Source: http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com
Date: May 30, 2018
MAY 2018 UPDATE - this month we prayed concerning ...
* BURMA (Myanmar) (RLPB 453), where a campaign of ethnic-religious cleansing
is underway in the north. Using aerial bombardment and ground forces, the
Burmese Army is driving the Christian Kachin from Kachin State's most
resource-rich regions. More than 15,000 Christian Kachin have been displaced
since the beginning of this year. They join the more than 100,000 Kachin
displaced since 2011. Pray for the Kachin and that God will intervene to
bring peace to Burma.
* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (CAR) (RLPBs 454 & 456), where Islamic militias
continue to threaten this mostly Christian nation. In mid-April, UN
peacekeepers moved against Islamic criminal gangs in the capital, Bangui.
Islamic militias vowed revenge. On 1 May heavily-armed rioting Muslims
attacked Bangui's Catholic Cathedral, killing 24 and wounding over 100 (RLPB
454). On 13 May two French fighter jets conducted a show of force over the
rebel-held front-line town of Kaga Bandoro to deter the Islamic militias
which are regrouping there and threatening to 'march on Bangui' (RLPB 456).
The state is on high alert. Pray for the Church in CAR and that God will
intervene to bring peace.
* RAMADAN (RLPB 455), in particular that Christians will be safe and that
Muslims will be saved.
MAY 2018 ROUND-UP - also this month ...
* CHECHNYA, (South Russia): ISLAMIC STATE (IS) CLAIMS CHURCH ATTACK
On Saturday 18 May four militants armed with guns, knives, axes and
explosives and shouting 'Allahu Akbar' attempted to storm the Archangel
Michael Russian Orthodox Church in central Grozny. Inside, some 15 believers
were engaged in evening worship, while the priest's young children played
happily outside. The church, which was established in the late 1800s, is
located in the main tourist precinct, surrounded by shopping malls and cafes.
Consequently, Chechen police were quickly on the scene. They shot and killed
the four militants and rescued the church-goers and children. Unfortunately
the militants had seized two hostages from the church before it was
barricaded shut. One believer was killed in the attack and the other was
critically wounded. Two police officers were killed and two wounded. IS has
claimed responsibility. Pray for the Church in Chechnya and the wider North
Caucasus region.
* EGYPT: 'RECONCILIATION' LEADS TO CHURCH CLOSURE
On 14 April Muslims rioted in Beni Meinin, torching Coptic property and
attacking the church. This eruption of Islamic resistance was in response to
the government's proposal to legalise the village church. Police arrested 11
Muslims and 9 Christians before demanding the village hold a 'reconciliation'
session to end the matter [RLPB 452 (25 April)]. With their youths in prison
(essentially as hostages), Muslim and Coptic clergy, village elders, local
politicians and security officials from the village participated in a
'reconciliation' session. It was agreed that all 20 arrested residents would
relinquish their legal rights (meaning none can seek legal redress for arson,
looting, assault and suchlike) and the church will remain closed until it is
legalised. Subsequently, on 22 May the arrested Muslims and Christians were
acquitted and released. Such 'reconciliation' only serves to guarantee
impunity, escalate insecurity and perpetuate violent persecution.
* INDIA: ANTI-CONVERSION LAW AS WEAPON
Uttarakhand State in northern India has become the seventh Indian state to
approve an 'anti-conversion law'. Governor Krishna Kant Paul signed the
ironically named 'Freedom of Religion' Bill into law on 18 April. The law
will come into force as soon as the state government finalises the Bill's
rules.
On Sunday 29 April some 50 Christians were worshipping together in a house
church in Danapur, Bihar State, when a mob of some 60 Hindu nationalists
surrounded the house. The mob harassed, intimidated and threatened the
believers while hurling foul abuse. They also called the police and accused
the Christians of running a 'conversion racket'. The police arrested several
of the Christians, of whom Rajni Pradhan and a couple, Subash and Sarah
Kumar, remain incarcerated, accused of 'forcibly converting people'. At a
hearing on 8 May, a judge rejected their plea for bail. Also on Sunday 29
April, Hindu militants attacked the Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Baburia
Khera, Uttar Pradesh State. They beat worshippers and threatened to kill the
pastor, Kamlesh Kumar. To save her husband, Kumar's wife hid him in a locked
room. Church member Ram Prasad (55) was beaten unconscious as he tried to
shield other believers. A church member called police, but when they arrived
the police berated the believers and advised them to 'flee from the church';
no arrests were made. Pray for the Church in India.
* NEPAL: CHURCHES ATTACKED, 'EVANGELISTS' ARRESTED Five churches were
attacked in Nepal during May. St Joseph's Catholic Church in Kohalpur, in
Nepal's western Banke District, was torched in the early hours of 5 May; the
interior was 'entirely destroyed'. On the night of 9 May Hebron Church in
Hilihang Rural Municipality, in the eastern district of Panchthar, was partly
damaged after being set on fire. On the night of 10 May Emmanuel Church in
Doti, in the country's far west, was set on fire; the church sustained
significant damage. On 11 May Emmanuel Church in Kanchanpur was set on fire,
resulting in significant structural damage. Then on the evening of 13 May
Mahima Church in Dhangadhi city, western Nepal, was partly destroyed when an
unidentified assailant threw an improvised explosive device through a window.
