Watching, praying for the persecuted at Christmas

By Carl Moeller, Open Doors USA. Article posted at Christianity.com.

As much of the world becomes more dangerous for Christians each day, many in the persecuted church defy the threat of terrorist violence and arrest by religion police simply by worshipping as a community of believers.

Last year violence marked Christmas celebrations in Egypt for the second consecutive year. Just days before Coptic Christians celebrated Christmas (Jan. 7 on the Julian calendar Coptic Christians use), as midnight Mass adjourned at a church in Alexandria, Egypt, a suicide bomber killed 24 Christians. Approximately 100 were injured in the New Year’s Day massacre. Militant Islamists also murdered six Christians and wounded nine others as they left Christmas Eve services at St. John’s Church in Nag Hammadi, Egypt.

In Jos, Nigeria, last Christmas Eve the al Qaeda-affiliated Boko Haram terrorist group killed at least 86 Christians with bombs and attacks that primarily targeted worship services. The victims included church choir members hacked to death with knives. On Christmas Day last year in the Philippines' Sulu province, Islamists detonated a bomb inside a chapel, injuring a priest, a 9-year-old girl and nine others.

Christmas is a favorite time for Iran's religion police to harass Christians. Two years ago Iran's mutaween, or religion police, carried out a wave of arrests of Christians, jailing dozens in a sweep of house churches in the days surrounding the holiday. On Dec. 23, 2009, in Mosul, Iraq, a bomb exploded near a church, killing two people; in Mosul on Christmas Eve, Islamists shot a Christian to death at his home.

In a season that for Christians represents great joy and peace, prevailing tension and strife may squelch the celebration. Christmas, like Easter, represents a window for abuse of Christians by persecutors. Believers in Iraq told me that in recent years even hanging traditional decorations in their homes has proven increasingly risky because it draws up reservoirs of hatred toward the church. That's why some Christians in Iraq and elsewhere have curtailed visible observation of Christmas such as lights, decorated trees and Nativity scenes.

This year Christians in the Middle East will mark Christmas for the first time since Arab Spring uprisings toppled entrenched dictators Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Moammar Gadhafi of Libya. As popular revolts geared up last year over Christmas we saw no decrease in violence against Christians. Indeed, attacks on Egypt's Coptic Christian minority have soared, even perpetrated by that nation's military.

Unrest continues in much of the region. Violence targeting believers is ongoing in far-flung places around the globe such as Iraq, India, Nigeria, Sudan and Indonesia. Christians are experiencing persecution in Vietnam, Burma and China. In mid-December North Korea threatened to bomb Christmas trees that South Korean Christians had erected at the nations' volatile border. Turkish authorities have uncovered a sweeping al Qaeda plot to bomb all churches in Turkey's capital, in addition to the Turkish Parliament and U.S. Embassy.

We are never privy to what lies around the bend, but we can pray to the Lord who is. As we hear the Christmas songs of joy and peace, we must remember the persecuted and support them through concerted prayer. Pray that new governments replacing toppled dictators in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia will give Christian minorities a proper and protected place in society. Pray that the hope that led to the Arab Spring uprisings will produce real fruit in the form of true freedom of worship. Should violence erupt, may Christians be protected.

Though the signs for Christians in places hostile to the gospel are not encouraging, the Holy Spirit can redeem any situation for God's glory. May the redemptive power of the baby Jesus born in Bethlehem transform these fears into a season of great hope and true peace.

Three Christians die from inhumane confinement in Eritrea

Three Christians have died after they were
denied medical care in Eritrean military camps.

Three Christians are dead from inhumane confinement in Eritrean military camps, according to Open Doors USA.

Terhase Gebremichel Andu, 28, and Ferewine Genzabu Kifly, 21, were arrested during a prayer meeting in 2009. They faced military brutality and were denied medical care. The women died of starvation and ill health.

