Recent Reports
23/11/07 | Cyclone in Bangladesh
Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh Full Story...
Last week the southern coastal part of Bangladesh was hit Cyclone Sidr, the country’s the worst cyclone for 10 years. An estimated 5,000 people are thought to have been killed or are missing. Reports say 30 of the 64 districts there were hit and more than 6.7 million people have been affected.The speed of the wind went up to 220 km per hour, damaging more than 95% of houses and belongings in the affected areas.
Aside from the loss of loved ones and properties, survivors have to battle it out with waterborne diseases. The shrimp boats lying in the coastal areas were swept away resulting to a loss of millions of dollars, while shrimp export is now in halt. The districts hit by the cyclone are still without power, telecommunication system and road communication.
Let us pray for the people of Bangladesh, including our Christian brothers and sisters, who were ravaged by the recent disaster. Some of those affected are Muslim Background Believers [MBBs] who participated in the Annual Converts’ Gathering sponsored by Open Doors while some come from outreaches of our major church partners. Relief items have been slow to reach most survivors. Victims of Sidr are badly in need of food, fresh water and temporary shelter. Aid workers can take hours to reach areas that are badly hit. The government has also dispatched soldiers to help in the relief work. They have to clear fallen trees and debris in order to reach the survivors. Poor communities also hamper the work as well as the shortage of boats. Current priority needs also include diarrhoea treatment and shelter assistance. In the longer term, rehabilitation of livelihoods, infrastructure, health and educational services and increased shelter capacity are required.
Open Doors is working closely with local partners to identify priority areas in Bangladesh, so that immediate help may be sent to believers in the form of relief goods, medicines, and later, rehabilitation efforts (repair/rebuilding of churches, education for children). However, with communication lines and power supply still down in wide areas, coordination has been difficult.
Please pray for wisdom to be with Open Doors’ team and local partners as they evaluate the situation, and for a systematic and timely delivery of much needed help through local churches.
Open Doors will continue to issue updates as the situation develops
BBC article28/09/07 | PAKISTAN – Taliban force burqa on Christians
Islamists violently enforce shari'a in northern district. Full Story...
In recent months, Islamists have targeted Christians in the Afghan-border region
The Pakistani Executive District Officer (EDO) issued a notice requiring female students in Swat district to wear burqas, an outer garment cloaking nearly the entire body, according to an article on 25 September in a regional newspaper, the Daily Mashriq.
Christians in the Afghan-border region 120 miles north of Peshawar say Islamists from the Taliban movement, which ruled most of Afghanistan from 1995 to 2001, have targeted them in recent months.
Islamists in Swat have conducted a campaign of Islamisation in the district against all things deemed un-Islamic since early July, when a government crackdown on militants at the Lal Masjid mosque in Islamabad triggered violent reactions nationwide.
"Due to continuous threatening letters from the Taliban directing female staff and students to wear burqas … the Executive District Officer has instructed [them] to comply with the orders," the Daily Mashriq article stated.
The order to cover up under the full-body robe that leaves only the hands and eyes visible may affect Christians at an all-girls secondary school in Sangota.
The school had already closed down for a week this month after being threatened with suicide attacks for supposedly converting students to Christianity.
Swat EDO Ghulam Akhbar was not available for comment when contacted by telephone, and a colleague could not confirm the existence of the circular ordering burqa attire. But a Swat representative in the provincial assembly said on 26 September that Akhbar had denied issuing the notice, though the officer had told female students to cover up.
"He has said verbally to the schools that you must use burqas," Mutahida Majlis-i-Amal politician Hussain Ahmad told reporters, minutes after speaking with Akhbar.
Authorities of the Sangota Public High School refused to comment on the issue. Diocesan Bishop Anthony Lobo was unavailable when contacted by reporters.
Suicide bomb threats
The school re-opened its doors on 17 September after a threat letter from Islamists forced it to shut down for a week.
Entitled "Red Notice for Public School Sangota, (The Factory of Englishmen)," the 8 September letter accused the school's officials of involving students in adultery, according to a UCAN article.
The Urdu-language note said Christian teachers were converting Muslim students, who make up more than 99 per cent of the school's 950 students, to Christianity.
The Islamists also told parents to withdraw their girls and place them in Islamic schools.
The letter threatened suicide bombings if the school did not require its students to wear burqas and fire all Christian and male teachers by 17 September. Only half the students returned when the school reopened its doors on 17 September with assurances of increased security from local officials, UCAN reported.
One top clergyman who travelled to the area following the threats told reporters he suspected the letter came not from outside Islamists, but from a teacher at the school who wished to take it over.
Whether or not the letter was such an "inside job", it fits a pattern of increasing threats and violence in Swat targeting practices considered un-Islamic.
Since July, Islamists have stepped up attacks on stores and institutions viewed as Western, as well as on police and government officials.
In a single explosion, militants blew up 63 CD rental shops and shoe shops in the Swat town of Mingora on 7 September, the Daily Times reported. The article said owners of the stores had received letters a few days before the attacks telling them to "close their 'un-Islamic' businesses or face bomb attacks".
On 11 September, militants blasted rocks carved with Buddha's image in Swat's Buthgarh Jehanabad historical site, imitating the Afghan Taliban's destruction of the Bamiya Buddha statues in 2001.
"It's something like anarchy and chaos in that area," provincial representative Ahmad told reporters. He said the army had been called in after police and Frontier provincial officials failed to retain control.
Christians under pressure
Christians living in Swat, numbering about 1,000, say they have come under increasing pressure for their faith in recent months.
On the night of 25 September, militants approached hired Muslim guards at Swat Christian Camp, a Christian-run retreat centre in Mingora, and demanded they quit their jobs.
"They are Christian, why are you working with them?" the militants demanded of the guards, according to a local source who requested anonymity.
The camp has been closed since 5 July after a crackdown on Islamic militants at the Lal Masjid mosque in Islamabad set off violent repercussions throughout the country.
A Christian running a small medical clinic has been forced to close down the centre and conduct only home visits in order to avoid attack.
"My 17-year old daughter cannot go outside without wearing a burqa," one local Christian reported.
Christians in the North-West Frontier Province have since May received a number of anonymous threats telling them to convert to Islam.
"Embrace Islam and become Muslims … otherwise, after next Friday 10 August, your colony will be ruined," read one of more than a dozen identical letters thrown into the courtyards of Christian and Hindu homes in Peshawar last month.
Police increased security around churches and Christian neighbourhoods, but the threats were never carried out.
More than 50 Christians fled the town of Charsadda in May after a local Christian politician received a letter telling the Christian community to convert to Islam within 10 days.
The threat was repeated 10 days later, chalked on the wall of a building opposite the church.
Two young men from a local Islamic school eventually confessed to having written the threats as a 'joke'.
In an unrelated incident, a Christian primary school in Bannu, west of Peshawar, was bombed on 15 September. The blast destroyed the chapel windows and furniture, leaving a hole in the side of a classroom wall.
The identity of the bombers and their motive remain uncertain.
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Hide this story.27/09/07 | NIGERIA – Threats force Church underground
Converts from Islam travel to meet together in secret. Full Story...
Rev Titus Dama Pona – no stranger to persecution
Of the 25 converts who formed a church in Maiduguri, Nigeria, in the north-east state of Borno two years ago, only three remain.
Still, although they worship separately in the towns where they now reside, once a month the converts brave the threats of Islamic supremacists and family members to return to Maiduguri to secretly pray and praise together.
"The venue and time is agreed among themselves, and the venue is changed every meeting so they are not attacked," said the Rev Titus Dama Pona, founder of Good Way Mission, who planted the church, Kanuri Christian Fellowship, in September 2005.
Rev Pona is the pastor of the only known underground fellowship in Nigeria, a group said to be the first church amongst the Kanuri and Shuwa Arab ethnic groups in the Islamic enclave of Borno.
The state served as the gateway of Islam into Nigeria in the 12th century.
Three out of the 25 converts, Rev Pona said, are training in theological institutions with the hope of reaching their own people with the Gospel.
The Rev Joshua Adamu, 67-year old chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Borno chapter, gave thanks for Rev Pona's ability to preach to, train and support the Kanuri people.
"For the first time, we have a fellowship that is bringing Kanuri converts from Islam together," Adamu said.
"And this has been possible because of the ministry of Rev Pona. He has a gift for reaching Muslims with the gospel."
Upheaval
For church members Mohammed Modu, Ma'aji Kalli and Ali Gana, going underground has been a matter of life or death; their families have been searching for them, intending to kill them.
Kalli and Gana have spent the last two years in hiding from their parents.
"I saw salvation in Christianity, which is not available in Islam," said Gana, whom Rev Pona baptised at an Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) service in Maiduguri in November 2006.
Another member of the church, Allahbeh Chibok, lost his wife and children after he converted.
She divorced him based on his conversion, Rev Pona said, abandoning him and their three daughters and marrying a Muslim man.
Then she died, Rev Pona said, and her parents in collaboration with some Muslim fanatics abducted the daughters.
Parental rejection upon conversion, however, is not inevitable. The Muslim father of church member Baba Aji, for example, helped him escape from Islamic attackers because, Rev Pona said, his father loved him in spite of his conversion.
Pastor's price
Rev Pona's success in taking the Gospel to these Islamic-dominated ethnic groups has come with its own price. Last year he escaped death when Muslims broke into his home. Rev Pona said two armed Muslims stormed his residence in the Hulolori area of Maiduguri on 18 February 2006, bent on killing him.
At the time, Rev Pona was conducting Bible studies at Maiduguri's ECWA church. Meeting only Rev Pona's daughter at home, the gunmen quizzed her about his whereabouts and left, promising to come back for him.
A few hours later, Maiduguri was in flames.
Muslims upset by Danish newspaper cartoons depicting Muhammad had gathered in the palace of the Islamic leader in Maiduguri, the Shehu of Borno, and gone on a rampage, setting churches ablaze and maiming and killing Christians.
After four hours of carnage, 57 Christians were dead and 55 churches burned down.
It was not Rev Pona's first brush with opposition. Born into a Muslim family in Chibok town of Borno state – his father is still Muslim – persecution has followed the missionary to the Kanuri and Shuwa Arab ethnic groups for 27 years.
Opposition remains fierce to his small church plant among Kanuri Muslims; some converts have changed their Islamic names to Christian ones to avoid being identified by Muslim fanatics.
But Rev Pona is optimistic, believing that "like a mustard seed, it will blossom into a church that will become a gateway to heaven for Muslims not only in Nigeria, but in the African continent."
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Hide this story.26/09/07 | INDIA – False accusations plague Christian workers
Pastor acquitted but false charges all too common. Full Story...
