Karnataka – Basándose en una denuncia de conversión forzada sentada por extremistas hindúes contra cristianos, oficiales de Karnataka clausuraron un orfanatorio cristiano el 16 de junio en Karwar. El Concilio Global de Cristianos Indios reportó que oficiales estatales visitaron la escuela en el orfanato y lanzaron un orden de clausura al Orfanatorio y Centro de Capacitación en Artes Vocacionales Vertiente de Esperanza, el cual tiene 61 estudiantes tribales. El hogar viene funcionando por cuatro años en una zona ocupada por mucho tiempo por cristianos de la tribu Siddi. En el momento de la redacción, líderes cristianos del área tomaban medidas para resolver el conflicto.
Orissa – Extremistas hindúes el 8 de junio atacaron brutalmente a un cristiano y amenazaron con matarlo en Nuapada. El Concilio Global de Cristianos Indios reportó que seis extremistas hindúes armados con cuchillos y palos invadieron la casa de Bhakta Bivar, de 19 años, mientras sus padres asistían a una reunión de oración. Los extremistas verbalmente abusaron a Bivar por su fe y empezaron a golpearlo. Lo arrastraron hasta un templo hindú, donde le ordenaron negar a Jesús mientras continuaban golpeándolo, le forzaban comida ofrecida a los ídolos y amenazaron con matarlo a él y sus padres si no se convertían al hinduismo. Los extremistas quemaron cuatro Biblias que habían sacado de su casa y, forzándolo a vestirse en ropa color azafrán, simbólica de la religión hindú, lo arrastraron hasta la calle, anunciando falsamente que él había retornado al hinduismo. Los extremistas lo dejaron después de amenazarlo con matarlo si él continuaba creyendo en Cristo, ya que ellos habían prohibido la existencia del cristianismo en el área. Después de registrarse una denuncia con la policía, cinco de los extremistas hindúes fueron arrestados el día siguiente.
LAGOS, Nigeria (Compass Direct News) – Veintenas de jóvenes musulmanes el miércoles (19 de mayo) sitiaron propiedades eclesiales en el estado de Kano en el norte de Nigeria, destruyendo dos templos de la iglesia y una residencia pastoral. Uno de los templos y la casa del pastor fueron incendiados en los recintos de la Iglesia Evangélica Ganar a Todos [Evangelical Church Winning All o ECWA) en Kwasam, en el área del Gobierno Local de Kiru, mientras otro edificio bajo construcción fue demolido. Según informes, la muchedumbre que sumaba más de 100 jóvenes en el área predominantemente musulmana invadió el terreno de la iglesia. “El problema empezó cuando unos jóvenes cristianos de la iglesia ECWA se convirtieron al Islam,” dijo a Compass el Rev. Lado Abdul, presidente del distrito de la ECWA en Kano. “Juraron que la iglesia ECWA no permanecería en el área, ya que harían todo lo posible para hacer a los cristianos huir de Kiru.” Ninguna vida se perdió durante, ni después del incidente. Abdul, sin embargo, lamentó que los musulmanes del área niegan a los cristianos en Kano sus derechos. “Aquí en Kano, nadie da un terreno para construir una iglesia,” dijo. “Las iglesias construidas anteriormente son demolidas por razones que uno no puede comprender fácilmente.” El Comisionado Estatal de la Policía de Kano, Mohammed Gana dijo que el ataque contra los templos de iglesia surgió de una disputa sobre los terrenos. Cuatro sospechosos han sido arrestados y la investigación continúa, dijo el jefe de la policía.
