Christian persecution: daily, deadly
- Feb 22, 2009
Most editors share the same frustration: too much news and too little space. There just isn’t enough real estate in a given issue to print all the news that we want our readers to have. Space limitations are especially severe in a weekly, small-format newspaper like The Baptist Record.
Unfortunately, one of the subjects that often gets pushed to the bottom of the news queue is information on the plight of persecuted Christians worldwide—and persecution is occurring daily on a worldwide basis. While news space may be tight, we must not forget the plight of our brothers and sisters who are mistreated merely because of their faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) has proven to be a reliable source for information on persecuted Christians. The Voice of the Martyrs was founded in 1967 by the late Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian Lutheran pastor who served two prison terms in Soviet-dominated Romania for the crime of preaching Christianity. He was eventually freed after a ransom was arranged, and he immigrated to the West to found The Voice of the Martyrs.
Wurmbrand’s organization has been unrelenting at the thankless task of investigating and reporting the persecution of Christians around the world. The Voice of the Martyrs web site is www.persecution.com. Among the current entries on the web site:
• On Nov. 12, two Christian sisters were killed and their mother wounded by a gang of Islamic extremists in the Al Qahira section of Mosul, Iraq, according to VOM contacts. The gunmen shot one of the sisters as she was waiting for a bus outside their home. They then stormed into the home, killed the other sister, and injured their mother. A bomb placed by the assailants at the entrance of the house detonated as police arrived on the scene, injuring several officers.
• Since late November, about 100 Christian men, women, and children have been arrested by Eritrean authorities, VOM Canada reported. The wave of arrests began in northern Eritrean cities and moved to southern regions before reaching the capital, Asmara, on Dec. 12. Some of the detained Christians were reportedly transferred to a military facility and were severely mistreated. Local sources indicate that an unspecified number may have died due to untreated injuries sustained in detention.
The Eritrean government persecutes Christians, often placing believers in metal containers that are extremely hot during the day and cold during the night. Nearly 1,800 Eritrean Christians are believed to be under arrest because of their religious beliefs. They are being held in police stations, military camps and prisons in 12 known locations across Eritrea. It is believed more than 28 clergymen are being held.
• Twenty-year-old Sandul Bibi and her father Gulsher are in prison in Pakistan, charged with violating section 295-B of the Pakistani legal code, the “blasphemy” law. Sandul is falsely accused of ripping pages from the Quran. On Oct. 9, a large crowd of Muslims attacked Christian families at a church, throwing stones and firing guns. They were shouting, “Kill Gulsher and his daughter Sandul.” Sandul and her father, Gulsher Masih, were arrested after a mob from the local mosque surrounded their house.
Loudspeakers from different mosques broadcast accusations that Christians had disgraced the Quran, calling Muslims to attack and burn their homes. The angry crowd threw stones and set fire to Sandul’s home. Christians believe Sandul and her father were targeted and arrested because they were aggressively winning villagers to Christ.
• On Jan. 5, police arrested four Christians on false charges of forcible conversion in the village of Kushalpura, Madhya Pradesh, India. At 10:00 a.m., Pastor Kantilal Bhuria went to a home where 25 Christians were gathered for prayer. During the service, a mob of Hindu extremists barged into the house and accused Pastor Bhuria of forcibly converting Hindus.
The extremists verbally abused those present and beat a Christian woman. The police arrived on scene after receiving a phone call from the attackers and arrested four believers. At last report, these Christians remained in detention.
For every report of Christian persecution that makes it to the West through organizations such as The Voice of the Martyrs, there are undoubtedly thousands of other reports we never hear—and from all available evidence, persecution is increasing almost everywhere it exists.
There are limits to what we can do for these Christian brothers and sisters, but we can pray for them and search for creative ways to support them as they go through their great trials of faith.
And the next time you hear someone complaining that the padded pews in the worship center aren’t all that comfortable…
This article is reprinted from the January 22, 2009, issue of The Baptist Record, the newspaper of the Mississippi Baptist Convention.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Citizenship, Persecution, Religious Liberty