Displaying items by tag: Asia

The Maldives is Asia's smallest country by area and population, known for its lucrative tourism industry. Despite tourism, it is an extremely closed country which boasts of being 100 percent Islam and heavily represses Christian influence. Only a handful of secret believers live in the country, which is regarded as ‘fertile ground for recruitment’ to radical Islam. Dozens of Maldivians have joined IS. The 2019 elections had a surprising result when opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih defeated the former president Abdulla Yameen, who now faces corruption charges. The new government has begun reforms. Give praise for the shake-up in the government. Pray that this may shake up the nation’s repressive laws and human rights abuses. Conversion to Christianity results in a loss of citizenship. Churches and Christian gatherings do not officially exist, and believers live in fear of being discovered. Pray for safety and religious freedom in the Maldives.

On 11 May Wuhan reported six new coronavirus cases since lockdown was ended, raising concerns about a second wave. The people live in the same residential complex and were previously classified as asymptomatic - people testing positive for the virus and capable of infecting others while not displaying symptoms. Wuhan quickly drew up plans to test its entire population of 11 million people. All districts were told to submit details as to how testing could be done within 10 days. On 13 May China’s media reported that any major increase in numbers as a result of the new testing will raise serious questions over the accuracy and transparency of previous figures. Officials are being accused of covering up the severity of the virus in the earliest stages, and confusion over China's national figures has been created by several shifts in diagnostic and reporting procedures.

Israel is threatening to shut down a Hebrew-language evangelical channel aiming ‘to take the gospel of Jesus into 700,000 Jewish households’. Under its newly issued license, Shelanu TV, an arm of God TV, is now prohibited from broadcasting content that subjects viewers to ‘undue influence.’ It is illegal to proselytise under-18s without gaining parental consent. The Likud party’s communications minister said that they will not allow missionary channels to operate in Israel under any circumstance, and has launched a comprehensive investigation to determine that no channel is violating the terms of its license: ‘if indeed this channel is engaged in missionary activities, it will be taken down immediately.’ Ron Kantor, Shelanu’s regional director, said his network had been entirely transparent during the licensing process. ‘I immediately asked them, 'Can we broadcast in Hebrew?' And the answer was an emphatic yes. We were told many times that laws have changed and there was no issue with our programming.’

At a time when Yemen is scrambling to respond to coronavirus and ensure that hospitals can treat the patients, the country has entered the sixth year of a war that has all but decimated its healthcare system. The multiparty war has not spared hospitals or health workers. More than the violence and destruction, the new threat of the virus will complicate an already disastrous and entirely man-made humanitarian crisis. Yemen’s president has called for new measures and efforts to confront the spread of coronavirus and instructed the health ministry to send medical supplies and medical teams urgently to cities with the virus. The former deputy prime minister said, ‘A comprehensive cease-fire in Yemen and the release of all detainees, prisoners and abductees are humanitarian necessities, in order to devote efforts to protect the Yemeni people from the potential coronavirus pandemic.’

Cox’s Bazaar is the largest refugee settlement on earth. One million Rohingya refugees, half of whom are children, have been cramped together in these camps since 2017, after they were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar to escape horrific violence. Now they face yet another threat to their lives with Coronavirus. The potential death toll is unimaginable in the densely packed camps. Social distancing is not an option. Refugees live in cramped conditions in makeshift bamboo and tarpaulin shelters. Access to clean water is severely limited, so the hygienic practice of regular hand-washing is almost impossible to achieve. The government and food distribution agencies are developing new ways to distribute food that minimise person-to-person contact. Rohingya volunteers are educating camp communities about the importance of hand-washing. Pray for good communication between the agencies focused on essential healthcare and food distribution to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Manufacturing clothes was once a pillar of Gaza’s economy, with 900 factories employing 36,000 Palestinians. But the industry collapsed in 2007 when Hamas seized control of Gaza and Israel banned the export of clothing from Gaza to Israel or the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Ziad Qassem’s 25 years as a tailor seemed worthless in the cruel blockade: unemployed, debt piling up, worried how he would provide for his wife and five children. Coronavirus came to the rescue. Demand for masks and protective gear soared worldwide. Gaza garment factories are flooded with new orders from Israel, ordinarily seen by much of Gaza’s Palestinian population as the enemy. Israeli rights groups have called for the permanent easing of restrictions that govern entry in and out of the Gaza enclave, home to some two million people, so that the economy can function more normally even after the pandemic. See

The Kuwaiti government has imposed a nationwide curfew to contain the spread of coronavirus. On 6 May there were 485 new cases of infections, bringing the total to 6,289. Kuwaiti citizens enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world today with little persecution of Christians. There are approximately 200 Kuwaitis from a Christian heritage. Pray that during Ramadan God will give extraordinary opportunities for them to have spiritual conversations with their Muslim neighbours as fear of sickness spreads faster than the actual virus. Pray for spirit-led strategies for Christian service during lockdown and Ramadan, and that the message of Christ will reach many people through social media and other forms of technology.

China filed a patent for a drug seen as one of the best potential weapons against coronavirus the day after Beijing confirmed coronavirus was transmissible to humans. The revelation that it moved so fast fuels concerns about a cover-up of the pandemic when it erupted and suggests that China’s understanding of the virus was far more advanced than the impression given in public. The chairman of the US foreign affairs select committee joined the growing global call for a full, independent inquiry into China’s role, saying, ‘It is quite clear there is an awful lot that we do not know about the emergence of this disease and the responses to it. We all need to learn the lessons of the outbreak so that the international community can respond better in the future.’ Leaked documents showed that China’s officials knew they faced an epidemic but delayed warning the public for six days.

On 29 April, banks across Lebanon were torched and vandalised by hundreds of demonstrators during the second night of protests over their currency recently losing 50% in value. The largest and most violent protests were in Tripoli, the second-largest, and poorest, city. One 26-year-old protester died from army gunshot wounds and many were hospitalised from heavy-handed responses to protests. Human Rights Watch called for transparent investigations into the death. Poverty has worsened during the nationwide pandemic lockdown. The social affairs minister estimated that 75% of the population require aid in a country of about six million - but that aid has been meagre and slow to come. Massive anti-government protests began in October but paused during lockdown. Now they are angrier and more desperate. On 30 April the Daily Star reported 23 soldiers wounded overnight in Tripoli and Sidon.

The UAE is a federation of seven emirates, ruled by tribal Sheikhs or Emirs. The largest, richest emirate is Abu Dhabi with significant oil and gas reserves. The development of oil and financial industries has brought fabulous wealth and rapid modernisation. Millions from around the world work there. The pride of status and prestige is marked by using money to gain personal power and glory. Because Islam dominates public life, Christian converts often lose their inheritance and parental rights, are forced to marry, are fired or are required to work for free. To avoid the death penalty or other penalties, they often feel that they must hide their faith or flee to another country due to fears of persecution. Pray that the Christian English, Arabic, Urdu, Filipino and Indian language worship groups and congregations will attract newcomers even though evangelism is prohibited, and that non-Muslims can worship in dedicated buildings or private homes.