Two crosses taken down in China in one day

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that, on August 27, two more church crosses in Zhejiang Province, China were forcibly removed by city government's demolition squad, injuring at least five senior church members. As of now, more than 200 church crosses have been forcibly removed by the provincial government since early April. On the morning of August 27, two church crosses were forcibly removed from Ruo Heng Church in Wenling City and Cheng Xi Church in Wenzhou City. In the meantime, a demolition team of more than 100 police officers and SWAT personnel was sent to remove the cross of Shangzhou Church in Wenzhou City. At least five senior church members were hospitalized after suffering injuries for trying to defend their church's cross. Local Christians expressed anger toward Wenzhou police for brutalizing church members. "Are they really the police paid by citizens' tax money or violent mobs?" a local Christian asked over Chinese social media, through which Christians in Zhejiang Province have been sharing information and prayer requests in response to the cross demolition campaign. In early August, Zhejiang Provincial government's two state-church leaders endorsed the cross demolition campaign through a press conference that "the government removes and modifies illegal construction according to law. Religious buildings are not exception." However, they have never provided the legal basis by which the government has torn down hundreds of church crosses. "Who is illegal? The government's demolition team who beat up people or Christians who are defending their church cross?" a local Christian asked ICC rhetorically during an interview. "We are Chinese citizens respecting our law," they continued, "but the government ignores it." In late July, ICC reported the bloodshed caused by the government demolition team's second attempt to forcibly remove Jiu En (salvation) Church's cross. Seven Christians were severely injured in the conflict when congregants clashed with demolition crew members in an effort to stop the defacement. Their lawyers have since urged the government to find and punish the assailants responsible for their clients injuries to no avail. ICC's Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, Sooyoung Kim, said, "In response to today's cross demolitions, we once again call on the Zhejiang Provincial government to end its disgraceful cross demolition campaign and to investigate the brutalization of congregants by police and SWAT personnel. For months, Zhejiang provincial authorities have ignored their own people's cry for justice, refusing to provide the legal basis by which it has torn down hundreds of church crosses. All Chinese Christians hold a human right to exercise their religion publicly, free from abuse and harassment. The baseless demolition of hundreds of church crosses and the brutalization of dozens of peaceably assembled congregants are clear and reprehensible breaches of that right and cannot go unaddressed." For all concerned individuals, please sign the ICC petition and join Chinese Christians' efforts to stop the destruction of churches and crosses.

For interviews, contact Sooyoung Kim, Regional Manager for Southeast Asia:  RM-SEAsia@persecution.org

