International
Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that last Monday, July 2, 20
Christians were seriously injured in an assault on a prayer meeting in
Raikashipur village, located in the Pratapgarh District of India’s Uttar
Pradesh State. According to local reports, a mob of 35 Hindu radicals
stormed the meeting and beat the group of over 150 Christians gathered
for prayer. Following the assault, the village Pradhan (village
president) filed multiple false criminal charges against six of the
Christian victims.
Ram Kumar Gautam, a 42-year-old Christian, has led prayer meetings in
Raikashipur village every Monday for the last five years. On average,
300 people participate in these services in a makeshift shed.
On July 2, around 2:00 p.m., the mob arrived at the prayer meeting in
several vehicles. The radicals stormed inside the meeting hall and beat
the Christians gathered there with wooden lathies and sticks. The
attackers also fired a gun into the air five times to frighten the
Christians. When the attack ended, 20 Christians were seriously injured,
10 motorcycles were damaged, and the furniture inside the makeshift
shed, including musical instruments and chairs, was destroyed.
“I didn’t sleep or eat properly for nearly a week now,” Ram Kumar Gautam told ICC. “The
attack on our prayer meeting last Monday has had devastating
consequences. Many have serious injuries with their limbs being broken.
Also, a false case was booked against six of us under stringent IPC
sections.”
The radicals lodged false criminal charges against six Christians,
including Gautam. These charges have reportedly been lodged by the
village Pradhan, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 147, 148, 149,
307, 452, 323, 504, 506, 392, and 295A.
“We peacefully conduct prayers every Monday and people voluntarily attend these prayers,” Gautam explained.
“We don’t even talk about conversions, but I am accused of converting
people. People come to our prayer and get healing. That’s why people
choose to regularly attend the prayers.”
Rev. Sanjay Robinson, President of Massih Seva Dhal, said, “There
is no Freedom of Religion Act, popularly known as an anti-conversion
law, in place in Uttar Pradesh, yet pastors and Christian workers are
being frequently harassed by Hindu hardline groups with accusations of
forced conversion. The gruesome incident on Christian worshipers in
Raikashipur village reflects the pattern and plot of the Hindu hardline
groups.”
William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “We here at
International Christian Concern are concerned by the recent upsurge in
attacks on Christians and their places of worship in India. Article 25
of India’s constitution says that every individual has the right to
freely profess, practice, and propagate the religion of their choice.
For more than 150 Christians, this right was violated last Monday when
Hindu radicals assaulted them for merely practicing their faith. India’s
authorities must bring these 35 Hindu radicals in Raikashipur to
justice. Until then, India’s religious freedom rights will remain only
words on paper and attacks on Christians and other religious minorities
will continue to rise in both number and severity.”
For interviews with William Stark, Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org
One
year ago on July 9, 2017, Prime Minister al-Abadi announced that the
city of Mosul, the center of ISIS’s caliphate in Iraq, was finally
liberated from the militants. ISIS captured the city on June 10, 2014
and used it as the administrative center from which to manage the rest
of the territory it controlled in Iraq. Although one year has passed
since the city’s liberation, a number of security concerns continue to
challenge the city.
David Eubank of Free Burma Rangers was on the ground during the battle
for Mosul. He recently told International Christian Concern (ICC), “The
battle for Mosul was a brutal block-by-block, street-by-street,
house-by-house fight. Thousands died and much of the city was
destroyed.”
“Mosul, especially the west side, has a long way to go in rebuilding
and becoming a place felt safe enough for Christians and other
minorities to move back into,” he continued. “The election
turmoil in Iraq, the competing groups and militias, the reduced but
present ISIS threat, the unresolved injustices between Sunni and
Shi’ite, the lack of protection for Christians, Yezidi, and others make
Mosul, and especially the west side, dangerous.”
Mosul’s population before ISIS was believed to have included an
estimated 30,000 Christians. Today, on-the-ground sources estimate that
less than 100 Christians have returned. Most cite the destruction and
lack of security as the primary reasons why they will not consider
returning home.
Mekha used to live on the west side of Mosul, which was ISIS’s main stronghold. He said, “I
used to have [a] house in Mosul. Now it has become just land, as the
house was destroyed by an airstrike during the liberation. I was sad
when I went back the first time to check it; I couldn't recognize
neither the house nor our street."
“I don't think Mosul is safe to go back, especially the right [west] side.” He explained, “Still,
the sleeper cells exist. [Until] today, there is fighting, but we don't
know with who. I remember I stayed at my Muslim friend's house for one
night, I was able to hear the shooting and they said it is ISIS, but in a
different theme. We don't go back; I am concerned about my family
there. I don't have any belongings there so as I can go back, even some
of my friend joined ISIS. I don't want to think about going back.”
