Re: The Persecution of Christians

Admin Sat 08 Jun 2019, 10:20 am

Officials Bulldoze Christian School, Detain Children After Pressure From Hindu Extremists
By Will Maule
Author
15 hours ago
Authorities in Eastern India have bulldozed a Christian school in the latest spree of terrorizing behavior against the minority religious community.
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According to Morning Star News, police rounded up 12 traumatized children after demolishing a Christian ministry’s school and hostel near the village of Lichapeta in Odisha state.
Reports indicate that Hindu extremists, who have become extremely violent toward the Christian community in recent years, persuaded the local authorities to destroy the local hostel and school, which educates around 250 students.
After the brutal action, child protection personnel seized six orphaned children and six others who had lost their Fathers to an attack by the communist guerrilla group known as the Naxalites.
“The children wept bitterly and pleaded, not wanting to depart,” Vijay Kumar Pusuru, who founded the school, told the outlet. “They caught hold of branches and trees. But ruthlessly they were snatched and taken away.”
Pusuru said that his school was the only one within a radius of about 62 miles, and provided vital education to kids from the surrounding areas. Shockingly, after opening the school in 2015, he recently found out that his land application had gone missing from the local village revenue office.
“The previous revenue officer who allotted me the land has been transferred, and a new officer has come instead,” Pusuru explained.
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With the Hindu radicals lobbying the local government, the pressure mounted and, eventually, he was issued with a sizeable fine.
MORE https://www.faithwire.com/2019/06/07/officials-bulldoze-christian-school-detain-children-after-pressure-from-hindu-extremists/?utm_source=FWNL

Admin Fri 07 Jun 2019, 11:37 am

https://www.faithwire.com/2019/06/05/30-christians-detained-as-brutal-authoritarian-crackdown-continues-in-eritrea/
30 Christians Detained as Brutal Authoritarian Crackdown Continues in Eritrea
Image source: YouTube/ReleaseInternational
By Will Maule
Author

June 5, 2019
The Eritrean security forces continue to crack down on the country’s Christians through the use of mass arrests and other intimidation tactics.

Global Christian Persecution Remains High, Media Interest Remains Low

Over the past few days, it has been reported that as many as 30 believers have been detained in the capital of Asmara, at various different locations.

Police officers continue to carry out “continuous raids in private homes where devotees of unrecognized religions, especially Pentecostal Christians, meet for community prayer,” reads a local report, cited by Christian persecution watchdog, Open Doors USA. “They are released only if they disavow their faith.”

The Eritrean government authorities continue to demand “full control” of all the Church-run organizations and initiatives in the country, such as private schools, medical clinics and orphanages.

In 2002, the current President, Isaias Afwerki, declared that all independent Protestant Churches were official “enemies of the state.”

Over the past few decades, Eritrean authorities have been frequently arresting church leaders and detaining them in squalid conditions like old shipping containers. Holed up in these dank makeshift cells, advocates say the oppressed Christians are “routinely deprived of water, food, proper sanitation and medicines,” according to Fredrick Nzwili at Religion News Service.

“The roundup traces to a 2002 law that permits the operation of only a handful of religious groups: Orthodox Christian, Evangelical Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches, along with Sunni Islam,” Nzwilli added. “Since then, the government has cracked down on evangelical and Pentecostal churches, which are seen as foreign-influenced threats to security and Eritrean autonomy.”

The ‘North Korea of Africa’
The latest police action comes less than two weeks after police detained some 140 Christians as they celebrated their Independence Day from Ethiopia.

According to British-based Christian persecution watchdog, Release International, the group was rounded up by secret police as they gathered to worship.

“Eritrea has been branded ‘the North Korea of Africa,’” the charity noted in its report. “Tens of thousands have risked death from drowning to escape to Italy. Others have fled to Sudan or Ethiopia. One in 12 has fled the country. And many of those are Christians.”

How heavily persecuted is Eritrea?
Eritrea, though relatively underreported, is one of the most restrictive places on earth in which to live as a Christian. Open Doors USA ranks the East African nation as the seventh most persecuted country in the world.

“Christians are being forced to join the armed forces, and Protestants, in particular, face serious problems with accessing community resources, especially social services provided by the state,” the charity notes in a fact-sheet.

“Both converts from a Muslim background and cross-denominational converts from an Orthodox background encounter harsh mistreatment from their families and communities.”

