Police continue house raids in China

 International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on August 22, the heavily persecuted house church, Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC), was once again violently raided by the local authorities in Chengdu, China. Twenty-eight members from a small group were taken away during a worship service.

According to a prayer request provided by ERCC, around 10:00 a.m. on August 22, as Preacher Dai Zhichao was leading Sunday service for the "Treading Water" small group at brother He Shan's home, police knocked on He’s door.

Once the service was finished around 11:00 a.m., the gathered Christians opened the door to a team of police officers. The police claimed that someone had reported the illegal gathering and demanded to enter to register everyone's personal information. Preacher Dai asked them to show proper documents, yet the police ignored him and forcibly entered the home. In the process, Dai was injured on his arm, as were other men who tried to help. Dai's cell phone was also confiscated.

Once they registered everyone's information, the police officers went outside, where church members continued to share a meal together as they always do. The calm was only temporary.

Around 2:00 p.m., police officers from Chenghua District Mengzhuiwang office descended on He's home and took away almost everyone present, including 18 adults and 10 children, including an infant who is not even one year old.

The names of the detained adults are as follows: Xiao Donghong, Jin Wen, Liu Xingfeng, Huang Wei, Zhang Haiyan, Xuan Bin, He Shan, Hao Guiru, Dai Zhi Chao and his wife Lu Lingzhi, Sang Ensui and his wife Lan Fali, Su Qiong and her husband Wang Song, Tang Peng and his wife Huang Yizhen, and Niu Chuang and his wife He Ye.

An ERCC member told ICC that many people were beaten by the police in detention. When the children were rowdy, the police officers threatened to hit them on their heads.

While most of them were returned to the police officers from their respective districts and later released, Preacher Dai and brother He were put under administrative detention for 14 days. Brother He also received a fine of 1,000 RMB ($154).

Ever since the December 2018 raid on ERCC, the church’s leaders and members continue to be harassed and repeatedly detained by the local authorities. Preacher Dai is one such case. He was once jailed for three months for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” during the 2018 raid. Last November, he was summoned by the police for his participation in an “illegal religious gathering.”

Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said, “The latest raid against ERCC, though nothing novel, shows a worrying trend that house churches are frequently subjected to harassment like this in the name of ‘law enforcement,’ where legally flawed Revised Regulations on Religious Affairs have been employed by Beijing to crack down on house churches around the country. The Chinese Communist Party’s constant fear of unregistered churches is both pathetic and preposterous, as it underscores President Xi’s insecurity toward any critical mass. There is absolutely no regard for religious freedom.”

For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.

Turkey is capitalizing on the turmoil in the Middle East

 International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that since Kabul’s fall on August 15, 2021, Turkey has increased military expansionist activities across the Middle East in a way that is severely impacting religious minorities.

On August 17, the Turkish military carried out an air raid in Sinjar, Iraq, that deliberately struck a hospital. Official numbers have not yet been publicly reported, but local press states that dozens of staff members and civilians are dead. Turkey claims that its military activities in Iraq are justified as counter-terrorist operations against the PKK. However, this is not the first time that Turkey has targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure inside Iraq. The targeting of a hospital is particularly concerning, more so because the hospital is located in an area decimated by the ISIS genocide against Yazidis and Christians.

Between August 16 and 17, the Turkish military conducted bombardments through the Hasaka countryside that resulted in multiple injuries and casualties, including that of a young child. Dozens were displaced. Again, Turkey used the PKK to justify the targeting of civilians. The impacted areas had a strong Assyrian Christian presence before the Syrian Civil War, but most escaped because of persecution. However, Turkey’s escalation of military activities in this area does little to convince the displaced to recover their former lives.

Border skirmishes in Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh) have been ongoing since the 2020 war, but in the past few days there has been an escalation. The trilateral working group resumed its work on August 17. Though Turkey is not directly represented, it is widely understood that Azerbaijan is taking direction from Turkey, whose military assistance remains the primary contributor for past and ongoing Azeri aggression toward Armenian Christians.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev visited Artsakh on August 16, after saying to CNN Türk, “Azerbaijan started the war,” and that “Turkey's defense industry is developing rapidly and we will, of course, benefit from this. My dear brother [Turkish President] Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's determined remarks in the early hours of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh war played a very positive role.”

