World in Brief

A new anti-conversion law has been passed by the Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly and will become law if it receives assent from the governor. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who run the local government and are the bill’s main proponents, have said the legislation is needed to combat forced and fake conversions.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that the implementation of the law could see freedom of religion eroded and minorities persecuted. It would be the 13th Indian state to take such measures.

A Christian farmworker in Pakistan is believed to have been killed, with his body left hanging in a cattle shed to make it look like he had committed suicide. His family, who found him, believe he was tortured to death by Muslim employers, as reported by Release International.

The family became suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his death when they discovered bruises and burns on his body following a postmortem. Many Christians protested following the incident, blocking a main road with the man’s corpse and calling for the matter to be investigated for criminality.

A church’s nine-year battle to secure a building permit in Indonesia continues to be prolonged by a state-backed interfaith organisation. The congregation has reportedly submitted all necessary paperwork and has worked to secure permission, but the Interfaith Harmony Forum (FKUB) has delayed proceedings again.

The Christ the Answer Tabernacle Pentecostal Church’s (GPTKJ) leaders claimed to have gathered all relevant identification to meet state requirements, according to Morning Star News. However, the FKUB have not given the green light, despite stating that “all religious communities have equal right” and that the matter “will be resolved”.

A pastor in Cuba has been arrested for reportedly uploading a YouTube video featuring him teaching the Bible. The arrest took place soon after pastor Rolando Pérez Lora had finished recording in a park in Peñas Altas, Matanzas, which Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports is one of just two places in the area with public wifi.

Lora’s wife, who was there to pray with local onlookers, as happens every week, filmed her husband’s arrest by two police officers, during which Lora pleaded his innocence. The video was subsequently viewed over 300,000 times.

More Christians have been attacked in Nigeria over the last month, as Islamic persecution continues. Suspected Fulani attackers killed a man and abducted five others, including his wife, in a village in Kwara State in the latest of several attacks in the area which have left several pastors without churches, according to local church leaders.

Additionally, Morning Star News also reported that a pastor has been killed in a village in Kaduna State, after serving a church for just two months, in an incident which also likely involved Fulani herdsmen. Dozens of other believers were also kidnapped from the local community.

The European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) recently celebrated the strengthening of its relationship with the Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE) at a meeting between the EEA’s co-general secretary and AEE officials in Barcelona. The event featured discussion about the work of both bodies and a commitment for stronger cooperation between the two groups.

According to Evangelical Focus, it was agreed at the meeting that the EEA’s next General Assembly will be hosted in Madrid next year, as the AEE celebrates its 150th anniversary, further enhancing their relationship.

Following a routine immigration appointment, a pastor from Oklahoma has been deported to Mexico without his family being informed beforehand. Wulfrano Portillo’s daughter told Premier Christian News that two days after his appointment he informed his family of his whereabouts after his arrival in Mexico.

Portillo had been serving a church in Oklahoma and had spent most of his life in the state, according to his daughter. She said that he had gone through the correct channels to gain U-Visa approval and had a relevant work permit and social security status.

Two Christians have been abducted and murdered by Islamic extremists in northern Mozambique. They were kidnapped in Cabo Delgado province as they travelled towards Congreso before being slaughtered, with Islamic State Mozambique (IS-M) claiming responsibility online.

Barnabas Aid reports that IS-M described the attack as being against a “Christian trade convoy”. It is just the latest in a long series of attacks by the group, which has allegedly killed around 2,000 Christians across the country’s northern province in recent years.

A newly converted Christian woman in eastern Uganda has been assaulted by her Muslim husband during a Bible study after he learned of her decision to follow Jesus. Hajati Kyakuwa Kamiyati, who is a mother of six, is being treated for several injuries after her husband attacked her with a knife and a stick, according to Morning Star News.

Kamiyati had been attending church events twice a week when her husband was working, but she suspects he was informed of her actions by a Muslim friend. She had become a believer two months after a recent Islamic trip to Mecca last year.

A church elder in China has been released after spending five years in prison. Zhang Chunlei, who co-founded the Guiyang Ren’ai Reformed Church, had been locked up after being charged with fraud and “inciting subversion of state power” after trying to help free other believers who had been arrested from a local police station.

As reported by Release International, the 62-year-old was hospitalised during his time behind bars and was afflicted by health problems, but he never admitted guilt to any charges brought against him. Release warn that he will likely now be subject to surveillance following his release.

A Baptist pastor in Krasnodon, Luhansk, has been instructed to leave his home in occupied Ukraine within a fortnight, despite having lived there since his birth and led his church for 30 years.

Forum-18 reports that the 66-year-old has been fined for “illegal missionary activity” multiple times because the church is not registered with the authorities.

More than half of Russia’s population do not attend church, according to new research. A study by the Levada Centre revealed that 55% of respondents do not attend services, but that regular rather than occasional attendance is growing.

Evangelical Focus reports that the number of non-attenders has increased by 11% since last June, that 16% attend church once per month, another 16% every few months and 7% annually or less.

Luke Randall

The Hungarian Prime Minister’s former pastor has said that his politics have “nothing to do with the Bible”.

During an interview the 74-year-old Methodist discussed how the pair’s relationship suffered when Viktor Orbán’s politics moved further right. Premier Christian News reports that Viktor Orbán has spoken of turning Hungary into a Christian nation during his 16-year tenure, but the former pastor has criticised his advancement of Christian nationalism.

Luke Randall