The Eritrean government has been at the center of a widespread human rights crisis in recent years, detaining any person who dares disagree with the ruling party. Though a peace deal with neighboring Ethiopia has helped, the population still remains in the grip of the totalitarian government.

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“The Eritrean Government continues to lock up or forcibly disappear dissenting voices, thus silencing analytical discussions and critical debates,” the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea told the United Nations General Assembly last October.

“Without any space for the Eritrean people to participate in shaping the country’s future, there is little scope for progress,” Sheila B. Keetharuth added in a report. “Human rights must be put at the heart of peace.”

Do continue to pray for all those who continue to face oppression because of their faith in Christ.

Admin Wed 05 Jun 2019, 7:18 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT3K25wfrv4&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2zYa8yheVvCtLTRL6dvHuXuEbITEJU9ViTlbXX0oo3QNlwVO0k3rKwezI&ab_channel=TheJoshBernsteinShow

NO JOKE: CANADA TO BAN CHRISTIANITY FROM PUBLIC AND CRIMINALIZE IT!!!

The Josh Bernstein Show
Published on 14 May 2019
There is a new legislative proposal that should have every Christian in Canada up in arms. "The Prohibiting Hate and Promoting Demonstrations Act of 2019" would effectively ban Christians from protesting, or displaying Christian beliefs that could offend the LGBTQ or Islamic Communities." HERE IS ALL THE DETAILS... #CanadaHateLaws #JustinTrudeau #HateCrimes #LGBTQ #TrinityWestern #CanadianSupremeCourt #AniChristian #RoyalCanadianMint #MarieLemay #CanadaFreePress #JoshBernsteinShow

Admin Mon 03 Jun 2019, 6:44 pm

https://www.christianpost.com/news/fifty-christians-burned-alive-in-pastors-home-in-nigeria-78303/?fbclid=IwAR2fVykbafHLSmTjXiQHwk9EfbkfOtavqhM4ly1TCg7zjcF0ygjMzGXR7Gw

Fifty Christians Burned Alive in Pastor's Home in Nigeria
As the attacks on Nigeria's Christians continued in full force this past week, a particularly grisly attack saw fifty believers burned to death at their pastor's home, where they had fled for refuge from a terrorist attack.
Reports disclosed that over 100 people were killed by armed terrorists this past week, who went on a 12-village killing spree in Nigeria's Plateau state. Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has once again taken responsibility for the assaults.

Different sources have shared various reports of the number of lost lives from last week's assault on Christians, which have been occurring on a weekly basis for many months in Nigeria. But a story last week by the Baptist Press confirmed that about 50 members of the Church of Christ in Nigeria in the village of Maseh were burned alive after they took refuge in their pastor's house following a terrorist raid.

"Fifty of our church members were killed in the church building where they had fled to take refuge. They were killed alongside the wife of the pastor and children," said the Rev. Dachollom Datiri, vice president of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, in a July 11 interview.

Officials from the church confirmed that over 100 members were killed through various villages in Nigeria, which included Maseh, Ninchah, Kakkuruk, Kuzen, Negon, Pwabiduk, Kai, Ngyo, Kura Falls, Dogo, Kufang, and Ruk.

"Nigeria is truly becoming the new killing field for Christians. Hundreds of Christians have already been brutally murdered – including women and children – by the Boko Haram," said Open Doors, USA spokesman Jerry Dykst. "The Boko Haram earlier this week said that all Christians need to turn to Islam or 'they would never know peace again.' Their goal is make all of Nigeria a country run and dominated by Shariah law."

Some Nigerian security officials have claimed that Muslim Fulani tribesmen, who populate the Plateau State, could have aided Boko Haram in their bid to get rid of Christians from the North and establish Islamic dominance over all of Nigeria.

"I don't think that Boko Haram could, out of nowhere, have raided these villages. They couldn't do that without local support and collaboration," said Nigerian criminal justice consultant Innocent Chukwuma

"Attacks on Christian villages are not new in Plateau State, as Fulani tribesmen are known to have raided Christian communities in the past," further explained Heritage Foundation Africa analyst Morgan Roach.

"Should Boko Haram be responsible, this would deviate from its past tactics, which have tended to be more sophisticated," he added.

Nigeria's citizens have been critical of the government's response to the on-going attacks, and have called for more to be done to counter Boko Haram's terrorism activities.