In a case typical of false accusations that Hindu ultranationalists file against Christian workers, a pastor and his sister have been cleared of charges of rape and forced abortion in Chhattisgarh state.
The Evangelical Fellowship of India announced that pastor Simon Tandi, aka Rohit Ranjan, a convert from Hinduism, and his sister Sanjeela Begum were acquitted by a court in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on 12 September.
Pastor Tandi was facing charges of raping and forcing a girl to terminate the resultant pregnancy after she filed a complaint – prompted by a Hindu nationalist group – against him in June 2005.
His sister, Begum, was accused of abetting the crime.
Pastor Tandi had spent six months in jail, and his sister four months, before they were released on bail prior to the acquittal.
The court reportedly found discrepancies in the statement of the complainant and a lack of evidence against the accused.
Hurt feelings
Christian rights activists say facing false police complaints is common for Christian workers in several parts of the country.
Akhilesh Edgar, chairman of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, told reporters that in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states, both ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), filing false complaints against Christian workers is common.
Extremists normally file complaints related to 'hurting religious sentiments' and 'forcible conversions', under Sections 295(a) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 3 and 4 of the Freedom of Religion Acts (anti-conversion laws) of the two states, he said.
Section 295(a) of the IPC concerns deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting religion or religious beliefs.
A non-bailable offence, it is punishable with up to three years of prison and may also include a fine.
Sections 3 and 4 of the anti-conversion laws are related to the use of 'force', 'fraudulent means' or 'allurement' to convert someone from one religion to another, with punishment of up to one year of prison and/or a fine up to 5,000 rupees (ca £60).
In case the person converted is a minor, woman, Dalit or tribal, the jail term can extend up to two years and the fine up to 10,000 rupees.
"Christians at times are also accused of other crimes, such as rape and murder," Edgar added, referring to the acquittal of 16 Christians last year in Madhya Pradesh state's Jhabua district.
The accused, associated with the Church of North India, were accused of killing a Hindu nationalist in the violence that erupted after the body of an elementary school girl who was raped and killed was found inside a Catholic school in Jhabua in 2004.
The Alirajpur sessions court acquitted the Christians on 31 May 2006, citing lack of evidence and asserting that prosecutors had fabricated and manipulated testimonies to prove their allegation.
Fourteen of the 16 accused had been languishing in the Jhabua jail for more than two years.
Hindu ultranationalist groups had also accused a priest from the school of killing and raping the girl whose body was found on the school premises.
Police later arrested a non-Christian who confessed to committing the crime.
Police connivance
A representative of the Christian Legal Association (CLA) told reporters that most reported incidents of violence against Christians also involve false police complaints.
"Nationalists find it very easy to lodge false complaints," the CLA representative said, "given the vagueness of the provisions under the anti-conversion laws as well as sections of the IPC, which are framed in such a way that the onus to prove one's innocence is on the accused."
The various anti-conversion laws define 'allurement' as an "offer of any temptation in the form of any gift or gratification either in cash or kind; and/or grant of any material benefit either monetary or otherwise".
Christians say this ambiguous definition can be misused to interpret even an act of helping the poor – commanded by Jesus Christ – as a 'temptation' to convert him/her.
The definition of 'force' includes "divine displeasure" – for which any preaching on the consequences of sin or the reality of heaven and hell can result in prosecution, say Christians.
They also complain that the term 'fraudulent means' is defined as a "misrepresentation of any other fraudulent contrivance", by which prayers for healing can easily be termed as a 'misrepresentation' to convert.
The CLA representative also said it was easier for Hindu nationalists to resort to false complaints in states ruled by the BJP, as police report only to the ruling state government, which is solely responsible for law enforcement.
Numerous investigation reports on incidents of religion-related violence have indicated connivance of the police.
Ulterior motives
Dr Sajan K George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, said that besides the goal of harassing and threatening Christian workers, Hindu nationalists file false complaints to protect themselves against police action for anti-Christian attacks.
"It is an unfortunate trend that Christians are first beaten up, and then taken forcibly to the police station, where a false complaint is lodged against them," he said.
The BJP repeatedly questions the activities of Christian workers, creating an environment of suspicion against Christians, he said.
The various governments ruled by the party are "recycling old slogans and narratives that were stale and worn-out the first time they were used," he said.
The American State Department's 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom notes that, in the past year, Hindu nationalist organisations frequently charged Christian missionaries with 'luring' low-caste Hindus by offering free education and health care and equating such actions with forced conversions.
Christians responded that low-caste Hindus convert of their own free will, the report says, and that efforts by Hindu groups to "re-convert" these new Christians to Hinduism were themselves accompanied by offers of remuneration – thus making them fraudulent.
In the BJP-ruled state of Madhya Pradesh, according to the report, 11 Christians were arrested for 'forcible conversion'. None were convicted.
The report, released on 14 September, cites numerous incidents of such arrests, including an attack on eight Christians belonging to the Indian Missionary Society on 21 September 2006 in Gujarat state.
Later, the attackers filed a complaint charging the Christians with forcible conversions and carrying weapons.
The American report also notes that allegations of forced conversion and defamation of Hinduism led to harassment of the Emmanuel Ministries International (EMI), based in Kota district of Rajasthan state.
In February 2006, the BJP government in Rajasthan revoked the licenses of EMI-owned charities such as a Bible institute, orphanage, school, hospital and church.
In March of that year, the Department of Social Welfare of the state froze the organisation's bank accounts.
In June 2006 however the state's high court instructed the state government to show cause regarding the closing of the EMI property and instructed the accounts to be unfrozen.
Authorities also held EMI President Samuel Thomas in judicial custody from 17 March to 2 May 2006 for "hurting the religious sentiments" of Hindus.
Mr Thomas was later charged with sedition in May 2006 for the use of a map on an EMI-affiliated website that did not include Jammu and Kashmir as part of the country.
The Supreme Court however granted him bail.
The GCIC's Dr George said he has been deeply saddened to see police entertain accusations of forced conversion against the minority Christian community without any initial evidence.
"What a letdown for a country that just celebrated the 60th anniversary of its independence," he said.
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Hide this story.20/09/07 | INDIA – Persecution "worse than report indicates"
American gov't report criticises officials at all levels. Full Story...
The American State Department's 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom gives India's federal government high marks for respecting religious freedom, but Christian leaders said this does not mean that persecution in the country is less than alarming.
The incidence of anti-Christian violence is much higher than available statistics indicate, the leaders said, as most cases are not reported to the police and are ignored by the media.
"I record and prove between 200 and 400 cases of anti-Christian violence a year in my unofficial white paper released annually since 1997 – but the actual figure may be from 1,000 to 2,000 such cases a year, perhaps even more," said Dr John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Council (AICC).
Released on 14 September, the report covers the period from 1 July 2006 to 30 June and says the government of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), led by the Indian National Congress or Congress Party, "generally respected" religious freedom in practice.
"Generally respected" is the highest level for religious freedom assigned by the report, according to the preface.
It asserts however that there were "organised societal attacks against minority religious groups, particularly in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party" or BJP, India's most influential Hindu ultranationalist party.
The report also notes that human rights activists criticised the UPA for alleged "indifference and inaction" in the face of persecution by state and local officials and private citizens.
Quoting faith-based groups in India, including the AICC and the Christian Legal Association (CLA), the report says there were at least 128 attacks against Christians in all of 2006.
From 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007, the AICC reported more than 150 incidents of anti-Christian attacks.
Targeted community
From 130 to 150 attacks in a country of 1 billion may not sound like much, but Christian leaders said that not only are attacks under-reported but that targeting of a minority community is alarming.
Moreover, the attacks are concentrated in geographic pockets. The American State Department's report on India states that, according to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Madhya Pradesh, more than 55 attacks on Christians by various Hindu ultranationalist groups were reported in the state between July 2006 and April 2007. Of these, 34 were in the city of Jabalpur alone.
"It is the targeting of this minority population that becomes a cause for concern," said CLA General Secretary Tehmina Arora, pointing out that Christians make up only 2.3 per cent, or 24 million, of India's population.
"India is huge in terms of both its area and population, and therefore some may underestimate its intensity," she said.
"But the fact is that Christians particularly in seven states – namely Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh – are facing the brunt of extreme Hindu nationalism."
The total population in these seven states is more than 354 million people, of which 4 million are Christian.
"Even within these states, certain pockets can be identified as the most sensitive ones," she said.
Hindus account for more than 80 per cent of India's population, but it is not the common Hindu who becomes violent.
"It is a small minority, namely Hindu nationalists, which manages to launch attacks with impunity tacitly extended by some state governments," she said.
"It is against this backdrop that Christian persecution in India should be seen."
Expanding persecution
Christians in India are also worried about persecution emerging in southern states, particularly Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, which had been relatively peaceful till recently.
The American report notes that 20 acts of anti-Christian violence were reported in Andhra Pradesh, compared with seven incidents in the previous year.
Christian persecution grew in Andhra Pradesh after the Congress Party government led by Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, a Christian, came into power in May 2004.
Accusing the chief minister of allowing missionaries to lure Hindus to Christianity, Hindu nationalists increasingly began to attack Christians.
The report says there were at least 40 reported anti-Christian attacks in Karnataka, a considerable increase from the six incidents during the previous reporting period.
The incidence of anti-Christian attacks has increased in the state since the Janata Dal-Secular party, in coalition with the BJP, took power from the Congress Party in February 2006.
States' role in curbing freedom
The report on India criticises "anti-conversion" laws enacted or amended by some state governments, asserting that Congress Party officials in Himachal Pradesh state passed an anti-conversion law that, "similar to other laws of its kind, restricts and regulates religious proselytising."
Citing religious press outlets, the report notes, "there were four reports of acts of violence against Christians following the passage of an anti-conversion law in Himachal Pradesh in late December 2006. There were no reports during the previous reporting period."
Anti-conversion laws are in force in three states – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa – and such laws remain on paper in Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, awaiting implementation.
"Public hysteria aside," Dr Sajan K George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, told reporters, "it has to be remembered that the real threat to democracy in India today comes from anti-democratic laws and regulations curbing the rights of Christians."
The report notes that police and other enforcement agencies were slow to "effectively counter societal attacks, including attacks against religious minorities."
"Despite government efforts to foster communal harmony, some nationalists continued to view ineffective investigation and prosecution of attacks on religious minorities, particularly at the state and local levels, as a signal that they could commit such violence with impunity, although numerous cases were in the courts at the end of the reporting period."
It further states say that despite the federal government's efforts to reject Hindutva, the nationalist ideology espousing Hindu religious and cultural norms above all others, "it continued to influence some government policies and actions at the state and local levels."
