Muhammad Guul Hashim Idiris, a Christian convert from Islam, was traveling by land from Kalafo, an Ethiopian border town, to visit [...]]]> Washington, D.C. — International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that members of the Al-Qaeda linked Somali Islamist group, Al-Shabaab, publicly executed a Christian convert from Islam in the in Hudur district, Somalia on July 1st.

Muhammad Guul Hashim Idiris, a Christian convert from Islam, was traveling by land from Kalafo, an Ethiopian border town, to visit his mother in Mogadishu.

A fellow passenger recognized his Christian background and asked him if he thought the prophet Muhammad was a genuine messenger from God. Idiris responded by saying, “If I thought so, I would have believed in him instead of the Messiah.”

Once they reached the Hudur district, a stronghold of the Al- Shabaab terror network, the Muslim man reported Idiris to Al-Shabaab and had him detained on June 27th. Idiris was accused of insulting the prophet Muhammad. It is a serious sin to consider Muhammad not to be a genuine prophet and it warrants the death penalty.

Sheik Adan Yare, the Al-Shabab governor of the Bakol region, spoke to the press on July 1st and said, “Our holy warriors have today, on July 1st at 11: 45 am, executed in front of angry Muslim witnesses a young man whose name was Muhammad Guul Hashim Idiris who insulted our beloved prophet.”

The execution, which took place at a make-shift soccer stadium, was attended by hundreds of people, including school children who were forced to watch the execution.

The martyr had been married since January 26th and is survived by his pregnant widow.

Idiris’ paternal uncle and a Christian convert from Islam spoke to ICC from Addis Ababa, calling the Al-Shabaab execution “further evidence of Al-Shabaab’s attempt to eliminate Christianity from among Somali people in the Horn of Africa.”

Jonathan Racho, ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, said “We are deeply saddened by yet another execution of a Somali Christian. Al-Shabaab and Islamic extremist groups in Somalia have repeatedly vowed to wipe out Christians from Somalia. Al-Shabaab has murdered several Christians, chopped off the hands of Muslims suspected of crimes and even stoned Muslim women to death for allegedly committing adultery. The cruel and inhumane action of Al-Shabaab shows its complete disregard for human life.

The Islamists [...]]]> Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on May 28, twelve heavily armed Muslim men attacked a pastor and his family in Smundri, Pakistan. Pastor Mubarak Masih and his family were assaulted after Shaid Masih, the pastor’s 13-year-old nephew, refused to read verses from the Qur’an despite pressure from his teacher.

The Islamists beat the pastor’s head with sticks and rods; almost killed his brother when they shot him, grazing his head and causing a minor injury; and broke their mother’s left arm.

In a statement to ICC, the family said that Zufair Gujhar, Shaid’s teacher, is a fundamentalist Muslim who routinely forces Christian students to read the Qur’an and other Islamic books. He pressures his Christian students to accept Islam.

Pastor Mubarak, a pastor of the Church of God, said, “We will continue our mission work at any cost and no one can stop us.”

The family reported the incident to the police but they have not yet taken any action against the alleged perpetrators.

ICC’s Regional Manager for South Asia, Jonathan Racho, said, “The violent attack against Pastor Mubarak and his family as well as the beating of Shaid for refusing to read the Qur’an is another demonstration of the dire situation in which Christians find themselves in Pakistan. We are saddened by the utter disregard of the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan.”

Please contact the embassy of Pakistan in your country and ask the Pakistani officials to bring Zufair Gujhar and the other 12 perpetrators of this attack to justice.

Pakistani Embassies:

USA:       (202) 243-3254 (phone), (202) 686-1534 (Fax)
Canada: (613) 238-7881 (phone), (613) 238-7298 (Fax)
UK:          0870-005-6967 (phone)

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.

Islamic courts, known as Kadhi, have existed for a long time [...]]]> Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Muslim leaders are calling for Sharia to be enshrined in Kenya’s constitution. The move is opposed by Christian leaders who fear that it will lead to greater persecution, as it has in Sudan and Nigeria.

Islamic courts, known as Kadhi, have existed for a long time at district levels in Kenya. But they were limited to settling divorce, inheritance and marriage disputes among Muslims.

Kenya has drafted a new constitution which seeks to expand the power of the Islamic courts to include settlement of civil and commercial disputes. Kenyan Muslim leaders are also pushing to elevate the courts to the national level and give them the same privileges as the secular courts.

Christian leaders argue that recognizing Sharia courts in the constitution gives special privileges to Kenya’s Muslims. Rev. Dr. Wellington Mutiso, the general secretary of the evangelical alliance of Kenya, said in an interview with ICC, “We oppose the entrenching of Kahdi in the constitution of Kenya because religion and state should be kept separated in a secular state. Besides, the principles of Islamic laws are discriminatory to women’s right. Thus, entrenching Islamic principles in the Kenyan constitution violates constitutional principles of equality and non-discrimination.”