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has also called upon the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee for the U.S to officially declare Boko Haram a terrorist organization that the international community needs to battle agains

"This would be the equivalent of designating Bin Laden as a terrorist, but failing to designate al-Qaida as a terrorist organization," Ortisejafor told the committee in response to only select members of Boko Haram being branded as terrorists.
"There are certain Muslim extremists who believe that Nigeria must be an Islamic nation [and] Boko Haram is the body that is fronting for this group of persons… [Nigeria] has a very well divided population among the two major religions [Christianity and Islam], so it's not possible to Islamize Nigeria," the pastor added.

Christian Persecution in Nigeria Africa (By Pastor Baber George)

READ: NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION TO US GOVT. - BOKO HARAM SEEKS TO REMOVE THE CHRISTIAN PRESENCE IN NIGERIA

Admin Wed 29 May 2019, 9:29 pm

The Persecution of Christians in the Palestinian Authority
By Dr. Edy Cohen May 27, 2019
https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/persecution-christians-palestinian-authority/?fbclid=IwAR1Tahq2HOZAwoK9DlgDl2mPJMM_ypdMKcR48wScf4C1LXzjBpKWpm4ZMDI
The birthplace of Jesus, The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, West Bank, photo via Wikipedia

BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,184, May 27, 2019

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The ongoing international neglect of the plight of the Christians under PA rule could lead to the disappearance of Christianity in the place where it emerged.

Three grave events occurred recently involving Christians in the territories ruled by the Palestinian Authority (PA). They left no mark on either the world or the Israeli media because they are not connected to Israel.

On April 25, the terrified residents of the Christian village of Jifna near Ramallah asked the PA to protect them after they were attacked by Muslim gunmen. The violence erupted after a woman from the village submitted a complaint to the police that the son of a prominent, Fatah-affiliated leader had attacked her family. In response, dozens of Fatah gunmen came to the village, fired hundreds of bullets in the air, threw petrol bombs while shouting curses, and caused severe damage to public property. It was a miracle that there were no dead or wounded.

Despite the residents’ cries for help, the PA police did not intervene during the hours of mayhem. They have not arrested any suspects. Interestingly, the rioters called on the residents to pay jizya—a head tax that was levied throughout history on non-Muslim minorities under Islamic rule. The most recent victims of the jizya were the Christian communities of Iraq and Syria under ISIS rule.

The second incident occurred during the night of May 13. Vandals broke into a church of the Maronite community in the center of Bethlehem, desecrated it, and stole expensive equipment belonging to the church, including the security cameras.

Three days later it was the turn of the Anglican church in the village of Aboud, west of Ramallah. Vandals cut through the fence, broke the windows of the church, and broke in. They desecrated it, looked for valuable items, and stole a great deal of equipment.

As in the two previous incidents, no suspects were arrested.

According to its Facebook page, this is the sixth time the Maronite church in Bethlehem has been subjected to acts of vandalism and theft, including an arson attack in 2015 that caused considerable damage and forced the church to close for a lengthy period. However, even though Mahmoud Abbas himself was present on December 24, 2018, at the party to mark the church’s reopening after it was renovated, the arson, in addition to acts of rioting and vandalism over the years, have received no coverage in the Palestinian media. In fact, a full gag order was imposed in many cases.

It is unlikely that the latest wave of attacks will lead to the arrest, let alone prosecution, of any suspects. The only thing that interests the PA is that events of this kind not be leaked to the media. Fatah regularly exerts heavy pressure on Christians not to report the acts of violence and vandalism from which they frequently suffer, as such publicity could damage the PA’s image as an actor capable of protecting the lives and property of the Christian minority under its rule. Even less does the PA want to be depicted as a radical entity that persecutes religious minorities. That image could have negative repercussions for the massive international, and particularly European, aid the PA receives.

Though the Christians in the PA avoid saying so publicly, many of them fear – with good reason – that Muslim aggression against them will only escalate. Such fears are all the stronger in light of the thunderous silence of the Western (and Israeli) media in the face of the Christian minority’s ongoing disappearance from the PA and Islamic lands in general – in striking contrast to the growth, prosperity, and increasing integration of the Christian community in Israel proper. The Christians of the Western world must demand that the PA arrest the suspects in the latest attacks and begin guarding the Christian places of worship under its rule. The ongoing international neglect of the plight of the Christians under PA rule can only lead to the vanishing of Christianity from the place where it emerged.

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Dr. Edy Cohen is a researcher at the BESA Center and author of the book The Holocaust in the Eyes of Mahmoud Abbas (Hebrew).

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