The report also said that although the UPA government was not accused of violating religious freedom, human rights activists criticised it for alleged "indifference and inaction in the face of abuses committed by state and local authorities and private citizens".
Lack of effort
There is a general feeling among Christians that the UPA government is not making efforts to check Christian persecution. Dr Dayal pointed out that the federal government's proposed law against religion-related violence may curb anti-Muslim violence, but it would be toothless against anti-Christian attacks as it seeks to check only "large-scale" incidents.
"We do not come under the scrutiny of its defining and screening measures," Dr Dayal said. "The Christians are dispersed and the violence against them is also dispersed. It may be just one case a year in one village across the country; but there are 400,000 villages, and the total violence may be as much."
He added that the incidents of persecution may be spread out, but they are not isolated.
"If 1,000 isolated cases occurred in one country, they fit a pattern."
Some Christians said they feel that any attack on religious minorities in a democratic country like India is an attack on freedom.
"Particularly attacks on Christians are not in retaliation against some committed crime, but purely because they practise a different religion from the majority," Father Dominic Emmanuel, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Delhi, told reporters.
"These attacks cannot be tolerated at all. The government should do its utmost to stop them."
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Hide this story.19/09/07 | CHINA – House-church leader Cai Zhuohua released
Pastor, relatives tortured during interrogation. Full Story...
Cai Zhuohua was ordered to report to the PSB once a month and to stop practising his faith outside the government-sanctioned church
Rev Bob Fu of China Aid Association (CAA) told reporters that on 13 September, three days after Pastor Cai's release on 10 September, officials of China's Public Security Bureau (PSB) took the well-known Beijing house-church pastor to their offices and tried to intimidate him with threats.
"They warned him to be careful – not to be interviewed by the media, to obey the law and not to attend religious activities," Rev Fu said.
Officials from the National Security Bureau – China's equivalent of America's Central Intelligence Agency – on two occasions gave Pastor Cai similar warnings before he was released, Rev Fu said.
As an ex-convict whom the government is especially interested to control, Rev Fu said, Pastor Cai must report to the PSB once a month.
Pastor Cai is now at home in Beijing with his wife and mother, who leads a church that meets in their house.
Deprived of his Bible whilst in prison, Pastor Cai was forced to make soccer balls for the 2008 Beijing Olympics for 10 to 12 hours a day, according to the CAA. Pastor Cai's mother, Rev Fu said, reported that the pastor was well and in good spirits.
Pastor Cai was sentenced to three years in prison on 8 November 2005 for "illegal business practices" and fined 150,000 yuan (then about £9,275).
His wife, Xiao Yunfei, was sentenced to two years and fined 120,000 yuan, and her brother Xiao Gaowen was given an 18-month sentence and a fine of 100,000 yuan. Both were released after serving out their sentences.
Having been arrested by state security officers on 11 September 2004 at a bus stop, Pastor Cai had been incarcerated for three years by last 10 September even though he was not convicted until November 2005.
At the time of his arrest, authorities found more than 237,000 pieces of printed Christian literature, including Bibles, in a storage room he managed.
By law, only the government-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) church is allowed to print and distribute Bibles in China.
The US State Department's 2007 International Religious Freedom Report, released last week, noted that many unregistered evangelical Protestant groups in China refuse to register with the TSPM due to theological differences, fear of adverse consequences if they reveal names and addresses of church leaders or members, or fear that it will control sermon content.
"Many evangelical house-church groups also disagreed with the TSPM's admonitions against proselytising, which they consider a central teaching of Christianity," the report states.
Another house-church leader, Zhou Heng in Xinjiang region, was arrested in August on the same charge as Pastor Cai, as he was caught receiving three tons of Bibles from another city, according to the CAA.
Crackdown on Christian literature
Recently Chinese authorities have been trying house-church leaders under Article 225 of China's Criminal Law against "illegal acts in business operation," according to Rev Fu of the Texas-based CAA.
In 1998, the Supreme People's Court issued a ruling that allows courts to use Article 225 to imprison anyone who "publishes, prints, copies or distributes illegal publications".
Pastor Cai's legal representatives had argued that the books were printed for free distribution throughout house-church networks and should not be considered a profit-making venture as the government charged.
The judge rejected these arguments. Shortly after his conviction, a court clerk visited Pastor Cai at the Qinghe detention centre and warned him that his sentence would be increased if he "annoyed" the judges with an appeal.
Facing heavy pressure, Pastor Cai and his family agreed to drop the appeal.
After their arrest in September 2004, sources said, Pastor Cai and his relatives were tortured during interrogation.
CAA reported that the arrest of Zhou Heng on 3 August was not formally approved by Shayibake District People's Procuratorate of Urumqi city until 31 August when notice was sent to his wife, Chen Jihong, by the Urumqi Municipal Public Security Bureau.
CAA said Mr Zhou is being held at Xishan Detention Centre. He was arrested after he went to a bus station to pick up three tons of donated Bibles intended for local believers free of charge. If convicted of the charges, he faces a 15-year prison sentence.
CAA investigators who spoke with a released inmate who shared a cell with Mr Zhou reported that prison guards and other inmates severely beat Mr Zhou.
Also a well-known house-church leader, Mr Zhou is manager of a registered bookshop called Yayi Christian Book Room, which sells Christian literature published legally and officially inside China.
The bookshop has been forced to close following his arrest.
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Hide this story.18/09/07 | PAKISTAN – Young Christian acquitted of 'blasphemy'
Witnesses drop claim against teenager, fanatics angry. Full Story...
Shahid Masih's acquittal is "not less than a miracle "
Judge Muhammad Abdul Sattar acquitted Shahid Masih, aged 18, at a lower court hearing in Faisalabad after prosecution witnesses changed their original testimonies.
Often pressured by Islamist groups, lower courts in Pakistan rarely acquit 'blasphemy' suspects.
Under oath, Mohammad Younis and Khalid Mehmood dropped claims that Shahid's co-defendant told them he had seen Shahid tear pages from a tafseer, a book explaining Quranic verses. (Background story)
Muslim teenager Muhammad Ghaffar had allegedly witnessed the act while he and Shahid supposedly stole books from a medical clinic in Madina Town district of Faisalabad on 10 September 2006.
"There were about 100 fanatics inside and outside the courtroom who were astonished when their own witnesses claimed the accused were innocent," Shahid's legal representative Khalil Tahir said.
"They were very, very angry."
Mr Tahir said he declined to cross-examine the witnesses, immediately filing a written petition to drop the case based on the new testimonies.
After hearing the legal representative's arguments, Judge Sattar deliberated for two minutes before clearing Muhammad Ghaffar and Shahid of both theft and desecration of the Quran.
Shahid could have faced life-imprisonment if found guilty of 'blasphemy'.
Mr Tahir said that both Judge Sattar and the witnesses practically fled the court after the verdict was announced.
At least 23 people involved in 'blasphemy' cases have been murdered in Pakistan since the notorious laws were instituted in 1986.
"It's not less than a miracle that a lower court acquitted somebody of blasphemy," said Mr Tahir.
Muslim fanatics often pressure lower court judges to rule against 'blasphemy' suspects despite insufficient evidence.
Once sentenced, prisoners may spend years in jail before higher courts eventually overturn the original ruling.
Mr Tahir does not plan to open a case against the prosecution witnesses for falsely accusing Shahid and Muhammad Ghaffar.
"We could open a case against them, but I think it would create more harm, both for me and [Shahid's] family," Mr Tahir commented.
Attacks
The false accusations have already taken their toll on Shahid's family. A mob of Muslim fanatics attacked Shahid's home in September 2006 after rumours of his alleged desecration of the Quran spread throughout the neighbourhood.
Police quickly arrived on the scene and arrested Shahid, sparing his life, Mr Mr Tahir said. Upon visiting Shahid in jail however Mr Tahir found he had been beaten by sub-inspector Muhammad Saffdar.
Following the incident, Shahid's mother's health quickly deteriorated.
"She wasn't able to walk or sleep because she was in very great shock," Mr Tahir reports.
In her late 50s and suffering from arthritis, the Christian woman died in March, Mr Tahir said.
Shahid was able to post bail in January, but he was forced to live separately from his parents and 12 siblings for fear of attacks by Islamists.
The young man plans to stay in hiding for several months before once again looking for work.
Mr Tahir's own wife and three sons have periodically been forced into hiding due to threats from Muslim extremists. The Christian is one of only a few legal representatives in Pakistan's third largest city willing to represent people accused of 'blasphemy'.
Mr Tahir is also representing two elderly Christians whose health has deteriorated since November, when they were sentenced to 10 years for allegedly burning pages of the Quran.
He said James and Buta Masih, in their late 60s or early 70s, had been suffering from a high temperature when he visited them in Faisalabad Central Jail last week and that fellow prisoners mistreated the Christian men because of their alleged crime.
Their appeal hearing before the regional high court has yet to be set.
Threats and bombs
In recent months, Christians in various parts of Pakistan have received threatening letters telling them to convert to Islam or they will be bombed.
On 15 September, a bomb went off at a Christian primary school in the North-West Frontier Province, according to report from the National Commission for Justice and Peace.
No one was injured, but the building in the district of Bannu was badly damaged and the chapel destroyed, the report said.
Last week a Catholic-run high school in Sangota also closed down after it received a letter threatening a suicide attack if its students did not withdraw and enrol in Islamic schools.
Christians make up approximately 1.5 per cent of Pakistan's population, according to the American State Department's most recent report on International Religious Freedom.
Compass | Easy print
Hide this story.17/09/07 | TURKEY – Judge pressured to quit Christians' trial
State prosecutor is also replaced. Full Story...
Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal
Judge Neset Eren said at a hearing on 12 September that he was quitting to "distance the court's decision from any form of indecision or doubt".
Judge Eren's announcement came after the plaintiffs' ultranationalist solicitor submitted a written request on 4 September that the judge resign. Kemal Kerincsiz accused Judge Eren of failing to deal impartially with the case.
Exactly 11 months into the case, Judge Eren had been expected to deliver a ruling at the hearing on 12 September in Silivri's criminal court, 45 miles west of Istanbul.
In October 2006, Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal were charged with insulting Turkish identity, reviling Islam and secretly compiling files on private citizens for a local Bible correspondence course.
But at their most recent hearing in July, State Prosecutor Ahmet Demirhuyuk had told the court there was "not a single piece of credible evidence" to support the accusations against the two men, both of whom are converts from Islam to Christianity.
A new state prosecutor, Adnan Ozcan, replaced Mr Demirhuyuk at the September hearing.
