Sudan: A prayer request
18 Jun 2015
Christians in Sudan request our prayers for Michael Yat (49) and Peter Yen Reith (36), two South Sudanese pastors on trial in Khartoum who had their latest hearing on 15 June. According to their lawyer, prosecutors failed to produce any new evidence, as officials from Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) repeated statements they had made earlier in the trial. The lawyer was also able to present his defence to the court. The next hearing was scheduled for Thursday 18 June. They were detained in Khartoum by the NISS on 14 December and 11 January respectively, charged with a range of criminal offences including crimes against the state which are punishable by death, a life sentence or lesser detention and confiscation of property.
On 9 June 2014, IS militants invaded Mosul in Iraq. All residents who didn't conform to their brand of Islam had to convert, pay a high tax or be killed. 120,000 Christians and other minorities fled and for the first time in 1,600 years there were no church services held in the city. Many families were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs, as IS militants stripped them of their belongings as they fled. Mariam, a gynaecologist who is a Christian, had to flee Mosul as the city fell. Her house was confiscated by IS and marked with the letter 'N' for Nasrani - a word used by IS to refer to Christians. Her precious library was emptied onto the street. Secret footage obtained by the BBC showed what life had become for those who stayed. Open Doors has been working through local churches and partners to provide relief to these refugees. In the past twelve months they have helped some 80,000 with immediate needs of water, food, medicine, hygiene kits and mattresses. They also work with the children, many of whom are deeply traumatised by their experiences.
The Islamic State one year on - foreign fighters
18 Jun 2015
Thousands of foreign fighters have travelled to Iraq and Syria in the year since Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) lightning sweep through the two territories. According to the most recent publicity available Tunisia has contributed the largest contingent, with some estimates putting the figure as high as 3,000.The foreign loyalists can expect to join fighting battalions, or even take up positions in the extremist group's extensive bureaucracy, which implements Islamic law and harvests taxes across its territory. Saudi Arabia - a country battling IS terrorism against Shia residents in its eastern province - is thought to be the second most prolific source of foreign fighters, with up to 2,500 people believed to have joined the fray in Iraq and Syria. IS will be more violent than ever in order to survive. Nearly a fifth of fighters are residents or nationals of western European countries, and an estimated 1,200 people have travelled from France alone.
Scripture books promoting ‘dangerous’ messages about sex and male power are being used in NSW public schools according to a parent-run lobby group, Fairness in Religions in Schools (FIRIS). FIRIS targeted the publication ‘Teen Sex By the Book’ and its companion manuals, produced by Australia's biggest evangelical Christian school curriculum publisher. FIRIS claims the book describes homosexuality as ‘misplaced sexual desire’ and warns that girls wearing short skirts and low-cut tops might tempt their Christian brothers to lust. The battle to remove Christianity from public school curricula is not a new one. A spokesman for the Anglican Church said Christian Special Religious Education (SRE), an optional course, teaches what the Scriptures say about the forgiveness of sins, hope for life after death and wisdom for living now. SRE teachers teach children to honour their parents and love their neighbour. One Sydney Christian leader asked, ‘What is wrong with Christians teaching the children of parents who select Christian SRE that we believe monogamy is God's good purpose, and that sex is best reserved for marriage?’
A UN report accuses the Eritrean government of extrajudicial executions, torture, national service and forced labour that create a climate of repression driving many to flee. It catalogues a litany of human rights violations by the ‘totalitarian’ regime of President Isaias Afwerki on a scope and scale seldom witnessed elsewhere. The government uses imprisonment, forced disappearance, surveillance and censorship to create a culture of permanent fear and crush all dissent. The year-long study, which was carried out without the cooperation of the Eritrean government, is based on first-hand testimony gathered through 550 confidential interviews with witnesses in third countries and 160 written submissions. After Syrians, Eritreans were the most common nationality to arrive on European shores, comprising 22% of all people entering Italy by boat last year. Faced with a seemingly hopeless situation they feel powerless to change, hundreds of thousands of Eritreans are fleeing their country.
Nigeria: Violence follows recent elections
11 Jun 2015
Horrific violence has followed the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari in May, as Boko Haram militants attacked the city of Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state and birthplace of the Islamist insurgency group Boko Haram. Gunfire and explosions reverberate through the city and scores have been left dead. ‘We don’t know what happens next,’ a church leader told Barnabas. ‘Pray for the believers in the city of Maiduguri. Pray for God’s special intervention.’ On 29 May, militants launched 50+ rockets into the town, killing scores of people. On Saturday, a suicide bomber killed several people as he detonated himself in a mosque. On Sunday, a bomb went off near the Gomboru market, killing scores more. On Tuesday 2 June, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Gomboru market, killing at 20+ people. In his inaugural speech President Buhari announced that the command centre for security forces would be moved from Abuja to Maiduguri.
Australia: Faith leaders write to PM on marriage
11 Jun 2015
Australian Christian Lobby Managing Director Lyle Shelton has joined with 38 leaders of Christian and other religious groups in signing a letter to the Prime Minister urging him and the parliament to uphold the true meaning of marriage. Mr Shelton said that such a demonstration of support from Australia's faith communities for man-woman marriage and the rights of children it protects was a welcome development in what has been largely a one-sided debate. ‘It is so important our nation does not sleep-walk into a legislative change to the definition of marriage without considering the consequences,’ Mr Shelton said. The letter was signed by Catholic and Anglican archbishops and 36 heads of many other denominations.
A man and his friend saw 48-year-old Richard Matt and 34-year-old David Sweat in their backyard with what looked like a guitar case. The witnesses' identities are being withheld because of safety concerns. When the witnesses confronted the men they said they were lost and then ran away. The man added, ‘we’re lucky to be alive.’ The escaped convicts used power tools to cut through a steel wall in their adjoining cells and escape through a steam pipe. The search for the two men has been extended to Canada and Mexico as well as New York. Matt was serving a life sentence for killing and dismembering his former boss. Sweat was also serving life for torture and murder.