WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 /Christian Newswire/ — CAA received a report in August that the Chinese government had issued a secret directive calling for the dismantling of six house churches in Beijing. U.S. Congressmen Frank Wolf (R- VA, 10th) , and U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ, 4th) [...]]]>

Congressmen Wolf and Smith. Photo provided by www.ChinaAid.org

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 /Christian Newswire/ — CAA received a report in August that the Chinese government had issued a secret directive calling for the dismantling of six house churches in Beijing. U.S. Congressmen Frank Wolf (R- VA, 10th) , and U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ, 4th) learned about the report, and were deeply concerned by the news.

Last July, prior to the 2008 Olympics, the two U.S. Congressmen traveled to Beijing on an investigative tour and personally met with members of the Shouwang House Church. View CAA’s Press Release on their visit. Their encounter with the Chinese Christians and human rights lawyers left a lasting impression.

On September 8, 2009, Congressman Wolf and Congressman Smith addressed a letter to the newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, congratulating him on his new position, and calling the issue of religious freedom in China to his attention. They urged the Ambassador to prioritize the U.S. position of supporting religious freedom and to publicly state the importance of religious freedom to a modern nation.

Click here to view the signed letter to Ambassador Huntsman.

ChinaAid is grateful for the actions taken by Congressman Wolf and Congressman Smith on behalf of the persecuted church. We ask for continued prayer for the churches in Beijing and greater China, who have been targeted by the Chinese government.

To express thanks for the Congressmen’s work, please contact the following offices in Washington, DC:

Congressman Frank Wolf, VA-10th District
241 Cannon Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5136
Fax: (202) 225-0437

Congressman Chris Smith, NJ-4th District
2373 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3765
Fax: (202) 225-7768

Fatima Sultan, Ali Ma’ow, Sheik Mohammed Abdi, and Maaddey Diil were killed by members of Al-Shabab, an Islamic extremist organization. The Islamists kidnapped and [...]]]> Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Somali Islamic extremists beheaded four Christians after kidnapping them on July 27 in the coastal town of Merca, 56 miles from Mogadishu.

Fatima Sultan, Ali Ma’ow, Sheik Mohammed Abdi, and Maaddey Diil were killed by members of Al-Shabab, an Islamic extremist organization. The Islamists kidnapped and eventually beheaded the Christians after they refused to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ.

On August 4, a junior Al-Shabab militant notified all the families of the victims that the four Christians had been beheaded for apostasy. He described the Christians as promoters of “fitna,” a Muslim term for religious discord. The militant, who called himself “Seiful Islam” (“the Sword of Islam”), told the families that the bodies will not be given to them “as Somalia does not have cemeteries for infidels.”

One eye witness account said, “All the four apostates were given an opportunity to return to Islam to be released but they all declined the generous offer.”

The four Christians had been working for a local NGO that helps orphans in southern Somalia.

A Somali church leader who monitors the persecution against the Somali church described the latest beheadings as a desperate attempt to “purify” Somalia by eliminating all Christians from what the Al Qaeda linked terror group considers an Islamic Republic. The church leader added that such murders will only serve as a rich seedbed from where many more house-churches will form.

Al-Shabab is a radical Islamic organization fighting to establish an Islamic state in Somalia and enforce Wahhabi/Salafi Islam, an ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam practiced by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The Islamist group controls large parts of Somalia and seeks to overthrow the internationally recognized transitional federal government of Somalia.

The Islamists have been carrying out ruthless attacks against the Christian minority in Somalia. Last year alone, members of the group killed more than a half dozen Somali Christians. In July 2009, Al-Shabab beheaded seven people in the southwestern town of Baidoa after accusing them of converting to Christianity and spying for the transitional federal government of Somalia.

Jonathan Racho, ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa and the Middle East, said, “Al-Shabab has once again demonstrated its utter disregard for the dignity of human life. The majority of Muslims in Somalia, who are also the victims of Al-Shabab’s cruelty, do not support their ideology or practices. It is high time for the international community to take robust measures to end the heinous crimes that Al-Shabab and other extremist groups are committing against the people of Somalia.”

Please pray for God to protect and encourage the underground churches in Somalia.

SICHUAN, China /Christian Newswire/ — Authorities abolished the Christian Church of Huaguan Town, a house church in Huaguan town, Nanbu county, Sichuan province, and arrested three church members on June 29, 2009. Since then, house church members have faced heavy persecution and are asking Christians around the world for prayer.

The church [...]]]>

Sichuan Provence in China

SICHUAN, China /Christian Newswire/ — Authorities abolished the Christian Church of Huaguan Town, a house church in Huaguan town, Nanbu county, Sichuan province, and arrested three church members on June 29, 2009. Since then, house church members have faced heavy persecution and are asking Christians around the world for prayer.

The church service started in 2002 in a member’s house, and has been gathering at a church building built with the help of Christians from Zhejiang province since August 2006. On March 23, 2009 the church was raided by six Public Security Bureau (PSB) and government officers who confiscated both the property of the church and a check with more than 10,000 yuan which was the believers’ offerings.

The PSB officers covered the Chinese characters “God Loves the World” on the top of the gate with iron plates. Authorities accused the Christians of being a cult, Falun Gong and a reactionary organization.

Three church leaders, Mr. Chai Yongwen, Ms.Yang Huimin and Mr. Ma Deyan, were taken away for interrogation. Later, Mr. Chai Yongwen received 15 days of administrative detention, and Ms. Yang Huimin received five days of administrative detention.

The Christian Church of Huaguan Town sent a statement to the international community in which they made the following request for prayer, “We hereby request the brothers and sisters to pray for the expansion of the Gospel in the disaster areas of Sichuan, and we implore God to give us His wisdom and strength while dealing with these rulers!”

Read a statement from the Christian Church of Huaguan Town.

Read the Land Requisition Agreement of Christian Church of Huaguan Town.

Contact the Chinese embassy in Washington and ask that Christians of the Christian Church of Huaguan Town be allowed to meet freely:

• Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong
• 3505 International Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008
• Tel: (202) 495-2000
• Fax: (202) 588-9760

NOTE: Click here for Chinese embassy contact information for countries outside the USA: http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zwjg/2490