Anglican Priest Killed in Uganda

Added: Nov 27th, 2006 1:50 AM

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

MUBENDE, UGANDA (ANS) -- An Anglican Priest named Rev. Godfrey Tabura killed Kyenda in Mubende District on Saturday evening, the 25th of November. He was shot dead by unidentified gunmen while riding home on a motorcycle.

This was revealed in a story from SMV News Service in which they said, "The gunmen's motive was to kill the priest". Whoever did it, reportedly fled without stealing anything. It leads to the suspicion that it is definitely a Christian persecution. The Rev. Godfrey Tabura was trailed from Musozi.

The story said that Benson Oyo Nyeko, the police chief of the Central Region in Uganda told to the SVM News Service that the incident occurred near Kyenda, which about 10 miles away from Mubende town at about 7.00 pm.

The priest was shot in the chest and died instantly. The Police suspect the killer or killers used an SMG rifle, Benson Oyo Neyiko said.

"We don't think the thugs were looking for money. They never picked anything and even abandoned the motorcycle at the scene, which makes us suspect that the motive was murder," Neyiko added.

No arrests had been made by Sunday evening, but the investigations of the police was launched quickly. CID officer of Mubende reached the spot and started an immediate inquiry.

Anti-Christian Violence Escalates in Sri Lanka

Added: Nov 28th, 2006 1:25 AM

By BosNewsLife News Center

COLOMBO, SRILANKA (BosNewsLife) -- Anti-Christian violence "is escalating" in Sri Lanka amid ongoing fighting between security forces and Tamil rebels seeking independence, human rights investigators said Monday, November 27.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a major advocacy group investigating the situation on the troubled island, told BosNewsLife in a statement that this month several churches and individual Christians have been attacked by militants.

"On November 22, the Lighthouse Church" in the Gompola area of Kandy District, was attacked while the Pastor and a Church worker were inside. Rocks were thrown at the building, shattering the front window, and the Church worker was seriously injured when a rock hit him on the head," CSW added.

That violence came after 10 days earlier, on November 12, members of the congregation of the Assemblies of God Church in the Yakkala area of Sri Lanka's Gampaha District were reportedly prevented from attending a church service by a mob of over 100 people, some of whom were armed with clubs.

Four Buddhist monks accompanied the crowd of attackers and anti-Christian posters had appeared on the walls, CSW and other Christian sources said. "Only two policemen were sent to the scene initially, but they were unable to control the crowd. They had to ask for re-enforcements twice before twelve other officers arrived," said CSW.

WOMAN ATTACKED

Four days later, a young woman from the congregation had a container of black oil thrown over her as she traveled to the Pastor and his wife's home, CSW claimed. The Church had been threatened in a similar manner two weeks earlier, however CSW said that "police protection was not provided despite previous assurances. The church has temporarily stopped holding services."

In Kandy District on November 12, the Sunday service at Mizpah Prayer Ministry was disrupted by a crowd of 35 people who were accompanied by 12 Buddhist monks and a Provincial Council member, Christians said. The church's pastor reported that the mob threatened to flatten the building if the congregation gathered together to worship again.

On the same day, four members of the Prayer Tower ministry in the Puttlam District, were reportedly threatened by a group of men as they returned from a funeral. They were told not to return to the village and were hit with fists and rocks.

CSW Worldwide Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said he was concerned as "at a time when ethnic violence is escalating in Sri Lanka, this recent spate of religiously motivated attacks is particularly discouraging."

SRI LANKA AUTHORITIES

He said his group had urged authorities in Sri Lanka to ensure "that all citizens have the opportunity to practice their chosen religion with out fear of harassment by mobs and urge all faith communities to show tolerance and respect for one another."

Buddhist militant groups have criticized the spread of Christianity in Sri Lanka and pushed for legislation to make that more difficult.

National authorities also claim that the group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also known as the Tamil Tigers, kidnapped Christians, but there have also been reports that Sri Lanka national security forces attacked refugee camps which killed people fleeing the fighting, including apparently Christians, BosNewsLife established.

The LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers, has been fighting for an independent homeland for Tamil-majority regions within Sri Lanka. About 3,000 troops, civilians and rebel fighters have been killed this year amid the worst fighting since a now tattered 2002 ceasefire, which ordinary Sri Lankans fear could snowball into a return to a conflict that killed more than 67,000 people since 1983. (With reports from Sri Lankia).

Copyright 2006 BosNewsLife. All rights reserved.

China Executes 15 Underground Church Members In Secret

Added: Nov 30th, 2006 11:46 PM

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife

BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife) -- China has secretly executed 15 members of a controversial underground church after founding them guilty "of murdering members of a rival sect," BosNewsLife learned Thursday, November 30.

Three leaders of the Three Grade Servant Church along with 12 church members were executed despite shaky evidence, said China Aid Association (CAA), a major Christian rights group defending reportedly persecuted churches.

Li Maoxing`s wife was asked by the Intermediate Court of Shuangyashan City in Heilongjiang province on Tuesday, November 28, "to collect her husband's ashes at the court as soon as possible," CAA said in a statement.

Two other men leading the church, identified as founder Xu Shuangfu and Wang Hun were "already executed last week," bringing the total to 15 people punished with death in this case, the group added. It was not immediately clear when the 12 other church members died.

NO EVIDENCE

In published remarks, lawyers of the three executed leaders argued there was no evidence to prove their clients were involved or took part in organizing and abetting the murder of members of the Eastern Lightening religious group.

"We are completely shocked by this news," said Rev. Bob Fu, the president of CAA in a statement obtained by BosNewsLife. "The arbitrary execution certainly shows the Chinese central government is totally ignoring the rule of law."

