“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him”
Nahum 1:7
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Pakistan – Prayers answered as court grants bail to mentally disabled Christian accused
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D. R. Congo – At least 24 villagers killed by Islamist militants
Pakistan — Prayers answered as court grants bail to mentally disabled Christian accused
Lahore High Court granted bail on 31 May to Stephen Masih, a mentally disabled Christian who has been imprisoned for more than three years on charges of “blasphemy”. This is a wonderful answer to our prayers (Barnabas Prayer Focus, December 2021) on behalf of Stephen.
Stephen, who suffered brain damage as a result of typhoid fever at the age of ten, was imprisoned in March 2019 after being accused of making derogatory remarks about Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Then 38, Stephen was beaten by a crowd of Muslim men while at home in Sialkot District, Punjab.
He was charged under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which carries a mandatory death sentence. Pakistan’s notorious “blasphemy” laws are often used to make false accusations in order to settle personal grudges.
Stephen’s legal team say they will continue to try to clear his name. Defence lawyer Abdul Hameed Rana said, “For our part we will continue to fight in court to get him acquitted because he is innocent.”
Give thanks for answered prayers with the court’s decision to grant Stephen bail. Continue to ask that Stephen and his family will be protected and comforted as he re-adjusts to life outside prison. Pray that his case will be further reviewed as a matter of urgency and that he will be acquitted and cleared of all charges, knowing that the Lord is his vindicator (Isaiah 50:8) and is near him in all his troubles.
Nigeria — Islamic State video shows murders of 20 Christians; dozens killed in attack on church in Ondo State; Head of Methodist Church freed by kidnappers
The terrorist group Islamic State (IS – also known as ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) has released a video that claims to show the murders of about 20 Nigerian Christians.
The video, published on an IS-linked news outlet, shows masked and armed militants standing behind three groups of kneeling captives at an unknown location. The captives’ arms appear to be tied behind their backs.
One of the masked militants states on the video that the murders were carried out to avenge the killing of IS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi during an airborne raid conducted in February by US special forces in north-western Syria.
In further violence, 40 Christians were killed when gunmen opened fire on church worshippers gathered to celebrate Pentecost on Sunday 5 June in Owo, Ondo State, south-western Nigeria. Ondo is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most peaceful states, where violence against Christians is rare.
The attack began at noon, towards the end of the service. The gunmen threw an improvised explosive device into the church before opening fire
Meanwhile, the head of the Methodist Church in Nigeria, the Most Reverend Dr Samuel Kanu Uche, was released after being abducted on Sunday 29 May.
After officiating at a Sunday service he was travelling with his chaplain, Abidemi Jeremiah Shittu, and the Bishop of Owerri, Dennis Mark, on a road in Abia State when they were kidnapped by gunmen.
The men were freed on the evening of 30 May.
The Christian Association of Nigeria pointed out that ten church leaders have been kidnapped already this year, and two had been killed by their captors.
Lift up the families of Christians martyred on the video and in Owo. Pray that they will be comforted with the assurance that their loved ones’ deaths are precious in the Lord’s sight (Psalm 116:15). Ask Him to heal those wounded and strengthen their hearts through faith. Give thanks for Samuel Kanu Uche and his colleagues’ release and pray that Christians in Nigeria will not succumb to fear in the light of incidents in supposedly safer areas of the country but entrust themselves to their loving Saviour whose perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18).
D. R. Congo — At least 24 villagers killed by Islamist militants
At least 24 villagers were killed by Islamist militants in the mainly Christian north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on 28 May.
The attack on the village of Beu Manyama in the Beni region of North Kivu province was carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which is linked to Islamic State.
“We heard bullets at dawn in the village,” said an army spokesman. “When we arrived it was already too late because the ADF had already killed more than a dozen of our fellow citizens with machetes.”
On 27 May a Red Cross representative said that soldiers in neighbouring Ituri province had found 17 decapitated bodies, also believed to be victims of the ADF.
Both Ituri and North Kivu provinces remain under a state of emergency (known as a “state of siege”), which was imposed in May 2021. Many Christians have fled over the border into western Uganda.
Pray for Christians in both provinces to stand firm in their faith and see the salvation of the Lord (Exodus 14:13-14). Ask for the Lord’s provision and protection for those who have fled to Uganda, and the conviction that as they are tested with fire they will come forth as gold (Zechariah 13:9). Pray that God will convict the terrorists of their distorted view of their Creator so that they turn to Him in repentance.