Gang rapes by Muslim men continue in Pakistan

Christian women continue to face a unique and brutal form of persecution in Pakistan's religiously intolerant society. Christian women are among Pakistan's poorest and most vulnerable citizens due to the face that they are both the "wrong" religion and the "wrong" gender. Abductions, forced conversions to Islam, forced marriages to Muslim men and rapes are just some of the issues faced Christian women in Pakistan. Living on perhaps the lowest rung of society, many Christian women have their futures destroyed by these heinous acts of violence visited upon them simply because of their faith. Muqadas Liaqat, a 15-year-old Christian girl, was gang raped by two Muslim men on August 2 at Baghwanpura, a neighborhood in Lahore. The FIR number 991/14 was registered against the two Muslim attackers, Ashraf and Muhammad Ghafoor, at the local police station shortly after the attack. According to sources, both of the accused were arrested and are reported to still be in police custody. Talking with ICC's Pakistan correspondent, Muqadas, who works as maid (domestic worker) in several Muslim homes, said, "I was coming home in the afternoon along with my elder sister Asma, when four people including two men and two women stopped us on the road and started beating us and abusing us. They beat my sister and dragged me into an auto-rickshaw. The kidnappers forcefully put some liquid into my mouth, which made me unconscious for a while." "Both the men took turns raping me and the women threatened me and my family if I spoke out against them," Muqadas continued. Mukhtaran Bibi, Muqadas's mother, informed ICC that, "Muqadas was to be baptized on the day of the incident. She was very happy for this blessing since the morning; however, this incident has affected her spiritual and social life." "This incident has brought Muqadas to become very depressed. She is continuously on edge and cries during the whole night. I demand justice and protection of all the Christian women in Pakistan," Mukhtaran added. Liaqat Masih, Muqadas's father, was reluctant to share information regarding the case due to threats by what he termed were "other parties." Despite the threats, he told ICC, "My family is under pressure and facing countless challenges because of this inhuman incident. We Christians are being persecuted in this society because of our faith. However, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ." Gulnaz Yousaf, Chairperson of DIGNITY First, an organization engaged in promoting dignity, rights and protection for all Pakistani citizens, condemned the incident and demanded justice and security for the victim family. "Christiansare treated as 'untouchables' in this country and do not enjoy equal rights. The dignity of women, especially Christian women and women from other religious minority groups, must be recognized and promoted in Pakistan," Gulnaz said in an interview with ICC. Unfortunately, the attack endured by Muqadas is only the latest in a pandemic stretching across Pakistan in recent years. Christian women are too often the targets of brutal attacks because of their low social status caused their religious identity and gender. With a society and legal system that are both biased against non-Muslims and women in general, pursuing justice is near impossible, especially for Christian women who often come from meager financial backgrounds. Because of stories like Muqadas's, International Christian Concern (ICC) has made it a priority to help Christian women in Pakistan. From projects aimed at empowering Christian women to pursue justice, to assisting Christian women to achieve higher social and financial standing, ICC hopes it can help make stories like Muqadas's a part of a horrific past for Christian women in Pakistan. *If you are interested in assisting Christian women in Pakistan, please check out and donate to ICC's Save Our Sisters Fund at http://www.persecution.org/.

For interviews, contact William Stark, Regional Manager for South Asia:  RM-SAsia@persecution.org

Boko Haram attempting to turn Nigeria into a caliphate.

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Abubakar Shekau, leader of the radical Islamic insurgency, Boko Haram, has declared an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria's northeastern Borno State. A video released Sunday captured Shekau reading from a script, "Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate," as Boko Haram militants executed dozens of civilians lying face-down in a ditch. Gwoza, a once-predominantly Christian town situated near Nigeria's border with Cameroon in Borno State, was seized by Boko Haram on August 5, prompting the massacre of more than 100 civilians, many of whom have been identified as Christians, in the early hours of August 6. Directives by Nigerian military leadership to retake Gwoza have been rejected by troops refusing to engage Boko Haram without having first received arms and equipment upgrades. In the 52-minute video, Boko Haram declared the caliphate--explaining that Gwoza now has"nothing to do with Nigeria"--showed-off multiple pick-up trucks sporting large machine guns in their beds, and executed civilians, presumably from Gwoza, after forcing them to lay face-down in a ditch dug before the filming of the video. For weeks, Boko Haram has attacked and occupied towns that loosely encircle the capital of Borno State, Maiduguri, which some analysts speculate the insurgency intends to attack with hopes of occupation. While at the time of this release no formal statement had yet been released by the Nigerian government regarding the situation in Gwoza, a military response is expected, pending the resolution of what many have termed a "mutiny" by displeased soldiers on the front. Boko Haram, a radical Islamic insurgency spawned by the late Mohammed Yusuf, a radicalized cleric formerly headquartered in Maiduguri, fell under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau in 2009. Since, Boko Haram has targeted Christians, moderate Muslims, educators and students, and military and law enforcement personnel in its multi-year terror campaign to establish a separate Islamic state to be ruled by Sharia law. The terrorist organization (affiliated with al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and al-Shabaab) has conducted attacks both in Nigeria and Cameroon and is responsible for the mass-abduction of more than 270 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Nigeria. Cameron Thomas, ICC's Regional Manager for Africa, said, "Today, a once-predominantly Christian town in northeast Nigeria joined the Islamic caliphate at the expense of far too many Christians martyred, displaced, and terrorized at the hands of armed extremists. For years, Boko Haram has waged a campaign of terror against Christians, moderate Muslims, educators and students, and law enforcement and military personnel for the establishment of a separate Islamic state; which, today, they felt capable of declaring. Such a declaration should serve as rallying point for the international community to come together and lend its full support to the Nigerian state in its battle against Boko Haram, and all other extreme ideologies plaguing the stability of not only that state, but the entire region. We mourn with the families of those brutally executed on camera, and join with others in praying for the security and well-being of those under the oppressive hand of the world's newest self-declared regime." For interviews, contact Cameron Thomas, Regional Manager for Africa:  RM-Africa@persecution.org  # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