Islamist pressure
The courthouse was surrounded by supporters of Mr Kerincsiz and his three young clients, two of them minors, who have accused Hakan and Turan of slandering Turkey and Islam.
Ultranationalist Kemal Kerincsiz
Mr Meric, who attended the hearing without Hakan and Turan, said the prosecution attempted to prolong the case by asking for additional testimonies.
A spokesperson for the nationalist Turkish Orthodox Church, a tiny group that split from the Greek Orthodox Church after World War I, submitted a request to the court to be a complainant in the case. Sevgi Erenol's request was rejected.
Mr Erenol, known for outspoken criticism of other Christian denominations, has accompanied Mr Kerincsiz to all previous hearings.
Mr Meric said Mr Kerincsiz delivered an impromptu press conference to a number of journalists following the hearing, but major newspapers declined to report on the case on 13 September.
The next hearing has been set for 26 September, giving a higher court in Istanbul time to deliberate on whether to accept Judge Eren's resignation.
Deep judiciary problems
Scores of Turkish academics and writers have been charged in the past two years under article 301 of Turkey's penal code for insulting the Turkish Republic, institutions of state or "Turkishness".
A recent European Commission report said that indictments related to non-violent expressions of opinion had doubled in Turkey in 2006, the Turkish Daily News (TDN) newspaper reported on 14 September.
The report noted that more than half the incidents were raised under article 301.
Under its newly elected centre-right Islamist government, Turkey has begun to discuss a new constitution that could reform or abolish the controversial article.
"The simple fact is that 301 has become a symbol of what ails Turkey," Semih Idiz of TDN wrote.
The columnist noted that deeper problems underlie the controversial law.
"The problem is not just a question of repealing or amending this or that article, but one that concerns the quality of the judiciary in this country and the lack of sophistication when it comes to a true understanding of modern freedoms," said Mr Idiz.
Compass | Easy print
Hide this story.13/09/07 | INDIA – Pastor Rohit Ranjan acquitted of all charges
Verdict follows years of tension, threats. Full Story...
Pastor Ranjan with some of the hundreds of letters and cards of encouragement he received
It was uncertain if the magistrate would be able to deliver a fair verdict as immense pressure had been exerted by extremists to swing the case against him.
The case was closed after the verdict was announced in Pastor Ranjan's favour in the afternoon.
Pastor Ranjan spent nine months and thirteen days in jail in Kanker, Chhattisgarh. He was released on bail on 27 November 2006.
Pastor Ranjan's innocence has been established before all people who stood to implicate him in rape and culpable homicide arising from a forced abortion. He is a free man after being brought to trial on false charges in June 2005.
This time period of two years and three months has been full of tension and threats, and the case has suffered innumerable setbacks seemingly for the worse many times.
Each visit to the session's court was difficult because of the presence of hostile Hindu nationalists who would intimidate not only the witnesses who were giving deposition before the magistrate, but also the judiciary officials involved in handling his case.
Pastor Ranjan was threatened and ridiculed by ultranationalists at every possible opportunity.
Full of gratitude
An Open Doors staff member was able to speak with Pastor Rohit Ranjan soon after the verdict was announced. Full of gratitude to the Lord for being free, he said, "All this would not have been possible without your support. You have been with me from the beginning until the very end.
"Even when others backed away and stopped loving me, you continued to believe in my innocence.
"It is the result of all the intercessory prayers for a fair trial offered before the Lord that today I am a free man. May God continue to bless you and use this ministry mightily."
Some Open Doors India staff looked back to when they coordinated with various solicitors to figure out the best way to fight this case.
To ensure the best possible results, Open Doors took care of legal fees for the solicitors from the main city of Raipur because solicitors in Kanker were too frightened to take up the case.
Open Doors contacts in different states in India volunteered to help in various ways. Some provided shelter when it was required. Another contact helped exert pressure on the judiciary for an honest probe into the case.
Pastor Ranjan was invited to a number of Open Doors' 'Standing Strong Through the Storm' seminars so that not only he but others would be strengthened by hearing him share.
Pastor Ranjan says the most memorable and beautiful gift – one he will cherish all his life – are the hundreds of letters and cards of encouragement sent to him by Open Doors' supporters worldwide.
You can write to persecuted Christians to encourage them.
Open Doors | Easy print
Hide this story.13/09/07 | INDONESIA – Church attacked in West Java
Six serious problems require immediate attention. Full Story...
Over 100 people marched in with clubs, machetes and brick-sized stones to attack the Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) Rajeg congregation in Tangerang, western part of Java, at noon on Sunday 2 September.
Around 200 members of the congregation were holding a thanksgiving worship service in a courtyard across from where they held church services.
The aggressors forced the congregation to stop the service without giving any explanation.
“Our church was established in 2000 without necessary permits as they were hard to obtain. So we had been holding services from one house to another.
"For this service, however, we secured a permit from local officials,” said congregation leader Pastor Anggiat Hutabarat.
Refusing to talk with church leaders, the crowd threw stones at the congregation and destroyed the meeting tent.
Three police officers tried to protect the Christians, but failed because they were outnumbered.
Pastor Jau Doloksaribu and three other church members were injured in the head.
The crowd consisted of neighbours and outsiders. Their connection to any Islamist organisation remains unknown.
Because of pressure from the families of the three instigators, one of the community leaders of Rajeg admitted his involvement in planning the attack and pressured the church to drop all charges so the attackers would be released.
“Whether legal action should follow or not I leave entirely to the police officers,” said HKBP head of Jakarta and Tangerang district, Pastor Doloksaribu, who was one of the wounded.
“I have already forgiven them even if they did not ask for it.
"The only thing we want is to show the world that religious freedom here is indeed an issue."
Six serious problems
Responding to the rampant church attacks, the largest Christian political party held a public discussion on 7 September. During the gathering, diaconal Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Church Fellowship (PGI) Pastor Gomor Gultom said Indonesia is facing six serious problems that require immediate attention.
“First, we see the government and security officials developing a habit of ignoring church attacks.
"In the worst cases, officials supported the move, stating that a residence was improperly being used as a place of worship,” he explained.
“Second, although our constitution guarantees religious rights, implementers of the law have failed to protect it."
Third, he said, the Indonesian community is very sectarian and radical in religious matters.
Fourth, he continued, people take the law into their own hands by violently punishing those who allegedly break the law – civil or religious.
Fifth, church attacks happened under the pretext of democracy, with the will of the majority prevailing over the minority, as seen in communities where both Muslims and Christians live together.
Lastly, according to Pastor Gultom, those who advocate for church closures believe such attacks are consistent with the law, whether Islamic or civil law.
“It is cause for concern when they think they are within the law in attacking churches,” he said.
A series of church closures had preceded the incident in Tangerang.
Since the beginning of 2007, at least 20 churches and worship centres have been forcibly shut down across West and Central Java.
Open Doors | Easy print
Hide this story.13/0/07 | INDIA – Muslim converts threatened with death
Pressured by thousands to renounce their faith. Full Story...
Six Muslim-background Believers (MBBs) and their families in Nutangram village of Murshidabad district in West Bengal have been pressured to recant their Christian faith.
The mosque committee called for thousands of villagers from nearby areas to come against the Christian families on 4 September, as they wanted the families to recommit themselves to Islam.
The believers, who came to faith little more than one year ago, are terrified.
A few days prior to 4 September, the mosque issued a ban against anyone communicating with the MBBs. As a result, vegetables were not sold to them, no workers came to do jobs in their fields, and no customers came to their shops.
They were further threatened that they would be killed and their homes burned if they did not give up their Christian faith.
Islamists stirred up the women to attack one of the Christian women. They physically tortured her, examining her body as they searched for 'Christian signs' on her.
Faithful shepherd
Open Doors came to know about this incident through Pastor Bashir, who works with the Khoda-e-Jamat ministry and is based in Behrampur (the district headquarters of Murshidabad district), about 2.5 miles from where this incident occurred in Nutangram.
Pastor Bashir requested intercessory prayer for these Christian families. He has been a mentor and pillar of support for the believers, leading worship every Friday from a healthcare centre located in Behrampur.
He told Open Doors about how a Muslim couple came to know the Lord two years ago through the heathcare centre run by his wife and himself.
Tasleema (29) first believed and then her husband, Johad (aged 35).
Pastor Bashir said he encouraged them to share the gospel of Christ with their relatives. As they did so, he said God’s Spirit inspired the relatives at Nutangram to accept Jesus as their saviour after a few months, and they were baptised with water.
Six families came to accept Christ and grew strong in faith.
Opposition
Johad and his wife have been facing opposition from his family for quite some time. They have been boycotted from any further social interaction with any of the family members and have been asked to leave the house.
The other MBB relatives and neighbours who live in Nutangram are suffering hardship from the social boycott raised by the mosque. They own homes and land within the village and have no where else to go.
Recently Pastor Bashir and the Khoda-e-Jamat ministry have also been threatened by the Muslims. When Open Doors personnel spoke with him on 6 September, he said the situation was tense.
He believes the Lord’s grace will sustain every MBB in Nutangram in these difficult days, but requested prayer from the Open Doors family at this time so that not a single family will give in to the pressure to recant their faith.
Open Doors | Easy print
Hide this story.13/09/08 | VIETNAM – Widow stoned after spreading the gospel
Police interrogations, attacks fail to weaken her faith. Full Story...
Lien (a pseudonym) is a 44-year old widow with four children – two are teenagers and two are already in their twenties.
They live in Vietnam's Central Highlands, in a province where Communism still has a tight grip on the people.
When her husband passed away in 1997, Lien was left on her own to feed her family with only her strength and will to survive.
Every day she built up her strength by carrying large quantities of household items on foot to a village six miles from her house.
She took soap, loo paper and sugar to sell, and through this business Lien learned the language of the people who lived there.
Adding God to her business
Lien was fully occupied with her business until God added a new focus to her life in 2004 when a pastor shared the gospel with her and her children.
With glad hearts, they received the Lord.
Constant nurturing from the pastor grounded Lien and her children in the faith. They gave up their idols and lost their belief in superstitions. Their hearts were stirred to freely give, just as they freely received the salvation of Jesus Christ.
To every person they met, they talked about their Saviour. Lien also saw the opportunity to tell others about the love of God through her small shop.
As she had become fluent in the local language, she was effective in sharing the gospel, bringing more than 100 tribal people to the Lord in three years’ time.
Lien took care of God's business of saving souls, and God took ood care of her business too. Lien's income grew as more people bought her soap, loo rolls and sugar.
Threatened and stoned
Upon hearing that she spread the gospel whilst conducting her business however, the district police summoned her for interrogation on many occasions; but nothing shook Lien's faith.