Compass Direct News – A Christian woman who was kidnapped, forced to marry a Muslim farmer and told to convert to Islam amid a dispute over a loan said today she has returned home after weeks of “captivity and torture.” Sania James, 33, was kidnapped April 5 by armed men who stormed her parents’ house in the small town of Rawat, just outside Rawalpindi, neighbors confirmed to Compass. The gunmen allegedly told her father that he would see his daughter again only if he paid off a loan to his employer of 250,000 rupees (US$2,930) plus 30 percent interest, though they had previously agreed upon a rate of 15 percent. James said the armed men took her to her father’s employer, farmer Mohammad Shahbaz Ali, and forced her to marry him. She refused to convert to Islam and was continuously tortured, James said without elaborating. Shahbaz Ali reacted angrily when asked about the alleged incidents. “I refuse to say anything,” he told Compass. Local Pastor Faraz Samson said he had gone to Shahbaz Ali to end the injustice, but that he wouldn’t listen. “I am shocked that a daughter of a poor man has been kidnapped, and the law can’t do anything,” Pastor Samson said.
GUJRANWALA, Pakistán (Compass Direct News) – Un cristiano quien acusó a un musulmán de violar a su hija de 12 años de edad, ha huido de su pueblo en la Provincia de Punjab con su familia después de amenazas de muerte y presiones por parte de la policía de abandonar el caso. Citando “amenazas continuas” de quitarle la vida, Zafar Masih abandonó el pueblo predominantemente musulmán de Nai Abadi Tatlay Aali en Gujranwala 10 días después de acusar a Ali Ahmed, un comerciante de 28 años de edad, de golpear y violar a su hija el 12 de mayo. Su hija, cuyo nombre se reserva, dijo a Compass que su empleador, Ahmed, la golpeó y la violó cuando ella fue a su casa, donde trabajaba como sierva doméstica. Su padre dijo que inmediatamente fue a la estación de policía de Tatlay Aali para registrar cargos, pero el Inspector Oficial de la Oficina de Estación, Iqbal Ojjhra, se rehusó a hacerlo y empezó a presionar a Masih a retirar la acusación. Un poderoso político local junto al propietario de terrenos más importante del área, Imtiyaz Kharral, luego amenazaron con matar o mutilar a Masih, dijo él. “Yo me rehusé a retirar la petición, a pesar de que ambos hombres musulmanes principales me presionaban inmensamente,” dijo Masih. “Y el Inspector Ojjhra presentaba un nuevo pretexto cada día por no registrar el caso.” El Inspector Ojjhra negó todas las alegaciones en su contra. Dijo a Compass que declinó registrar un caso de violación porque no quería dañar la dignidad de la niña cristiana, entonces había recomendado que trataran de resolver el conflicto en una reunión pública o “punchayat.” En la reunión en la casa campestre de Kharral, el propietario de terrenos no permitió al cristiano hablar y dijo a Masih que él tenía que abandonar la denuncia de violación o él y todas las familias cristianas del área tendrían que relocalizarse.
Compass Direct News – The 11th hearing of a case of alleged slander against two Turkish Christians closed just minutes after it opened this week, due to lack of any progress. Prosecutors produced no new evidence or witnesses against Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal since the last court session four months ago. Despite lack of any tangible reason to continue the stalled case, their lawyer said, the Silivri Criminal Court set still another hearing to be held on Oct. 14. “They are uselessly dragging this out,” defense lawyer Haydar Polat said moments after Judge Hayrettin Sevim closed the Tuesday (May 25) hearing. The two Protestant Christians were accused in October 2006 of slandering the Turkish nation and Islam under Article 301 of the Turkish criminal code. The prosecution has yet to provide any concrete evidence of the charges, which allegedly took place while the two men were involved in evangelistic activities in the town of Silivri. Turkish Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin this week criticized Turkish media for presenting Article 301 defendants as guilty when they were charged, before courts had heard their cases or issued verdicts. But for Tastan and Topal, Ergin’s comments were little comfort. “At this point, we are tired of this,” Tastan admitted. “If they can’t find these so-called witnesses, then the court needs to issue a verdict. After four years, it has become a joke!”