Zain used to live on the east side of Mosul, which was the first side of the city that was liberated. He said, “Life
went back [and] most of the blocked streets are now opened. But the
surrounding people could be ISIS. No, it is not safe. I teach at the
university, so every day I go to Mosul. But I don't like to stay so I
come back to Erbil. I feel so sad when I see that I worked hard to have a
house and everything [is now] gone. I don't think I will go back one
day to Mosul; it is a different Mosul now. ISIS destroyed the
civilization in Mosul.”
Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “Mosul’s liberation
from ISIS one year ago was the first step in rebuilding the community.
The scars of its occupation are still highly visible and tender. The
city remains utterly destroyed, and bodies continue to be pulled from
the rubble. ISIS militants are regularly discovered in hiding and
violence often erupts. Unless the security situation is resolved,
reconstruction of Mosul will continue to be hampered. Although
Christians have lived in Mosul for centuries, they simply will not
consider returning home so long as the city remains a hotbed of
extremism and violence.”
For interviews with Claire Evans, Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org
ICC
has confirmed that the death toll in recent attacks on villages near
Jos, Nigeria has risen to more than 230 Christians. The attacks are
believed to have been conducted by Fulani militants who used machetes
and firearms to slaughter the predominantly Berom villagers. The police
originally reported that 86 had been killed, but our local
representative was part of the body recovery effort and has confirmed
this much higher number.
The series of attacks took place in the villages of Xland, Gindin
Akwati, Ruku, Nghar, Kura Falls, Kakuruk, Rakok, Kok, and Razat. All of
these villages are in the districts of Gashish and Ropp in the Barkin
Ladi Local Government Area. Many of the victims were women and young
children. The youngest person known to have been killed was a
three-month-old baby boy who was slaughtered by machete.
The first attack took place Saturday after the funeral of a relative of
an important clergyman in Gashish District. Pam Chollom, a pastor who
leads the Church of Christ in Nations reported, “Fulani people attacked
our members who attended the burial of the father of one of our
clergy…The armed Fulani ambushed the sympathizers on their way back from
the burial, attacked and killed 34 persons from Bekan village, 39
others from Kufang, and 47 from Ruku Village.”
A resident reported via telephone to Morning Star News that 70 corpses
have been recovered in the village of Nghar, and that the entire village
had been burned.
In Xland and Gindin Akwati villages, the herdsmen killed about 60
Christians, another resident reported over the phone. Multiple churches,
worship buildings, and pastors’ homes were targeted in these attacks.
Thousands of people have been displaced in these villages and are now
unable to access their homes or work on their farms.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari released a response to the attacks
via Twitter: "The grievous loss of lives and property arising from the
killings in Plateau is painful and regrettable. My deepest condolences
to the affected communities. We will not rest until all murderers and
criminal elements and their sponsors are incapacitated and brought to
justice."
However,
Reverend T. Y. Danjuma of the Christian Association of Nigeria quotes
President Buhari as telling a post-attack gathering of leaders “to learn
to live peacefully with their neighbors”, and that “the Fulani are
known to be peaceful and carry stick, but are not known to have guns.”
Buhari’s seeming indifference has left many people in Jos angry over the
continued violence and inaction by the government.
There has been controversy over whether or not the Miyetti Allah Cattle
Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) claimed its people had
committed the attacks. A published article credited Danladi Ciroma, a
MACBAN leader, with saying the attack was conducted by Fulani in
reprisal for the rustling of cattle. However, a subsequent report
claimed that Ciroma never made these statements. The conflicting reports
have added confusion to an already chaotic situation.
Nathan Johnson, ICCs Regional Manager for Africa, said “It is time for
the Nigerian government to stop its political talk and begin to protect
the lives and property of all its citizens. The Buhari regime must also
punish these perpetrators who are literally killing babies in their
beds. If they are unwilling or unable to provide security to their own
people and punish these criminals, then the international community will
have to step in to ensure such massacres are not repeated.”
For interviews with Nathan Johnson, contact Olivia Miller: press@persecution.org
International
Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on June 27, 2018, a group of
Iraqi Muslims living in the Koutsochero Refugee Camp in Greece attacked a
group of Iranian Christians who were holding a Bible study. These
Christians are all converts and are active in sharing their faith.
According to 222 Ministries,
seven Iranians had “crossed from Turkey to Greece in the area of
Thessaloniki and ended up in a refugee camp about 150 km south in
Larissa. While they were there, they met as a small group together in
one of the Conex containers they were housed in, gathering a few
others.”