Lien continued her ministry, sharing her faith with others even though relatives began pressuring her to give up her faith in Jesus Christ.
Lien opened her home to new believers early in 2007, for a Bible study. Many came, including the pastor who had shared the gospel with her.
After everyone left the meeting and those at home were asleep, the electricity was cut and darkness shrouded her house.
Suddenly around 10 teenage boys began throwing large stones at her house, and some climbed up to destroy the tin roof.
When Lien tried to stop them, the boys began to stone her. A rock hit Lien's head and she was knocked unconscious.
Some of the believers came to her aid and she was rushed to the nearest hospital.
Open Doors extended help to Lien by assisting with her medical expenses at the hospital and by praying with her, providing much needed encouragement.
Many believed the assault was connected with Lien's faith.
Though one of her eyes was swollen and she needed a few stitches, to the relief of her children, Lien suffered no serious injuries.
Open Doors | Easy print
Hide this story.13/09/07 | INDIA – Recent incidents of persecution
Compass Direct publish new compilation. Full Story...
Karnataka – A group of about 35 people from the Hindu ultranationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) beat the principal of a Bible college on 10 September in Geddalhalli village on Hennur Road in Bangalore.
Dr Sajan K George of the Global Council of Indian Christians told reporters that Angam Haokip, head of the Bible college in the Kothanur area of Bangalore, was attacked at 8am by men wearing vermillion on their foreheads and red thread on their wrists, a mark of followers of the RSS.
The attackers stopped Rev Haokip's vehicle and asked if he was a pastor. When he said, "Yes," they beat him, tried to crush his legs with boulders and kicked him on the nape of the neck before onlookers.
Rev Haokip's back and chest were injured. The attackers also vandalised his vehicle.
"When the Christian went to the police station, the police refused to accept his complaint, and instead informed him that a complaint had been lodged against him for 'rash driving,'" Dr George said.
Bihar – Hindu nationalists stormed a Christian meeting, forcibly took a pastor to a temple and made him recite slogans about the Hindu god Rama on 8 September in Bankipore Gorakh area of Fatuha in Patna, Bihar state.
National daily The Times of India identified the victim as Rudal Paswan of the Pentecostal Church and the perpetrators as supporters of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The ultranationalist groups accused the Christians of luring 100 Dalits, including women and children, with 5,000 rupees (ca £60) cash and promises of jobs paying 8,000 rupees (ca £100) monthly.
Pastor Paswan denied the allegation.
The daily quoted Gopal Prasad, local president of the BJP, as saying, "We had informed the local administration about our pre-emptive action. We explained to the people the benefits of remaining a Hindu. I told them they were like our brothers and sisters."
The daily noted that the VHP and BJP supporters made the allegations even though they did not know the names of the organisers of the Christian meeting.
The Patna administration is investigating the case.
West Bengal – Six families in Natungram village, Murshidabad district in West Bengal, are being ostracised for converting to Christianity from Islam, reported the Mumbai Mirror on 7 September.
Villagers in the predominantly Muslim village have accused the Christians of receiving money from a church to convert, the report stated.
"It is likely that 24 people converted in the last three months," Ajay Sannamat, the Lalbag sub-divisional officer, was quoted as stating.
Villagers became suspicious when some of the converts declined to attend certain functions.
The village head, Maulvi Nur Islam, called a meeting in which the heads of the Christian families were summoned and told that they would not be allowed to buy anything from any shop or draw water from village tube-wells.
At the same time, the Muslim villagers were told they would be fined if they spoke to the Christian 'offenders', the report stated.
Two converts, Rehman Sheikh and Aima Bibi, reportedly filed a complaint with the Murshidabad police stating that their lives were threatened.
Police have been posted in the village, and District Superintendent of Police Rahul Srivastav was quoted as stating, "They will remain as long as the tension is not diffused."
Karnataka – On 6 September a group of about 10 Hindu ultranationalists tied an independent evangelist to a tree for at least three hours before chasing him out of Madhikare village in Chinthamani near Bangalore, Karnataka state.
They beat 41-year old evangelist P Ananthappa whilst he was distributing Christian tracts to a villager in front of his house, said Dr Sajan K George of the Global Council of Indian Christians.
"The nationalists abused the evangelist and warned him not to come back to the village to preach Christianity before tying him to a tree for three hours," Dr George told reporters.
After being released, Mr Ananthappa, who received minor injuries, went to hospital for first-aid.
"The evangelist refused to file a police complaint, saying that if he did so he would not be able to go to that village again for ministry," Dr George added.
Karnataka – Six Hindu nationalists beat pastor Abey C Mathew, aged 30, of the Christian Ministry Church on 6 September in Bommasandra, Bangalore, Karnataka state.
Dr Sajan K George of the Global Council of Indian Christians said nationalists led by Narayana Swamy barged into the church compound shouting anti-Christian curses and slapped, punched and kicked Pastor Mathew and congregation member Joseph Abraham.
Both men were treated for injuries at Baptist Hospital.
"The mob told me to stop my preaching of a foreign faith and kept hitting me," Pastor Mathew told reporters.
"They are now threatening my believers, who are now afraid to worship at the church. On 9 September, very few attended Sunday worship."
Mathew, whose congregation consists of 22 people, filed a complaint at the Hebbagudi police station, but at press time no arrests had been made.
Karnataka – Police summoned three Christians on 3 September after Hindu nationalists in the Bangarapet area of Kolar district, Karnataka, filed a complaint of 'forcible conversion'.
The nationalists, whose names the police did not disclose, charged that the Christians – identified only as Raghu from Emmanuel Church, Prabhu from Zion Church and an independent pastor, Anand – were forcibly converting local Hindus, said Dr Sajan K George of the Global Council of Indian Christians.
Dr George said the charge was false.
He added that it was disturbing to see the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, which have substantial numbers of Christians, becoming gradually more tense in recent years.
West Bengal – Alleged supporters of the Communist Party of India-Marxists (CPI-M) beat the wife of an independent Christian worker on 1 September in Bhupathinagar area of East Midnapore district, West Bengal state.
The attackers came to the house of Biman Patro seemingly to attack him but, not finding him home, beat his wife Sushma Patro instead, according to a local Christian who requested anonymity.
"They caught the woman and threw her to the ground by pulling her hair," the source told reporters.
"Then they hit her on the head with a stick and kicked her in the stomach several times, knocking her down unconscious."
A relative of Mrs Patro's intervened, and the victim was admitted to Purba Medinipur District Hospital for two days.
When the incident was reported to the Bhupathinagar police station, the police took no prompt action.
"They arrested a few people, but released them within few hours," added the source.
The attackers had earlier visited Sushma Patro and harassed her on 22 August after learning that her husband was away.
"Mr Patro's wife had even lodged a complaint regarding the 22 August incident at the Bhupathinagar police station [General Diary Number 770] the same day, but the police did nothing to protect the woman, as the perpetrators are being protected by local politicians from the CPI-M," the source said.
Madhya Pradesh – A Hindu nationalist from the Bajrang Dal in Kharra village, Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh beat a 24-year old Christian, Kailash Saket, on 31 August.
Dr Sajan K George of the Global Council of Indian Christians said Kiran Upadhyay stopped Saket on a village road and cursed him and his Christian faith.
Upadhyaya then slapped and punched Kailash and warned him to stop going to prayer meetings.
Kailash has been worshipping at a house church, led by independent pastor Heeralal Kushwawa, for the past four years.
Mr Upadhyaya also had beaten Pastor Kushwawa on 25 August, making allegations of 'forcibly converting' people.
"Mr Upadhyaya has been keeping a close watch on our prayer meetings and mocked the believers as they came for worship," Pastor Kushwawa told reporters.
"Believers are now frightened, and on Sunday 2 September, very few believers attended worship."
Maharashtra – Unidentified Hindu ultranationalist youths on 25 August launched a second attack on 38-year old pastor Peter David Silway from the Vineyard Workers' Church in Dapodi area of Maharashtra state's Pune district.
"A car belonging to the pastor was pelted with stones by two motorcycle-borne youths on the bridge linking Dapodi and Bopodi," the local edition of national daily The Indian Express reported on 4 September.
The victim filed a complaint with the Bhosari police station.
On 8 June, about six youths had gone to the residence of Pastor Silway in Bopodi with a bouquet, and as the pastor stepped forward to receive it, they pounced on him and started beating him with hockey sticks, added the daily.
At that time he filed a complaint with the Khadki police station.
The daily quoted the president of the Dapodi unit of Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena, Kailas Jadhav, as saying, "Some Hindu groups suspect that church members are carrying out conversion activity not in the church, but in villages outside Pune and other parts of the state. If such a thing is happening, it should be stopped forthwith."
Pastor Silway told the daily, "The church has never indulged in such activities ... There are some five to six people who are instigating the local people against the church. Otherwise nobody is complaining."
Pastor Silway conducts healing prayer meetings on Saturdays that draw nearly 20,000 people.
Maharashtra – Hindu nationalists from the Bajrang Dal filed a First Information Report (FIR) of forcible conversion against pastor Edward Pais on 26 August in Andheri, Mumbai, Maharashtra, reported national daily The Times of India.
Pastor Pais of New Life Fellowship told reporters, "One person identified as Mr
Kishore, who has been praying and worshipping at the New Life Church for more than six months, expressed a desire and personal free choice to accept Christ as saviour."
For his baptism, Mr Kishore invited colleague Anil Bhise to the service on 26 August.
"Mr Bhise came with a few other people, and they all sat respectfully during the preaching," Pastor Pais said.
"However, as Mr Kishore was being administered the water baptism at the nearby Juhu beach, Bhise strongly objected to the baptism ceremony."
Bhise shouted accusations of 'forcible conversion' and registered the FIR against Pastor Pais at the D N Nagar, Andheri police station.
Pastor Pais was also booked for 'deliberately injuring religious sentiments' under Sections 295(A), and for 'inducing a person to believe he will be rendered an object of the Divine displeasure' under Section 508.
Orissa – Unidentified people suspected of being Hindu ultranationalists demolished an 18-year old church belonging to tribal Christians late on 25 August in Banjalaput village of Padua block in Orissa state's Koraput district.
The attackers broke the rooftop and cross of the church, which belonged to the Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC).
Dr Sajan K George of the Global Council of Indian Christians said Hindu nationalists had earlier instigated Rabi Ram Singh, son of Jagabandhu Ram Singh, former owner of the land who had sold it to the JELC Mission, to illegally occupy a portion of the church property.
The younger Singh has been threatening JELC Pastor Sanjay Khora to halt meetings in the church.