SARGODHA
Compass Direct News – Nearly five months after releasing them from prison, an Iranian court has acquitted two women of all charges related to being Christians and engaging in Christian activities. Iranians Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad were arrested on March 5, 2009 and detained on charges of “acting against state security,” “taking part in illegal gatherings” and “apostasy” (leaving Islam) under Iran’s Revolutionary Court system. After nearly eight months, on Nov. 18, 2009 authorities released them conditionally. Elam Ministries said the two women had fled Iran on Saturday (May 22) to an undisclosed location and were recovering. Another Iranian convert who was forced to flee his country said the court likely made a political decision. “The government would not want them to stay in the country as heroes,” said the source, who requested anonymity. “It would be better for the government if they left Iran and didn’t become a positive example for the rest of the Christian community in Iran. Otherwise they would create a precedent of [Christians] who have not denied their faith, who have been acquitted and still live as Christians inside the country.”
(Compass Direct News) – En una segunda ola de deportaciones en Marruecos, los oficiales del país mayoritariamente musulmán han expulsado a 26 cristianos extranjeros en los últimos 10 días sin proceso legal. Después de la expulsión de más de 40 cristianos extranjeros en marzo, las deportaciones aparentemente fueron resultado de la presión de fundamentalistas musulmanes, sobre la nobleza nacional para mostrar la solidaridad musulmana. Las últimas deportaciones llevan el número de cristianos obligados a abandonar a Marruecos, desde los principios de marzo, a aproximadamente 105. Cristianos y observadores expertos califican esto como un esfuerzo calculado para purgar el país históricamente moderado, conocido por sus políticas progresivas, de todo elemento cristiano – tanto extranjero como nacional. Por lo menos dos cristianos marroquíes fueron golpeados en los últimos 10 días, las fuentes dijeron a Compass, y la policía ha llevado a otros cristianos marroquíes a las estaciones de policía diariamente para interrogaciones sicológicamente “pesadas.” Las autoridades los interrogan sobre las actividades de cristianos extranjeros y locales. “No veo el fin,” dijo Salim Sefiane, un marroquí que vive en la extranjería. “Veo esto como una ‘limpieza’ de cristianos de Marruecos, y luego lo veo como una agresión contra la iglesia marroquí, la cual ya está en la clandestinidad, y luego la persecución a los cristianos marroquíes, la cual ya se está produciendo en estos días.”
Compass Direct News – Hindu nationalist organizations in Madhya Pradesh state have declared their intentions to rid Mandla district of all Christian influence by starting preparations for a large “reconversion” event next year. A similar event in Dangs district, Gujarat state in 2006 was filled with Christian hate speech. As a result of anti-Christian sentiment stirred at the April 22 ground-breaking ceremony for the Madhya Pradesh “reconversion” rally to be held next February, Hindu nationalists attacked a house church in the district’s Bamhni Banjar village on May 2, Christian leaders said. Hindu leaders reportedly announced a list of objectives to be achieved before the festival, with one prominent agenda item being to drive away Christian pastors, evangelists and foreign aid workers from the district. The leaders pledged to “cleanse Mandla of Christians” by means of the Feb. 10-12 event. A week after the ground-breaking ceremony, around 40 Hindu nationalists from the Bajrang Dal surrounded the home of Pastor Bhag Chand Rujhiya during a house church service and accused him of forceful conversion as they shouted anti-Christian slogans. Using abusive language, they pelted his house with stones as about 60 people were attending a worship service, Pastor Rakesh Dass said. “The mob was carrying deadly weapons like knives and rods,” he said. Police forced the pastor and his wife to sign statements that they would no longer lead Sunday worship or pray with friends or relatives inside their house, and that they would not evangelize again in the area.
Barnabas Fund. Kyrgyz Christians are already risking extra hostility for protecting Uzbek believers in the midst of the violent ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan. This morning (16 June) a pastor in Kyrgyzstan told Barnabas Fund that threats are now being voiced against Christians – rather than simply against a particular ethnic group.
