Source: http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com
Date: November 28, 2018
- Elizabeth Kendal
NOVEMBER 2018 UPDATE - this month we prayed concerning ...
* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (CAR), a French-speaking and majority Christian
(76 percent) nation that in 2012 was flooded by mostly Arabic-speaking local
and foreign militants [see RLPB 210 (15 May 2013)]. A large part of the
country - the north, centre and west - remains under Islamic occupation to
this day. It is widely accepted that these Islamic militants are being armed
and funded by foreign powers whose aim it is to destabilise CAR so they might
plunder its resources and 'open the road to radical Islam in the heart of
Africa'. On 15 November militants from the mostly Fulani UPC (Union for
Peace) Islamic militia wrought devastation and perpetrated a massacre in the
south-central town of Alindao. Overwhelmed and lacking a clear mandate, UN
peacekeepers stationed in the town made no attempt to defend the civilian
population. The CAR government is again appealing for the arms embargo that
prohibits CAR from procuring weapons for its own military to be lifted.
UPDATE: WORLD IGNORES CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN CAR
The Bishop of Bangassou, Mgr Aguirre, has confirmed that the trigger for the
massacre in Alindao was the killing of 'a Nigerian [i.e. foreign] mercenary'.
Furthermore, whilst the UN has revised the death toll in the Alindao massacre
to 'at least 60', unconfirmed sources claim the death toll could be more than
100.
According to Mgr Aguirre, all NGOs have left Alindao; only the 'Bishop of
Alindao and three priests who wanted to remain close to the population'
remain and they are 'exhausted'. As Mgr Aguirre stressed, 'We cannot limit
ourselves to denouncing these massacres. We need to get to the bottom of what
is happening in Central Africa. Groups like the UPC are made up of foreign
mercenaries who have occupied parts of our territory for 5 years. They are
paid by some Gulf countries and led by some neighbouring African states. They
enter [from] Chad through Birao [the capital of Vakaga prefecture in CAR's
far north] with weapons sold to Saudi Arabia from the United States.' He
accuses foreign powers of instigating religious conflict in CAR so they might
plunder its resources and advance Islam through resource-rich CAR and into
the equally resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo. 'This,' he said, 'is
the game that is behind the massacre of Alindao.'
DAY OF LAMENTATION AND PRAYER: On Saturday 1 December CAR will mark the 60th
anniversary of independence since the end of French colonial rule. Rather
than celebrate, CAR's Church leaders have proposed that Sunday 2 December be
a 'day of lamentation and prayer' in memory of all CAR's victims. All
donations collected on that day - the first Sunday of Advent - will go to
survivors. Please pray with and for the Church in CAR, lamenting this truly
lamentable situation and pleading with the Lord for a merciful and powerful
intervention.
NOVEMBER 2018 ROUND-UP - also this month ...
* AUSTRALIA: HOSTILITY RISES
Australia does not have a positive right to religious freedom. Rather,
religious freedom exists in negative terms, through exemptions in
anti-discrimination law. In December 2017 the Australian parliament voted to
legalise same-sex marriage. This triggered a debate on religious freedom
which is exposing and fuelling anti-Christian hostility. This month,
Christians Luke and Carla Burrell, announced that after 12 years of
successful business, White magazine would cease publication. The popular
bridal magazine became economically non-viable after LGBTQ activists - who
had realised that the magazine did not feature same-sex couples - launched an
aggressive campaign that drove off advertisers, frightened staff and included
threats of physical harm (including a threat to torch the Burrell's home).
Since its founding in September 2016, the Australia Christian Lobby's Human
Rights Law Alliance has been involved in some 50 cases of Christians being
subjected to 'lawfare' simply for exercising their faith. Please pray that
the Australian Church will grow in faith, wisdom, boldness and grace as
hostility rises and as religious liberty faces challenges.
(For more on the situation in Australia, watch Religious Liberty Monitoring
in coming days.)
