Displaying items by tag: Asia

During a visit to Israel’s border with Lebanon, the defence minister Yoav Gallant warned Hezbollah not to test the Jewish state, referring to ongoing provocations by the Iran backed terrorists violating legally-binding UN resolutions. Gallant toured the region with other senior officers and was updated on defensive efforts made along the border and the construction of a barrier. In a Hebrew-language video statement, he warned Hezbollah secretary-general Nasrallah not to ‘make a mistake’, saying, ‘If an escalation or conflict develops here, we will return Lebanon to the Stone Age. We will not hesitate to use all our power and erode every inch of Hezbollah and Lebanon if we have to. We don’t want war, but we are ready to protect our citizens, our soldiers, and our sovereignty.’ The UN resolution forbids Hezbollah from operating anywhere near the border between Lebanon and Israel. Alarmingly, Hezbollah’s armed patrols stationed along Israel’s northern frontier are provocations.

Pakistani Christians are crying silently for peace, understanding, and respect for their religious symbols. But their cries are not heard domestically or globally. Christianity has been an integral part of Pakistan's multi-religious society since its inception in 1947 when Muhammad Ali Jinnah promised equal citizenship rights. In 2023 Christians are treated as second-class citizens, discriminated against, and targets of hostility and violence. Often the blasphemy law is misused against them, further worsening their situation. A comprehensive strategy that includes improved security measures for religious minorities and educational campaigns to foster tolerance and mutual respect is needed urgently. The government needs to uphold its commitment to religious freedom and safeguard all its citizens, as enshrined in its constitution and in line with international covenants. Pray for the government to reassess its approach toward religious minorities and condemn violence and threats against them. Pray for incorporating religious tolerance and coexistence in the curricula for school and public awareness campaigns.

Praise God for rapid church growth, even under government restrictions and persecution. Indigenous Laotians lead almost all churches and evangelism efforts. The government recognises two Protestant groups. The largest is the Lao Evangelical Church, where most Christian growth occurs. Growth also happens through ‘underground’ house groups. Over 90% of all trained leaders left Laos in 1975, and most congregations lack a trained pastor. Pray urgently for leaders both in the recognised churches and in the house church networks. Pray that new believers will grow strong in faith and not fall away. The Church suffers through persecution, but recognises that it drives them to prayer and total dependence on God. Much of Laos remains unevangelised. The church's growth is dwarfed by remaining tasks. The Gospel has not easily crossed ethnic barriers. Buddhism and tribal religions blend together. There are 5,000 temples but only 250 church buildings.

President Herzog acknowledged that ‘ultra-nationalist Jews attacking Christians is on the rise’. Attacks of stones, eggs and rotten fruit are regularly thrown into Jerusalem’s New Polish House. Aggressors broke into the sisters’ private property at nighttime, smashing pots and damaging the front door. Also, several dozen Breslov Hasidic extremists have entered a Catholic church eight times in the early hours, praying and alleging, incorrectly, Elisha’s tomb is there so they can claim Jewish rights over the church property. Police removed them. In a video, Dormition Abbey’s abbot was escorting the German federal minister of Education by the Western Wall when he was asked by an Israeli official to hide the cross he was wearing; saying the cross is ‘really big and inappropriate for this place. It's a Jewish place, you must respect that.’ Pray for God to encourage Christian communities and for church leaders to respond wisely and appropriately to opposition.

Some say ‘to be a Kazakh is to be a Muslim’. Most Kazakhs follow a version of Islam influenced by shamans and indigenous practices. Other Muslim countries send Muslim missionaries to Kazakhstan, successfully converting even ethnic Russians to Islam. After the Soviet Union broke up, the number of mosques grew from 46 to 2,300 in 2020. The government keeps Islam moderate and is the only Central Asian state where Islam has no special status. Pray for freedom from historic spiritual bondages. Kazakhstan's cultural and religious diversity provides many opportunities for evangelising. A number of Kazakh Uzbeks and Uyghurs are turning to Christ and taking the gospel back to their own people. Christianity is still largely an urban phenomenon, but churches and missions (Baptists, Korean groups, Western agencies) are recruiting for village ministry. Pray that the Gospel might be shared in the listeners' language, in the many towns and villages of this sprawling land.

