World in Brief

All World

These articles were first published in our April edition of the newspaper, click here for more.

Albania: new Christians

CE Ministries

After a year of use in Albania, 74 people have accepted Christ as increasing numbers of churches host Christianity Explored courses, it was reported in March.

After being translated just over a year ago, 84 churches and local Christian organisations have been given access to the course materials and 300 pastors and small-group leaders trained how to use them.

China: printing ban

Christian Headlines.com

Calendars put together by a church to celebrate New Year in February were unable to be printed as the shop owner said that faith-based calendars are banned by the government.

The printer said that if the government discovered that they had printed religious materials, they would be punished.

Cuba: threats

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

The Cuban government pressured church leaders countrywide in the run-up to the referendum on a new constitution on 24 February, accusing them of being counter-revolutionaries.

Church leaders reported receiving phone calls threatening them with arrest and imprisonment if they did not instruct their congregations to vote ‘yes’. One outspoken pastor was told to ‘take a vacation’ and, when he didn’t, he was suspended for 15 days.

India: disruption

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

A women’s prayer meeting was disrupted on 17 February when Hindu hardliners broke up a gathering at a home, verbally abusing the women and threatening to attack them if they met for prayer again.

A group of approximately 35 interrupted the meeting. The police are yet to register a First Information Report, which is required in order to start an investigation into the incident.

India: increased attacks

Morning Star News

Cases of hate and violence against Christians in India increased 57% in the first two months of 2019 compared with the same period last year.

There were 49 cases in 2018 in January and February and 77 in the same period in 2019. Of the 77 incidents, 16 took place in Tamil Nadu state, 12 in Uttar Pradesh, six in Maharashtra and five in Chhattisgarh.

 

India: discrimination

Morning Star News

Days after 13 February, when Hindu extremists marched in protest to file a false claim against a Christian mother, her government employer transferred her to a district more than 100 miles away.

The woman was accused of paying people to convert. Before being relocated, she had her pay withheld for seven months, under various pretexts, since she converted to Christianity. Her husband is a supporter of the Hindu extremist party, and she prays for his and her children’s salvation.

 

Malaysia: still missing

World Watch Monitor

Two years since the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh, who was abducted by at least 15 masked men, his family asked the country’s Prime Minister to order a new investigation into his kidnapping.

A representative of the PM’s office said he would do his best to bring their request before the PM. The abduction was caught on CCTV. Koh’s car has never been found. Disappearances of three others with similar religious profiles have also produced no results, but the investigations were all concluded last year.

Myanmar: landmines

Barnabas Fund

Two Kachin Christian men were badly injured when one stepped on a landmine in Kachin state on 7 January.

The incident occurred when they left the internally-displaced persons camp to look for food in a forest. One man was badly injured, but he did not lose any limbs. His friend’s injuries were so extensive that doctors had to amputate both of his legs.

Myanmar: abduction

International Christian Concern

On 13 February, Pastor U Thar Tun was taken from his home in Rakhine State by members of the Arakan Army (AA), a Buddhist rebel group.

According to his wife, Daw Hla Sein, the insurgent group initially demanded that they leave their home to talk, so the family complied with the orders. But, the insurgents then tied up the pastor and dragged him away. She informed the local authorities and the police are now investigating the abduction.

Nigeria: murders

Morning Star news

At least 32 people were killed in a Muslim Fulani herder attack on a Christian area of north-central Nigeria on 26 February.

Church buildings and property were also damaged, and missionaries in the area were displaced. A boarding school for the missionaries’ children closed. Women were meeting at the church when the herdsmen arrived shooting. Police came, but retreated and one police vehicle was burnt. A policeman was one of the victims.

Nigeria: still missing

World Watch Monitor

In February, one year since the Christian Leah Sharibu was abducted from her boarding school, a coalition of groups called on presidential candidates to tell Nigerians how they plan to secure her release.

Leah, 15, was one of 110 girls abducted by Boko Haram. Following a deal between the government and the militants, 104 girls were released. Five were thought to have died in captivity. The group kept Leah because she refused to renounce her faith.

Nigeria: kidnap & murder

Barnabas Fund

A pastor was murdered and his family kidnapped after gunmen opened fire on their car on 7 February in Zamfara state, northern Nigeria.

Pastor Anthony Idris Jatau’s car skidded off the road in the attack, and he and his family were dragged out. The pastor’s body was found two days later, but the whereabouts of his wife, three children and two sisters-in-law are unknown. The kidnappers are holding the children in separate locations and have demanded a ransom for the family’s release.

Pakistan: blasphemy

International Christian Concern

Four Christian women from the Farooq-e-Azam neighbourhood of Karachi were falsely accused of blasphemy on 19 February.

Following the false accusation, a mob of enraged Muslims attacked the Christian-majority neighbourhood, leading to the displacement of approximately 200 Christian families. They were accused of desecrating a Qur’an by putting it in dirty water. The accusation is believed to stem from a housing problem that the Muslims attributed to the Christians.

Pakistan: worthless Christians

Barnabas Fund

Only Christians should work as low-paid hospital ‘sweepers’, not Muslims, according to a resolution passed by the Swabi District Council in northern Pakistan, local sources reported in January.

If the resolution is passed into law it would mean Christians will replace all Muslims currently holding menial janitorial jobs in Swabi. Muslims would then be given more desirable work.

Philippines: in the footsteps

Christian headlines.com

Will Graham preached the gospel to over 100,000 during his ‘evangelistic celebration’, a worldwide crusade-style outreach, continuing the legacy of his grandfather through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Manila is the only place in the world to see three generations of the Graham family – Dr Billy, Franklin, and Will himself – preach to thousands gathered in the Quirino Grandstand.

Tajikistan: no kids allowed

World Watch Monitor

A new religion law has seen authorities barring children from attending religious services and burning thousands of calendars with Bible verses, it was reported in early March.

The law demands information on the number of members, finances, activities and details about the number of children under 10 years attending meetings, using the Religion Law and the Parental Responsibility Law to put pressure on parents and religious communities. A church was also fined for having literature that hadn’t passed ‘state censorship’ laws.

USA: asylum granted

Barnabas Fund

Almost a dozen persecuted Iranians who were stranded in Austria for over two years were granted asylum in mid-February.

They were part of a group of 87 minority refugees whose asylum application was rejected in 2018 during a clampdown on refugees by President Trump’s Administration. They then filed a class-action lawsuit as a judge ruled that the government must disclose individual reasons for the denials, allowing the applicants to file an appeal. The Lautenberg refugee programme had worked successfully for 30 years prior to the Trump Administration.

Uzbekistan: uxoricide

Barnabas Fund

An Uzbek mother was killed by her husband on 9 February because she had recently become a Christian.

‘Umida’, a Muslim-background Christian, was attempting to flee the country to seek refuge in Istanbul with Christian friends, when her husband confronted her at Tashkent Airport and slit her throat. Previously, the man had locked Umida in their home to prevent her from going to church and banned her from seeing their two-year-old son after discovering she had asked a friend to get her an Uzbek Bible.

World: years of Hope

Operation Mobilisation

The Logos Hope celebrated 10 years of spreading the good news of Jesus around the world in February.

Carrying 5,000 titles, in English and local languages, the ‘floating bookshop’ offers many people their first-ever opportunity to purchase affordable Christian books. Logos Hope is also a hub for Christians from all denominations to connect, and is a ship where gospel-based theatre performances, ministry training, conferences and youth events take place. Almost 8 million visitors have been on board.