On August 16, two Armenians were killed when Azerbaijan tried to advance into new territory. On August 17, Azeri troops shot at Armenian firefighters responding to an intentionally set fire. The same day in a different location, another Armenian serviceman was wounded when Azeri troops initiated another border incident.  

On August 16, Pakistani President Alvi visited Turkey to attend the launching of the MILGEM-class corvette ship. While there, he recognized the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), making Pakistan and Azerbaijan the only two countries to have legitimized Turkey’s illegal occupation of North Cyprus. This area had a significant Greek Christian population before Turkey’s invasion, none of whom currently live there as a result of ethnic cleansing and religious genocide.

Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, “Turkey has a unique skillset for taking tragic situations, like the Afghanistan crisis, and using them to leverage new positions of power across the region. In Iraq and Syria, knowing of the international distraction, they are showing an increased blatant disregard for human life. In Artsakh and North Cyprus, they are using the Afghanistan situation to leverage more territorial acquisitions. Each of these four countries holds in common the fact that minorities are the first targeted by Turkey. Just days before Kabul fell to the Taliban, President Erdogan said that Turkey and the Taliban are the same. Are we now beginning to see a picture of what he meant?”

For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.

Taliban is back in power again

 Everyone in the world except for the Biden Administration knew that as soon as the US troops were taken out of Afghanistan that the Taliban would quickly take over.  That is what happened over the weekend because if the Afghan people were not ready to fight for their land over the past 20 years, then they were never going to be ready to fight against the Taliban.

In this post from International Christian Concern, we learn about the fall of Kabul.

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021, has sparked a wave of new religious freedom concerns across the Middle East. Numerous terrorist groups, many of which are supported by the Republic of Turkey, publicly commented that the Taliban’s conquest of Afghanistan’s capital inspires hope for their own regional ambitions. Since 2014 in particular, those regional ambitions have largely been defined by committing genocide against local religious minorities.

Many within the region are comparing the rapid fall of Kabul with the fall of Mosul to ISIS in 2014. Those terrorists involved in the fall of Mosul were quick to congratulate the Taliban. For example, Abu Maria al-Qahtani, a former Mosul policeman and former commander of Syria’s Jahbat al-Nusra, reportedly said, “The victory of the Taliban is a victory for the Muslims, a victory for the Sunnis, a victory for all the oppressed.”  

Many Iraqi Christians were quick to voice their own fears that, given this history and the current political climate, their own country is not far behind Afghanistan in terms of a major security crisis. For example, one Iraqi journalist tweeted, “If a similar takeover of state happens in Iraq, it won’t be ISIS. It’s the PMF (Popular Mobilization Forces), the IRGC-backed (Iranian-backed) groups in particular, that will run down the army and state security apparatus. They’re taking notes from the Taliban right now.”  

Meanwhile in Syria, several mosques in Afrin and Idlib celebrated the victory of the Taliban over Kabul by reportedly handing out sweets. Turkey was actively recruiting terrorists within Syria for deployment into Afghanistan by potentially integrating them into the country’s only defense contractor, SADAT. Recruitment tactics often use the language of targeting Christians. The success of the Taliban, coupled with the promise of employment legitimization, further gives the appearance of validating extremist activity inside Syria.  

Turkey’s use of mercenaries has effectively turned them into the main regional superpower, giving them significant influence within multiple countries. President Erdogan was actively conducting outreach to the Taliban, saying, “Turkey has nothing that contradicts their beliefs.” This past Wednesday, he invited the Taliban to Turkey, saying, “Our relevant institutions are working on it, including talks with the Taliban, and I may also receive the leader of the Taliban.”    

Turkey’s embrace and integration of terrorist organizations within its own platforms are directly tied to the worsening of religious freedom conditions within the region. Turkey’s MHP party, which has a political alliance with the ruling government and is connected to the extremist Grey Wolf movement, shared in a statement, “One hundred years of history, cultural and religious ties between Turkey and Afghanistan are the excuse and support for our presence in Kabul… Afghanistan is a Muslim country.”

This language mirrors similar rhetoric used by Turkish authorities to justify religious freedom violations across the Middle East. It is often paired with anti-refugee language. As the world’s largest receiver of refugees, many Christians fleeing persecution travel to Turkey. Turkey’s current anti-refugee language in response to the Afghan crisis further complicates the situation for Middle Eastern Christians needing relocation assistance. 

Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “The atmosphere throughout the Middle East region has changed with the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. The Middle East had just entered the recovery stages following the defeat of ISIS, an ideology predicated on the genocide of religious minorities. Now those same terrorists feel empowered by the Taliban’s resurrection and success in Kabul. When ISIS captured new territory, Middle Eastern governments largely condemned it. Now, particularly in the case of Turkey, we see similar activities openly legitimized. This is potentially a significant turning point for religious freedom across the Middle East. We are watching the Middle Eastern response closely and with great concern.”

For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.

Sharia law comes for the texts in Pakistan

 International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a Christian woman in Pakistan has been arrested for allegedly violating the country’s notorious blasphemy laws after she received a text message on WhatsApp. Following the arrest, the Christian woman’s family fled into hiding due to death threats from religious extremists.

On July 29, Shagufta Rafiq was accused of committing blasphemy and arrested in an armed police raid on her home in Islamabad. Shagufta was charged under 295-A and 295-B of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and could face life in prison if convicted.

“It was July 29 when dozens of policemen and members of law enforcement agencies forcibly entered our house,” Rafiq Masih, Shagufta’s husband, told ICC. “They harassed my family and took possession of our phones, laptops, and other valuables. The police were fully loaded with guns and ordered us not to move and keep our hands up. They arrested Shagufta, my two sons, and my daughter without any prior information or arrest warrants.”

According to Rafiq, Shagufta was arrested because she is a member of a WhatsApp group chat where someone shared an allegedly blasphemous post. Shagufta was accused of committing blasphemy against Islam despite not being the author of the post in question.

“Shagufta was unaware of the post, but has been accused of forwarding it,” Masih explained. “Shagufta has denied this allegation.”

Following the raid on the family home, Shagufta’s children were released from police custody. However, Shagufta was kept and charged with committing blasphemy.

“Due to threats, my family has moved to another city without any of our valuables or households,” Masih told ICC. “The fanatics in the neighborhood did not allow us to take anything from our house with us.”

In Pakistan, false accusations of blasphemy are widespread and often motivated by personal vendettas or religious hatred. Accusations are highly inflammatory and have the potential to spark mob lynchings, vigilante murders, and mass protests.

Since Pakistan added Section 295-B and 295-C to the country’s blasphemy laws in 1987, the number of blasphemy accusations has skyrocketed. Between 1987 and 2017, 1,534 individuals in Pakistan were accused of blasphemy. Out of that 1,534, 829 accusations (54%) were made against religious minorities. With Christians only making up 1.6% of Pakistan’s total population, the 238 accusations (15.5%) made against Christians are highly disproportionate.

ICC’s Regional Manager for South Asia, William Stark, said, “We here at International Christian Concern are very concerned by Shagufta’s arrest and the blasphemy allegation that has been leveled against her. No one should face the prospect of life imprisonment for simply receiving a text message on WhatsApp. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws must not be allowed to be misused in this case. Too often these laws have been a tool in the hands of extremists seeking to stir up religiously motivated violence against minority communities in Pakistan.”

For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.

Why India will never become a superpower

 International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Hindu nationalist leaders in India held an anti-Christian rally in the Bastar District of Chhattisgarh state. At this rally, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) perpetuated false narratives against Christians and advocated for acts of violence against the Christian community.  

According to local reports, the anti-Christian rally took place on Tuesday, August 3, and was held in Jagdalpur, the district capital. While the event was highly promoted and attended by prominent leaders of the BJP, less than 500 people attended the rally.

Speaking at the rally, Amit Sahu, President of the Chhattisgarh BJP, said, “Let us drag people from the church and stop conversions at any cost.” Sahu went on to challenge those gathered at the rally to make the Bastar District a “conversion free zone.”

Roop Singh Mandavi, another leader of the BJP, said, “We will frighten Christians who are involved in conversion work in the region. We will not allow the missionary work to be carried on in Bastar and will protect the Hindu religion by stopping the conversions.”

Many Christians in Chhattisgarh fear that the rally will trigger another wave of Christian persecution. Last month, ICC documented several incidents of persecution in the Sukma District of Chhattisgarh after the Superintendent of Police issued a circular ordering district police to monitor Christians and arrest those engaged in illegal conversion activities.

“We took a long breath after seeing the poor show in attendance,” a Christian leader from Chhattisgarh, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told ICC. “It was expected that 10,000 to 12,000 people would turn up for the rally. This was very concerning, but less than 500 people attended.”