* BULGARIA: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE BALANCE In mid-November the Bulgarian
government in Sofia agreed to revise amendments to the Religious
Denominations Act before the bill is put to a second reading. The first draft
was so shockingly regressive that it drew prayer vigils and peaceful protests
from all Christian denominations - including the Bulgarian Orthodox Church -
as well as the Muslim and Jewish communities. Politicians have been
criticised for attempting to deal with a national security matter - the
spread of jihadist and revolutionary Islam in Bulgaria - through regressive,
repressive religious legislation. The Act is now before the parliament and no
vote has yet been taken. Christians in Bulgaria have pledged to continue
their public prayer vigils and peaceful protests until the nation's lawmakers
either withdraw the legislation or make substantive changes to it. Please
pray: May the Lord preserve religious freedom in Bulgaria in answer to the
prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:10,11)
* EGYPT: ANOTHER MASSACRE IN MINYA In what looks like a repeat of last
year's Ascension Day massacre [see RLPB 409 (31 May 2017)], seven Coptic
Christians from one family (including two children) were killed and 14
injured when Islamic militants attacked Coptic Christians returning from a
visit to the Monastery of St Samuel the Confessor in Minya, Upper Egypt. The
terrorists - four masked gunmen in a four-wheel-drive vehicle - ambushed the
convoy of two church buses on the desert road. While the larger bus managed
to escape, the smaller bus was besieged. The massacre leaves Copts asking
'how can this happen to us twice?' and 'why hasn't this road been secured as
the government promised?' Please pray for the Church in Egypt.
* IRAN: BELIEVERS MONITORED AND ARRESTED
Behnam Ersali and Davood Rasooli, Iranian Christian converts from Karaj (50km
west of Tehran) were arrested on 16 November. According to Middle East
Concern, the men had arranged to meet in Mashhad (900km east of Tehran),
where Behnam was staying at a friend's house. However, it seems Iranian
intelligence was monitoring the men, having intercepted their phone calls.
The men were arrested before they could meet; Behnam in Mashhad and Davood in
Karaj. They remain in detention, their condition and whereabouts unknown.
Friends suspect that Davood Rasooli is in solitary confinement and undergoing
interrogation in Karaj's infamous, maximum security Rajai-Shahr Prison. As
Rob Duncan, regional manager at Middle East Concern notes, 'It reveals how
closely the Iranian authorities are monitoring the Christians.' Please pray
for Behnam Ersali, Davood Rasooli and all Iran's Christian prisoners. May
Christ continue to build his Church in Iran.
* PAKISTAN: ASIA BIBI STILL WAITING
One month ago [RLPB 479 (31 Oct)] Asia Bibi (47) was waiting for a decision
from Pakistan's Supreme Court. Since then the court has acquitted her of
blasphemy (31 October); the Islamists have staged mass protests and issued
death threats; Pakistan's spineless Prime Minister has flip-flopped (first
supporting the Supreme Court judges, before capitulating to support the
Islamists); the judges have gone into hiding and Bibi's lawyer has fled to
the Netherlands. As for Asia Bibi, she is stuck in Pakistan, forbidden to
leave the country. In the face of her husband's pleas for assistance, the
West is largely silent; indeed the UK only opened its mouth to reject the
prospect of asylum. And all the while the threat facing Pakistan's Christian
minority escalates. It is highly likely that the next time a Christian is
accused of blasphemy, Islamists will encourage Muslims to by-pass the courts
and kill the accused 'blasphemer' themselves. Pakistan is teetering on the
brink of a major Christian Crisis. Please pray.
* UZBEKISTAN: PROTESTANTS UNDER PRESSURE
On 19 November police raided a private home in Pap, eastern Uzbekistan,
arresting the eight Protestant believers gathered there for a meal and Bible
reading. The believers were detained, questioned and forced to sign
statements before being released at 3am. The raid was conducted without a
warrant and only one of the 'police' wore a uniform. The police seized
Christian Bibles, booklets, DVD and CDs - all of which had been purchased
from the state-registered Bible Society of Uzbekistan. The believers are
still waiting for news as to whether or not they are going to be charged with
any offence. A group of 31 Protestants who faced court in Tashkent on 30
October also had to contend with multiple violations of due process. Despite
the irregularities, the local Protestants in the Tashkent case were fined
between five and 20 times the minimum monthly wage, while the four South
Koreans in the group were deported. As Forum 18 reports, these are but two
of many acts of harassment and persecution unleashed on believers by the
police's Struggle with Extremism and Terrorism Department. Please pray for
the Church in Uzbekistan.