He also accused authorities of "clearly engaging" in "covering up the evidence of torture by secret cremating the inmates" bodies. We appeal to the Supreme People's Court to launch an independent investigation in this case."

"RIVAL SECT"

China's Foreign Ministry has denied any wrongdoing. It said the "cult members" received the death penalty after they killed 20 followers of a "rival sect."

The two groups had reportedly been feuding over the past three years and had allegedly kidnapped, tortured and injured followers from their rival cult.

Although the 'Three Grades Servants' claim to be Christians and with the Bible as their guideline, the group is considered a heresy by mainstream house churches in China because of what they consider as its "extreme doctrine."

CHINESE CHURCHES

Chinese house churches have also expressed concerns about the rival Eastern Lightning group, which was founded by a woman named Zheng, who claims to be China's female reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

The organization "is widely acknowledged by house churches to be a cult and a criminal religious group," CAA added.

However speaking about the Three Grades Servants, the director of mission group Asia Harvest, Paul Hattaway, expressed his doubts about the "sect" classification.

GOVERNMENT "DECEITFULLY"

"By classifying a church group as a cult, the government deceitfully opens up the way for Christians to be prosecuted for breaking the law, rather than directly for religious reasons," Hattaway told BosNewsLife.

"Western governments and human rights organizations are therefore largely silenced...as often when they ask about a certain pastor being arrested they are told he was arrested because he broke the law, and not because of his faith."

He said the "subtle maneuver has resulted in much confusion within the Chinese Church and outside China, as believers disagree on which groups really are cults."

HOUSE CHURCHES

Hattaway noted in 2003 Three Grades Servants' founder, Xu Shuangfu, spoke with senior house church leaders from other groups who wanted to confront him over the reported heretical beliefs and practices of his group.

"Xu came to the meeting with booklets and video tapes detailing what the Three Grades Servants founder teach and practice," recalled Hattaway whose group has apparently close knowledge about the situation.

Xu reportedly said: "If my church is in error and really a cult, then please come and rebuke us and show us the error of our ways so we can repent. Please be brothers to us in this way. If you do not point out our errors, how can we ever change and walk with Jesus like you?"

Hattaway said that, "these words do not sound like those of a typical cult leader." There are up to 80 million Christians in Communist-run China, most of them worship outside the official denominations, church observers say. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from China).

Copyright 2006=20 BosNewsLife. All rights reserved.

Churches Protest Killings Christian Leaders And Activists In Philippines

Added: Nov 27th, 2006 1:46 AM

By Santosh Digal, BosNewsLife Southeast Asia Reporter in Manila

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (BosNewsLife) -- An Asian human rights team has condemned Philippines government for what it says is "its utter failure" to look into the killings of Christian leaders, rights activists, journalists and others by security forces and prosecute those involved, BosNewsLife established Friday, November 24.

The Hong Kong Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines said the government "is at best grossly failing to protect its citizens, and at worst may be complicit in an orchestrated campaign of targeted assassination".

While the military and police sat they are searching for rebels and terrorists, Christian leaders and advocacy groups say the security forces often target political opponents.

In a report the group said, "Many witnesses or victims' family members believe the state is engaged in a campaign to eliminate politically 'leftist' groups and individuals in the Philippines." The report was released through the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

SENSITIVE TIME

It comes at a time when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo defended her government's evidence on human rights after foreign business groups too expressed concerns over several alleged political killings.

The leftist human rights group Karapatan documented 764 deaths of activists and Christian leaders since Arroyo came to power in 2001. In Washington the Episcopal Church in the United States expressed concerns over the situation, BosNewsLife Southeast Asia Bureau in Manila learned.

Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, director of Peace and Justice Ministries of the Episcopal Church, Rev. Fred Vergara, of Asian American Ministries, and Episcopal Presiding Bishop, Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, spoke of "human rights violations" in talks at the Philippine Embassy and the State Department in Washington D.C.

HUMAN RIGHTS

"We told Ambassador Willy Gaa at the Philippine Embassy that we were there as a courtesy to let him know of the deep concern among US denominations over the deplorable number of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, " Grieves said. "We are supporting our partner churches there as they prepare to document these human rights violations," he added.

Ambassador Gaa reportedly promised the group that he will "relay their concerns to" President Gloria Macamagal-Arroyo. He urged the group to submit its Philippine Human Rights Report to the Melo Commission, the body appointed by the Philippine government to investigate the killings.

Vergara said that the "spate of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines included the outspoken human rights advocate, former Supreme Bishop Alberto Ramento." Ramento was found stabbed to death at his rectory in the Parish of San Sebastian of Tarlac City, on the morning of October 3. He had been an outspoken critic of the government and a leading advocate for peace and human rights in the country.

MEMBER THREATENED

Within days of Ramento's murder, another clergy member of the Philippine Independent Church also reportedly received a death threat via short messaging service on his mobile phone.

Ramento was a member of the committee that drafted the renewal of the terms of the concordat of full communion between the Episcopal Church and the Philippine Independent Church, which was signed during the Episcopal Church=92s 75th General Convention in Columbus, Ohio, in June 2006, church observers said.

His death was the latest "in a string of killings of Christian leaders" in the Philippines, the Episcopal Church said. This month, Roman Catholic nuns in the Philippines filed a complaint at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Philippines' security forces who raided their convent in Butuan City.

Representatives of the Good Shepherd Sisters order appeared before CHR November 6, saying the Philippine National Police was involved in "gross human rights violations," when they raided the convent November 1, reportedly in search of a rebel leader who allegedly was seeking refuge inside.

Copyright 2006 BosNewsLife. All rights reserved.

India Church Worker Killed, Pastor Detained

Added: Nov 28th, 2006 1:26=20 AM

By BosNewsLife News Center

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife) -- Police in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu were investigating Monday, November 27, the death of a church worker who was apparently killed at the start of a Sunday worship service.