SLAYING, Compas Direct News – The gruesome nature of the May 2 murder of an evangelist in Bihar state who had no enmity with anyone has led area Christians to suspect anti-Christian motives. The mutilated body of Ravi Murmu, 32, was found in Jamalpur, Munger district, with the right hand nearly severed by means of a sharp weapon, and the jaw and neck were similarly slashed. “Efforts were made to chop off his hand and neck, trying to separate it from his body,” Shekhar Kumar, a member of his church, told Compass. Police are investigating but have made no arrests so far. “All his belongings were intact, which included his motorbike, Bible, cell phone, wristwatch and some cash,” Murmu’s brother-in-law, Shiv Kumar, told Compass. “This seems to be a planned murder. That is why Ravi was targeted when he was alone. To me the motive seems to be anti-Christian.” Murmu’s pastor, Yunus Mandal of Bethel Brethren Assembly in Jamalpur, agreed. “The intention behind the murder evidently is not robbery,” Mandal said. “I am suspicious that Hindu fundamentalists have done this, but this could also be the handiwork of the Naxalites [Maoist rebels].” About a year and half ago, Murmu was attacked along with others in another part of Bihar state, the Newada area, about 160 kilometers (99 miles) from Jamalpur, Pastor Mandal said. “Ravi at that time was also beaten up and sustained injuries on the face and to his teeth,” he said. “They would have killed us, but they found money in our possession worth about 180 U.S. dollars, and so they looted it and fled.”
Compass Direct News – Four Christian families in southeastern Bangladesh left their village under mounting pressure by Buddhist extremists to give up their faith in Christ. Sources told Compass that 20 to 25 Buddhists brandishing sticks and bamboo clubs in Jamindhonpara village, 340 kilometres (211 miles) southeast of Dhaka, began patrolling streets on Friday (April 30) to keep the 11 members of the Lotiban Baptist Church from gathering for their weekly prayer meetings. On Saturday, the Buddhist extremists captured four men and beat one woman who had gathered in a home, threatening to kill them if they did not become Buddhists within 24 hours. Yesterday, the Buddhist extremists attacked the homes of the Baptists two hours before their 1 p.m. worship service, sources said. “Just two hours before our church service, a group of people swooped into our houses and drove all of us out so we could not attend the church service,” said one church member who requested anonymity. The Christians captured Saturday night were released after the extremists, who ripped crosses off the walls of their homes, threatened to kill them if they continued praying and worshipping in the area. After yesterday’s attacks, all Christians in Jamindhonpara fled, taking shelter in another village, source said. Jamindhonpara is located in the Lotiban area, Panchari sub-district of Khagrachari district. “When they come, they do not listen to us,” said the church member. “They arbitrarily do whatever they like. The situation is indescribable – they hunt us down the same way that one hunts down a mad dog to kill it.”
Compass Direct News YAKARTA, Indonesia — Una muchedumbre islámica obligó la suspensión de la construcción de la Iglesia Santa Maria Immaculata en Citra Garden, Yakarta Occidental a principios de este mes, mientras oficiales gubernamentales en Yasmin Park, Bogor, Java Occidental pararon los trabajos en el edificio de la Iglesia Cristiana Indonesia (Indonesian Christian Church o GKI). El 12 de marzo, el mismo día en que la GKI enfrentaba la clausura por partes de oficiales gubernamentales, manifestantes encabezados por El Foro Unido Islámico (United Islam Forum o FUIB) bloquearon la entrada al Citra Garden, insistiendo que cesara la construcción de la iglesia católica allí. Basaban su demanda en la alegación de que no tenía la aprobación de los ciudadanos locales, pero la iglesia tiene permiso oficial; por ende la construcción ha estado en marcha por varias semanas. El permiso de construcción estaba colocado a la vista de todo el mundo, pero los protestantes islámicos dijeron que no creían que todos los ciudadanos habían consentido permitir el edificio. Un líder eclesial Albertus Suriata dijo que la congregación nunca ha tenido un problema con la gente local. “Hemos tenido buenas relaciones,” Suriata dijo a Compass. “No creo que ninguna persona [que vive] cerca la iglesia tenga objeción. Sospechamos a extraños de afuera.” En Java Occidental, la policía de la ciudad de Bogor selló el sitio de construcción de la Iglesia Cristiana Indonesia Yasmin Park. Previamente el gobierno municipal de Bogor había revocado el permiso de construcción de la iglesia, aseverando que la congregación creaba “desasosiego” entre la gente local. La excusa de que la iglesia cree “desasosiego” es falsa, dijo una fuente que pidió el anonimato. La fuente dijo que el gobierno municipal de Bogor empezó a ser presionado por varias organizaciones musulmanes para revocar el permiso de construcción, y que en realidad los residentes de Yasmin Park no tenían ninguna objeción a una iglesia en su medio. “Las relaciones entre la iglesia y los residentes siempre han sido buenas,” dijo la fuente.