Another Christian, Angesom Teklom Habtemichel, 26, also died from poor treatment within weeks of Terhase and Ferewine. He was diagnosed with severe malaria but was denied medical treatment. He died only days after contracting the disease.

Within the last 10 years the Eritrean government has jailed, tortured and killed many Eritreans for political and religious reasons. It is estimated that there are between 2,000 and 3,000 Christians currently in Eritrean prisons. Despite this, the government still maintains that no groups or persons are persecuted for their beliefs or religion.

You can read the full report on Mission Network News’ website here. For more information on persecution in Eritrea, please read VOM’s country report.

Pray for Eritrea:

• Pray for peace for the families of Terhase, Ferewine, and Angesom. Pray that the Lord will grant them the strength to forgive.
• Ask God to encourage and strengthen Christians currently imprisoned in Eritrea for their faith.
• Pray that stories such as these will inspire many Christians to pray for Eritrea and its Christians.

Two Eritrean Christians die in military camp

Shipping containers like these are frequently used
to imprison evangelical Christians.

Two Christians in Eritrea, whose arrest and torture were widely ignored, have died in military camp, reports Mission Network News.

Hiwet Tesfu, 23, and Zemame Mehari, 27, were arrested in April 2009 for attending a prayer meeting in Dekemhare. They were in ill health, repeatedly tortured and denied medical treatment in their two years and three months serving time.

The Eritrean government says it does not have any religious prisoners in custody. Open Doors USA’s CEO, Carl Moeller, says this claim is based on the country’s stance on religious organizations.

“They don't recognize these evangelical or Pentecostal sects as ‘religious' institutions or organizations; therefore, when they arrest them, it's for holding illegal activities or illegal meetings,” says Moeller. “So, when they're held, they're not holding ‘religious' prisoners: they're holding ‘social' and ‘political' prisoners.”

In 2002, the Eritrean government began a crackdown on all Christians. It is reported that thousands of Christians have and do face inhumane prison conditions and gross neglect.

Hiwet and Zemame are the most recent in a string of 18 Christians known to have died while serving time for their witness in Eritrea. Few believers have actually been charged, but remain in prison nonetheless.

While one would think such circumstances would lead to a halt of the gospel’s spread, Moeller says the opposite is true: “When they see Christians willing to go to prison, willing to die, willing to be tortured for this religion, it creates an undeniable thirst for understanding what that faith is about.”

The full article can be found here.

Pray for Christians in Eritrea!

• Pray the Christians in jail will remain strong in their faith and will find encouragement in the Saviour for whom they suffer.
• Pray the families of those imprisoned would continue to trust God to provide all their needs.
• Pray those who imprison Christians for their faith would see the freedom believers have in Christ, though they are physically bound in chains.

‘Religicide’ exterminating Iraqi Christians

More Christians have been fleeing Iraq in recent months than ever before, reported Mission Network News (MNN) today.

Carl Moeller with Open Doors USA says extremists are calling for the complete extermination of believers in the country.

"We've been calling this a 'religicide'—which is the systematic destruction and elimination of a religious group simply for being that religious group. And we see this now unfolding in a very shocking way," says Moeller.

The number of Christians in Iraq has dropped dramatically in the last few decades, from 850,000 believers in 1991, to 550,000 believers in 2003, to 345,000 believers in early 2010. Now perhaps less than 250,000 Christians call Iraq home, a number which includes those who have been permanently displaced from their homes.

The loss of so many believers in just a year can be attributed in part to one significant event, said Moeller: a terrorist attack by al-Qaida-linked groups on Our Lady of Salvation Church on October 31 of last year. Sixty Christians were killed. As a result, up to 95,000 Christians have left the country since that attack, said Moeller.

At the current rate of the exodus, Iraq will not have any Christians left in three years, said an Open Doors' field worker.

You can read the entire MNN report here.

Please pray for our fellow brothers and sisters in Iraq. Pray for their safety but also for courage unknown to share the gospel with those who are seeking. Pray that the government would put an end to this "religicide" and that ultimately the Lord's sovereign will reign.

