will be denied the opportunity to apply for the same refugee status in the U.S. that is offered to persecuted religious minorities throughout the world.

He said the program is not included in any resolutions that carried over into the New Year and its renewal has been delayed due to the current budget standoff in the U.S. Congress and that Rep. Lamar SmithLamar Smith, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has proposed overseeing all existing immigration related programs prior to being passed by Congress.

He noted that this means that the program will suffer further deferment, delay and possible rejection by the committee. Since its enactment 22 years ago, this noncontroversial humanitarian program has received nothing but widespread support in Congress.

Clay said as the program’s renewal hangs on a thread, persecution in Iran increases and that on March 14, a Jewish-Armenian couple and three others were secretly executed in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Moreover, Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani awaits the same fate after being convicted of apostasy last September and issued the death sentence by hanging.

He is of the view that without the Lautenberg Amendment, imprisonments and executions of Iranian Christians and other religious minorities will heighten. “Without the assurance of the Lautenberg amendment, Iranian Christians who have fled to neighboring countries face potential deportation back to Iran.”

He noted that for them, returning to Iran means immediate imprisonment, and potential execution, upon arrival stressing that this program assures religious minorities that their applications to receive refuge in the U.S. from religious persecution will be reviewed and processed.

“We urge the U.S. Congress, particularly Representative Lamar Smith, to save countless lives by immediately renewing the Lautenberg amendment. Please call Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, to express your concern: (202) 225-4236,” Clay urged.

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Chinese Underground Churches Face New Challenges

BY SUCCESS KANAYO UCHIME

The Underground Churches in China are daily facing new challenges from the hands of the authorities there, with the recent news of attacks on Beijing and Guangzhou underground Churches.


Asia News report (http://www.asianews.it/) indicates that in addition to the ever-present threat of violence, the authorities now use administrative rules and legal technicalities to shut down Churches. The faithful, however, are prepared to pray even in snow-covered parks.

(One of the Chinese Underground Church leaders detained by the police)

It noted that underground Chinese Christians are increasingly the target of the authorities and that just recently, one of the largest home Church has been shut down.

According to the report, another one in Guangzhou has been forced to stop its activities, whilst a third one has been expelled from the premises it had rented. Although less violent as in the past, such actions shows how the central government is pursuing relentlessly and more effectively its policy of religious repression.

Commenting on this new development, one of the underground church leaders in China, Rev Jin Tianming said that the Beijing-based Shouwang Church, with about 800 members, now has nowhere to worship after Sunday as its landlord has come under pressure to stop renting it a spacious film studio to host its services.

He noted that it is not the first time that this Church has been under pressure to stop meeting. It has been evicted from rented premises many times in the past and the authorities have used administrative measures, such as allegations that it breached fire regulations, to put pressure on the Church to close.

He said the faithful however plan to hang tight. To each act of persecution, they respond peacefully adding that the last time they were kicked out from their place of worship, in November 2009, they held Sunday worship outdoors, when the Church was forced to hold services in a park in a snowstorm.

Tianming observed that under Chinese law, unauthorized meetings are illegal, but "We don't have a choice. We're willing to face the consequences. In Guangzhou, things are not much better. Local authorities ordered the Tianyun Church, which has a congregation of about 200, to stop worshipping starting this week,” he stated.

He confirmed that another Guangzhou house Church, which has a congregation of 4,000, is also feeling the squeeze after its landlord succumbed to pressure and stopped letting out premises the church had used as an extension to host its bulging congregation. The Rongguili Church owns its main worship venue.

Also commenting, a divinity scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Ying Fuk-tsang, said the authorities tend to be anxious about underground churches, which have expanded rapidly and now have large congregations. "Many rights lawyers and intellectuals (who go to those churches) have criticized the government."

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Smedan Set to Partner CPC on &Lsquo;proserve’ | Socyberty

Smedan Set to Partner CPC on proserve Socyberty

Egyptian Christians Worried Over Referendum Backing Constitutional Changes

BY SUCCESS KANAYO UCHIME

Egyptian Christians are expressing concern over the results of last Saturday’s referendum, which saw 77 per cent of voters backing constitutional changes that will allow the country to move quickly on to elections.


This development is contained in an online report by Open Doors United Kingdom (UK) (www.opendoorsuk.org) stressing that one of their workers in Egypt said he spoke to some Christians from various denominations – Orthodox, Presbyterian and Evangelical – but all said they would vote ‘no’, and they hoped the majority of Egypt would do the same.

(Essam Sharaf, the Egyptian new Prime Minister)

Quoting BBC News, he stated: “It is not that the Christian population does not want the constitution to be changed. Rather, many Christians fear this change is too quick and will only benefit the established political blocs - the Muslim Brotherhood and the National Democratic Party.”

The Open Door worker continued: "Normally a constitutional change takes months or even years of preparation, before all pros and cons are weighed well. So what do they think, that in a few weeks’ time after the revolution? These changes have been prepared properly. I cannot believe that. It is better to wait and take one step at a time. If you want to make changes, then make sure it is done well."

He noted that the National Democratic Party and the Muslim Brotherhood have everything in place. They are well organized and want parliamentary elections as soon as possible.

“Because these two parties take the lead, I expect they will be able to get a big majority, if elections for the next parliament come in just six months. This will give them the freedom to rewrite the constitution in whatever way they like, and the revolution will turn out to be useless,” he also stated.

Abuna Butros, who serves in the cave churches of Mokattam, Cairo, urgently requested prayer for Egypt. "Pray for the constitution and the country. We are sure that we are in the hand of God, like streams of water.”

He said they are waiting for a president and constitution from the hand of God Himself and that they believe God will give this, because they believe Egypt will see a big spiritual revolution. “And we want it soon."