The man, identified only as 60-year-old Jacob, was "stabbed and killed" late Sunday November 26 "within the church precincts" of the Church on St. Thomas Mount, a small 300 foot (100 meters) high hillock located in the state capital Chennai, said Sajan K. George, national president of advocacy group Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC).

"When the assailant began to attack him, Jacob took refuge in another room. The attacker followed and stabbed Jacob on the face, chest and abdomen," George added. The assailant reportedly also threatened onlookers before fleeing. Jacob was rushed to a private hospital in nearby Porur, but was "pronounced dead" on arrival, George said.

He said the GCIC believes that Jacob, who managed the church sales of religious articles, was killed because of his faith in Christ. Local police reportedly said however the main motive may have been "a dispute over the price" of an article. Officials could not immediately identify the suspect, but in published remarks Greater Chennai Police Commissioner Letika Saran said there were "some strong leads" and that police was investigating.

OVERSHADOWING SERVICES

The attack overshadowed planned worship services at the relic-filled famous church, which built in 1523 by the Portuguese and stands at the summit of the St. Thomas Mount. The place was visited by late Pope John Paul II during his visit to India on 5th February 1986.

It also was the second high-profile murder of a Christian making headlines in India in less than a week. On November 21 prominent Christian worker Bashir Ahmed Tantray, 50, was shot and killed by suspected Islamic militants near Srinagar, the summer capital of the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

While "Bashir Ahmed Tantray is now safe in the arms of Jesus Christ, and has received a martyr's crown," he leaves behind "his wife, two daughters, and two sons," said Paul Hattaway, director of the Asia Harvest mission group in a statement to BosNewsLife Monday, November 27.

GROWING VIOLENCE

The murders come at a time when human rights groups have expressed concerns of growing violence against church workers and other Christians. One of these organizations, Washington-DC based International Christian Concern (ICC) with website www.persecution.org said Monday, November 27, that police in India=92s Orissa State have arrested a young pastor "on charges of offending Hindu sensitivities."

Pastor Ashish Kumar Muna, 25, was still in a jail in Rourkela district Monday, November 27, nearly two weeks after he was detained, the ICC said. Muna was reportedly arrested November 15 after praying for a woman suffering from tuberculosis and kidney problems, not knowing that she was the wife of a local leader of the Hindu militant party Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

As he was praying, her daughters allegedly accused him of "forced conversion" and the pastor was soon later hand over by family members and neighbors to local police.

PASTOR ARRESTED

"The police arrested the pastor on charges of house-trespass, use of criminal force on a woman and hurting religious sentiments, under Sections 448, 354 and 295A of the Indian Penal Code. Muna was consequently produced before a court, which refused his bail application and remanded him in judicial custody," ICC said.

Elsewhere in India Hindu militants attacked one of the main speakers at a convention at the Seventh Day Adventist School in the town of Jagadhari in the northern Haryana state. The GCIC said Captain Samuel narrowly survived the November 15 beatings.

"They stamped him on his chest, beat him severely, dragged and beat him so badly that he could not breathe for a while," said GCIC President George, adding that the Christian refused to file charges with local police.

CHURCHES BURNED

Hindu militants have also been involved this month in other attacks, including the burning of a church in Andhra Pradesh while neighboring Kerala state saw an attack on four pastors, Indian Christians said.

A prayer meeting in Vishakhapatnam city in Andhra Pradesh was cancelled after the VHP or World Hindu Council lodged a police complaint with local police last week, November 23, accusing organizers of "evangelizing", news reports said. On November 17, Hindu extremists reportedly set fire to a church in Dubbaka village in Nizamabad district, and attacked a Catholic school in the same district on November 16.

In the same area on November 3, Hindu militants attacked an independent pastor in Nachupally village, while elsewhere extremists beat four pastors of an Assembly of God church in Kerala state=92s Alapuzha district. The four were admitted to the government hospital in Harripad, said Christian news agency Compass Direct.

Christian rights investigators have linked the reported incidents to growing resistance among both Hindu and Islamic groups against the spread of Christianity in India, a mainly Hindu nation of roughly 1.1 billion people. (With BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos and reports from India).

Copyright 2006 BosNewsLife. All rights reserved.

India: Families Driven From Homes for Receiving Christ

Added: Nov 21st, 2006 12:00=20 AM

November 20 (Compass Direct News) -- Adherents of a Bodo tribal religion in Assam, northeast India, forced nine families from their homes last Tuesday (November 14) for converting to Christianity.

The villagers destroyed six of the nine families=92 homes, forcing the Christians to take shelter in a primary school. The nine families live in four villages in the Kokrajhar district of Assam.

Their ordeal began when Christians attended a Pentecostal meeting held in Haldibari village last Monday (November 13).

"This meeting infuriated the Bodo tribals, who organized their own religious gathering the next day," a source told Compass.

At 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning (November 14), the tribal people of Haldibari gathered for their own meeting at the village council hall, said the Rev. Madhu Chandra, Delhi regional secretary of the All India Christian Council.

"Some of them were sympathizers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS, a Hindu extremist group]," Rev. Chandra said. "Under their influence, the group resolved to evacuate Christian families from the village."

At around 2:30 p.m. that day, 25 Bodo villagers went to the homes of three Christian families in Haldibari and attacked their houses. The violence soon spread to the neighboring villages of Moflabari, Jamduguri and Basdari.

The district administration rushed security forces to the area to guard the nine families, who had taken shelter in a lower primary school building.

Kokrajhar police officer Manoj Kumar Saikia told Compass that a case had been registered against the 25 alleged offenders. At press time, police had arrested seven of the 25 but released them on bail.

Advocates have submitted a memorandum to the Bodoland Territory Council, asking it to investigate the attack, pay compensation to the Christian families who lost their homes, and provide safety to other minority Christians in the district.