ICC dollars at work

Anti-Christian violence continues to flare up all across India as rightwing Hindu radicals take the BJP government's rise to power as license to perpetrate an onslaught of assaults on the minority community scot-free. There has been an escalation in brutality as Hindutva activists run rampant, attacking churches and Christians at an ever increasing rate in recent times.

One such incident took place in Malakpet area of Hyderabad and shocked the Christian community when Hindu radicals set fire to the thatched roof of Bethel Gospel Church in the middle of the night on February 2, 2014.

Pastor Christopher, the head pastor of Bethel Gospel Church, told ICC of the gruesome incident that shook him and his entire congregation to the core. Bethel Gospel Church was set on fire by unknown assailants suspected to be connected to Hindu radical groups. The anti-Christian activists carried out the attack during the early morning hours in an effort to inflict maximum damage to the church.

The church was burnt to ashes, everything inside the church including carpets, musical instruments, speakers and chairs were utterly destroyed.

"We are living in fear," the Pastor told ICC. "There have been continuous threats from the Hindu radicals. We Christians are treated as second-class citizens in this country."

During his 15 years of service, Pastor Christopher has been threatened by the Hindu radical group RSS on many occasions. Once, he was threatened by RSS to stop all church activities or else they would "chop him into pieces."

ICC came in contact with Pastor Christopher one month after the attack and was informed that the damage caused by the arson attack on the church was expensive and the believers who gather every Sunday at Bethel Gospel Church were unable to pay for the necessary repairs to restore the church to its original condition. This inability to cover repair the church forced the Christians of Bethel Gospel Church to gather in the damaged building they once called their church, exposing them to rain and other discomforts caused by bad weather.

With funds given by Christians around the globe to ICC's Community Rebuild Fund, ICC was able to initiate a project to assist the Christians of Bethel Gospel Church in repairing the roof, walls and other parts of their church building that were damaged in the February arson attack. ICC was also able replaced items that had been destroyed in the fire like carpets, the church's PA system, musical instruments and other items.

Following the completion of the project initiated by ICC, Pastor Christopher said, "I am so thankful to God and ICC for helping me to sustain and carry on the work of God in this area [Malakpet, Hyderabad]. When the incident took place, many sympathizers, pastors, Christian leaders and even political leaders visited and encouraged us, it was good gestures from those people. But I could not undo the damage caused in the incident."

 "ICC has come and rescued us," Pastor Christopher continued. "They also took an interest in visiting the church that was burnt to ashes. We are very encouraged knowing that ICC helped undo the damage caused by the Hindu radical."

Pastor Christopher and the church are now encouraged by the fact that they are part of the larger family of God. This simple act of kindness has shown to them they are a part of a global church and this has further strengthened their faith and will help them continue to endure persecution.

 Bethel Gospel Church is now able to meet for worship Sundays and also the midweek services without any problems caused by the arson attack on the church. The repairs have made the church a comfortable gathering place for these Christians who are daily forced to confront and endure persecution.

 Persecution is an everyday reality for Indian pastors and Christian community as whole. Pastor Christopher of Bethel Gospel Church is only one of the many thousands in India who face attacks and threats because of their faith in Christ. The small gesture of kindness shown to these Christians in India through ICC's assistance project has already had a large impacted and will continue to impact these Christians' faith and walk with Jesus.

