Tag Archives: Christian Persecution

Laos Arrests Christians For Worshipping

At least seven Christians are in jail after Laotian officials raided the home where they were having worship.

The Christians were meeting for lunch and worship at the home of Pastor Sompong Supatto when the chief of Boukham Village and security officials stormed the building.  The pastor was placed in handcuffs and leg stocks.

They were charged with violating an order from local officials for Christians to stop gathering for worship.

The Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom confirmed the arrest and said the local authorities simply said they don’t want Christians to gather for worship.

“The HRWLRF urges the Lao government to respect the right of the Lao people to religious freedom and the accompanying rights as guaranteed in the Lao constitution and the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Laos in 2009, upholding the individual’s right to adopt a religion/belief of choice as well as the right to manifest that religion/belief in a corporate worship (Article 18),” a HRWLRF spokesman wrote. “Any form of coercion impairing the freedom to have and manifest one’s religion/belief of choice is condemned in the Covenant.”

This is the latest in a series of attacks on Christian freedom in the village.  On June 24, a pastor and four others were arrested on murder charges after a sick woman they prayed over later died.

Boko Haram Leader Releases New Video

The leader of Boko Haram, who the Nigerian government claimed to have killed, has appeared in a new video that was posted to the social media site YouTube.

“Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath,” Abubakar Shekau says in the video.  “Nothing will kill me until my days are over. … I’m still alive. Some people asked you if Shekau has two souls. No, I have one soul, by Allah.”

The video showed Shekau in the back of a pickup truck where he says they are running their Islamic caliphate.  The video also showed them killing a man accused of adultery and lashing a woman for having sex outside of marriage.

Boko Haram also confirmed their alignment with ISIS, essentially spreading the terrorist group from the Middle East into Africa.

The executive director of the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans says that President Obama needs to stop focusing only on ISIS and realize that Islamic terrorism is spreading throughout the world.

“Obama will need to include other terrorist groups like Boko Haram, Hamas and Hezbollah,” Pastor Laolu Akande said.

“Every Single Christian Wants To Leave Iraq”

The Rev. Canon Andrew White is speaking out for the Christians still inside Iraq and saying that most of them are hoping to escape to other countries.

“To be honest, every single Christian wants to leave,” White, the vicar of St. George’s Church in Baghdad, told the London Daily Telegraph.  “I used to say to my people: ‘Don’t you leave. I’m not going to leave you, don’t leave me.’ But now every one of them wants to leave and the ones who are left tend to be the poorer ones who couldn’t get away earlier.”

White told the newspaper that for the first time in 2,000 years Christans could not take community last week in the Nineveh province.

White posted to his Facebook page Monday about the horrible conditions in the country.

“Greetings from Baghdad. People are very fearful the nation looks as if it has collapsed. The usual hectic and crazy streets were this morning almost empty,” White wrote.”The news from our friends in areas surrounding Baghdad is equally worry [sic] the Islamic State. ISIS or DAASH, as they are known locally, are very close to Baghdad.”

White told the newspaper that ground troops will be the only way to stop ISIS.

Meriam Ibrahim Encourages Naghmeh Abedini At National Conference

Two women who have been on the front lines of the battle for religious freedom in the world took center stage at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C.

Meriam Ibrahim, the woman who had been sentenced to death in Sudan for her Christian faith, appeared to accept the “Cost of Discipleship” award at the Summit and used her speech to encourage the wife of American pastor Saeed Abedini, who is imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith.

“Do not fear; be strong. Take care of your kids and the Lord will be with you,” she said to Naghmeh Abedini, who addressed the Summit in her own address.  Ibrahim called Abedini “her sister” and encouraged her to stand strong no matter what evil the Iranians may throw her husband’s way.

Ibrahim, who gave birth to her daughter Maya while shackled in chains to a wall of the prison, spoke of the weight the imprisonment had on her young son Martin, who was also kept in the prison.

“That was the most difficult time for me because Martin would want to go with him and grab on to him and I would stand there unable to do anything because he’s a child. He didn’t understand why he was in jail through no fault of his. He didn’t understand why kids were able to play outside and enjoy themselves and be with their parents, their fathers and mothers,” described Ibrahim.

Ibrahim thanked everyone who prayed and worked to obtain her release and her family’s escape from Sudan.

Christian Pastor Executed by Pakistani Government

The Pakistani police have summarily executed a Christian Pastor.

Zafar Bhatti had been imprisoned since 2012 on charges that he has committed blasphemy for preaching Jesus was the only way.  The men had long been receiving death threats from fellow prisoners and guards because of their Christian faith.

“This is a barbaric act,” Xavier Williams of Life for All told The Express Tribune. “There had been threats. The court should have instructed police to ensure Bhatti’s safety.”

The country passed a blasphemy law claiming that it would be a tool to stop religious intolerance in the country.  However, Muslims have used the law as a way to take religious minorities to jail them, force them to convert to Islam or kill them.

“Unfortunately, pressure from Islamic radical groups and general discrimination against Christians in Pakistan has transformed trial courts into little more than rubber stamps for blasphemy accusations brought against Christians, regardless of the evidence brought to bear in the case,” William Stark of the International Christian Concern said.  “Also, little is done to ensure the safety of those merely accused of blasphemy, leading to the deaths of at least 48 people, many of whom could have been proven innocent.”

This is the second major incident involving Christians accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.  A Christian couple was sentenced to death in April for sending text messages that were called blasphemous by the court.  However, the couple has been proven to be illiterate, so they could not send text messages.  The death sentence is still in effect.

