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Azerbaijan

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Christianity is growing in Azerbaijan
despite harsh restrictions

Once a Christian region, Azerbaijan is now 96% Muslim. The government gives preferential treatment to those religions considered “traditional” (Islam, Russian Orthodox Christianity and Judaism), while other forms of Christianity are actively restricted. 

Ever since the country’s independence in 1991, the government has repeatedly increased its restrictions on Christians. Christian groups that established a presence in the country only after 1991 and those operating without official registration are particularly vulnerable. Their church services are monitored and raided, Christian literature is confiscated, and their members are harassed and imprisoned. 

The country’s Religion Law, first adopted in 1992, has been amended 13 times. The latest amendment to the country’s Criminal and Administrative Code came into force on 12 December 2011; those caught producing or distributing unapproved Christian literature are now liable to be fined up to nearly nine years of the official minimum wage or sentenced to up to five years in jail. 

Hundreds of churches and Christian groups are waiting for approval of their registration applications after the government ruled in 2010 for the fifth time since 1992 that that all groups must re-register. The application process is burdensome, and some groups have been denied registration. 

In April 2012, Baku-based Greater Grace Protestant Church was stripped of its registration in a 15-minute court hearing held in the absence of any representative from the church. It was charged with failing to re-register with the government. Greater Grace appealed against the decision, but its case was thrown out in July. The church then took its legal challenge to the country’s Supreme Court, which upheld all previous rulings in an eight-minute hearing on 9 January.

An increasing number of Azerbaijanis are finding Christ. Many of the new Christians are converts from Islam and can meet with hostility from family, community and authorities.

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  • On 20 January 2013 the Eritrean security police raided the homes of various Christians and arrested 50 people. One of them was a lady of 85, detained for hosting an underground church in her house. They joined hundreds of other believers currently held in Eritrean prisons, some of them in appalling conditions. Many more have fled the country to escape the persecution and have ended up in prison in Egypt, where they have been subjected to rape, beatings and starvation. Pray for all those Eritrean Christians suffering for their faith in their own country and beyond, that the Lord will be their help and shield (Psalm 33:20). Pray too for a prison ministry, supported by Barnabas, that visits and helps Eritrean Christians jailed in Egypt. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 12 hours ago

  • Pray for the families of Abdoulaye and Abakachi, two converts from Islam to Christianity who were shot dead by Islamists in northern Cameroon. They were travelling with two other converts around Lake Chad on 19 February when their vehicle was stopped by four armed men who were looking for Abdoulaye. He was the leader of the converts from the Kotoko people group and had last year received a threat from militant Islamist group Boko Haram. The gunmen opened fire, killing Abakachi on the spot. Abdoulaye and another man were also shot; Abdoulaye later died of his injuries. He left a wife and 13 children; Abakachi left a wife and four children. Boko Haram had previously warned all Christian converts in northern Cameroon to return to Islam or “face Allah’s wrath”. Pray that the Lord will protect these vulnerable believers. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Thu, May 2013 00:00

  • Give thanks to the Lord for the courage and boldness of the Christians in North Korea who carry on witnessing for Christ despite the savage penalties imposed by the Communist regime. Those who share their faith or distribute Bibles risk torture and probable execution if they are caught, and their families may be dispatched to the country’s infamous labour camps to be starved or worked to death. Yet remarkably, the Church in North Korea is growing well, and some who have fled abroad and become Christians there have even gone back to share Christ with family and friends in their poverty and distress. Pray that God will keep His brave witnesses from harm and continue to add to their number (Acts 2:47). Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Wed, May 2013 00:00

  • Mohamed Ibaouene (36), a convert from Islam to Christianity, was convicted in July 2012 of “proselytising” in Algeria. The verdict was passed in his absence and without his knowledge. He was later sentenced to a year in prison and fined 50,000 dinars (£420; US$630). Mohamed challenged the conviction, and on 13 February 2013 the appeal court rescinded the jail term but doubled his fine. A Muslim colleague had brought the accusation against Mohamed after the latter refused to renounce Christ. Pray for justice for Mohamed and that the rights of Algerians to freedom of religion will be respected both by other citizens and by the law. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Tue, May 2013 00:00

  • The various measures recently taken against Christian churches and institutions by the government of Sudan add up to a ruthless campaign that may be intended to eradicate Christianity from the country altogether. They were launched by a media drive against alleged “Christianisation” and have focused in particular on those involved in Christian ministry. Numerous church buildings have been demolished, and Christian literature has been seized. President al-Bashir has declared his intention of making Sudan entirely Islamic and of strengthening the place of sharia. Pray that God will frustrate the plans of the authorities and that the churches of Sudan will remain faithful in the face of intimidation. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Mon, May 2013 00:00

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