He also has stopped the pastor from entering the church on several occasions.
The Padua police station filed a complaint against the culprits, but the accused remained at large at press time.
About 20 tribal Christian families worshipped in the church.
Compass | Easy print
Hide this story.10/09/07 | ERITREA – Christian woman tortured to death
Fourth believer in a year killed for refusing to recant. Full Story...
Eritrean authorities tortured a woman to death on Wednesday 5 September for refusing to recant her Christian faith, the fourth such killing in less than a year.
Citing Christian sources in the East African nation, Open Doors has confirmed that 33-year old Nigsti Haile was killed for refusing to sign a letter recanting her faith.
Held at the Wi'a Military Training Centre 20 miles south of the Red Sea port of Massawa, Nigsti was one of 10 single Christian women arrested at a church gathering in Keren who have spent 18 months under severe pressure.
Eritrea outlawed independent Protestant churches in May 2002, closing their buildings and banning them from meeting even in private homes.
Nigsti was a member of a Rhema church, an independent Protestant group.
Before her arrest, Nigsti worked for a relative while studying to complete secondary-level education.
On 15 February, Magos Solomon Semere died under torture at the Adi-Nefase Military Confinement facility outside Assab, four and a half years after the Eritrean regime jailed him for worshipping in a banned Protestant church.
According to one source, the 30-year old Semere died due to physical torture and persistent pneumonia, for which he was forbidden proper medical treatment.
Last 17 October, two other Christians died under torture in Eritrea.
Two days after Immanuel Andegergesh, aged 23, and Kibrom Firemichel, 30, were arrested for holding a religious service in a private home south of Asmara, they died from torture wounds and severe dehydration in a military camp outside the town of Adi-Quala, according to eyewitnesses.
In August, Open Doors became aware that the 10 Christian women arrested earlier were separated from other prisoners and taken to the Wi'a military centre, where they underwent torture for refusing to recant.
On 19 August, ten members of the Full Gospel Church were arrested as they gathered in a house in Kahawata, a suburb of Asmara, sources said.
On 12 August, Leul Gebreab, aged 35, a pastor at the evangelical Apostolic Church, was arrested in Asmara.
No charges filed, no trials
Amnesty International said in a statement yesterday that the detainees from the Full Gospel Church are believed to be held without charge or trial in the Karchele security prison, together with dozens of other pastors and members of banned evangelical churches.
"Amnesty considers Pastor Gebreab and the 10 church members who were arrested in Asmara on 12 August to be prisoners of conscience," Amnesty reported, "as they have been detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their religious beliefs."
Since May 2002, Eritrea has officially recognised only Islam and the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran Christian churches.
At the same time, Amnesty noted, religious persecution has also affected the Orthodox and Catholic churches.
Authorities have deposed and detained the patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Abune Antonios, due to his criticisms of government interference in church matters, Amnesty said.
The Roman Catholic Church in Eritrea is appealing against an order to hand over all its social welfare organisations – schools, medical clinics, orphanages and women's training centres – to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour.
More than 2,000 Eritrean Christians are imprisoned in Eritrea. All have been denied legal counsel or trial, with no written charges filed against them.
Amnesty reported that most of the more than 2,000 imprisoned Christians have been held for more than two years in harsh conditions, with little or no medical treatment.
"Members of evangelical churches have been subjected to arrest, torture and coercion by the security forces to try and force them to deny their faith," Amnesty reported.
Compass | Easy print
Hide this story.07/09/07 | EGYPT – Court delays ruling on 'reconversion'
17 Nov decision on right to return to Christianity. Full Story...
An Egyptian court has delayed ruling on the appeal of converts to Islam who wish to return Christianity.
At a hearing on Saturday 1 September, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court set the date for a ruling at 17 November.
Much is at stake in conflicts over religious identity in Egypt, where religious status legally determines whom one can marry, custody of children, inheritance, the type of religious education required and where one can be buried.
The punishment for 'apostasy' from Islam is death, according to most mainstream Egyptian interpretations of Shari'a (Islamic jurisprudence), enshrined in Egypt's constitution.
No converts have been tried for 'apostasy', but conversion away from Islam remains difficult, whilst hundreds ofEgyptians become Muslim every year.
In April, a lower court overturned previous rulings allowing converts to Islam to revert to their original faith, claiming the group of at least 12 was "manipulating" religion.
Interior Minister Habib al-Adly spoke out in support of the lower court ruling the following week, insisting that any Muslim who abandons his faith must be killed, according to Egyptian weekly Sout al Oma.
But Hossam Baghat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said many conservative scholars have not labelled the group of 're-converts' as apostates, creating some hope that their appeal may succeed.
"They converted to Islam briefly to get out of a bad marriage, to get a second wife, or to get divorced, things the Coptic Church in Egypt does not allow," Mr Baghat said.
"Once they solved their urgent problems, they wanted to convert back to Christianity."
In July, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court had agreed to accept the appeal, setting the first hearing for 1 September.
Effect on Hegazy
Mr Baghat said he hoped the case of the group of Muslim converts returning to Christianity might help the case of Mohammed Hegazy, a Muslim-born Egyptian who is suing the government to have his conversion to Christianity officially recognised.
"We think of course that a favourable decision in this case of re-conversion will serve the other category of people who are born Muslim and want to convert to Christianity or to any other religion," said Mr Baghat.
He added that the two still remained separate legal issues.
In recent years, Christian converts to Islam have won the right to convert back to Christianity, specifically because courts have not viewed the change as an issue of 'apostasy', according to Mr Baghat.
In July, Egypt's second highest religious authority told The Washington Post that 'apostates' should not receive any earthly punishment.
Dr Ali Gomaa's statement created outcry among conservative Muslims in Egypt but prompted Mr Hegazy to sue for the change to be officially recognised.
The unprecedented move drew harsh public condemnation, with Islamic scholars almost unanimously calling for the death of the Mr Hegazy.
He was forced into hiding with his pregnant wife after both he and his solicitor (who eventually withdrew from the case) received death threats.
Hundreds of converts to Christianity in Egypt are forced to live double lives in order to escape torture and harassment at the hands of family members and security police.
Though no convert has ever been tried for 'apostasy', they are often charged with the crime of "insulting a heavenly religion [Islam]" and held indefinitely under Egypt's emergency law.
As to whether he thought Mr Hegazy's case had heightened sensitivities towards the issue of conversion, endangering the chances of converts to Islam who wished to revert to Christianity, Mr Baghat said, "We were worried, but it didn't really come up at all – nothing was raised about apostasy per se."
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Hide this story.06/09/07 | EGYPT – Christian twins forced to 'become' Muslims
Hearing adjourned indefinitely. Full Story...
Mario and Andrew Medhat Ramsis
The solicitor for the two boys forced the adjournment by skipping the hearing, as the outcome of another case involving converts to Islam seeking 're-conversion' could affect the twins' case.
The twins' case highlights inequalities non-Muslims face in Egypt, where one's religion, printed on all official documents, regulates family law. Custody of children is automatically given to whichever parent is Muslim, according to many interpretations of shari'a (Islamic law), enshrined in the nation's constitution.
Christian twins Mario and Andrew Medhat Ramsis unwillingly "became" Muslim after their father converted to Islam and used his legal right to change the religion on their birth certificates.
In February, the boys' mother discovered they had been placed in Islamic education classes at school to reflect their father's choice, though the Muslim man has not been living with his Christian family since his conversion and remarriage in 2002.
The twins gained notoriety when they refused to take their Islamic religion exam in May, required in order to pass and move on to the next year.
"I am a Christian," each boy wrote on a make-up exam in July. They turned in the exam with all of the answers left blank.
Egyptian Education Minister Yusri al-Gamal announced on 25 August he would automatically pass the boys on to the next year, but the twins' Christian mother said an underlying problem remains.
Legislative bias
"I was made to understand that Egyptian law grants a mother custody of her children until they are 15 years of age, but I recently discovered that this applies only to Muslim mothers," Kamilia Lutfi said at a 27 August press conference, according to the Coptic-owned weekly Watani.
Andrew and Mario Ramsis' future hinges on whether the court applies civil law, which allows them to remain with their mother, or certain interpretations of Islamic law, which stipulate that children belong to whichever parent is Muslim, their solicitor Naguib Gabriel said.
Mr Gabriel skipped the hearing on 3 September when the court was expected to rule on the twins' future, causing the court to adjourn indefinitely.
Kamilia Lutfi and Naguib Gabriel
Mr Gabriel said the 17 November ruling on 're-conversion' would give him a clue about the government's position towards the Ramsis twins' case.
"The whole point is whether the court will rule according to Egypt's civil law – in which case the converts will be free to revert to Christianity – or according to shari'a, meaning that ridda [the penalty for apostasy] would be applied."
According to many mainstream interpretations of Islamic law in Egypt, the punishment for apostasy is death.
Mr Gabriel has come under increasing pressure from conservative Muslims for his role in defending Mario and Andrew Ramsis. Last week Lawyer Mohammed al-Shishtawi filed a complaint with Egypt's prosecutor general against Mr Gabriel accusing the Christian lawyer of spreading false rumours that harm Egypt's national unity, inciting sectarian strife, and tarnishing Egypt's image abroad, according to daily newspaper al-Akhbar.
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Hide this story.06/09/07 | MALAYSIA – PM calls country "Islamic state"
Minorities fear restrictions on religious freedom. Full Story...
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi last week declared that Malaysia is an Islamic state, apparently contradicting his 5 August statement that Malaysia is neither a secular nor a theocratic state.
His 27 August declaration came in reply to a question in Parliament from opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, who asked if the cabinet would reaffirm Malaysia as a secular state with Islam as the official religion as per the social contract signed at the formation of the country.
There is a possibility that Abdullah could have meant "Islamic country", as his statement was written in Malay where the words Negara Islam can mean either 'Islamic state', implying the imposition of Islamic law on all citizens, or 'Islamic country', meaning one with a Muslim-majority population.
The prime minister's comment came in the wake of a call by Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim to abolish the use of English common law in the country after 50 years of independence from Britain.
The chief justice made the remark at a seminar on "Ahmad Ibrahim: Thoughts and Knowledge Contribution" on 21 August.
Two days later, Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail was reported in local Malay daily Utusan Malaysia as expressing support for the chief justice's view.
He went on to say shari'a (Islamic) laws are best as they emphasise justice and equal distribution of rights.
Nazri Aziz and Abdullah Zin, who are both ministers in the prime minister's department, agreed with the chief justice's proposal.
Fears of Islamisation
The comments have alarmed non-Muslims, who make up 40 pe rcent of the country's population. Various religious and civil society groups have voiced concerns over what they see as a gradual Islamisation and infringement of minority rights.
