28/02/2011 - Honduras Pastors Killed; Government Urged To Increase Protection

Honduras Pastors Killed; Government Urged To Increase Protection

Posted on: 2011-02-28 11:08:23

TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS (Worthy News)-- Christian leaders have urged Honduras' governmentto improve protection of Christian workers after Carlos Roberto Marroqun became thesecond prominent pastor to be murdered this year in the Central American nation.

Marroquin, 41, was shot to death Monday, February 21, by two assailants while walking histwo Schnauzer puppies in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, explained Security MinisterOscar Alvarez and witnesses.

Investigators said the gunman opened fire after he refused to hand over the dogs, whoescaped. Schnauzers can reportedly sell for about $500 in Honduras, where the minimum monthlysalary is roughly $311.

Marroqun was the founding pastor of the Pentecostal Church of God in San Pedro Sula,the countrys second-largest city, and a popular presenter on television and radioprograms, Christians said.

EVANGELICAL PASTORS

He was also president-elect of the Association of Evangelical Pastors in San Pedro Sula,the founder and president of the Christian Legal Fellowship and co-founder ofthe Latin American Network of Christian Lawyers.

While police linked the attack to crime, Christian leaders stressed they feared theassassination was part of a project to target devoted Christian workers in Honduras.The Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras said in a statement that the pastor had receivedthreats.

Marroqun was the second pastor to be murdered this year in Honduras, known for its highmurder rates. On January 30 the 43-year-old Pastor Raymundo Fuentes, of the New JerusalemTemple, was killed while leaving the evening service at his church with his wife.

Two days prior the daughter of an evangelical pastor had been killed, though police did notlink the two murders, according to news reports.

Christian leaders said at least six pastors are known to have been killed in recent months. "Every day we do our work [we have to] trust in God and [be] prepared to go with Him," added Pastor Oswaldo Canales, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras in published remarks.

There were no reports of arrests Saturday, February 26, in the killing of Pastor Marroquin. Local police announced they were looking for the gunman and the person who drove the car.

