Algerian Prosecutor Demands 2 Year Sentence for Converts from Islam

Compass Direct News reports that:

A state prosecutor in western Algeria demanded two-year jail sentences and large fines for six Muslim converts to Christianity yesterday in one of two trials against Christians that have caught the north African nation’s attention in the past week.

The same court in Tiaret city yesterday delayed the verdict of a Christian woman facing three years in prison for “practicing non-Muslim religious rites without a license.”

Under intense scrutiny from Algerian and international observers, the Tiaret judge delayed Habiba Kouider’s ruling to ask for further investigation. The case gained notoriety last week when Algerian newspapers reported that court officials in the agricultural town mocked the Christian for her conversion and pressured her to return to Islam.

Read more at Compass Direct News.

Algeria – Churches Under Attack

SANTA ANA, CA – Christian churches in Algeria are under massive attack.

Over the last six months, Algerian authorities have closed half of the Protestant churches in the country. If the trend continues, the Algerian Protestant church will be non-existent by the end of 2008.

Algerian officials have closed 26 Algerian churches by either written order or verbal warning since November 2007. Ranging in size from several dozen to more than 1,000 members, 32 congregations in Algeria belong to the Protestant Church of Algeria, while another 20 small fellowships exist independently. Algeria, a country of 33 million in northern Africa, is home to at least 10,000 Protestants.

Religious Affairs Minister Bu’Abdallah Ghoulamullah has called on Christian groups in Algeria to re-register according to Algerian associations’ law. But Algerian Christians have claimed that the government has blocked them from carrying out the required re-registration of their churches. “The administration offices in Tizi-Ouzou did not want to or could not say which measures to take in order to obtain the ‘certificate of conformity,’” church leaders say.

Nevertheless, authorities require the certificate to show that a church is in line with the March 2006 law governing non-Muslim places of worship. But because these regulations are unclear, churches are closed and services are forbidden. Expressing the Christian faith in a church service, by worship and prayer, has become almost impossible. Earlier this year an Algerian Christian was detained five days for carrying a personal Bible and study books. He was fined $460 and handed a one-year suspended prison sentence. On April 29 a court charged the Muslim Background Believer with “printing, storing and distributing” illegal religious material.

Algeria’s official state religion is Islam, and religious minorities are seen as a threat to the government’s internal affairs. Anyone found trying to convert a Muslim to Christianity can receive a sentence of two to five years imprisonment and given a fine up to $15,430. Christianity has been compared to terrorism, and Muslim schools and mosques have been encouraged to continue the attack that threatens to wipe out the Christian community in Algeria.

Open Doors has launched a worldwide advocacy campaign asking supporters to contact their local Algerian Embassy. Supporters can send a message to Algerian Ambassador to the United States Amine Kherbi directly from the Open Doors Website, asking that the Algerian government stop church closures and reopen those that have already been closed. This is an important way for Christians in the United States to stand up for the religious rights of Christians in Algeria. To send a message, go to the Open Doors Algeria 2008 website.

New Christians Face Ultimatum

JHARKHAND, INDIA – A Christian family in Jharkhand, India, is facing an ultimatum from the people of their village. On May 25, Boykin Raj and his family were told to either leave Christ or leave their village.

Boykin and his family, which includes his parents and sister, are part of a church where Gospel for Asia missionary Kijor Bune ministers. They are the only Christians in their community and just recently chose to follow Jesus. But things have not been easy for them since their decision.

“Since the time they came to faith, they have been threatened constantly by their relatives as well as the villagers,” GFA’s field correspondent wrote.

When the villagers gathered together on May 25 to decide what to do with the Christians, Boykin and his family chose to trust the Lord, whatever the outcome.

“Boykin and his family resolutely told them that they would not leave their Christian faith,” the correspondent wrote, “and they were ready to pay any price.”

They ask for prayer for the family, as the police have refused to protect them in this “religious matter.” The situation is tense, and no one is sure what will actually happen. Pray that Boykin’s family will continue trusting the Lord, and that many in their village will somehow come to know Jesus.

30 Christian preachers attacked by Hindu radicals at Andhra Pradesh, India

By James Varghese
Special to ASSIST News Service

ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA (ANS) — In yet another savage attack on Christians in India, news has just come out that some thirty Christian preachers were beaten by Hindu activists belonging to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at Bainsa town in the Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh.

According to a story issued by the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) on their website www.persecution.in, the group of preachers belonging to the Brethren Church went to Bainsa to preach the Gospel on May 23, 2008.

On learning of their presence, the RSS activists first attacked their vehicles and then beat them up, resulting in serious injuries to many of them. Incredibly, the preachers were later taken by the attackers to the police station at Bainsa so they could file a complaint against them and for the police to inquire into their allegations.

As if this wasn’t enough, three truckloads of Hindu fanatics, numbering about 200, then surrounded the police station wanting to attack the preachers again. The Christians had to remain inside the police station as the attackers lay outside waiting for them. Meantime another preacher came to Bainsa town without knowing anything about the attack and was also thrashed severely.

The All India Christian Council has condemned the attack on the preachers and sought protection and safety for them.

Central Government gives major funds to Ministry of Public Security to dismantle House Churches across China

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

BEIJING, CHINA – Two independent sources report that the Ministry of Public Security has received funding from the Chinese Central Government to increase their campaign of eradicating House Churches throughout China.

While the amount of funds allocated for this campaign is unknown, the steady increase of persecution against house churches continues to rise substantially across China, says the China Aid Association (CAA).

CAA says that on Sunday May 25, the Beijing Gospel Church, home to more than 1,000 members was raided by PSB Officials. Pastor Gao Zhen was detained and interrogated before being released at 6:00pm.

In a separate incident, a house church Seminary in Weifang City, Shandong Province was also raided by more than 30 PSB and RAB Officials. The seminary is occupied by 48 students and staffed by 3 teachers. All 48 students were told to return to their hometowns immediately.

Officials detained the staff members and confiscated Bibles, computers, printers and the seminary’s mini-van. Authorities labeled the school and its members as followers of Falun Gong.