Attacks in Karnataka

In the southern state of Karnataka, Christians will hold a rally on December 2 in the wake of specious arrests for "forced conversion" and vandalism of a church in the past week.

A quarry owner filed a police complaint against two Christians, including a pastor, accusing them of "forced conversion" on Wednesday (November 15), said Dr. Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians.

A pastor identified only as Hoysala and his companion, medical doctor Anup Kumar, were accused of forced conversion in Karnataka's Mandya district.

The pastor and Kumar had gone to visit a friend at a quarry in Jaknahalli village in Pandavapura Taluka in Mandya District on Wednesday, George said. Not finding the friend there, they started back and a woman approached them requesting that they pray for her as she was suffering from a severe headache. As they were praying, the owner of the quarry came and shouted at them, accusing them of forcible conversion.

Nevertheless, the two were able to leave peacefully.

The following day, the quarry owner filed a complaint against them at the Pandavapura police station, accusing them of conversion. The two were arrested and released on bail the following day.

The Christians could not be released on bail the day of their arrest, Thursday (November 16), because all officers of the rank of inspector or sub-inspector were occupied on security for a visit of political leaders at a Bharatiya Janata Party rally, George said.

On November 17, a lower court refused their bail application and sent them to the Mandya jail. "However," George said, "a higher court granted them bail in the evening."

Also in Karnataka, on November 18 Hindu extremists vandalized a statue of Mary in a Catholic theological institution. About 10 unidentified people marred the statue in the Carmelram Theological College, on Sarjyapur Road on the outskirts of Bangalore, George said.

He added that spit and vermillion (red powder applied on the forehead by certain Hindus) was found in the vicinity of the statue. College authorities could not identify the attackers as they fled in a blue car and on a few motorbikes at 11:15 p.m.

Condemning the incident in a public letter, George urged the chief minister of Karnataka to "instruct the government machinery" to maintain religious harmony and peace in the state.

Representatives of various Christian organizations, mainly Catholic, had on Wednesday (November 15) urged Deputy Commissioner of Police M.S. Srikar to provide security to Christians in the wake of rising attacks on them in the Hubli-Dharwad region in Karnataka.

Copyright =A9 2006 Compass Direct

India: Hindu Villagers Beat, Expel Christian Families

Added: Nov 30th, 2006 11:52=20 PM

(Compass Direct News) -- Police in the eastern state of Jharkhand have turned a blind eye to the plight of two Christian families who were severely beaten and expelled from their village for refusing to give up their faith.

Hindu residents of Dublia village in Kanke Block, Ranchi district, drove out the families of Raju Toppo and Santosh Karmali in June after repeatedly assaulting them, according to a spokesman from the All India Christian Council (AICC).

In May, Hindu villagers had accused Toppo of forcibly converting Karmali (his childhood friend) and Karmali's family.

On May 21, several members of the Hindu extremist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) called Toppo and Karmali to a meeting point in the village and beat them.

Later that day, the whole village hurled stones at Toppo's house, where Christians from nearby villages had gathered for their regular Sunday worship service. Many shouted threats, demanding that the Christians leave the village.

"When Toppo's wife heard the noise, she came out and the crowd dragged her out into the open and beat her up," the AICC said in a press statement. "When Toppo and their niece, Sunila, came out to rescue her, the villagers beat them too."

House Barricaded

On May 24, the villagers built a fence around Toppo=92s house and warned him not to step outside it.

When relatives heard about this, they came to help Toppo. Once they entered the house, however, villagers prevented them from leaving. A few hours later, policemen from nearby Pithoria police station arrived and threatened Toppo and his family.

Later that evening, some pastors from nearby villages came to offer their support, and the villagers prevented them from leaving the property. The villagers also tried to damage the pastors' vehicles, accusing them of trying to destroy the village through conversion.

Finally the villagers went home, after demanding that Toppo's family stop holding worship services in the house, and that they and Karmali's family return to their "original" faith.

The villagers also demanded that there be no interaction between the two families, "otherwise they would leave the village with broken bones," the AICC reported.

A few days later, Karmali's 3-year-old son went to Toppo's house to play. Karmali's wife immediately went to the house to bring him back. Thinking their threats were being ignored, the village heads got together and decided to expel both families from the village.

Police were informed but failed to take any preventative action.

Pressured to Renounce Faith

The villagers then dragged Karmali and his wife out of their house and demanded that they forsake Christianity. When they refused, the mob beat the couple severely, pulling out their hair and forcing them to sign a paper renouncing all rights to their property.

The mob then dragged Toppo and his family out of their home. They cut off the couple's hair, tore the children's clothes, applied limestone to their bodies and faces and drove them out of the village.

Christian friends in neighboring villages immediately went to the Pithoria police station on behalf of the families, but police refused to file their complaint.

Toppo then approached the district senior superintendent of police, but he was told to go back to Pithoria police station.

Both the Karmali and Toppo families took temporary shelter with friends in neighboring villages. On June 17, Toppo approached the police and asked for help to go home and retrieve his possessions. When he arrived at Dublia village, however, he found the house almost empty, most of his possessions had been stolen.

When the villagers saw him, they once again asked Toppo to "reconvert" and tried to attack him.

Intimidated and rejected by former friends and neighbors, Toppo and Karmali, along with their families, moved to rented homes in the suburbs of Ranchi city.

A Plea For Justice

The families have suffered almost continual opposition from local RSS member Sandeep Oraon and his friends since they accepted Christ eight years ago.

"I was deeply moved when Toppo's 8-year-old son told me that, during lunch hours, his government school would give a meal to everyone else but him," an AICC spokesman told Compass. "They would ask him to go to the missionaries to get his lunch."