27/02/2011 - Christians In Kenya, Netherlands Mourn Murdered Missionary

Christians In Kenya, Netherlands Mourn Murdered Missionary Posted on: 2011-02-27 11:04:05 By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent NAIROBI/GRONINGEN (Worthy News)-- Christians in Kenya and the Netherlands began mourning Dutch missionary Ebel Kremer, 36, who was shot and killed when armed robbersstormed a mission center near Nairobi, Kenya's capital. His 34-year-old wife Lora was reportedly sexually assaulted in front of their two small children inFriday's pre-dawn raid at the complex of international Christian organization Youth With A Mission (YWAM)in the town of Athi River, some 50 kilometers (32 miles) outside Nairobi. A night watchman was also injured but is now recovering, YWAM explained. The children were not harmed andhave been brought to a Dutch married couple, Christians said earlier. Kenyan police on Saturday, February 26, continued investigating the attack on the Kremers, who were involvedin caring for orphans in the region, YWAM said. YWAM suggested however there was no evidence that the attack was sparked by Muslim extremism that has plaguedthe further away north eastern border area of Kenya with Somalia. "The incident is being investigated as a robbery, "YWAM said in a statement. ATTACK INVESTIGATED It remained unclear whether the couple had been singled out for the attack on the 70 acre property,where YWAM said some "25 resident volunteers and 50 other people" were also present at the time."The police are conducting extensive inquiries and have increased security in the area. YWAM has alsoengaged additional security," the group said, without elaborating. Since February 2008, the Kremers worked as volunteers at the YWAM center in Athi River, which includesChristian training schools, a preschool and facilities for orphaned children, known as 'Homes forHope and Healing'. Ebel Kremer was involved in building YWMA's 'Maanzoni Childrens Village' of eight such homes withfoster families caring for up to a dozen orphans each. YWMA representative Karin Kea Sued acknowledgedthat the village's future was now uncertain. "Ebel was overseeing the building of the second of theeight homes...We were waiting for the homes to be completed before accepting more children." CHRISTIANS PRAYING However the YWMA official said Lora Kremer and her team appreciated the prayers reportedly being said for themby Christians around the world."Our hearts are hurting as we are all in shock and disbelief that Ebel has beentaken from us so suddenly, and in such a cruel and heartless manner," she added. "We have lost a fellow missionary and friend who beamed with energy and determination serving the One we all know to give perfect peace, comfort and eternal life.Our prayers and sympathy remain with Lora and their families in Holland." Earlier several Christians, including those based in Kenya, told Worthy News they were shocked about the news. "I am praying for Lora and her children. I have been praying for them since I heard this news," wrote ChristineEnoch in a comment on the BosNewsLife.com website. "I am also praying for the extended family, as they are devastatedby this news. I can only imagine their shock and pain." 'HOPE IN JESUS' She said she had lived in three countries in Africa for the past 23 years. "I thank God for His mercy and protection.I currently live in Nairobi, so this [news about the attack] comes close to home, and makes me realize that the onlyhope I have is to turn my eyes upon Jesus." Further away in Africa, fellow missionaries told Worthy News about their sorrow over the murder. "We are praying in Senegal, West Africa, for this family and this situation. We serve several missionaries from the Netherlands and have several teachers from the Netherlands also," wroteBrett and Krissy Molter, directors of theBourofaye Christian School in Senegal. "This has been a difficult time for them, but we all are shocked to here this terrible news. We pray that God will use this senseless injustice for His Kingdom glory, in His refining power," they told Worthy News. They said everyone was "Weeping for the family and the Body of Christ", a reference to Christians. FUNERAL SCHEDULED A funeral for the murdered missionary was expected in the Netherlands within the next few days. The Kremers' home church Vrije Baptistengemeente Groningen (Free Baptist Congregation Groningen) in the Dutch city of Groningen, who financially supported the couple,said it held special church services Sunday, February 27, to commemorate Ebel Kremer and his family. "We can find comfort in the knowledge that our brother Ebel is now with the Lord," the church leadership said,adding they had urged members to pray that God "will comfort Lora, the children and their family." Christians were also mourning the missionary's death elsewhere in the Netherlands Sunday, February 27, including in the international evangelical Vineyard Assen church in the Dutch city of Assen,a church member told Worthy News. "Our pastor was a close friend of the deceased...He is heartbroken and we as a church are saddenedby the cruel act," wrote Isabella w.van Spijk, a Kenyan Christian who is married to a Dutchman, on the bosnewslife.com website. 'CRYING TO GOD' "It was very sad today in our [Vineyard Assen] church, I could not help crying out to God...Thepreacher could not hold back his tears now and then he kept stopping preaching." It was, she suggested, a Biblical message that the missionary died while serving God, just as Jesus, before His resurrection from death. "Our God and only Him understands why. Iwill personally keep praying for Lora and the Children that His will may prevail [and] comfort both families.God is on his throne and he will always remember them not matter what because we believe in a living Godwho is able to carry us through the storms."

26/02/2011 - Laos Christians Face Starvation, Authorities Cutting Off Food, Water

Laos Christians Face Starvation, Authorities Cutting Off Food, Water

Posted on: 2011-02-26 14:39:11

By Worthy News Asia Service

VIENTIANE, LAOS (Worthy News)-- Scores of terrified villagers faced starvation in the jungles of Laos on Saturday February 26, after they were driven from their village at gunpoint for refusing to give up Christianity in this predominantly Buddhist nation, residents and rights activists said.

Laotian authorities reportedly destroyed crops to prevent food from reaching the group of over 60 impoverished Christians in a rugged terrain of Saravan province. One man from the group has already died during this time, said Britain-based advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

"The wells are drying up as they are going into the dry season, and their food supplies are exhausted after villagers thwarted their attempts to plant new crops," warned Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF), another group investigating the situation. The authorities have successfully gotten them into a situation where they feel defeated.

Eighteen families are now living in a temporary camp outside Katin village of Ta-Oyl district in Laos' Saravan province since they were marched from their village at gunpoint in two separate incidents in 2010, rights activists said.

FARMING DIFFICULTIES

"Village officials are refusing to allow the Christians to enter the village to farm their land. An area that had been farmed around the camp has been destroyed," CSW added.

"Village officials have instructed families in surrounding villages not to help or provide food for the group, who lack access to adequate food, water and sanitation facilities, and medical treatment. It is reported that the villagers believe these tactics are an attempt to starve them in order that they give up their Christian faith."