Fortunately, nobody was killed in the attacks. Police seem determined to
blame Maoists, even though Christians have been receiving threats from a
Hindu nationalist group. The geographically dispersed attacks were so similar
that analysts suspect the perpetrators were part of a Hindu nationalist
online community and that the attacks arose from online incitement.
Furthermore, two Nepali believers were arrested on 9 May for singing
Christian songs in public. Four others were subsequently arrested from their
homes. Charged with evangelism (prohibited in Nepal since 2015), the six
faced court on 17 May where they were remanded to spend a further seven days
in prison.
* NIGERIA: CHRISTIANS APPEAL - 'END THE KILLINGS'
On 22 May a funeral was held in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, for 19
Christians (including two priests) who were massacred on 24 April by Fulani
gunmen who surrounded their grass-roofed church in Aya Mbalom village and
opened fire. It was the second mass funeral for Christian victims of Fulani
violence in Benue this year [see RLPB 442 (14 Feb 2018)]. According to Benue
State Governor, Sam Ortom, 492 people have been killed in Benue State alone
so far this year (which equals 100 per month). On the day of the funeral,
rallies were held in various Nigerian cities where Christians urged the
government (in the words of Cardinal John Onaiyekan) to 'end the killings'.
Bishops spoke of 'massacres', 'ethnic cleansing' and described people living
in 'palpable fear'. Pressure is mounting on President Buhari, a Fulani Muslim
from the north.
At 12:30am on Monday 28 May Fulani gunmen attacked Sacred Heart Minor
Seminary in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State. Students were wounded and
cars destroyed. The rector, Father Emmanuel Atsue, told Catholic media: 'They
shot and injured one of the priests, Father Cornelius Pobah, in the leg,
[and] beat up Father Stephen Bakari.' It seems Father Pobah was targeted
because he had refused to allow Fulani herdsmen to graze their cattle inside
the seminary grounds. The fact that nobody was killed could imply that the
Fulani were issuing a warning and that this is far from over.
* PHILIPPINES: BOMB EXPLODES OUTSIDE MINDANAO CHURCH
On Sunday 29 April in Koronadal City in South Cotabato, Mindanao, two
improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were detonated in the city. The first IED
exploded at noon, just outside the Christ the King Cathedral along Rizal
Street, injuring three. The other IED was found in a trash can two kilometres
away and detonated by police. Two suspects have since been arrested. Pray for
the Church in the southern Philippines.
* TURKEY: PASTOR FACES COURT A SECOND TIME
Update to RLPB 452 (25 April): American hostage of the Turkish regime, Pastor
Andrew Brunson returned to court on 7 May. His lawyer Cem Halavurt protested
the use of 'secret witnesses', noting that their outlandish accusations were
presented without a shred of evidence. At the close of the 10-hour hearing,
Brunson (50) was led back to his cell in a maximum-security prison. The next
hearing is set for 18 July. World Watch Monitor has a detailed report on the
7 May hearing, while an article by Mindy Belz in World Magazine provides
further insight, including a powerful, encouraging and deeply moving account
of how our merciful God intervened for Brunson in the courtroom in answer to
specific prayer. Both articles are highly recommended. [See blog for links.]
Please continue to pray that God will uphold Andrew Brunson and intervene for
his release. Pray for the Church in rapidly-changing Turkey.
Also, for those who are interested: On 29 May 1453, the Byzantine
[Greek-speaking Christian] capital Constantinople fell to Ottoman forces.
Now, every 29 May, the Turkish government celebrates 'Conquest Day'. This
year President Erdogan released a short but grandiose film, rich in
computer-generated imagery, which links the conquest of Constantinople with
the defeat of the ANZACs at Gallipoli (1915) and the rise of neo-Ottoman,
imperialist, 'Sultan' Erdogan today. [See blog for link.]
* ZANZIBAR, (Tanzania): CHURCH UNDER PRESSURE
A church in Kisauni, in mostly-Muslim semi-autonomous Zanzibar, has been
facing pressure from local Muslims unhappy about its presence. When Muslims
lobbied for the church to be closed, local authorities complied and issued
the church with a notice. The church, which belongs to the Pentecostal
Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa, is resisting and worshipping as usual. On
Sunday 6 May plain-clothed police officers walked into the morning worship
service and arrested the preacher, Bishop Daniel Kwileba Kwiyeya. Believers
tried to intervene, but to no avail. The bishop's distressed daughter also
tried to intervene and was taken away with her father. The distressed
believers returned to the sanctuary to pray for Bishop Kwiyeya and his
daughter. The pair were released later that day; no charges were laid.
Tensions remain; please pray.