Displaying items by tag: Asia

In Algeria and Sudan, peaceful protesters are continuing to demand genuine change, but the military - the most powerful institution in both countries - resist the calls. Both countries know that ousting an authoritarian leader is no guarantee of reform. In each case, Christian communities have added their voices to the calls for greater democracy and transparency. In the Holy Land, recent violence saw Islamic militants from Gaza launch 600+ rockets into Israel, and Israel responding with a heavy bombardment. Both sides eventually agreed a ceasefire, which is currently holding, but the UN envoy to the Middle East warned on 13 May that the risk of another war ‘remains imminent’. Half the Christian population has returned to Iraq following the collapse of IS, but they are returning to broken towns and Iran-backed militias in the Nineveh area. The search for peace, good governance, fairness, justice and dignity continues.

Donald Trump’s ‘Peace to Prosperity’ summit in Bahrain will mark the first phase of the roll-out of US plans for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But a Palestinian Authority spokesman has said that they will not be sending a representative. Some reports indicate that private Palestinian representatives will attend. Bahrain and the United States are hosting the economic leadership ‘workshop’ to share ideas, discuss strategies, and galvanise support for potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by the upcoming US peace agreement. Although the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are sending delegations to participate, the spokesman said that any Palestinian who takes part will be nothing but a collaborator for the Americans and Israel.

A sentence has been upheld against Christians Saheb Fadaie and Fatemeh Bakhteri for ‘spreading propaganda against the regime’. Fadaie also received an additional two years in exile in a remote area near Afghanistan. They were accused of attacking Islam by discussing Christian doctrine in house churches. During their final appeal they were asked to renounce their faith by two judges who have previously been accused of human rights violations. Fadaie is already serving a ten-year sentence in Tehran's Evin prison, following a previous arrest with fellow-members of the Church of Iran. CSW says the sentences constitute a grave violation of Iran's constitutional and international legal obligations, and illustrate the campaign of excessive repression against Christians for practising their faith either in private or in community with others. Pray for Iranian Christians jailed for their faith. Most are bullied to divulge information about their house-church activities and their friends.

A leading Palestinian businessman, Sheikh Ashraf Jabari, served a kosher spread to his Israeli guests at a traditional fast-breaking ‘Iftar’ meal, which Muslims eat during the holy month of Ramadan. He hosted several key Israeli leaders including the Samaria regional council head, a Jewish community leader, and Heather Johnston of the Israel-US Friendship Association, as well as members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Jabari said, ‘This meal is a reinforcement, in the sense that economic-business relationships and the strengthening of relations and friendship lead us all to a more positive place. Breaking the fast together at a joint meal in Hebron clearly symbolises our ability to bridge all gaps.’ The meal is an example of Palestinian business leaders choosing to set aside political issues to focus on improving economic prospects for the Arab sector.

An Iranian woman has been sentenced to ten years in prison in Iran for spying for the UK. A spokesman, Gholam Hossein Esmaili, said the woman had been ‘in charge of the Iran desk’ of the British Council. The British Council seeks to foster cultural relations and educational opportunities in many countries worldwide, but does not have offices or representatives in Iran. It knew that one of its staff had been detained while making a private family visit. Mr Esmaili said she ‘confessed’ to ‘co-operating’ with British intelligence. She is accused of ‘acting against national security’ - a charge laid against a range of activists, journalists, dual citizens and foreign nationals detained in recent years. A London-based British Council employee and art student, Aras Amiri, who was detained in March 2018, is thought to be the jailed person.

Thousands of Christians have travelled to Singapore to grow in the knowledge of God’s power and grasp the concept of Holy Spirit-led personal evangelism. They will become part of a Gospel rally led by Canon J John. The organisers expect that his message will encourage thousands to reach their friends and relatives with the Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord - the one name in which everyone can have solid hope. The vision is of personal evangelism on a mass scale, culminating in Gospel rallies at the 55,000 capacity national stadium over three days. Pray for all of them as they worship together and listen to the message of evangelism; may they duplicate the training learnt over the three days in their home churches. Pray for brokenness in spirit, oneness in the Body, and a bountiful harvest. See

Three Christians stood in disbelief as police clapped them in handcuffs. They went to jail, simply for praying for a sick woman. Surjan, Kolah and Krishna had not been openly sharing the gospel in the streets, which would draw persecution. They had simply prayed for the sick wife of a friend. But the woman died, and the villagers blamed the three Christians who had prayed for her. 27-year-old Krishna had only been a Christian for a month. What would prison do to his young faith? In prison, guards called the three men ‘Hallelujah people’ because they met every morning for prayer and to encourage each other. As months passed, they shared the gospel with fellow prisoners. Thirteen became Christians. After eleven months a lawyer was able to get them released on bail. But they still face a trial. They may yet face a term in in prison for the crime of ‘murder’ by prayer.

Muqadas was 16 when her parents married her off to a Chinese man looking for a bride. A few months later, Muqadas is back home, pregnant, and seeking a divorce from an abusive husband. Hundreds of poor Christian Pakistani girls have been trafficked to China in a bride market that has swiftly grown since last year. Brokers aggressively seek girls for Chinese men, sometimes cruising outside churches to look for potential brides. They are being helped by Christian clerics paid to target impoverished parents in their congregation with promises of wealth in exchange for their daughters. Parents receive several thousand dollars and are told that their new sons-in-law are wealthy Christian converts - but this is not true. The Chinese government and its embassy in Pakistan are accused of turning a blind eye to the practice by issuing visas and documents without question.

On 10 May US merchant vessels were warned of potential threats to commercial shipping and oil production infrastructure in the seas near Iran. On 13 May two Saudi oil tankers were attacked as they prepared to cross into the Persian Gulf. ‘Significant damage to the two vessels’ halted further movement. Meanwhile seven (Iran-backed) Houthi drones targeted two (US-backed) Saudi pumping stations along a pipeline carrying 5m barrels of crude oil a day; in response, the USA has deployed aircraft strike groups and B-52 bombers to the region. On 15 May Iranian newspapers reported that Tehran will resume higher nuclear enrichment (beyond the permitted 3.67%) in sixty days if no new agreement is reached about sanctions being lifted. The US embassy in Baghdad has ordered all non-essential and non-emergency staff to leave Iraq immediately, as tensions grow between Washington and Iran. See

Pervasive persecution of Christians, sometimes amounting to genocide, is ongoing in the Middle East, according to a report commissioned by the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt. ‘The report finds an ‘inconvenient truth’; 80% of persecuted religious believers are Christians. Some of the report’s findings will make difficult reading for Middle East leaders who are accused of tolerating or instigating persecution. The Turkish AK party is highlighted for denigrating Christians. Hunt, an Anglican, has made the issue of Christian persecution one of the major themes of his foreign secretaryship. ‘I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past, so sometimes there’s a nervousness there. But we have to recognise that Christians are the most persecuted religious group.’ The interim report sets out the scale of the persecution. A final report in the summer will state how the Foreign Office can raise awareness of the issue.