“Somehow, they came to the attention of the other camp residents… a mob
formed on Sunday night as they were holding a Bible Study meeting. The
mob attacked them, threatening them with knives and beating the men,
resulting in hospitalization for two of them. The two women and two
young children were also threatened with knives. Petrol was poured into
their Conex. They were called ‘kaffirs’ and told to leave the camp. One
of the men had a previous heart condition and the attack caused him to
pass out. An ambulance was called but the mob tried to prevent its
entry into the camp. The Greek police present did nothing, being
massively outnumbered by the mob of 30-40 people,” continued the account
from 222 Ministries.
Pastor Apostolos Theodorakos of the Free Evangelical Church in Larissa
says, “Before I even woke up for my work, (a lady) called me and told me
she was in the University Hospital because she and her husband were
assaulted by a group of Muslims. I ran into the hospital and I found
this beloved soul with her child, terrified, with jabs.” He continues,
“a group of 30-40 people had come… accusing them of being Christians and
going to church. In fact, one took a liquid inside the container and
someone tried to (ignite a) fire.”
All of the victims of the attack have since fled to a safe house. A
police complaint has been filed and a lawsuit opened against the
attackers.
Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “Whenever a Muslim converts
to Christianity, he does so at great risk. Muslim background believers
are often shunned by their families and violently targeted by their
peers, who regard them as apostates. Often they must flee their homes
and begin life from scratch. It is no coincidence that these believers
in Koutsochero were singled out by a mob and attacked. While we are
thankful that no one was seriously injured, it is alarming that this mob
was allowed to continue their violence without police intervention.
Those who perpetrated this violence must be held accountable according
to due process of law.”
For interviews with Claire Evans, Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org
International
Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on January 23, 2018, the
Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) issued an order that business owners
in Ankawa would be charged a fee when renewing their license. This order
was not applied until June 2018.
Ankawa is a predominately Christian neighborhood in Erbil whose
residents report increasing pressure from Muslims relocating to Ankawa.
One Christian resident told ICC, “It was not allowed for Muslims to
come and have a house in Ankawa, but now it is a preferable area for
Muslims and there are a lot of Muslims who have connections and they are
getting permissions.”
This history has contributed to the concerns of Christians that the new tax is being levied against them with ill intentions. Ankawa Today published a statement reading, “For
those who doubted the presence of a high tax (jizya) that is
exclusively imposed by the Kurdish government on the people of Ankawa
and not the other Kurdish towns, it is also worth mentioning that the
same tax is being applied gradually on Semel (another Christian majority
town near Dohuk), which is clearly discriminatory against Christians… A
simple example is the Kurdish town of Baharka which is just next to
Ankawa and does not differ from it (administratively speaking) and has
no such tax agency office.”
“This tax is unfair because there are no services presented by the
government, I pay for main electricity and have my own generator, I pay
for water, I pay for the car which takes the garbage every day. Whenever
I have any problem I hire a worker to fix it, the government is not
involved by any means," said Milad, who owns several shops in Ankawa.
Milad explained how small business owners in Ankawa are already making unofficial payments to the KRG. He shared, “Each
month or two, some [government] employees come to us. They get some
money and go, as they are not getting their salary from the government
so they are trying to manage. [But] it is even better than paying the
tax to the government because the government tax is higher.”
A local business owner told API that the new “application
process is now much longer and unnecessary. Usually, attorneys handle
these renewals. I spoke to my attorney this morning and he said he’s
already heard that the officials at the Erbil Center District expect
bribes in exchange for processing.”
Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “For decades, Iraq’s
Christians have long suffered discriminatory policies that reinforce the
narrative that believers are vulnerable second-class citizens. History
shows that this narrative has led to exploitation and targeted violence
that has had significant implications on Christianity in Iraq.
Christians throughout Iraq live with the recent memory of ISIS’s
violence, which included the institution of a jizya tax against
religious minorities. This did not happen within a vacuum. The governing
institutions must take the lead on demonstrating that Christians are
equal members of society whose rights are valued.”
For interviews with Claire Evans, Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org
International
Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that 10 Christian families in the
Latehar District of India’s Jharkhand State were driven out of their
homes after refusing to recant their Christian faith in early June.
Since then, these families have not been able to return to their homes
with local authorities unable or unwilling to provide assistance.
On June 5, 10 Christian families from Pahli village in Latehar District
were summoned to a meeting with local radicals who told them to recant
their Christian faith or leave the village. When the Christians refused,
they were severely beaten and driven out of the village. After forcing
the Christians out of the village, the radicals locked down the
Christians’ homes.