India — Delhi High Court affirms legality of religious conversion; Church sealed in Odisha after allegations of illegal conversion
A Delhi High Court judge has declared that conversion from one religion to another is perfectly lawful.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva gave his opinion during a hearing on 3 June that “conversion is not prohibited in law”.
“Every person has a right to choose and profess any religion of his/her choice,” he continued. “It is a constitutional right. If someone is forced to convert, then it’s different issue but to convert is a person’s prerogative.”
Justice Sachdeva based his opinion on India’s constitutional guarantee of freedom to “profess, practise and propagate religion” (Article 25 of the Constitution of India).
The court was hearing a petition to outlaw in the National Capital Territory (NCT) religious conversions obtained through intimidation, threats or deceit. A further hearing is scheduled for 25 July. The NCT does not have an anti-conversion law.
In Odisha – one of 11 Indian states that does have an anti-conversion law banning conversions by fraud, force or allurement – a church has been sealed and the 100-strong congregation barred from gathering for worship.
The local administration placed the restraining order on Believers Church, Geltua village in Bhadrak district on 17 May. District officials based their decision on complaints received that tribal people were converted to Christianity through “allurement”.
Pratap Chhinchani, a lawyer representing the church, criticised the allegation as unsubstantiated.
He added that extremists had deliberately disrupted church meetings in Geltua. Ensuing complaints by Christians asking for protection from such disturbances were not acted upon by local police.
Praise God for the High Court judge’s ruling and ask that the further hearing will again uphold religious freedom. Pray for local authorities to follow the court’s lead and distinguish between genuine conversion and conversion resulting from force, fraud or allurement. Pray that the appeal for the reopening of the church in Odisha will be successful and for similar spurious allegations of forced conversion to be dismissed. Pray that Christians will respond with enhanced zeal to adorn the Gospel of God our Saviour (Titus 2:10, AV) by their faithfulness.
Iran — Two Iranian pastors face ten-year jail sentences, but prayers answered as two church members appeals’ successful
Iranian-Armenian pastor Anooshavan Avedian, 60, (whose case was reported in Barnabas Prayer Focus, June 2022) has lost his appeal against a ten-year jail term for running a “house church” at his home in Tehran.
The appeal decision was announced on Sunday 29 May. The hearing had taken place in Anooshavan’s absence, despite repeated calls by his lawyer, Iman Soleimani, for him to be present.
Soleimani said that the speed with which the verdict was delivered “demonstrates insufficient study of the case by the appeal judges, dismissal of the defence, and unjust process”.
Meanwhile, two members of Anooshavan’s house church, Abbas Soori and Maryam Mohammadi (also reported in Barnabas Prayer Focus, June), convicted by the same court of being members of an “illegal group”, have won appeals against their sentence. Their ten-year deprivation of rights was removed and their individual fines of 50 million tomans (approximately £1,600; $2,000; €1,900) were reduced to 6 million tomans each. This is another answer to our prayers last month.
On 7 June the same court sentenced Joseph Shahbazian, 58, another Iranian-Armenian pastor, to ten years’ imprisonment for his role in leading a “house church” in Yaftabad, Tehran, with further travel restrictions on release.
Judge Iman Afshari, who also presided over Pastor Avedian’s trial, argued in his verdict that Pastor Shahbazian had “propagated Evangelical Christianity, and “abused people’s inner weaknesses and attracted some of them to the membership of his group”.
Four other converts from Islam were fined £640-£1,000 ($800-$1,250; €745-€1,150). During the trial Judge Afshari pressured the four to blame Pastor Shahbazian for their conversions to Christianity with the promise of a lighter sentence, threatening heavier sentences when they refused to do so.
Ask the Lord to sustain Pastor Shahbazian, Pastor Avedian, and other Christians in Iran imprisoned for their faith. Give thanks that the Holy Spirit gave four Muslim-background believers the courage to maintain their witness as followers of Christ. Praise Him for answering prayers for the success of the appeals for Abbas Soori and Maryam Mohammadi. Pray that the Church in Iran will be encouraged that their labours are not in vain and to be immovable in their faith (1 Corinthians 15:58).