Datuk A Vaithilingam, president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, issued a statement on 23 August saying, "It is wholly unacceptable for any theological law to replace the system of law we have in Malaysia today."
He urged the government to act fairly in safeguarding the interest of all Malaysians in accordance with the Federal Constitution.
The president of the Malaysian Bar Council, Ambiga Sreenevasan, issued a statement saying the council was disturbed by the chief justice's suggestion and that any attempt to dismantle the common law system is a direct attack on the constitution and violates the social contract affirmed at the formation of the country.
"It is a backdoor attempt to rewrite [the Federal Constitution] and to move Malaysia towards becoming a theocratic state," she added.
In a week-long online poll ending on 31 August, 83 per cent of the 513 members of the bar who took part in the poll called on the council to convene an extraordinary general meeting to reaffirm the supremacy of the Federal Constitution and the application of English common law.
The state of religious liberty in the country has been in the limelight ever since 30 May when the outcome of the high-profile case of Lina Joy – a convert from Islam to Christianity who tried unsuccessfully to have the word 'Islam' removed from her identity card – was announced.
Even as the nation celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence from British rule, many local observers wondered if the nation that prides itself as a multi-cultural, multi-religious country whose majority practise a moderate brand of Islam, has room for those who do not profess the Islamic faith.
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Hide this story.05/09/07 | TURKEY – Christians face ongoing intimidation
Church building in Izmit vandalised. Full Story...
Police in Turkey's western city of Izmit have arrested a man who set a fire early on the morning of 3 September at the entrance of the local Protestant church and then fired his handgun several times.
The church's pastor is the brother-in-law of one of the converts to Christianity murdered in Malatya in April and has been targeted by fanatical Muslims.
Identified by police authorities as Semih Sahin, the man who set fire to the church entrance reportedly told interrogators he had been "bothered" by what he heard and read in the newspapers about the Izmit Protestant Church, so he wanted to "make a scene" to arouse public opposition to it.
According to local police, who described the apprehended suspect as a "psychopath", Sahin has a previous criminal and prison record. He was brought before a local prosecutor, formally charged and jailed yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday's incident, which occurred at 3:15am, was recorded on a security camera installed by the church several months ago, in the wake of the gruesome stabbing deaths of three Protestant Christians in Malatya on 18 April.
One of the murdered victims, Turkish Christian convert Necati Aydin, was a brother-in-law of Izmit Protestant Church's pastor.
Video
On the security camera video recorded on 3 September, Sahin walked up to the door of the church, laid down a box and some other flammable materials, poured liquid over the pile and lit it whilst smoking a cigarette.
He then walked off, returning shortly to find the pile burning brightly on the stone steps. Stepping away down the street, he proceeded to fire his handgun, loaded with blanks, into the air several times.
Police arrived within four minutes and were soon joined by 10 people from the neighbourhood, but the fire was not put out until the fire department came minutes later.
The suspect, whom police said was about 30 years old, was apprehended on a nearby street shortly after the incident still carrying the handgun.
The church pastor confirmed to reporters that police authorities called him at 8:00am to inform him of the incident.
Although the fire blackened the entrance and steps to the church, there was no structural damage to the building, the pastor said.
The Izmit pastor has been provided with an armed government security guard since the last week of April, when he returned home with his family after his brother-in-law's funeral.
Death threat
On 20 May, the testimony of one of the Malatya murder suspects was leaked to the Turkish press, stating that he had planned to murder the Izmit pastor next.
The pastor was again targeted in the Turkish media on 14 July, when police authorities in Izmit's Kocaeli province reported the round-up of a mafia-style gang of 23 suspects involved in assassinations of businessmen and a rash of other illegal activities in the region.
After his capture, gang leader Ismail Halil was interrogated about the group's alleged plans to murder the Izmit pastor in the near future, for which they were to receive US$1 million, according to Sabah newspaper.
Halil reportedly claimed his legal right to remain silent on this question.
In a previous incident this summer, a group of neighbourhood boys plastered the front of the church building with raw eggs on the morning of 30 July, just as the church began a week-long English club for its young people.
Police identified the culprits after viewing the security camera footage, bringing them from their homes to clean up the mess.
Intolerance
"The Protestant community is negatively affected by contemptuous, disinformative media coverage which also has the effect of showing Christians – and in particular persons who have converted to Christianity [from Islam] – as targets for acts of violence," noted a new report released 1 September by Turkish Protestants.
Issued by the Legal Committee of the Alliance of Protestant Churches of Turkey, the 'summary of concerns' called for the Turkish authorities to create a "culture of tolerance" toward its minorities.
"In the past year there have been scores of threats or attacks on congregations and church buildings," the report said.
"The perpetrators have not been found."
The report concluded: "The state should be guaranteeing freedom of religion and the security of individuals and property."
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Hide this story.03/09/07 | INDIA – Nationalists allegedly kill pastor's brother
Attacks on Christian family ignored, victims arresed. Full Story...
A series of attacks on a Dalit Christian pastor in Tamil Nadu state earlier this year ended in Hindu ultranationalists allegedly murdering his brother last month.
Pastor Paul Chinnaswamy of Krishnagiri district has also seen his house vandalised, and he and his son have been arrested on unfounded charges of 'forced conversion."
After two attacks by Hindu nationalists in April and May, the worst came on 29 July.
Two Hindu nationalists who had earlier attacked the 51-year old Pastor Chinnaswamy arrived by motor scooter to the house of his older brother, Amos, a Christian convert from Hinduism.
The pastor's brother had angrily shouted at the two nationalists when they and others had attacked the independent church leader earlier this year, said Dr Sajan K George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC).
"The two men pulled down a small hut that was put up in front of Amos' house and hit him in the head and back with a log," Dr George told reporters.
"When he fell down, they crushed his head with large boulders and threatened to kill the shocked wife and mother-in-law if they too did not throw stones at his body."
Shouting in grief and fear and feeling they had no option, the women complied, Dr George said.
The nationalists had killed him, Dr George said, to avenge his angry words over the attacks on his brother.
The two women ran to Chinnigiripalli village, under Uddinapalli police station jurisdiction, and locals rushed to the scene.
Police then arrested the two women, accusing the victim's wife and mother-in-law of the murder. They were remanded to judicial custody, according to Circle Inspector R Vajram of the Rayakota Circle.
"Amos was 58 years old, and his wife is about 30 – there were tensions between the couple," Inspector Vajram told reporters.
"Besides, Amos used to drink and trouble his wife. This is why the wife and the mother-in-law killed him."
Charging that the local police had not investigated the attack properly, Dr George wrote to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on 18 August requesting that it ensure justice for Pastor Chinnaswamy and his family.
Lawlessness seems to be the norm for the area, Dr George said.
He added that on 3 August, in what may or may not have been a related incident, a Communist leader identified as Dhanaraj was found murdered in his banana farm in Thalli area in the same district.
He had helped Pastor Chinnaswamy get out of jail and was providing his son with legal help.
Pastor and son arrested
On 18 July, police had summoned the pastor, who lives in Uddinapalli, to the Uddinapalli police station and asked him to wait in a room – which happened to be a jail cell.
Police then arrested him on false charges of 'forced conversion', Dr George said.
When local Christians learned about the arrest, they contacted Communist Party leaders who were able to secure his release on 20 July.
In India, communists often find themselves in league with Christians in the fight against Hindu nationalism.
Also on 18 July, police picked up the pastor's son, Luka Perumal, an independent preacher, and put him in a separate cell.
Luka was sent to the Salem jail on 20 July.
"The police arrested him as a 'preventive measure', alleging he was involved in some gangs," Dr George said.
When Pastor Chinnaswamy asked why his son was being held, police replied that he would be released on 3 August.
He was not released, however, until 27 August.
Earlier attacks
Two days before police detained Luka Perumal, on 16 July, Hindu nationalists had damaged his thatched house in Kelamangalam village, Krishnagiri district.
The attacks and police harassment followed the assaults on Pastor Chinnaswamy in April and May.
On 5 May, eight Hindu nationalists broke into Chinnaswamy's house and assaulted him with a screwdriver, threatened to harm his 4-year old daughter and insulted his wife.
The attackers also took 2,750 rupees (ca £30), claiming foreigners had given him that amount to forcibly convert Hindus.
Pastor Chinnaswamy had set aside the money to pay his electric bill.
On 22 April, nationalists attacked Pastor Chinnaswamy and vandalised his kitchen.
"Chinnaswamy did not file a police complaint even once, as he feared he would be killed if he did so," Dr George said.
Pastor Chinnaswamy, who has been ministering in the area for 20 years, is also a local civic leader; twice he has been elected as the village head.
In his letter to the NHRC, Dr George appealed for an immediate inquiry "into the targeting of Pastor Paul Chinnaswamy and his family for the sole reason that they are Christians."
"It is alarming that, far from dealing with the lawlessness in the region, the police are busy imprisoning peaceful preachers," Dr George wrote.
"They allow dangerous criminals to roam about unhindered. We appeal for immediate action."
Regarding increased attacks on Dalits, including Dalit Christians, National Integration Council member John Dayal noted that, "Christ's message liberates entire caste groups which were in the thrall of the upper castes."
Pastor Chinnaswamy and all Catholics and Protestants in India, he said, are attacked for the theological position of Christians that Dalits are equals, which "rocks the Hindu boat".
"This is why even liberal Hindus find fault with conversions."
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Hide this story.30/08/07 | INDIA – Recent incidents of persecution
Compass Direct publishes another digest. Full Story...
Chhattisgarh – Two pastors were arrested on charges of 'hurting religious feelings' and 'fraudulent conversion' on 26 August after Hindu ultranationalists and police disrupted a church's Sunday worship following the baptism of five converts in Chhattisgarh state.
Arun Pannalal, general secretary of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, said nationalists from the Dharam Sena entered the church shouting anti-Christian slogans and, accompanied by police, made allegations of forcible conversion where 52 people were worshipping in Bhilai sector, Durg district.
Independent church pastor Charles Patel had baptised five new converts in a nearby river before the service.
Police summoned the church members to the Nevai police station, where they interrogated them and the newly baptised converts "who insisted they had willingly accepted Jesus as their Saviour and that it was a conscious, personal decision to embrace the Christian Faith," Mr Pannalal said.
Two strangers showed up telling police that pastors Samson Patel (brother of Charles) and Neeraj Martin had given them money to convert to Christianity.
Charles Pastor Patel told reporters, "We have never seen those two men before, they are unknown to anyone."