“Though the rally was not successful in terms of numbers, the Hindutva activists will be more aggressive,” a pastor from Jagdalpur told ICC. “It is their plan to do reconversion programs, particularly in the villages and interior places. We won’t know about these incidents of persecution because of the remoteness of these areas. Only God can save His people.”  

“The state is already in tremendous turmoil and Christians and pastors are targeted for what they believe and practice,” the pastor continued. “This rally will add fuel to the fire. We need prayers and someone to stand with us.”

Radical Hindu nationalists across India continue to promote false narratives against Christians to justify religious intolerance and violence. The issue of forced religious conversions is often used to vilify Christians and justify anti-Christian policies like anti-conversion laws.

In states where similar anti-conversion laws are enacted, including Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, they are widely abused. Radical nationalists falsely accuse Christians of forcefully converting individuals to Christianity to justify harassment and assault. Local police often overlook violence perpetrated against Christians due to false accusations of forced conversion.

To date, no individual has been convicted of forced conversions in India. This is even though some of the anti-conversion laws have been in force since 1967.

William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager for South Asia, said, “We here at International Christian Concern are deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of Christians in the Bastar District of Chhattisgarh. Rallies like the one held on August 3 and hateful statements made by nationalist leaders often act as the trigger point for surges in persecution. In Uttar Pradesh, a similar promotion of anti-Christian narratives led to a wave of persecution and arrests. In the past seven weeks, at least 14 incidents of persecution have taken place in Uttar Pradesh, leading to the arrests of at least 45 Christians on trumped up forced conversion charges. Action must be taken against events like this to ensure they do not evolve into new waves of persecution.”

For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.

Terrorism continues to be committed by the Fulani

 Have you ever wondered why so many people leave Nigeria even though Nigeria is the richest country in Africa?  The reason is Islamic terrorism.

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that in the early hours of August 2, 2021, seven predominantly Christian communities in Plateau and Southern Kaduna, Nigeria, were attacked by Fulani militants. Sources in the communities disclosed that the bodies of forty-three persons, including women and children, have so far been recovered in villages of, Zirshe, Isho, Chuweh,  Kangbro, Dundu, Hwrra /Mai-Yanga and Angwan Magaji and Kigam. Several injured are currently receiving treatment in various hospitals. More than a hundred homes were also destroyed during the attacks.

These latest attacks came barely twenty-four hours after the Irigwe Development Association released a Press Statement raising the alarm - “the terror being unleashed by Fulani Herdsmen on Rigwe people has continued unabated and without any sign of remorse or regret.”  The August 1 press statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the Association, Davidson Malison, had it that on July 31, Fulani herdsmen’s militants launched attacks on Zanwra, Nche-Tahu, Rikwe-Rishe A &B, Ri-Dogo, Nchu-Nzhwa all under Kpatenwie (Jebbu-Miango) of Kpachudu Community in Miango District of Plateau State, setting homes ablaze. “The attacks which started around 7pm lasted for over four hours unhindered and undistracted,” according to the Press Statement, and seven persons were killed in this set of villages with unspecified number of injured persons.

A Pastor who is very familiar with the local communities attacked, Luka Ndohi, described the situation as “terrible.” He confirmed the attacks and further disclosed that a soldier also suffered gunshot wounds by the Fulani gunmen but could not tell whether the soldier survived. Assertions were that the number of the attackers seemed to have overwhelmed the few soldiers stationed in some of the communities though other views had it that the commander over those units, for whatever reasons, did not give orders to the soldiers to firmly engage the rampaging militants.

Responding to further enquiry on latest update on the attacks, the President of the Irigwe Development Association, Robert Ashi, lamented that corpses were being recovered from the bush, and not less than one hundred and two (102) houses across five villages have been burnt down while crops on farms measuring not less than twenty hectres have been destroyed. He described the situation as “catastrophic” and continued that “it is a form of genocide and I am yet to see the role of the Government in stopping it.  We are under siege!”

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Nathan Johnson, states, “these barbaric and devastating attacks must be stopped. The loss of so many lives with no support or aid from the government means that violent attackers are likely to continue their violence. The Nigerian government must figure out a way to stop these attacks quicker and then must severely pumish those who commit these atrocities.”

 
For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.