Initially, 11 families were driven from the village at gunpoint during a worship service in January 2010, before a further seven families of new Christian converts were driven out in December last year, CSW explained. "Despite international advocacy on the case, the dire situation has not improved."

Last year Ta-Oyl District Head, identified as Bounma, spoke to the Christians encouraging them to to renounce their Christian beliefs, CSW said.

LAO CONSTITUTION

Bounma reportedly said that while the Lao Constitution provided protection for freedom of religion and belief, he did not allow Christianity in his district. He allegedly threatened the group with expulsion from the district if they refused to renounce their faith.

There was no immediate comment from local officials, but a team of news agencies Worthy News/BosNewsLife established earlier in Laos that Christians face persecution from authorities, with reports of raids and torture.

Theravada Buddhism is the dominant religion in Laos and Christians say religious minorities can face harassment. (With additional reporting by Worthy News' Stefan J. Bos)

24/02/2011 - Afghanistan Releases Christian Convert Facing Execution

Afghanistan Releases Christian Convert Facing Execution

Posted on: 2011-02-24 10:56:53

KABUL/AMSTERDAM (Worthy News)-- An Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity has been released, a well-informed Christian aid and advocacy group confirmed Thursday, February 24.

Netherlands-based Open Doors said Said Musa has been able to flee Afghanistan. It did not provide more details amid security concerns. The group cautioned that another Christian convert, Shoib Assadullah, was not yet freed from prison.

Musa, 45, was detained in May after a local television network aired footage of Afghans being baptized and participating in prayer gatherings. The broadcast led to a nationwide crackdown against Muslim converts to Christianity.

In a letter smuggled out of his prison in the capital Kabul and published earlier by Worthy News Musa had appealed to "the international church of the world and...President Brother [Barack] Obama and to the head of [International Security Assistance Force] ISAF in Afghanistan" to rescue him from his current jail.

PRAYERS URGED

He also asked Christians to pray for him, amid concerns he would be executed. Leaving Islam is still a capital offense in Afghanistan, although the strict Taliban regime was toppled in 2001.

Musa's release came weeks after the ChristenUnie (ChristianUnion) party told Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte it would only back a planned Dutch police mission in Afghanistan if the government pressured Afghanistan to release Christian converts and improve religious rights.

The ChristianUnion's support was needed to receive a parliamentary majority for the controversial mission in Afghanistan's Kunduz province.

In a parliamentary debate last month, Rutte pledged he would do everything in his power to prevent executions of Christian converts and his cabinet announced an expert would join the police force to investigate possible religious rights violations in the fragile nation.

It was unclear whether the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had played a role in his release. Musa said he worked 15 years as a physiotherapist for the ICRC's orthopedic center in Kabul, before his arrest.

''GREAT NEWS"

ChristianUnion legislator Jol Voordewind described Musa's release as "great news" and said the Netherlands should offer the man political asylum and protection. "I hope that the other detained Christian convert [Shoib Assadullah] will also be released."

In a letter dated February 17, Shoaib Assadullah described his imprisonment and expressed little hope that he would be released soon. Not only has my freedom been taken from me, but I am undergoing severe psychological pressure, Assadullah wrote.

Several times I have been attacked physically and threatened with death by fellow prisoners, especially Taliban and anti-government prisoners who are in jail.These assaults on my human dignity have affected me negatively, close to the point of death.

Assadullah was arrested on October 21 in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif for giving a Bible to a man who later reported him to local authorities, Christians said. Voordewind made clear that the Netherlands should continue to pressure Afghanistan's government to end the detentions of Christian converts. "Only in that case can we continue to support the Dutch police mission in Afghanistan," he said.

Despite reported persecution, there may be as many as 10.000 Christian converts in heavily Islamic Afghanistan, according to some Christian rights activists. Other issued figures range from as few as 500 to 8,000 Christians in a country where openly expressing Christian views can reportedly lead to killings by officials, militants or family members, Worthy News monitored.