The Iranian authorities are doubling down on policing and severely oppressing Iranian women and girls for defying the return of the morality law which insists women and girls wear headscarves in public with police patrols enforcing obedience. Social media is showing women being violently assaulted by officials and the people helping them to escape are being targeted by the police firing tear gas See At the same time, a clampdown on religious minorities also needs a prayerful response. Over 50 believers were arrested on unknown charges immediately following the reinstatement of the morality police. ‘The reason for this sudden surge in nationwide arrests of Christians is unclear at this stage,’ Article18’s advocacy director Mansour Borji says. ‘What is obvious is that Iran has begun a fresh crackdown on civil liberties, and the traditionally vulnerable groups, like Christians, are on the front line of those targeted.’

Pakistan is one of the world’s leading persecutors of Christians. Iranian and Afghan believers face less persecution than Pakistan’s Christians. Most Christians are in the lower castes, and are taken advantage of by the higher castes. Christian women and girls are vulnerable. Reports indicate a silent epidemic of kidnappings, forced marriages and forced conversions of Christian girls and women. The state authorities do little to counter this practice. This endemic prejudice and persecution is unreported in the West’s media. A typical case is of a 13-year-old Christian girl being kidnapped by a 44-year-old Muslim man. Two days later her father discovered she had converted to Islam and was married to the man, who already had a wife and two children. Every year about 1,000 Christian and Hindu girls and young women are abducted, sexually assaulted, forcefully converted to Islam, and married to their abductors. In the majority of cases the victims are intimidated into silence and remain captive.

Since January weekly protests have filled the streets opposing the government's ‘reasonableness bill’ which removes the Supreme Court's power to cancel government decisions that it views as unfair. On 24 July thousands filled Jerusalem and Tel Aviv streets when Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul bill was passed; the next day doctors struck and protested. Hundreds from both sides of the political divide had prayed at Jerusalem’s Western Wall ahead of the vote. Intercessions were led by Zionist rabbis supporting Netanyahu and opposition politicians including Benny Gantz who said, ‘There is a rift in the nation that must be treated. Netanyahu must stop the legislation.’ Without far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet his government would collapse. Those ministers insist that the reforms go forward, not watered down. On 27 July activists marched again after the end of Tisha B’Av fast day. ‘You don’t negotiate with dictatorial governments. You fight them’, said one protest group.

They fled war and violence to find safety. They lost their homes, family members, neighbours and friends. They live in makeshift shelters, not knowing when they’ll be able to return home. In Yemen, millions are trapped in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, hoping for a better future. Abidah said, ‘We fled Hudaydah because the war was affecting my daughter. The sounds of rockets hitting the port terrified her. She screamed and could not stop. Now we’re in Aden, she has started talking again.’ An elderly father of ten said, ‘The war made us lose our humanity and value. Life in Aden’s camp is tiring. But complaining to someone other than God is humiliating. We have no future, it’s gone. I hope for a future for our children.'Thousands of children have been killed or maimed since the conflict began. Thousands more have been recruited into the fighting. Years of conflict, misery and grief have left millions in need of mental health and psychosocial services.

Video footage of Tabitha Nazir Gill, a Christian nurse, being beaten up by colleagues went viral in 2021 after she was accused of breaking Pakistan’s penal code by insulting Mohammed, a crime which carries the death sentence. She went into hiding as police investigations continued. Later she said, ‘The mob wanted to kill me but I kept praying to Jesus and I opened my eyes and  felt I saw angels. From that moment I knew that I would be saved. I am thankful to Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God, for giving me my freedom. Jesus is mighty to save.’ She thanked God for those who had secured her safe passage out of Pakistan, including ‘the miracle’ of being granted an immigrant visa to a new country in the West, which cannot be disclosed for safety reasons.