Police Inspector Anil Bakshi told reporters that Samson Patel and Martin have been charged with 'deliberately injuring religious sentiments' and with violating provisions of the state anti-conversion law.
Karnataka – On 26 August, at least 25 Hindu ultranationalists launched a violent attack on a house church in Kolar district, Karnataka state, stabbing one member and beating the pastor.
In Raji Nagar area, Malur, the attackers beat 38-year old independent pastor Emmanuel Venkatesh and M S Thimmakka and stabbed a church member identified as Venkattarajappa on his hand and hips, reported Dr Sajan K George of the Global Council of Indian Christians.
The attack took place during Sunday worship at Thimmakka's house in Malur, about 34 miles from Bangalore.
The nationalists also vandalised Mr Thimmakka's house.
All of the injured were admitted to Malur Hospital.
Circle Inspector Shiva Kumar initially tried to defend the perpetrators when Dr George contacted him, but the official later filed a complaint against them.
No one had been arrested at press-time.
Andhra Pradesh – On 22 August, Hindu ultranationalists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh allegedly prompted a neighbour of a Christian shopkeeper, identified only as Justin, to beat the store owner after he accidentally broke a Hindu idol outside his business in Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh.
Area shopkeepers intervened, sparing the Christian from further attack, according to the All India Christian Council (AICC).
The Christian was cleaning the shop and the surrounding area when he tripped and fell on the idol made of mud, breaking part of it, an AICC official told reporters.
The following day, the shopkeeper's neighbour filed a police complaint charging that the Christian deliberately broke the idol to insult the Hindu god Ganesha.
Police from Nizamabad arrested the shopkeeper, who was reportedly released on bail on 25 August.
Karnataka – Hindu ultranationalists of the Rashtriya Swayemsevak Sangh (RSS) thrashed students of the Full Gospel Church on 21 August in Davangere, Karnataka.
Dr Sajan K George of the Global Council of Indian Christians said six female and 12 male students were on a picnic when a person approached them and began questioning them.
A mob of around 50 RSS nationalists arrived on bicycles, motorbikes and cars and began hitting and kicking the students, swearing at and insulting them, and accusing them of forcible conversion, Dr George said.
The nationalists dragged students identified only as Parasuram, Ramesh, Vani Jyothi, Pushpa, Vijay, Shilpa, Prasan, Nirmala and Chandra, to the Vidyanagara police station and filed a complaint of forcible conversion against them.
Police initially told reporters the students were arrested but later said they were held "for keeping peace" and released on 27August.
"The case against the students was officially closed," a police official told reporters.
Karnataka – On 19 August, about 50 people beat some of the 30 people worshipping at Indian Pentecostal Church of God in Jakkur, Bangalore in Karnataka state.
Entering the facility where congregants were worshipping at 11:30am and bolting the doors shut behind them, the attackers beat four church members.
When church members managed to escape, the assailants chased them away, following them to a house. Then the attackers ran them from that place too.
"These attackers had warned us not to conduct worship service today," pastor Thomas Koshy told reporters.
"Even a week before, these people had attacked our meeting and nothing extreme took place. But this time they made it severe."
A member of the church filed a police complaint, but the assailants indicated they would seek another opportunity to beat the pastor.
The owner of the facility where the church worships has asked the pastor to vacate the hall.
Uttar Pradesh – On 15 August, about 30 Hindu ultranationalists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh beat two Christians from the Believers Church identified only as Pastor Santosh and Bible student Babu Lal, in Mohanlalganj area of Lucknow district in Uttar Pradesh.
The two Christians, attacked while they were distributing literature, were hospitalised with head, chest and stomach injuries.
The Christian Legal Association (CLA) said that initially the Mohanlalganj police station refused to register a complaint against the attackers, and police filed a First Information Report only after the CLA intervened.
Police officials told a CLA solicitor, "Why can't these Christians sit at home peacefully on 15 August [India's Independence Day]? Why are they forcing people to read their tracts?"
No arrests had been made at press-time.
Karnataka – Hindu ultranationalists threw stones at Kalwari Prayer Centre in Ganeshpur, a suburban area of Belgaum, Karnataka, causing damage to the prayer hall, house and nursery late at night on 15 August, according to the Deccan Herald News Service (DHNS).
Pastor Sajan Philips told reporters that at 11:30pm about a dozen youths threw stones at the centre for about half an hour, "damaging the cement sheets of the roof and breaking all the windows and the portico of the church."
Pastor Phillips filed a police complaint, but at press-time no one had been arrested.
Police suspect the stoning might have taken place as the result of evangelisation activities in the area, the DHNS reported.
The centre was attacked twice in 2005.
Rajasthan – Hindu ultranationalists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh stormed the showing of a film about Jesus Christ, "Daya Sagar" ("Ocean of Mercy") on 7 August and forced Believers Church workers to stop the screening it in Vardha village in Rajasthan state's Dungarpur district.
The nationalists called local police and accused the Christians of converting Hindu villagers, the Christian Legal Association said in a statement.
Police promptly arrived and detained four Christians – and Akash Kumar,
Shantilal Kalasua, pastor Ruplal Nathat and pastor Iswarlal Kasota – and allegedly beat the Christians.
They also confiscated film equipment.
About 20 villagers were watching the film when the nationalists arrived.
The four Christians were released the following day.
Police relinquished the equipment on 13 August and apologised to the Christians.
Karnataka – On 5 August, Hindu ultranationalists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh disrupted and stopped a Christian prayer meeting for the dedication of a Seventh Day Adventist Prayer Hall in Sira town, Karnataka.
Dr Sajan K George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that subsequently, on 16 August, police summoned the president of the Seventh Day Adventist church, Peter Alamane, along with secretary A J Devadas, pastor Leonard Anthony, and pastors identified only as P John and Lazarus, to the local police station.
After questioning, the pastors were taken to the magistrate, Dr George said.
Pastor Emmanuel Magimaidass told reporters, "One of the nationalists had filed a First Information Report against us [Seventh Day Adventists] accusing us of alleged forcible conversions."
The pastors were arrested and charged with 'hurting religious sentiments'.
The GCIC secured their release on bail on 18 August.
Chhattisgarh – The governor of Chhattisgarh has objected to excessive government control and a religious double standard in a state 'anti-conversion' amendment bill proposed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Chhattisgarh Gov Ekkadu Srinivasan Lakshmi Narsimhan raised objections to two provisions: obtaining permission from the district collector (administrative head) before any conversion, and 'allowing people to return to Hinduism and not treating this as conversion', reported news agency Press Trust of India on 22 August.
Gov Narsimhan has reportedly referred the bill to the state law department for assessment.
Such 'anti-conversion' laws are used to levy spurious accusations at Christians of 'forced conversion'.
Similar bills introduced by the BJP are facing obstacles in three other states: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
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Hide this story.29/08/07 | INDIA – Pastor kidnapped twice, nearly killed
Assailants intended to crush his head with a stone. Full Story...
Pastor Mark Jaikumar is recovering in a private care facility in Bangalore, Karnataka state after being kidnapped, blindfolded and hearing Hindu nationalists' plans to kill him – his second abduction in one week.
Pastor of the Divine Gospel Church in Chelekere village, Bangalore, the 43-year old was abducted from the church compound at 8:30pm as he set off for home on Saturday 25 August.
He had just survived an attempt to kidnap and kill him on the previous Wednesday.
In Saturday's kidnapping, four men sitting in a car with the engine running were stationed near the church gate when Mark saw one get out. Assuming they needed assistance, he walked towards the man.
"The man then forced me into the rear seat of the car, got in after me and drove off," Mark told reporters.
"They blindfolded me and took my mobile phone. They kept cursing and mocking the Christian faith in filthy language and told each other that all my conversion activities would end once they killed me."
After he was driven around for about five hours, the car stopped near a bus station, Mark said, at Peenya, an industrial township about nine miles from Bangalore.
The kidnappers then removed his blindfold and forced him onto a bus, with one of the men accompanying him. Mark said they were heading towards Dharmastala which is about five hours by car from Bangalore.
"The road is a long, winding one with hairpin turns," he said.
"By God's grace, the bus developed a problem and was stalled at the side of the road somewhere near Sakleshpur, about 90 miles from Bangalore."
The bus driver ordered everyone off the bus, and on his way out Mark told the driver he was being kidnapped.
"Realising I had informed the driver, the accomplice got into the car that was following us and disappeared," Mark said.
The driver rang Mark's family, and the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) sent two cars to pick him up.
Previous murder attempt
Mark fared less well in the earlier kidnapping. He was on a routine visit to Ray Peace Ministry Orphanage in Sasulu village near Dodbalapur, about 35 miles from Bangalore, for their weekly prayer service with orphans and staff members.
At around 10pm, as he was leaving, five men armed with knives entered the orphanage and abducted Mark.
One of the men immediately gagged him, and the others carried him off to a lonely stretch of road.
"They ripped off my shirt, and then kicked, punched and hit me with their fists all over my head and body," he said.
"All the while, they kept cursing the Christian faith and made allegations of converting the orphans, then they tore my shirt and tried to strangle me, while one of the attackers took a big stone to crush my head."
The headlights of an approaching vehicle beamed onto them, he said, and the assailants ran away.
In severe pain, Mark managed to return to the orphanage. Staff members took him to the village dispensary for first aid, and the next morning he registered a complaint at the Doddabalavangala police station.
After the second kidnapping on 25 August, Dr Sajan K George, national president of the GCIC, told reporters the GCIC coordinator went to the Hennur police station to file charges, but officials refused to register a kidnap complaint. Instead, they registered a missing persons complaint.
At the Hennur police station, Inspector Somshekar Chabbi told reporters, "We registered a missing persons complaint as there was no evidence that Mark was taken against his will."
At press time, no arrests had been made in either of the cases.
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Hide this story.28/08/07 | INDIA – Hindu nationalists target Christian Dalits
Attack on hospital reflects RSS' top priority. Full Story...
An attack on a Christian hospital during its programme for Dalits in Uttar Pradesh state highlights Hindu ultranationalists' main objection to Christian work: conversion of people who were once called 'untouchables'.
On 17 August, a mob of about 100 people, led by Hindu nationalists, barged into the compound of the Kachhwa Christian Hospital (KCH) in the Kachhwa Bazaar area of Mirzapur district and beat and stoned those leading the programme for the Dalit students and their parents, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India.
Dr Raju Abraham, chief surgeon at KCH, and pastor T V Joy were among four Christians injured in the attack.
Dr Abraham, a Christian leader, and Pastor Joy received head injuries as mob leader Anshu Singh allegedly struck them with stones.
The mob was said to be led by nationalists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bajrang Dal, the you