Although the victims filed a police complaint against Oraon and his associates, police have taken no action against them.

According to police, the accused have gone into hiding, though local people say Oraon and his friends are still living in Dublia village.

When Compass spoke to Deputy Commissioner of Police N.P. Singh, he claimed he had sent officials to the village to work towards reconciliation.

The AICC has urged the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Minorities to investigate the "serious human rights violations" committed against the Christians of Dublia village.

Of almost 27 million people in the state, little more than 1 million are Christian.

Copyright =A9 2006 Compass Direct

India: Militants Kill Prominent Christian Worker

Added: Nov 21st, 2006 10:34=20 PM

(Compass Direct News) -- Two unidentified militants today killed a Christian convert from Islam on a busy road in Mamoosa village, Barmullah district, in the terror-stricken state of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Bashir Ahmed Tantray, a 50-year-old engineer working with the power department of the state government in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, was shot dead seemingly by Islamist militants while he was standing at a busy bus stand near his parents' house in Mamoosa," a local Christian source told Compass.

According to eye-witness accounts, two young men came to the bus stand on their motorbike at about 10:30 a.m. today and started inquiring about the timing of the buses. One of the militants took a pistol from his jacket and fired three rounds at Tantray.

Shot at point-blank range, Tantray died as the militants fled the scene.

Tantray, who had received Christ about a decade ago and had been an active Christian worker ever since, is survived by his wife, two daughters and two sons.

Tantray, who worked as a volunteer with various Christian organizations including the Global Council of Indian Christians, was one of the most prominent Christians in the Kashmir valley, he said.

"There is no doubt among the people, both Christian and Muslim, here that he was killed because of his identity of a Christian worker," the source said. "We fear that we will be killed one by one. However, if we are to be killed, we would like to be killed together at one go."

The slain Christian had come to Barmullah yesterday to visit his extremely ill father.

The people of the village arranged for a funeral according to Muslim rites, fearing further tensions if they buried him according to the Christian tradition, said the source, who added that they respected Tantray.

"There were very few Christians [at the funeral], as an atmosphere of fear gripped the miniscule Christian community of the area after they heard about the killing," he said.

Outrage over Conversions

The source added that The Indian Express daily and a few local newspapers had mentioned Tantray=92s name in "false and exaggerated reports" relating to "conversion activities" by Christian organizations in 2003.

National daily The Hindustan Times also attributed Tantray's killing to his =93Christian activities."

Tantray was "a great evangelist, working for the spread of Christianity across the valley," the daily reported. =93He had reportedly influenced a large section of his village population with his new faith."

It added that the village made headlines in March 2003 with reports of mass conversions to Christianity by local residents. The villagers denied conversion to the new faith, the newspaper reported, adding that some village elders privately admitted that several families had converted to Christianity.

The elders claimed that monetary benefit was the main motivation for them to take to new religion, the newspaper reported.

"With the outrage from various quarters over the conversions, Tantray, a resident said, ran away from the village and settled in Srinagar," the newspaper reported. "Sources said that he continued to remain part of the Christian machinery, and shifted his area of activity to southern Pulwama district."

According to the 2001 Census, there are only 20,299 Christians in the state, which has a total population of more than 10 million.

Jammu and Kashmir has long been hit by the confrontation between militant separatists and Indian Armed Forces, which has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people since 1990s. The Indian army maintains a significant deployment of troops to maintain law and order in the state.

The northern-most state lies at the heart of a bitter territorial dispute between India, Pakistan and China. India has fought three wars with Pakistan in 1947, 1965 and 1999, and one with China over Kashmir. India, which considers the entire state as its sovereign territory, has control of about half the area of Jammu and Kashmir.

Copyright =A9 2006 Compass Direct

India: Policeman Summoned in Severe Beating of Christians

Added: Nov 29th, 2006 10:59=20 AM

November 28 (Compass Direct News) -- A district court in Punjab state has summoned a police official for severely beating four Christians.

On November 13, the court of Malout Taluka in Punjab's Muktsar district summoned Assistant Sub-Inspector Hukam Chand Sharma of the Malout police station to appear next February 8 in a hearing related to the beating of four Christians.

A local Christian who requested anonymity told Compass that the victims are from the New Jerusalem Fellowship in Jeet Nagar in Malout, Muktsar district. Sharma allegedly beat them on September 25, 2005.

On that morning a mob of Hindu extremists stormed the fellowship's Sunday worship service and accused the Christians of unethical conversions. When the Christians called the police, several officers arrived and took church members Gurudev Singh, Jaswant Singh and Balkaran Singh to the police station.

"After reaching the police station, Sharma beat the three Christians very brutally," the source added. "Later, the police brought in Pastor Sukhdev Pana and beat him too."

Upon their release the following day, Gurudev Singh was hospitalized for five days and Pana for three days.

When Pana, a retired government official, reported the incident to authorities, they refused to register his complaint. Finally, in October 2005, he managed to file a case against Sharma in the Malout court.

"After the Christians approached the court, the police department ordered Sharma's suspension, but only for 10 days," the source said.

The victims also filed individual complaints with the Punjab State Human Rights Commission.

When no further action was taken, the church filed a case in the high court in May of this year. The initial hearing finally took place on November 13.

Catholic School Ordered to Close

In Gujarat state, authorities at a Catholic school alleging harassment today (November 28) filed a civil suit in the Gujarat High Court against the state government.

The high court on November 7 had issued warning notices to the state government and officials of Bhavnagar district, in response to a complaint filed by Shri Sachhidanand Gurukul Vidyalaya Catholic school.

The first hearing is scheduled for November 29.

Samson Christian, joint secretary of the All India Christian Council (AICC), said extremists of the Hindu Jan Jagran Manch (Forum for Revival of Hindu People) and the Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarti Parishad (ABVP or All India Students' Council), began accusing school staff members of unethical conversions in July.