Anti-Christianists Demand Removal Of Statue With Scripture Reference

Two virulent anti-Christian groups’ latest action to try and remove Christians from society is to tell a high school in Georgia they must remove a sculpture because it contains a Bible reference.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation and the American Humanist Association are threatening the Madison County School District in Danielsville, Georgia.  The school has a monument outside the field house of the high school that contains Romans 8:31 and Philippians 4:13.

The monument was paid for by private funds.

“The district violates the Constitution when it allows its schools to display religious symbols messages. Schools may not advance, prefer or promote religion,” the letter from anti-Christian FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel asserted. “The Bible verses on this monument violate this basic constitutional prohibition by creating the appearance that the school, and by extension the district, prefer religion to non-religion and Christianity to all other religions.”

The school’s superintendent says they are looking into options including removing the Bible verses or removing the monument.

South Carolina State Senator: “Darwinism Has Replaced Christianity”

A South Carolina state senator is speaking out about the way atheistic evolution is being used as state-sanctioned gospel in schools.

Mike Fair, who represents Senate District 6 in South Carolina, has sponsored bills that have called for students in public schools to learn arguments both for and against evolution including discussions of creationism.

“The ‘truth’ must conform to Darwinism, or it is not allowed,” Fair says. “I don’t suppose it matters what your eyes see or your mind tells you.”

Fair claims that the government is illegally and unconstitutionally promoting the atheistic religion.

“Making inferences to the best factual information is not allowed if it points to a religion other than atheism,” he wrote. “Consideration that the fine tuning of our galaxy is a miracle (or made that way) is a discussion that is not allowed.”

“I believe the principles established by the Founders are being removed from the public square by a series of narrow decisions of the U. S. Supreme Court,” he continued. “I am bothered that the Supreme Court has changed the Constitution by a series of 5-4 votes clearly outside the methods duly established to properly change our Constitution.”

Imprisoned Pastor’s Wife Speaks Out On Second Anniversary

The wife of imprisoned American Pastor Saeed Abedini is speaking out about the lack of moment by the U.S. government on her husband’s behalf as he marks two years behind bars.

Naghmeh Abedini addressed the issue on Friday ahead of her speech Saturday at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C.  She says that the Obama administration has gotten better about speaking about her husband’s plight over the years.

“They’ve come a long way,” said Naghmeh. “The first six months when Saeed was in prison there were no statements. The last year and a half we’ve seen a few statements.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry last spoke of Saeed’s plight where he also called for the release of other Americans being held by Iranian authorities.

“The United States respectfully calls on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to release Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, and Jason Rezaian to their families and work cooperatively with us to find Robert Levinson and bring him home,” said Kerry.  At the time, Kerry claimed the government was working hard to see the release of the prisoners.

Naghmeh Abedini is not so sure.

“I have to say it is frustrating. It has been two years. It seems like there are a lot of statements, but no action. What are we doing to get him home?” she said.

Naghmeh says that she has felt stronger support coming from countries other than the United States, which boosts her hope that her husband may soon be released from custody.

“It’s encouraging because now it just isn’t between the U.S. and Iran,” said Naghmeh. “It’s the whole world speaking out. Brazil, Canada, England and other European nations have been a great support.”

Prayer rallies for Saeed Abedini were held around the world Friday on the two-year anniversary with over 400 gatherings in countries from Brazil to Kenya.

Franklin Graham Says Christians Need To Step Up Against Persecution Abroad

Reverend Franklin Graham is making a call to Christians across America to shake off their apathy and begin to work to help persecuted Christians around the world.

“I don’t think we’re doing enough. No, I don’t. There is much more we can do,” Graham told The Christian Post.

“The greatest thing we can do is to pray — to pray for the Christians who are suffering. Saeed Abedini is on the poster behind us, but there are thousands upon thousands of Christians in Syria and Iraq who are suffering because of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Graham spoke at the Washington vigil for Saeed Abedini, whose plight has been largely ignored by the State Department and Obama administration.

Graham was also critical of Muslims around the world that have not taken steps to stop Islamic extremism.  Graham believes if they truly are against the movements of groups like ISIS or Boko Haram, they would be taking action.

“Followers of a peaceful religion do not cut off the heads of innocent people in the barbaric action the world has been watching,” said Graham before those gathered.

“Believers in a peaceful religion do not kidnap 300 young school girls as Boko Haram did in Northeastern Nigeria in April. … Men who practice a peaceful religion do not detonate bombs on American streets during a marathon race to kill and to maim.”

Worldwide Prayer Vigils For Saeed Abedini

Friday is a day of worldwide prayer for Pastor Saeed Abedini.

The event was organized by Saeed’s wife Naghmeh and is including groups of Christians from the United States to Mexico to Kenya.

The American Center for Law and Justice says the event is focusing on prayer for Abedini as the day marks the 2nd anniversary of his wrongful imprisonment for being a Christian.  The event will also pray for other Christians imprisoned around the world for professing Christ.

At the Washington, D.C. event, Naghmeh Abedini read a letter that Saeed wrote to his daughter for her recent eighth birthday.

“I know that you question why you have prayed so many times for my return and yet I am not home yet,” it read. “The answer to the why is who. Who is in control? [The] Lord Jesus Christ is in control.”

“Jesus allows me to be kept here for His glory,” Abedini continued. “He is doing something inside each of us and also outside in the world. People die and suffer for their Christian faith all over the world and some may wonder why. But you should know the answer of why is who. It is for Jesus. He is worth the price. And He has a plan to be glorified through our lives.”