Gujarat Enacts Anti-Conversion Law

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Gospel for Asia missionaries in Gujarat, India, will now face up to three years in prison if they are accused of “forcibly converting” someone to Christianity. And believers across the state are concerned that the law will open doors for anti-Christian extremists to falsely accuse them of illegal practices.

“Our missionaries are trusting that the Lord will take care of them in this difficult time,” said K.P. Yohannan, Gospel for Asia’s founder and president. “Several states in India have enacted these types of laws, but the love of Christ is still going out.”

The state’s legislative assembly passed the “Gujarat Religious Freedom Act,” an anti-conversion law, in 2003. But it remained dormant until April 1, when they finally formalized the rules for its implementation.

Now, if someone responds to the Gospel, the missionary must submit a completed form to the government, which includes detailed information about the person changing his or her faith. Also, the person who is “converting” must report to the government 30 days before the “conversion ceremony”—which includes events like baptism.

If religious workers do not comply with these rules, they will face criminal charges. However, those in the Hindu religion are exempt from the stipulations of the new law, leaving many to believe that it is targeting Christians and Muslims.

The state’s legislative assembly tried to get the rules for the law framed in March. But Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma declared the amendment unconstitutional because it “violated Article 25 of the (Indian) constitution, which guarantees to all citizens to freely profess, practice and propagate any religion.” The March amendment also included Jains and Buddhists as part of the Hindu religion. Now, in the new law, the two religions are considered separate.

Christians are concerned that the law will provide new ways for anti-Christian extremists to persecute them through false accusations. They are also worried that the needy will suffer, because charitable work could be construed as bribery for people to “convert” to Christianity.

“Please pray that our missionaries and other Christian workers in Gujarat will have wisdom and strength from the Lord,” said K.P. Yohannan. “Also lift up those that want to persecute the believers, that they will come to Jesus in a personal way.”

Kazakhstan Considers Restrictive New Religion Law

By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

LOVES PARK, ILLINOIS (ANS) — The lower chamber of Kazakhstan’s parliament has passed new legislation that would impose tough new restrictions on foreign missionary activity and evangelical churches.

Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe.

According to a news release from the Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev would have to approve the legislation before it becomes law.

The news release stated that according to Rev. Franz Tissen, president of the Kazakh Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, the bill contains a number of troubling provisions.

It would establish quotas of missionaries allowed in Kazakhstan. It would also forbid unregistered missionary activity by foreign workers who are not representatives of religious organizations.

Tissen said the bill would also prohibit distribution of religious material and informational material with religious content to citizens in public places and in private homes, unless the person receiving the literature initiates the contact and agrees to receive the literature.

Tissen told SGA the bill would also stop the acceptance of financial and other donations by religious organizations from anonymous or foreign citizens and organizations. In addition, he said, it would forbid religious activities, meetings or gatherings with children under the age of 18 without written agreement from both parents or legal guardians.

According to the news release, the proposed bill would also target the activities and registration of religious groups that have only a small number of members. It would sharply restrict the right to publish religious literature, and would also make it more difficult for a small group to obtain their own place for worship, or to preach outside of the group itself.

Tissen said in a news release, “This is an absolute intrusion into the inner lives of believers, and limits us by laws and fines as we work to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. I appeal to all believers to join us in fasting and praying for the work of God in Kazakhstan.”

SGA president Dr. Robert Provost also said in the news release, “Please make this a matter of urgent, ongoing prayer before the Lord. This is yet another indication that the doors for ministry are, indeed, continuing to close in the former Soviet Union. But our God is sovereign, and He alone can direct the hearts of the rulers of this world.”

SGA is an interdenominational mission which has been working in the former Soviet Union since 1934. SGA has served churches in Russia through pastor and layleader training, sponsorship of national church planters and the provision of Christian literature.

For more information go to www.sga.org

Islamic Extremists Kill another Christian in Somalia

By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ANS) — Islamic extremists have shot and killed a Muslim convert to Christianity.

According to a news release from the Washington, D.C. based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC), the slaying occurred on April 22 in Baidawa, a town 149 miles from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

The 29-year-old victim’s name was David Abdulwahab Mohamed Ali.

ICC filled in some of the horrifying details. On April 22, one of Ali’s cousins took two other members of the Islamic extremist group Al-Shabab to Ali and asked him if he was a Muslim or an infidel. He answered, “Neither.”

They asked, “Then what are you?”

He answered, “Waxaan ahay Masiixi,” which means, “I am a follower of the Messiah.”

ICC said that at this point Ali’s cousin became both furious and humiliated. In Somalia’s strict Muslim society, Ali’s conversion to Christianity brought enormous shame on his family. His cousin’s first response was to pull out a gun and shoot Ali. The other two extremists did the same, and the three continued shooting Ali until their Muslim “honor” had been avenged.

Ali had been living in Ethiopia since 2000 when he traveled to Somalia this April to visit his family.

ICC reported he came to Christ in 1995, in Yemen, where he was living as a refugee. In 2000, Ali’s friend, Mohammed Omer Haji, was sentenced to death by the government of Yemen for his faith in Christ. Haji was able to take refuge in New Zealand.

However, Ali had to flee Yemen and move to Ethiopia because Yemeni authorities were looking for him also.

According to ICC, Ali was a gifted evangelist who led many to the Lord, actively sharing his faith through blogs. He was also a linguist and a philosopher whom some Somalis called “The Great Thinker.”

ICC reported that Islamic extremists have recently intensified their attacks against Christians in Somalia. In the past six months, four Christians, including Ali, have been martyred for their faith.

ICC said the attacks against Christians in Somalia are carried out by a group called Al-Shabab, an Al-Qaeda linked militant group. Al-Shabab is fighting to establish an Islamic state in Somalia, ruled by Sharia law, and is on the United States’ list of terrorist organizations.

ICC spoke with a leading Somali Christian who urged the international community to condemn what he called the “genocide-in-the-making” that the Church in Somalia is facing.

ICC said the Somali Christian expressed his fear that “less than three percent of the Somali population is Christian, and we (the Christians) could be eliminated in this generation by the Muslim violence if the massacre is not stopped now.”

ICC’s regional manager for Africa, Darara Gubo, said in a news release, “The deadly Jihad against Christians continues, and Christians in Somalia need our help and support. Please don’t forget our brothers and sisters in Somalia.”

To learn more about the needs of Somali Christians, go to www.persecution.org

Pastors Attacked by Hindu Radicals in India.

By James Varghese
Special to ASSIST News Service

ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA (ANS) — Two pastors were beaten up by Hindu radicals in India.

The reported assault occurred in Kammanapalli village, Nizamabad district, Andhra Pradesh on April 24.

According to a story on www.persecution.in, the ministers attacked were Pastor Anand and Pastor Raju.

The report said when the pastors visited a lady church member named Sister Vijaya, they were suddenly beaten up by Hindu radicals and their Bibles burned to ashes.

According to the story on the web site, the pastors were also threatened with dire consequences if they visit the lady again. The pastors were admitted to a hospital and treated for internal injuries and sprains.

The name of the Hindu radical group is not known at this point.

According to www.persecution.in, Miss.Vijaya had been suffering from kidney stones for many years and in excruciating pain. A few months ago she asked the pastors for prayer and was cured, much to the surprise of her doctors and relatives.

The story reported that since then she embraced Christianity and is growing in her faith. According to www.persecution.in, Sister Vijaya is a prominent leader from a high caste, and her conversion has unnerved area Hindu radicals.