In response to these accusations, police began an inquiry into the school.

"The school is doing well [academically], and most of the students are from the Hindu community. Therefore, Hindu extremist groups are jealous," Christian told Compass.

Christian also said a member of the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules the state government, may be supporting the Hindu extremists in their campaign against the school. The ABVP is a youth wing of the BJP.

On October 12, school warden Sanjaybhai Chauhan tried to lodge a complaint against the Bhavnagar police, district officials and extremists at the Shihor police station, but police refused to register the complaint. Rather, the Bhavnagar district collector on October 20 ordered school staff members to vacate the premises, alleging that they had not completed all the formalities required to run a school.

"Further, on October 30, the district revenue department sent an official to take charge of the school," Christian explained. "But the school authorities, with the help of the AICC, approached the district collector and pleaded for more time. The collector then set a deadline of November 15."

School staff then approached the special secretary of the revenue department on November 3; the secretary stayed the takeover order on November 10, five days before the deadline.

"Officials of other state departments, like the electricity department, then started harassing the school," Christian said.

In response to the school authorities filing a civil suit against the state government today, the court asked for documentation showing the school's registration and title deeds for land and buildings.

Christian added that the HJJM is organizing a huge rally in the district on December 31 and has already distributed hundreds of anti-Christian pamphlets to residents.

"I went to the Shihor police station to file a complaint against HJJM for distributing pamphlets and making arrangements for a provocative rally," Christian said. "But the police refused to accept the complaint."

Copyright =A9 2006 Compass Direct

Pakistan Christians Jailed For 10 Years For "Blasphemy"

Added: Nov 28th, 2006 1:24 AM

By BosNewsLife News Center

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife) --Two Pakistani Christian men spent another day in prison Monday, November 27, after a court jailed them for 10 years on charges of "blasphemy" against the Quran, considered a holy book by Muslims.

Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws Judge Muhammad Islam of Faisalabad's Anti-Terrorism Court delivered the prison sentence and a 25,000 rupee (US$414) this weekend in an apparently closed hearing.

The defendants, James Masih, 65, and his neighbor, Buta Masih, 70, were arrested by police last October 8 for allegedly burning pages of the Quran. They have denied
the charges.

However the court said Saturday, November 24, the men were guilty under the controversial Section 295 B of Pakistan's Penal Code, also known as the blasphemy law.

CONTROVERSIAL VERDICT

Defense lawyer Khalil Tahir Sindhu said the 10-year sentence was illegal, as desecration of Islam's holy book calls for life imprisonment.

It shows the judge doubts the two Christians are guilty and had made the ruling "under pressure," said Tahir Sindhu, who plans to launch an appeal at the High Court in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's Punjab province.

There is "no direct evidence against the two men who rather seem to be the victims of a personal vendetta. We believe that the verdict is the result of pressures by extremists. This explains why it took four days for the court to reach its decision," he told reporters.

The sentencing came just over two weeks after 58-year-old Ranjha Masih was acquitted by the Lahore High Court on blasphemy charges, ending eight years and seven months of imprisonment. He underwent surgery this weekend for diabetes, one of several ailments he has as a result of a lack of medical attention and torture while in prison, fellow Christians said. (With BosNewsLife reporting and BosNewsLife Research).

Copyright=20 2006 BosNewsLife. All rights reserved.

Pakistan: Drunken Mod Vandalizes Church

Added: Nov 20th, 2006 11:58 PM

November 20 (Compass Direct News) -- Armed and drunken Muslims struck two greeters at a Sunday evening service of a church outside Lahore last week, later returning to pelt the building with stones and bricks.

Led by Zulifiqar Akbar Jutt and Asif Ramzan, 10 men broke fluorescent lights and a cross on the outer gate of the Talab Sarai village Nazarene church on November 12, a Lahore-based human rights organization reported.

This is the eighth attack on a Pakistani church confirmed by Compass this year.

The attack on the vacant church occurred while the congregation was lodging a complaint against Jutt and Ramzan for harassing them earlier that day, according to a Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) report.

According to Nazarene Pastor Rafiq Masih, prior to the 6 p.m. service, Jutt and Ramzan had approached the church intoxicated, singing swear words to the tune of the church's hymns.

Two greeters stationed at the church compound's outer gate intervened when Jutt and Ramzan began harassing Christian women on their way to the evening meeting, the pastor said.

Jutt and Ramzan quickly left when more members of the congregation came outside to investigate the commotion. Two hours later, however, Jutt and Ramzan returned with eight friends as the service was about to end.

"They all were drunk, equipped with firearms and clubs," Pastor Masih told CLAAS. "Asif [Ramzan's] mother, Wallayat Bibi, was also with them."

The Muslim men began to hit Haroon Masih and Ashraf Masih, the greeters who had earlier challenged them, a CLAAS representative told Compass from Lahore.

The entire congregation, approximately 40 families, quickly exited the church, prompting the Muslim men to halt their attack. Pastor Masih urged his congregation to remain calm even as the armed men continued to hurl verbal insults against Christianity and Christian worship.

"They had every intention to use the firearms," CLAAS coordinator Wasim Muntizar told Compass. "But because the Christians didn't respond angrily, the situation did not get worse."

Economically Vulnerable

Led by Pastor Masih, the men of the church congregation visited Deputy Mayor Khalid Javed to file a complaint. The pastor also contacted the Muslim men's fathers in hopes that they could help resolve the problem.

While at the deputy mayor's home, the congregation received news that Jutt and Ramzan were pelting the church building with bricks and stones. Khalid Javed immediately contacted police at the nearest station, located in Manga Mandi, four kilometers (two and a half miles) away.

