HOPE AND AID FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH www.barnabasfund.

org

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

IN THIS ISSUE
Floods in Pakistan: providing help to destitute Christians
The churches of Iran: oppressed by a persecuting regime
Where are converts from Islam most at risk?
 Welcome from the Director

Contents

3 Project News
Healing wounds and
Baby Barnabas
and Baby Jesus
rebuilding lives in
East Africa

6 Focus
Aid for suffering
Christians in flood-
“It’s a miracle!” said Hina, a Pakistani
Christian, after the birth of her baby son
circumstances, was the wonderful
miracle of the Virgin Birth (Luke 1:34-35)
stricken Pakistan
at the height of the flooding crisis in and the even more wonderful miracle of
Pakistan earlier this year. Heavily the Incarnation, of God taking human

10
pregnant, Hina had become trapped in
Resources her remote flooded village in Punjab
DVD and other Province, and was afraid for the health
materials for Suffering of the baby to be born in such a
Church Sunday dangerous situation. Then Barnabas
Fund’s local Pakistani partners arrived
to rescue her, along with scores of
Pull-out Supplement other Christian families. They took her
Christian converts from to safety and, when her labour began,
Islam: where are they most to hospital. Hina’s husband, Aftab,
at risk? works as a labourer and would have
struggled to afford the hospital fees,
flesh (John 1:1,14). Mary and Joseph
had no need to decide on a name for
their baby, because the angel had
already told each of them to give Him the
name Jesus (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31),
showing that He was born to save His
people from their sins.
The birth of a baby should always be a
cause for joy and celebration, as a new
life comes into the world. Wilson Saraj,
Barnabas Fund’s regional co-ordinator for

11
but Barnabas Fund covered the costs.
Operation
Nehemiah To Hina it was a miracle that our partner
Update on Barnabas was there to rescue her, to take her to
Fund’s new campaign hospital and provide her with everything
she and her baby needed. Hina and Aftab
asked where the help had come from.
South Asia, met Hina and Aftab while
visiting flood-affected families throughout
Pakistan and said, “Amid countless
scenes of human tragedy and
devastation, it was heart-warming to see
the joy which this new life – born at such
a tumultuous time – has brought to his

12 Newsroom
Elder stabbed and
pastor beaten in
When they learned it was sent by
“Barnabas Fund”, they decided to name
their little boy Barnabas.
parents and their community.”

Let us rejoice this Christmas in the birth

Indonesia of our Lord Jesus, the Light of the World,
As the Christmas season approaches, we who brings us hope, joy and salvation.
will begin to focus our thoughts on

14 Country Profile
Iranian Christians
face a persecuting
another baby, far more of a miracle than
Baby Barnabas. The birth of Baby Jesus,
likewise in difficult though very different
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo
International Director
regime

2 18 In Touch
Barnabas
BARNABAS AID gift cards 2010
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
for your family and
To guard the safety of Christians in hostile environments, names may have been changed or omitted.
Thank you for your understanding.

Front cover: Hina, a Pakistani Christian, with her baby son, Barnabas, who was born at the height of the
friends flooding crisis (see pp 6-9)

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version®.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission for stories and images used
in this publication. Barnabas Fund apologises for any errors or omissions and will be grateful for any
further information regarding copyright.

© Barnabas Fund 2010

 Project News
These are the pages where we bring you news about some of our recent grants to
help our persecuted and suffering brothers and sisters in Christ. It is because of your
generosity that we are able to send this help, which means so much to those who face
discrimination, harassment and perhaps violence because of their love for the Lord
Jesus. Thank you for enabling us to transform their lives. Please pray as you read.