17/02/2011 - Iran Court Postpones 'Execution Trial' Of Evangelical Christians

Iran Court Postpones 'Execution Trial' Of Evangelical Christians

Posted on: 2011-02-17 09:13:12

By Worthy News Middle East Service

TEHRAN, IRAN (Worthy News)-- An Iranian court has told arrested evangelical Christians who may face execution on charges of apostasy that they "should be punished", but that their trial "has been postpone for April," a senior church official said Thursday, February 17.

"The judge claimed that he had no time to examine the cases, but spoke about the superiority of Islam," explained Firouz Khanjani, a council member of the Church of Iran movement to Worthy News. "He said that Christians are targeting ignorant people and they should be punished for that."

Advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC) said it has learned that the Christians, identified as Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Mehdi Furutan, Mohammad Beliad, Parviz Khalaj and Nazly Beliad, were released on bail, but there was no immediate independent confirmation.

Christians have linked the months-long detentions of the believers to their activities within underground house churches linked to the Church of Iran movement.

MORE CHARGES

But prosecutors told the first chamber of the Revolutionary Tribunal of the southwestern city of Shiraz, earlier this month that the believers were held on charges such as "actions against the [state] system", "political meetings" and "contact with opposition groups," according to trial observers.

On Sunday, February 13, they were also to answer in the "120th chamber of a normal tribunal", the charges of 'apostasy', or abandoning Islam, which carries the death penalty in the strict Islamic nation, as well as 'crimes against the Islamic order' Khanjani added.

With the trial being postponed, the believers are expected to face these additional charges in April. Dozens of other Christians remain detained across the country, as part of a government crackdown on Christianity amid reports that many Muslims embrace Christianity and house churches are growing, according rights investigators.

"More than 30 Christians, most from a Muslim background, are understood to still be detained in a number of different cities, including Tehran, Mashhad, Karaj, Shiraz, Ahvaz, Rasht, Hamedan and Arak," MEC told Worthy News.

IRANIAN CHURCH LEADERS

Elam Ministries, a group set-up by Iranian church leaders to encourage Iranian Christians, said among those held in prisons is Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani who has been sentenced to death for apostasy.

Others include Christians "Vahik and Sonia Abrahamian, and Arash and Arezoo Kermanjani" who Elam Ministries said have been in prison in Hamadan for nearly four months. "There has been intense anxiety over Sonia's health, exacerbated by prison conditions," the group said in a statement. "There is also equal concern over, Mojtaba Keshavarz and Shahin Rostami, held in Arak over three months, "especially as Shahin is diabetic."

Relative few Christians have been released of those detained in recent weeks, including four women held in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison on January 29 and one woman and two men from the prison in Isfahan three days earlier, Iranian Christians said.

They spent over a month in prison, most of them in solitary confinement, "solely for being Christians" after they were detained after Christmas 2010 along with over 30 others, according to Elam Ministries.

CONTROVERSIAL BAIL

The group expressed concerns that families of Christians have been told they must pay $180,000 bail to secure their temporary release.

"The experience of prison and interrogation can be very traumatic and some Christians who endure this ordeal then decide to seek asylum in another country. Their families then not only lose their loved ones to exile, but also suffer the dire financial consequences as the state swallows up the bail money."

Elam Ministries said the family of one of recently released women, Sara Akhavan, "had to surrender their trade license, which means that if the authorities deem the bail is broken, the family's livelihood will be destroyed."

Her sister, Leila Akhavan, was still believed to be detained in Evin prison Thursday, February 17.

OPPOSITION PROTESTS

News of the detentions come amid reports of protests against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his regime, inspired by uprisings that toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.

Ahmadinejad has denied wrongdoing and his government has defended harsh sentences, including executions of political opponents and Christians as part of defending the Islamic state.

Hardline Iranian lawmakers also urged the judiciary this week to impose death sentences on two major opposition figures, Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi who they held responsible for "fomenting unrest" in which two people died, state television said. (With reporting by Worthy News' Stefan J. Bos).

10/02/2011 - Muslim Mob Burns Down Churches, Storms Courthouse

Muslim Mob Burns Down Churches, Storms Courthouse

Posted on: 2011-02-10 23:14:26

by Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Worthy News)-- More than 1,000 Muslim protesters have stormed a courthouse and burned two churches in central Java, Indonesia.

The attacks in Temanggung happened after a Christian man was sentenced to five years in jail for distributing leaflets deemed insulting to Islam.