According to the CLAAS report, Asif Ramzan's mother invited the police into her home, located behind the church, as soon as they arrived at the scene of the crime. When the officers came out of the house, they refused to arrest the mob leader's mother, Wallayat Ramzan, in spite of the Christians' complaint that she had accompanied the attackers.

Instead, officers arrested three young boys between the ages of 8 and 12 who happened to be present, the CLAAS report said. The police then drove to the deputy mayor's house, where they released the children before returning to Manga Mandi.

CLAAS members visited Talab Sarai on November 13 to help the Nazarene congregation register a complaint with police against Jutt, Ramzan and Ramzan=92s brother and mother.

But according to Muntizar from CLAAS, the congregation is not planning to press charges. Instead, "The community is going for a compromise," Muntizar told Compass.

Among other reasons, the Christian congregation consists mostly of brick kiln workers, the poorest of the poor in Pakistani society. By contrast, Ramzan and Jutt belong to wealthy farming families, and are "financially stronger than the rest of the Christian community," Muntizar explained.

A court case would be expensive and could last months, creating tension with the wealthy suspects who live next door to the church.

The suspects "don't have direct influence [on the Christians] because the Christians do not work at their farms," Muntizar explained. But the church community apparently feels compelled to work towards a solution in which they can live in peace with their immediate neighbors.

According to members of the Nazarene congregation, reconciliation with the church attackers may prove difficult. They say that the most recent attack is only part of ongoing harassment.

"Muslims tether their animals in front of the church and in the Christian graveyard," a 70-year-old church member named Sadiq Masih told CLAAS. "They fly their =pigeons on the church roof and [harass] bypassing Christian girls."

The elderly Christian told CLAAS that, last Christmas, one of Ramzan's relatives had thrown fireworks into the church during worship, causing a stampede.

"On the insistence of the deputy mayor and the police, the matter was buried and reconciliation was made," he said.

Copyright =A9 2006 Compass Direct

Pakistan's Longest Held Christian Prisoner Rushed To Hospital After Release

Added: Nov 27th, 2006 1:48 AM

By BosNewsLife News Center

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife) -- Ranjha =Masih, who was Pakistan's longest held Christian prisoner of conscience, underwent surgery Saturday, November 25, after he was rushed to a private hospital to receive treatment for diabetes-- one of many ailments of which he suffers following years of torture and abuse, friends said.

News of his worsening medical condition came just two weeks after the Lahore High Court acquitted the 58-year-old Masih of blasphemy charges, ending eight years and seven months of imprisonment.

"Due to the atrocious conditions in the jail and repeated beatings Ranjha suffered, he is in very poor physical health," the independent Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) told BosNewsLife.

"He suffers from hemorrhoids, severe knee joint pains because of rheumatoid arthritis, insomnia, and diabetes. In jail he was denied proper medical attention, as a result many of his ailments have grown progressively worse, "said CLAAS, which played a crucial role in obtaining his release. His wife and a CLAAS member were at the hospital, BosNewsLife learned.

GROWING TENSIONS

It comes amid growing tensions surrounding the case as apparently angry Muslims planned protests against Masih's acquittal after media reports that he was only released by the Inspector of General Prisons in Punjab province as a goodwill gesture on last week's arrival of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Masih, who is married with six children, was detained in 1998 for allegedly damaging a sign containing versus from the Quran, seen as a holy book by Muslims. The incident happened during a demonstration surrounding the funeral for Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad John Joseph, who committed suicide to protest the execution of a Christian man on blasphemy charges.

Shorly after his burial, local Christians demonstrated against the government. Stones were thrown, and one of them hit a shop sign that featured a verse from the Koran. Police arrested Masih and charged him with blasphemy. Masih denied any wrongdoing.

After being held for five years without bail, a Faisalabad court sentenced Ranjha Masih in 2003 to life imprisonment amid reported protests by local Muslims who demanded that he be hanged. CLAAS lawyers immediately appealed the ruling, leading to his eventual acquittal Friday, November 10.

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

In a letter, obtained by BosNewsLife, Masih confirmed reports he suffered religious persecution and torture during his years in jail. "I was imprisoned for eight years and seven months and during my imprisonment I was beaten everyday; they blind-folded me, tied my hands behind my back, tied my feet and then beat me with clubs, sticks, kicking, and slapping me," he wrote.

"They treated me worse than animals. When I was first brought to the prison, the jail administrator announced that no one was allowed to talk to me. On many occasions they locked me in a cell all day. I had to bribe the guards to let me out of my cell for one or two hours [a day]. They often gave me very tough work to do, throughout all this it was His grace and love that helped me remain steadfast," he added.

Masih said he had been asked to mention names of other Christians "so that they could arrest and implicate them," in blasphemy. He said security forces also took him to a "remote area and told me to run away." He refused, saying "they would kill me, and tell the world that I was killed in a police encounter."

He also recalled that at one point was beaten "almost senseless trying to get me to name a fellow believer. They kept asking me to speak up but I remained silent." Masih said that while they were beating him he started to a Christian hymn. "When they demanded to know what I was saying I replied, "You were beating me to make me speak. Now I'm speaking and you have problem with that.=94

ISLAM PRESSURE

Masih said he was pressured to covert to Islam, but refused to give up his faith in Jesus Christ, who, he said "has really done a great miracle in my life." He said police, administration, and other prisoners "constantly pressured" him to me to convert to Islam.

"They told me that I could get out of prison just by reciting the kalma, the formula spoken to testify the Muslim faith. Many people from different parts of the country got in touch with me and invited me into the fold of Islam, promising to get me out of prison but I flatly refused them all."

He added that, "One day, an officer brought the Koran and asked me to take it and recite the kalma," saying that "by doing" he could avoid further imprisonment. "I told him that if being released from prison meant forsaking Jesus Christ, then I did not want to be released."