New Nepalese constitution could threaten evangelism

Pray for religious freedom in Nepal!

Provisions proposed for Nepal's new constitution pose a threat to religious freedom, says Open Doors USA.

When the last standing Hindu monarchy in the world was overthrown in 2006, plans were made for Nepal to become a secular democracy. An interim constitution was enacted in 2007. The finished version was due for completion May 28, 2010, but more time was needed. Now the new constitution is set to be enacted on May 28, 2011.

The current draft constitution contains provisions "that prohibit anyone from converting others from one religion to another." So far, most political leaders have seemed unaware of the implications this could have for religious freedom, reported Compass Direct News.

The religious freedom concern is not the only issue with the draft constitution, either. Open Doors reports that at least 288 contentious issues arose out of the 11 committees condensing the preliminary drafts for the new laws, and the Constitution Committee has resolved 175 of them.

In the meantime, other questions have been brought up about the validity of such restrictive provisions for the constitution. Nepal signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1991, which included the right to manifest one's religion. U.N. officials have interpreted this to mean citizens have the right to evangelistic and missionary activity.

For now, it is up to the Constitutional Assembly to decide whether this provision violates religious freedom or not, a political leader told Compass. Compass also notes, "Religious conversion could become a contentious issue if the proposed restriction is removed. Even the notion of a secular state is not wholly accepted in the country."

Pray for the Lord's provision in this decision. Pray for guidance for the Assembly, and for safety for believers. Pray that the Gospel would continue to move forward at the hands of faithful Christians, regardless of any danger that may lie ahead.

Eritrea’s prisons claim two more believers

Pray for believers in Eritrea today.

Open Doors is reporting the deaths of two Christians in Eritrea's infamous detention centres, said Mission Network News yesterday.

Seble Hagos Mebrahtu, 27, died in the military training centre in Sawa on January 1. According to reliable sources, Mebrahtu was apparently refused medical treatment for malaria and died soon after.

Mehari Gebreneguse Asgedom, 42, was also denied medical treatment for complications from diabetes and injuries sustained from torture. He died on January 16, 2009, at the Mitire Military Confinement Centre.

These deaths come as the Eritrea government’s campaign against Christians escalates. Several large groups of believers—members of the underground church—have been arrested since the end of December. We shared with you on January 7 that 30 Christians were arrested for praying.

More than 3,000 Christians have been detained for their faith in Christ, since Eritrea’s government banned and criminalized dozens of churches outside of Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran and Islamic traditions in 2002. Most prisoners are kept in underground dungeons, metal shipping containers and military barracks. Several Christians have died while imprisoned due to torture and lack of medical attention. Too often, families wait years to hear any news of their loved ones' welfare.

Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Eritrea. Pray the newly arrested would remain firm in the faith. Pray God would use their testimonies of faithfulness to convict their persecutors of their need for salvation in Christ.

North Korea again named 'worst persecutor of Christians'

For the eighth year in a row, North Korea is the worst country in which to be a Christian. The Open Doors World Watch List—a ranking of 50 countries that are the worse persecutors of Christians around the globe—was released today, says Mission Network News.

President and CEO of Open Doors USA Dr. Carl Moeller said, "The biggest thing that we learned from putting the list together this year is that the entire level of persecution globally is accelerating at a really dramatic rate. Eight out of the top 10 countries on our World Watch List this year are Islamic countries where Islamic extremism has gained the upper hand."

Here are the Top 10 persecutors of Christians around the world:

1. North Korea
2. Iran
3. Afghanistan
4. Saudi Arabia
5. Somalia
6. Maldives
7. Yemen
8. Iraq
9. Uzbekistan
10. Laos

You can view the World Watch List 2010 here.

The World Watch List ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. It is compiled from Open Doors' indigenous contacts, field workers, and persecuted believers based on answers to questions covering various aspects of religious freedom.