Update on the Yazidis

The United States military continued its operations on Saturday to provide air support to drive back the fighters from the Islamic State (IS, or ISIS) who continue to wage war across northwestern Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to more than 1.5 million people who have been forced from their homes.   So far in its operations the U.S. has carried out three waves of airstrikes. The latest round included four operations targeted at protecting the Yazidi religious minorities who fled into the Sinjar mountains. Tens of thousands have been stranded in the hills without food or water.   In addition to the air strikes, U.S. troops have also used cargo planes to drop dozens of pallets loaded with drinking water and food to families trapped on the mountains. Efforts are ongoing to open up a secure passage out of the mountains, westward to a secure location across the Syrian border.   In a  press conference on Saturday, President Obama said that the U.S. operations could continue for months, but repeated his assurances that he does not intend to put soldiers on the ground.   Along with the U.S. relief operations by the military and  USAID, numerous international actors are also providing aid, according to the UN. Saudi Arabia has committed large amounts of funds to relief, along with promises from the UK and France to send much needed goods to support these displaced communities.   ICC's partners and contacts on the ground continue to report on the desperate situations they see around them and the overwhelming needs that they are unable to fully meet.   "They have nothing. They have been looted," Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako told ICC on Saturday. "[They need] foods, water, medicines and a shelter," he continued, describing how many refugees had immediate needs for basic necessities.   For interviews, contact Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East: RM-ME@persecution.org # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Familial violence in Africa

To many in the West, the face of persecution is repressive governments, infuriated mobs, and radical militants, but for many of its victims, the face of persecution is much more familiar. All across the world, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters are being abused, disowned and even murdered by members of their for having forsaken the religion of their ancestors for redeeming faith in Christ. In Uganda, Nanvunani Shamimu, 17, and Nawudo Hasifa, 19, converted from Islam to Christianity after envisioning the same dream of "a man dressed in white clothes" who told them to "go and be prayed for in the church." The following Sunday evening, after attending service at Kawaga's United Believers Church in Kamuli District, their father, Abdul Hakim Ibanda, beat his 17-year-old daughter to death, sparing his elder daughter so that she could fetch clean water for him to perform Islamic ablution. Instead, Nawudo Hasifa fled to the home of one of the elders of the church, leaving behind her father, exhausted from the beating and resting over the corpse of what to him was once a daughter, but was now a disgrace that had irremediably violated the purity of his Islamic home. A terribly gruesome example of familial violence toward Christian converts, Nanvunani Shamimu's murder speaks to a culture of impunity that enables reprehensible action against apostates (those who leave their faith). While apostasy and blasphemy have been made illegal in Somalia, Sudan, Egypt, Mauritania, and even Nigeria, for centuries religions have relied on the family, not the law, to intimidate adherents from leaving the faith, and to punish those who actually do. Yet, knowing their conversion could cost them their lives-even at the hands of loved ones-thousands are choosing to dedicate their lives to Christ. All across Africa, Christians understand and are actively living out Jesus' words recorded in Matthew 10:37, "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Safia, a Muslim divorcee and mother to a son and disabled daughter, recently converted to Christianity. When her family found out, they organized the community against her, inciting outraged Muslim neighbors to throw rocks through her windows and pledge violence against her and her daughter. With the help of the pastor who had led her to Christ, Safia left the community, received business training, and is now living with her daughter free from harm. Saved from the violence she had fled at the hands of family and former friends, Safia now excitedly awaits the grand opening of her small business, funded by the global church. While families across Africa continue to coerce members to adhere to "their ancestors' religion," the Kingdom of God adopts its believers into an international, interracial and interethnic family of love, respect and encouragement. In the case of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim, a spiritual battle between her Islamic family and her family of fellow believers played out dramatically on the world stage. And now, by the grace of God, Meriam and her family are free and have made their way to join a community of like-minded believers in the United States. A mother of two and wife to an American citizen, Meriam was sentenced to death in May for committing what, in Sudan and many other countries, is now-considered criminal: converting from Islam to Christianity. In June, after a tenuous legal bout and amidst immense international pressure, Meriam was acquitted of all charges and released from prison, where she not only birthed her now two-month-old daughter while in shackles, but spent 126 days incarcerated with her toddler son. Immediately following her release, Meriam and her family tried to leave the country, but were rearrested by more than 40 members of Sudan's notorious "Agents of Fear." After three additional days of arbitrary detention, Meriam and her family were released into the protection of the United States, where she and her family waited impatiently to board a flight from Khartoum to Rome: from oppression, to freedom. Outraged by her release, Meriam's alleged extended family-all devout Muslims-not only called for her execution, but filed an appeal against her acquittal and, until Wednesday, a claim for custody. While the competing claims, one for custody of Meriam and the other for her state-sponsored murder, raise skepticism as to the family's actual desires, no doubt can be raised over their intention to utilize every means possible to restore Meriam to the Muslim faith, or see to her punished, should she continue to embrace the Christian faith. Today, Sudanese Muslims, enraged by Meriam's release and acquittal, march in the streets of Khartoum, demanding Sharia law trump the human rights that Sudan has vowed to protect, including the right to freely choose and practice one's own religion. Meriam's defense lawyers received death threats regularly as Meriam's alleged family continued to demand she receive the ultimate punishment for leaving Islam: death. Today, Christians the world over are thanking the Lord for Meriam and her family's safe departure from Sudan, are praying for the many thousands more Christians still suffering in and beyond Khartoum, and demanding their political leaders do more to ensure the free practice of religion everywhere. And yet, Meriam, just like Nanvunani Shamimu and Safia, is only one of too many examples of familial violence against apostates throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. It has to be made absolutely clear that the international body of Christ, the worldwide Kingdom of God, the Christian family has to care for and adopt all those removed from the family unit, by force or intimidation, for their conversion to the Christian faith. Family, perhaps the most human of all social bonds, mandates responsibility, and the responsibility to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted for their faith is one the Scriptures takes very seriously. "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." - 1 Timothy 5:8 For interviews, contact Cameron Thomas, Regional Manager for Africa:  RM-Africa@persecution.org # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