He said that during "this trying time, hundreds of cards and letters poured in from around the world strengthening my faith and encouraging me to fight back and resist evil. I am thankful to Jesus for all the encouragement and love."

He said that during the past eight years his wife and children "have suffered greatly, but they have shown immense courage, patience, and forbearance." Masih stressed he is "thankful to Jesus for my wonderful family. One day my grand-daughter visited me in jail; she comforted me with the gentle reminder that Jesus would get me out at His appointed time." This month. (With BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos, reports from Pakistan and BosNewsLife Research).

Copyright 2006 BosNewsLife. All rights reserved.

Six Christians Murdered By Muslim Mob In Ethiopia

Added: Nov 30th, 2006 11:43 PM

Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) -- The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has learned that in early October, a mob of three hundred Muslims murdered six Christians, and seriously wounded fifteen others during a midnight worship service in Beshasha, a town located in the Agaro province, 408 kilometers West of Addis Ababa.

On October 14, Orthodox Christians held a midnight worship service when a group of three hundred Muslims, carrying guns and knives approached the church. The mob could not enter the locked doors to the church but then proceeded to pour gasoline around the building, forcing the Christians to come out of the building.

The men of the church came out first and attempted to defend the men and women but had no real weapons, in comparison to the guns and knives used against them. The Muslim mob began to attack the Christians. Fifteen individuals from the church suffered sever knife wounds. Six people died as a result, two priests, two elderly women, and two men.

Two weeks later, the Ethiopian media announced that the police had arrested the leader of the massacre. However, the violence against Christians continues to steadily increase. It was only two weeks before the Beshasha massacre that another attack on Christians occurred in Jimma, Ethiopia because Muslims opposed Orthodox Christians celebrating the traditional Meskel holiday.

Muslims in the Horn of Africa are becoming increasingly radical and violent and are being urged to export that violence to surrounding countries.

This trend is almost certainly affecting Christians in Ethiopia. The Union of Islamic Courts in Somalis recently called for Jihad against Ethiopia, appealing to Muslims of the Horn to rise up against anyone who would dare come against the religion of Allah.

The tragic incident may only be a precursor of things to come as Muslims in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania are radicalized.

Sri Lanka: Mobs Attack More Churches

Added: Nov 21st, 2006 10:36 PM

(Compass Direct News) -- Buddhist militants attacked two church services in Sri Lanka on November 12 and hit Christian workers returning from a funeral. On Thursday (November 16), they also doused a female church member with a container of burnt oil.

Police were called to both church attacks but their presence proved ineffective.

Christians say the government has turned a blind eye to these attacks for too long. A statement issued today by the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) called on the government and law enforcement agencies to actively uphold each citizen's right to freedom of worship.

Mob Revisits Church

One mob prevented members of an Assembly of God (AOG) church in Yakkala, Gampaha district, from attending Sunday service.

The mob of some 100 people, including four Buddhist monks, pasted anti-Christian posters on several buildings in the neighborhood and blocked the road leading to the church. According to NCEASL, some in the crowd were armed with clubs.

The mob threatened and verbally abused Christians who attempted to pass by. Only one or two church members managed to reach the church, where they told the pastor why his congregation had not arrived for morning worship.

The pastor called for help and two policemen arrived. They were unable to control the mob and called in 12 other officers. When these reinforcements came, witnesses said those in the mob who were carrying clubs surreptitiously threw them away.

Four days later, as a young Christian woman arrived at the pastor's home to ask for prayer, a man standing nearby doused her with a container of burnt oil. The woman has since made a police complaint identifying the attacker by name.

The AOG church in Yakkala was also attacked on October 29 (See Compass Direct, "Sri Lankan Christians Cry for Justice Amid Anarchy," November 14). The pastor had asked for police protection, but told NCEASL that no concrete action was taken to prevent further harassment. After the November 12 attack, the church decided to suspend services temporarily.

Church Threatened

Also on November 12, a mob of about 35 people - including 12 Buddhist monks and a local government official - walked into the Sunday service of the Mizpah Prayer Ministry in Nawalapitiya, Kandy district, demanding that the service cease immediately.

The mob jeered at the congregation and scolded them, using abusive language. "We were threatened that if we gathered together for worship again, the building would be flattened," the pastor told NCEASL.

Two journalists, who identified themselves as Nimal Bandara of the Ravaya newspaper and Weeraratne from the Lankadeep newspaper, then took video footage and photographs as the mob chased the congregation out of the building.

A church member called police, but when they arrived - an hour after the attack began - the mob had gone.

A few hours later some of the mob returned, including one person carrying a wooden club. They threatened the Christian workers who were still at the church, hitting one of them and breaking several chairs.

The church filed a complaint, but at press time no arrests had been made.

Attacked after Funeral

On the same day, four Christian workers attended the funeral of a church member in Anamaduwa, Puttlam district. As they returned home, several men accosted them and warned them not to return to the village. The men also punched the workers and threw rocks at them.

The pastor of the church in Anamaduwa reported the incident to police. During a subsequent police inquiry, the attackers accused the church of disturbing the neighbors with loud noise during services.

The pastor rejected this accusation, pointing out that the worship service was held for only one hour per week and that most of the neighbors were Christians.

Eventually both parties agreed to settle the matter amicably, and the attackers promised not to attack the church again.

Plea for Government Intervention

In a statement issued today, NCEASL officials said they were =93alarmed at the manner in which unruly elements used violence and force against minority Christians engaging in prayer and worship.=94

They also said the state had turned a blind eye to such excesses for too long, and urged the government and law enforcement agencies to "actively protect the fundamental rights of each citizen to practice their religion of choice without harassment."

Copyright =A9 2006=20 Compass Direct