“We are living in fear, away from our homes,” Shyamlal Kujju, age 25, told ICC. “It
is almost a month since my house is locked by Hindu radicals and there
is no attempt by the police or the government to resolve the issue. Our
lives are devastated as we hide ourselves from the Hindu radicals. We do
not know how long this will continue.”
According to Kujju, the 10 Christian families regularly worshiped in
the home of a fellow Christian prior to the June 5 attack. The incident
has been reported to local police in Balumat and police have unlocked
some of the Christian houses, but took no action against the radicals.
In September 2017, Jharkhand adopted a Freedom of Religion Law, more
commonly referred to as an anti-conversion law. This law both regulates
religious conversions and criminalizes forced conversions. The term
“forced conversion” remains legally ambiguous and Hindu radicals often
abuse these laws to falsely accuse or justify assaults on Christians.
According to Christian leaders in Jharkhand, since the law was adopted,
attacks on Christians have increased. Pastor Rajdev Toppo, a pastor
familiar with Pahli village and the Latehar District, said, “Things
have become increasingly difficult to serve as a pastor in Latehar. On a
daily basis, I am threatened and ridiculed for teaching Christians the
Word of God. The local government has not been helpful, including when
cases of the Christians were taken to the police and administration.”
William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “We here at
International Christian Concern are deeply concerned to see that 10
Christian families have been beaten and displaced for merely exercising
their religious freedom rights. Article 25 of India’s constitution says
that every individual has the right to freely profess, practice, and
propagate the religion of his or her choice. This right has obviously
been denied to these 10 Christian families in Pahli village. Local
authorities must take decisive action to correct this denial of rights
and arrest those involved in the June 5 attack. Without enforcement,
India’s religious freedom rights will remain only words on paper and
attacks on Christians and other religious minorities will continue to
rise in both number and severity.”
For interviews with William Stark, Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org
International
Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the Chief Minister of
Arunachal Pradesh, a state located in northeastern India, has claimed
that the state’s Freedom of Religion Law, more commonly known as an
anti-conversion law, targets Christians and that he will take steps to
repeal it.
On Thursday, June 28, Chief Minister Pema Khandu, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, “The anti-conversion law could undermine secularism and is probably targeted towards Christians.”
This statement was made while the Chief Minister addressed an event
hosted by the Arunachal Pradesh Catholic Association as reported by The Hindu.
“Any misuse of the law leading to torture of people could trigger
large-scale violence in the state and could break Arunachal into
pieces,” the Chief Minister explained. He then assured that the law would be brought before the next assembly session for repeal as it “could be misused by irresponsible officials.”
Arunachal Pradesh was the third state in India to enact an
anti-conversion law in 1978. Currently, seven states, including Madhya
Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujrat, and
Uttarakhand, have enacted similar legislation to limit religious
conversion.
Besides regulating religious conversion, these laws also make it
illegal to convert or attempt to convert someone from one religion to
another by means of force, inducement, coercion or fraud. However, state
governments have not defined the terms “force,” “inducement,”
“coercion,” or “fraud” in the context of religious conversions. Due to
this legal ambiguity, these laws have been widely abused by radical
Hindu nationalists to harass and intimidate Christians while claiming to
be under the auspices of state law.
“I welcome the move of the Chief Minister and applaud him for his conviction and much-awaited declaration,” Dr. Michael William, President of the United Christian Forum, told ICC. “Freedom
of Religion acts are completely contrary to Article 25 of the
constitution of India. They target peace-loving Christian minorities of
the states in which they are implanted.”
“We rejoice at the anticipated striking down of the act in Arunachal Pradesh,” Dr. William continued. “We hope that the elected representatives of other states will see the light and correct these anti-constitutional acts soon.”
The BJP has held power in Arunachal Pradesh since late 2016. Arunachal
Pradesh is a Christian-majority state by a small margin, being
approximately 30% Christian and 29% Hindu; an atypical religious
composition for an Indian state.
William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “We here at
International Christian Concern are very happy to see Chief Minister
Pema Khandu acknowledge the suffering of Christians within his state and
promise to take positive action. These laws are widely abused by Hindu
radicals due to the legal ambiguity within the laws themselves. Often,
these laws provide an easy justification for radicals to attack
Christian leaders with impunity. One simply needs to claim that a pastor
was forcefully converting people following an assault. As a result,
instead of arresting the pastor’s assailants, the police will arrest the
assailed pastor following an attack. With attacks on Christians
skyrocketing, the repeal of this law will be a great step toward India
enforcing religious freedom for all.”
For interviews with William Stark, Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org