The taking of Qaraqosh

International Christian Concern (ICC) is extremely troubled about the situation Iraq's Christian communities face as the advances of the Islamic State militants (IS, also known as ISIS) have taken the Christian town of Qaraqosh, as well as many of the surrounding towns and villages on the Nineveh plain. Tens of thousands more Iraqis, including Christians and other religious minorities, have fled their homes over the past 48 hours and are seeking refuge in the surrounding mountains or towards the Kurdish areas of Erbil and Duhok.   "In the past 24 hours as many as 2,000 families have arrived in Erbil," a Christian leader from Erbil told ICC on Thursday evening. "There are 700 or 800 families who couldn't find anywhere to sleep and are on the streets now," he told ICC. At midnight, a column of ISIS vehicles rolled into the village of Tel Kepe and occupied it, though many of its population had already left, according to the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA). Kurdish Peshmerga forces that have been providing the only substantial military protection for civilians announced that they were withdrawing from the area as in many places they are now heavily outgunned in comparison with the heavy weaponry now being utilized by ISIS. Estimates of those who abandoned their homes ahead of the ISIS advance have ranged as high as 200,000 across the Nineveh plains. The evacuation of Qaraqosh began at 2:30 A.M. when the Kurdish forces announced that they were withdrawing from the area. Bells began to toll in the churches of Qaraqosh warning the residents to take flight. According to AINA, in addition to Qaraqosh, at least eight Christian villages and towns are now empties, as well as seven Yazidi villages and 15 Shabak villages.   Multiple sources report the situation is now extremely desperate and one of life and death for hundreds of thousands of people. Even for those who manage to flee to safety in the hills, the dangers of thirst and exposure to harsh conditions have already claimed nearly 100 lives of the Yazidi religious minority stranded in the hills, and UNICEF had confirmed that nearly 50 of those were children. Plans are in place for the United States to begin airdrops to these communities as early as Thursday evening, and they are considering military engagement as well, U.S. officials havereported. Even those who have made it to the cities have found limited support as basic resources are in short supply. "We need our protection and rights to be put on the table," Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II, Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church, told ICC earlier this week. "The destruction of these Christian communities is a loss not just for Christians but for all in the region," he continued.     Urgent calls have come from religious and political leaders across the region to provide immediate assistance of both humanitarian aid and the support necessary to protect these communities from slaughter. Rep. Frank Wolf (VA-R), along with other members of Congress, has pointedly called on the administration to take action. "You will come to sincerely regret your failure to take action to stop the genocide in Iraq.  Your conscience will haunt you long after you leave office.  Mr. President, say something; do something," he wrote in aletter to President Obama on Thursday.    Todd Daniels, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, "The realities on the ground are heartbreaking as hundreds of thousands of lives stand to be lost at the hands of religious extremists. The violence being perpetrated against the religious minorities of Iraq is nothing short of genocide. It is imperative that the United States and the international community take urgent action to protect these communities and to provide the assistance necessary to sustain the presence of Christians in the Middle East."      For interviews, contact Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East: RM-ME@persecution.org # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Christians face continual terror from BJP rule in India