Barnabas Fund. Reports of anti-Christian attacks emerge almost daily from Plateau State, which was the location of horrific violence and massacres in the last few months. On 6 April Muslim youths chanting war songs blocked the road as a group of Christians were returning from a church meeting in the Nassarawa Gwom area of Jos, the scene of violence in January. The ensuing clash between the two groups led to the death of one Christian youth at the hands of the security forces who arrived to restore order, according to the Information Commissioner for Plateau State, Gregory Yenlong.
Compass Direct News NAIROBI, Kenia — Cristianos en un área de Etiopia no acostumbrada a la hostilidad anti-cristiana, han sufrido ataques a manos de miembros de la Iglesia Ortodoxa de Etiopia (Ethiopian Orthodox Church o EOC) que se sienten amenazados por su existencia, dijeron líderes cristianos. En Olenkomi, aproximadamente 65 kilómetros al oeste de la capital etíope de Adís Abeba, dos templos de iglesias fueron atacados por una muchedumbre de la EOC en el pueblo de Olenkomi, Región de Oromia, el 27 de enero – dejando a un evangelista inconsciente y a otros cristianos con miedo frente la hostilidad ortodoxa. Los cristianos del área temen que los asaltantes no serán enjuiciados debido a la potente presencia de la EOC y el deseo oficial de tranquilidad, antes de las elecciones del 23 de mayo. Un templo de la Iglesia Mkane Yesus fue destruido en el asalto, mientras la estructura de la Iglesia Hermanos sufrió daños. Los ataques sucedieron después de un incendio accidental producido por velas litúrgicas, que prendieron fuego a un edificio de la EOC. 
Barnabas Fund. A Christian man has been burned to death in front of a police station in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, for refusing to convert to Islam. Rashid Masih received burns to 80% of his body and was hospitalised but tragically lost his fight for life. Hundreds of people attended his funeral on 24 March. Rashid had been employed as a driver for a prominent local businessman since 2005; his wife worked as a maid for the same employer. The couple lived with their children (aged 4 to 12) in the servant quarters where they worked. In January, the businessman and religious leaders requested that Rashid and his family convert to Islam. When Rashid refused and offered to resign from his job, he was reportedly threatened with “dire consequences”. Tensions rose after the employer filed charges for theft of 500,000 Pakistani rupees (£4,000; US$6,000; €4,500) against the couple; sources say that the businessman had offered to drop the case if the family converted to Islam “or else they both would not see their children again”.
Barnabas Fund. April saw a number of incidents of harassment against Christians in Uzbekistan as they celebrated a birthday, played sport together and cared for the homeless, as reported by Forum 18. On 10 March, a birthday party held in a private home was raided under the pretext of an “anti-terror raid”. Ten women from a registered church were given heavy fines for “violating the procedure for arranging and holding gatherings” and “creating the conditions for conducting unsanctioned meetings”. Each church member was fined 100 times the minimum monthly salary – 3,768,000 Soms (£1,565; US$2,400; €1,800) – an extortionate amount, but especially for eight of those fined, who are pensioners struggling to survive on a meagre state pension. The women appealed against the fines, but on 2 April the judge at Tashkent City in Uzbekistan. .