The majority of Kenyans are Christians with Muslims making up about ten percent of the population. But in the coastal and the northeastern provinces of Kenya, Muslims are the majority.

Jonathan Racho, ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, said, “We urge Kenyan officials not to recognize Sharia courts in the new constitution. Such a move will lead to further violence and discrimination against Christians in the Muslim dominated provinces of Kenya.”

Please contact the Kenyan embassies in your countries and express your opposition to the inclusion of Sharia courts in the new constitution.

Kenyan Embassies:

According to Open Doors’ 2008 World Watch List released today, North Korea is ranked No. 1 for the seventh year in a row. Christians are [...]]]> SANTA ANA, Calif., /Christian Newswire/ — The oppressive, isolated country of North Korea headed by dictator Kim Jong Il retains its grip as the worst persecutor of Christians in the world.

According to Open Doors’ 2008 World Watch List released today, North Korea is ranked No. 1 for the seventh year in a row. Christians are persecuted constantly under the communist government, which denies human rights to its citizens.

The Wahhabi kingdom of Saudi Arabia is No. 2 and Iran No. 3. Both countries are ruled by Shariah law.

Afghanistan, Somalia and the Maldives take the fourth, fifth and sixth positions, respectively. Afghanistan moved up three spots on the list this year as a result of increased pressure from the Taliban movement during 2008. Yemen is No. 7, Laos No. 8, Eritrea No. 9 and Uzbekistan No. 10.

Somalia and Eritrea are new countries to the top 10 list. In Somalia, the number of incidents against Christians increased dramatically in 2008, explaining its rise to No. 5 from No. 12 in 2007. For Eritrea, there was no major change in the lack of religious freedom for Christians. Around 3,000 Christians are being held in Eritrean prisons.

China and Bhutan dropped out of the top 10 with China now No. 12 and Bhutan No. 11. Last year China was No. 10 and Bhutan No. 5.

Islam is the majority religion in seven of the top 10 countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen and Uzbekistan. Two countries have communist governments: North Korea and Laos. Eritrea is the only dictatorial country in the 10 highest countries on the list.

The World Watch List is compiled from a specially- designed questionnaire of 50 questions covering various aspects of religious freedom. A point value is assigned depending on how each question is answered. The total number of points per country determines its position on the World Watch List of countries that are the worst persecutors of Christians.

“It is certainly not a shock that North Korea is No. 1 on the list of countries where Christians face the worst persecution,” says Carl Moeller, President/CEO of Open Doors USA. “There is no other country in the world where Christians are persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner.

“I encourage you to join our on-going prayer campaign for North Korea and to plug in to the many opportunities Open Doors offers to advocate for the oppressed believers there during North Korea Freedom Week April 25-May 2.”

The status of religious freedom for Christians deteriorated in 2008 in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan (No. 13), Iraq (No. 16), Mauritania (No. 18), Algeria (No. 19), India (No. 22), Northern Nigeria (26), Indonesia (No. 41), Bangladesh (No. 43) and Kazakhstan (No. 50 and new on the top 50 list).

Persecution continues unabated in Saudi Arabia. Five months after the daughter of a member of Saudi Arabia’s religious police was killed for writing online about her faith in Christ, Saudi authorities reportedly arrested a 28-year-old Christian man for describing his conversion and criticizing the kingdom’s judiciary on his Website, according to Compass Direct News. Saudi police arrested Hamoud Bin Saleh on Jan. 13 “because of his opinions and his testimony that he had converted from Islam to Christianity,” according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

In Iran, a major crackdown on house churches occurred and a large number of Christians were arrested, marking 2008 as one of the toughest years regarding Christian persecution since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In Afghanistan, a Western Christian aid worker was killed because, according to the Taliban, she was spreading Christianity in Afghanistan which is prohibited by law in the country. In Somalia, Open Doors received reports of at least 10 Christians killed for their faith in 2008 and several others kidnapped and raped. Pressure on the Christian minority in Pakistan continued unabated.

Iraq’s Christian minority faced a year full of violence in 2008. Churches were attacked or damaged by bombs, Christians received death threats and several Christians were murdered, abused and/or kidnapped.

For years India has ranked No. 30 on Open Doors’ persecution index. This year it moved to No. 22 primarily because in the third quarter of 2008 there was the worst outbreak of religious violence on record for Christians in India, especially in the state of Orissa. The number of incidents regarding arrests, physical harassment, abductions and church attacks remained high all over India.

“The escalation of violence against Christians in India in 2008 is very troubling,” says Moeller. “Please pray for believers there.”

In a major positive development, fewer believers were harassed in Vietnam this year. As a result it fell to No. 23. Last year it was ranked No. 17 and in 2006 it was No. 8. Open Doors recorded fewer reports of persecution of Christians in Colombia this year. As a result, this long-time World Watch List country fell off the list.

An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world’s most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to our Website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.

For a complete World Watch List of the top 50 persecutors and additional information go to www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.