As feared by many religious minorities in India, intimidations and attacks from the Sangh Parivar (Hindu nationalist movement) have escalated under the Bharathiya Janatha Party's (BJP) rule. Hindu radicals are now outright targeting Christians all across the country as a direct consequence of the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) assuming power. It won't be too long until this dangerous situation, made evident by the violent and widespread strategy of the Sangh Parivar, moves closer to the ultimate goal of the Sangh Parivar, India becoming a Hindu nation. The right wing political party BJP, backed by the Sangh Parivar, achieved a landslide victory in India's recent general elections that concluded two months ago. Since their rise to power, attacks on religious minorities across India has increased.    Included in this wave of religious violence, a church in Uttar Pradesh (UP) was rampaged when a mob of Hindu radicals belonging to the Bajrangdal, a Hindu nationalist group, spitefully attacked the Christians. The attack took place while the Christians were having the Bible study on July 16 at around 2:30 p.m. in Sahakarinagar village in UP. A group of 25 Hindu radicals led by Hemanth Singh stormed into the church and beat Rev. R. C. Paul and other Christians gathered for the Bible study. The radicals gave no reason for their assault on the Christians during the attack.  The assailants used wooden lathies (clubs) and fists to beat the Christians, causing internal injuries. After attacking the Christians gathered at the church, they went up to the church's roof and desecrated the cross. After desecrating the cross, the group installed a saffron flag in place of cross. They also destroyed the church's musical instruments and pulpit as well as tearing apart Bibles and other Christian literature they found in the church. Rev. Dinesh Sohil, another pastor who came to the aid of attacked Christians, was badly beaten and was taken to a local hospital for immediate treatment. Rev. R. C. Paul who has been in charge of the church since 1991 said, "We were shaken and are very scared of the situation in the area. We are concerned of our safety, even going alone outside looks very dangerous at the moment. But," he continued, "We are encouraged by receiving so many phone calls and visits by [our] Christian brethren." He added, "If God is for us who can be against us." Later, when Rev. R. C. Paul filed a complaint at the police station, the police arrested 12 suspected members of the group who attacked the church. Later, two more Bajrangdal leaders were arrested and were sent to jail for their involvement in the attack. Following the arrests, Bajrangdal activists staged a protest demanding the release of the people who led the attack on Christians.   In another incident in UP, the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) reported that on July 7 a church in a village called Saraiya was also attacked by members of Shiv Sena, another Hindu nationalist group, and BJP. The local BJP leader, Harendra Pratap Singh, and the leader of the local Shiv Sena, Acche Lal Tiwari, were spotted leading this attack. When the local Christians of Saraiya attempted to report the incident to the police, the police took the pastor and 11 other Christians into custody. Chhattisgarh, one of India's eastern states, has also recently seen cases of violations of Christians' right to religious freedom. An aggressive campaign led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), yet another Hindu nationalist group, has led to a ban on the entry of and propagation of any non-Hindu religion by non-Hindu missionaries, especially Christians, in more than 50 villages of Chhattisgarh's Bastar region in the last six months. According to Suresh Yadav, Bastar District President of the VHP, "Over 50 gram panchayats (village councils) in Bastar have passed orders under Section 129 (G) of the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Act banning all 'non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers and speeches in the villages.'" Since BJP's rise to power, many Hindu nationalist groups have made clear their Hindutva agenda in both word and deed. The influence these groups have on the BJP-led government will likely continue to make Hindu radicals more aggressive, terrorizing India's minorities, particularly Christians. Will the pluralistic and secular fabric of India fraying under this wave of religious violence, many Christians in India are wondering how long until they see a 'Hindu India.'  For interviews, contact William Stark, Regional Manager for South Asia:  RM-SAsia@persecution.org # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.