Indonesian police said the crowd considered the sentence too lenient and were demanding the death penalty.

The incident came two days after Muslim villagers in western Java killed three members of a minority Islamic sect.

A police spokesman told the BBC that the angry crowd began attacking the court building in Temanggung after the verdict was read out.

The violence spread to surrounding neighbourhoods where two churches were set on fire and a third was damaged.

Police fired warning shots into the air to disperse the crowds.

'Extremist groups'

In a separate development, a video has emerged of Sunday's deadly attack on members of the minority Ahmadiyah Muslim sect.

The footage apparently show how a group of about 20 men were forced by an angry crowd to strip before they were beaten so violently that several died.

The Ahmadiyah sect has been labelled by the government as deviant, but is not banned.

A body which advises the US government on religious freedom has said Indonesia must act against "extremist" attacks.

"Indonesia is a tolerant county that should be more intolerant of extremist groups. It's time the Indonesian government brings them to account for the violence and hatred they spread," said Leonard Leo, chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population but it is a secular nation.

International human rights groups say more hardline fringe groups have been harassing religious minorities in recent years. The Indonesian president has been criticised for not doing enough to protect the rights of all citizens.

8/02/2011 - Christian Persecution Continues Amid Egypt Turmoil

Christian Persecution Continues Amid Egypt Turmoil

Posted on: 2011-02-08 08:16:25

By Joseph C. DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent

CAIRO, Egypt (Worthy News)-- As the whole world watched Muslims protesting in the streets of Egypt, more than 15 Christians were killed outside Al-Minya, 150 miles south of Cairo.

"With no police available, no one was willing to help them," said Tom Doyle, Middle East director for E3 Partners. "Family members are taking turns keeping watch over their homes, as robberies, rape, looting, and car theft are occurring routinely now."

Under Egypt's constitution, Christians are allowed to practice their faith, but Muslim extremists still managed to murder 23 Christians and injure 70 more when a suicide bomber attacked a Coptic Christian Church during a New Year's Eve Mass in Alexandria.

"There were only three soldiers and an officer in front of the church," said Archbishop Raweis, the ranking Coptic cleric in Alexandria. "Why did they have so little security at such a sensitive time when there's so many threats coming from Al Qaeda?"

When White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about the number of Christians murdered in the Middle East, he said, "I have not heard ... an overarching theory" behind the attacks.

Until the Islamic conquests of the seventh century, Egypt was predominantly Christian, but today, Christians make-up only 10 percent of its population.

"With the Muslim Brotherhood rising up, Christians are very nervous about who might be next in line to take over for Mubarak," said Doyle. "Many times it's been stated that there's democracy, but it's just been a veil for authoritarianism."

One of the Brotherhood's most notorious members is Al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was imprisoned for three years on weapons charges following President Anwar Sadat's assassination in 1981.

Fox News contributor Walid Phares said the Brotherhood is "the mothership" for jihadi ideologies and thinking ... today's Al-Qaeda and many other jihadists are offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood.

08/02/2011 - Iran: No news about the status of a house church pastor in Dezful Pris

Iran: No news about the status of a house church pastor in Dezful Pris

Posted on: 2011-02-08 08:09:01

By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent

TEHRAN, Iran (Worthy News)-- According to the Iranian Christian News Agency (Mohabat News), 10 new Christians from the city of Dezful about to celebrate Christmas Eve with fellow Christians from Ahvaz and Andimeshk were arrested by security forces the day before Christmas.

Intelligence officers posing as security forces began to search the house as they collected cell phones and other personal belongings such as Bibles and Christmas gifts.

They arrested everyone, including Pastor Noorollah Qabitizade, who was hand-cuffed and blind-folded en route to a safe house in the centre of Dezfoul.

The security forces detained Qabitizade separately while they took pictures of everyone else one by one; each was questioned as to how they converted to Christianity, asked to name their Christian friends and how they all came to know Qabitizade. Although they were released after being finger-printed, they were told to report to the office of Ministry of Information in their home towns the very next morning.

According to Mohabat News, Pastor Qabityzade remains in custody with no outside contact.

Mohabat news considers this latest wave of arrests to be an organzied attempt to purge Christianity from the Persian consciousness by preventing its growth among Iranians.