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Mauritanian Pastor Killed by Islamic Fundamentalists

BY SUCCESS KANAYO UCHIME

It’s very worrisome to note the rate of persecution Christians go through in Islamic Republic of Mauritania on a daily basis, with the reported killing of a Pastor, Ahmadou Abu Bakr in Oulata recently.


This revelation is contained in a report by the Regional Manager for Africa International Christian Concern (ICC) a Washington-DC based human rights organization (www.persecution.org) Jonathan Racho who noted that that on March 5 Islamists kidnapped and killed the pastor.

(Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Mauritanian President)

He said that Ahmadou’s bullet-ridden body was found dumped on the outskirts of the city on the morning of March 6th stressing that last year, Pastor Ahmadou had fled the city of Nema to Oulata, because he was threatened by a local Islamist group affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) because of his Christian witness. “The Pastor’s murderers arrived from Nema in a 4-by-4 pickup truck.”

Racho noted that Ahmadou’s widow, Maymuna Elhadji said AQIM and their local affiliates have been targeting local Christians in Mauritania and Mali, countries located in West African sub-region, throughout the last few years. “The widow and her three children have left Oulata and gone into hiding.”

“Maymuna told ICC that her late husband was the fourth Mauritanian martyred for his faith in Southeast Mauritania since 2009. The pastor abandoned Islam and became a follower of Christ in 2008; his wife joined him in the faith in 2009. They have been married for nine years,” he stated.

Racho said they are deeply saddened by the killing of pastor Ahmadou and also outraged by the failure of Mauritanian government to protect the Christian minorities from killings.

He stated: “We urge Mauritanian officials to arrest the killers of pastor Ahmadou and bring them to justice. Mauritanian authorities have an obligation to protect their citizens from the Islamic onslaught.”

Speaking on this development, a local church leader, Nouakchott, who spoke to ICC from the Mauritanian capital, described pastor Ahmadou as, “a selfless disciple of Christ who served in the most dangerous region in Mauritania and supported his family as a tent maker.”

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Eritrean Christian Faces Possible Death Sentence in Saudi Arabia

BY SUCCES KANAYO UCHIME

For an alleged preaching the Gospel of Christ outside a Mosque in Saudi Arabia, an Eritrean Christian, Mussie Eyob, may probably face a death sentence.


This fact in contained in a report by the United Kingdom (U.K) based registered Christian charity organization, Release International, (www.releaseinternational.org) stressing that Eyob, a relatively new Christian, is currently being held at a high-security prison in Jeddah after Saudi officials arrested him at a mosque in the Haya Roda area on February 12.

(Isaias Afewerki, Eritrea President)

It noted that Saudi officials presumed initially Mussie must have some mental health issues – but a medical examination found him to be in good mental health.

According to the report, from Release Eritrea, it noted that that Mussie is being treated well and is in good spirits – and his family were able to visit him on March 20 adding that Release Eritrea is calling on Christians in the UK to pray that Mussie will be shown clemency and released.

It observed that through its international network of missions, Release International serves persecuted Christians in 30 countries around the world by supporting pastors and Christian prisoners, and their families; supplying Christian literature and Bibles; and working for justice.

It would be noted that the population of Eritrea is about equally divided between Christians and Muslims i.e. 34,700,310 people, representing 47.5% of the total population of 5,939,484 (July 2011 est.)

Again the Jehovah's Witnesses and other religious groups that the government has not granted recognition are daily facing persecution.

It needs to be noted also that the Italians brought to Eritrea a huge development of Catholicism and by the 1940 nearly one third of the Eritrean population was catholic, mainly in Asmara where many churches were built.

Further to that, after World War II, Eritrea was annexed to Ethiopia and then in 1991 the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) defeated the Ethiopian government. Eritrea officially celebrated its 1st anniversary of independence on May 24, 1992.

Further sources: http://www.religionfacts.com/  and http://www.indexmundi.com/eritrea/population.html

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Two Indian Christians Imprisoned in Saudi Arabia

BY SUCCESS KANAYO UCHIME


It has been reported that two Indian Christians, Vasantha Sekhar and Nese Yohan working in Saudi Arabia have been arrested in Batha, Riyadh, and sentenced to 45 days in prison.


This indication is contained in a report by the Advocacy Officer, International Christian Concern (ICC) (www.persecution.org) Logan Maurer adding that on March 11, 2010, at 8:30 PM local time, Vasantha Sekhar and Nese Yohan were arrested and beaten.

Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of India

He noted that they were accused of proselytizing. ICC contacts in Saudi Arabia believe they were arrested to keep them from practicing Christianity privately in their home.

He said that while in prison awaiting trial, their apartment was ransacked and that they face uncertainty regarding their future. An employer has returned the passport of one of the Christians, making it clear that his job is no longer available, and he will be expelled. The other Christian awaits information regarding his legal status and job.

Maurer noted that Saudi Arabia has a long history of quietly cracking down on Christians and that in 2004, 28 Indian workers were arrested in Messriam for practicing Christianity.

According to him, the charges were dropped, but in 2010 they were brought up again. One was deported, and one has been arrested. In another case, 16 Indian workers were arrested in February 2008, and then released after three days. In 2010, eight left the country of their own accord and three of the remaining eight were issued deportation orders and expelled.

“These two Christians have faced false charges and false evidence. The Saudi government continues to engage in an array of severe violations of human rights as part of its repression of freedom of religion,” Logan Maurer stated.

He continued: “Please contact Saudi Arabia officials and politely ask them to release and not expel vulnerable religious communities of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia Embassies: United States: (202) 342-3800
UK: (+44-20)79173000 Canada: (+1-613) 2374100.”

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