Pakistan:
Aid for Flood Victims
When catastrophic flooding began in Pakistan
in late July, Barnabas sent immediate grants
totaling £58,080 (US$89,814; €69,440)
through five Christian partners on the ground
to provide aid for Christians affected by the
disaster. As international news media later
highlighted, Christians and other non-Muslims
were being left out of much of the aid
distribution through other agencies. So we are
very thankful for the quick and generous
response of Barnabas Fund supporters that
enabled us to help our Christian brothers and
sisters as soon as this crisis hit.
At the time of writing we are still waiting for
detailed reports from most of our partners,
but one has told how he fed 142 Christian
families from the village of Rangpur, Punjab.
Stranded by the flood water, they had been
rescued by the Pakistani army but deposited
in a place where there were no arrangements
for feeding flood victims. From 9 to 17
August, our partner gave them three meals
a day and after that provided each family
with flour, rice, sugar, pulses, clean water,
tea, salt, cooking oil, dried milk, dried chillis
and soap.
There are now major needs for the long-
term rehabilitation of the flood victims.
Please turn to pages 6-9 to find out how
you can help, and to read about how
Christians who had lost everything found
strength in the Lord.
00-634
(Disaster Relief Fund)
41-919 Sponsoring a Pakistani
Christian flood victim family

One of the Christians from the flooded village

of Rangpur, fed with help from Barnabas

BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 3

 Project News
Pakistan: Christian Schools for Christian Children
A recent report on Pakistan states that, in one
constituency, 70% of all government schools
are not functioning: 20% of the schools exist
only on paper and another 50% have buildings
but no teachers. In Pakistan as a whole, about
a quarter of the teachers in functioning
government schools fail to show up for work
on any given day. It is hardly surprising that
many Pakistani parents send their children
instead to the madrassas (Islamic schools),
which give shelter, food, a little general
education, and a lot of teaching on Islamic
extremism, leading the children into violence.
These children are looking forward to
having a Christian school in their own
village, built on this land
Fellowship and Teaching for
Iranian Christians
A Christian conference can be such a boost for
our spiritual life. What encouragement comes
from the fellowship, the worship and the
teaching! Imagine how much more important a
conference is for Christians from a Muslim
background who have to endure hardship and
persecution, and often cannot meet with other
believers Sunday by Sunday.
The Lord is bringing many Iranian
Muslims to Himself, both within Iran
and outside Iran. A grant of £9,600
(US$14,800; €10,603) enabled 120
Farsi (Persian)-speaking Christians
to attend a summer Christian
conference in a European country.
At this annual event, not only do
Iranian Christians find spiritual
nourishment and fellowship, but
some who live in remote places are
able to be baptised at last, to their
great joy. Worship at a summer Christian conferen
Iranian converts from Islam. Many could
While some participants could
this spiritually enriching event only beca
cover all their own costs, these
grant from Barnabas to help with the cost
4 BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
But where can Christian parents send their
children? Of course, they need Christian
schools, but there are not enough, and
anyway many Christian families are too
poor to afford normal school fees.
Barnabas Fund has been helping for some
years with the running costs of several
Christian schools in Pakistan; this enables
the schools to offer places to poor
Christian children for very low fees. We
have also helped with some school
building costs.
Building a new Christian primary school
120, being mainly students and asylum-
seekers, could only pay a small percentage.
The grant from Barnabas covered 80% of
their needs, including food, accommodation
and travel.
Project reference 19-742
ce for
attend
use of a
s
Now we are making it an urgent priority to
provide more school places for Christian
children in Pakistan, through a programme
of grants for building new schools or adding
classrooms to existing ones.
Ten recent grants totalling £58,456
(US$90,348; €69,918) have helped with the
running costs of four Christian schools, building
costs of two new schools, extensions for three
existing schools, and the purchase of a plot of
land for another school to build an extension.
Lord willing, further grants will be made to
another seven or eight new school buildings
as well as running costs for a further six
schools. The total number of Pakistani
Christian children being educated with help
from Barnabas will then be around 3,266.
Examples of project references
41-499 running costs and
land for new classrooms
41-893 two new schools and
an extension
Eritrea: Christian
Prisoners and Their
Families
A recent grant of £7,000 (US$10,800; €8,400)
is helping Christians who are held prisoner in
Eritrea because of their faith in the Lord Jesus.
Many are held in appalling conditions, some in
metal shipping containers, from which they
eventually emerge – if they survive – with
severely damaged health.
Almost all pastors and church leaders who are
not affiliated to the denominations recognised
by the government are currently under arrest,
reported our project partner in Eritrea when
thanking us for this grant. “Any Christian who
shares his faith publicly or practises his faith
publicly is also arrested indefinitely. We
support them through providing medication,
food and clothing.” Most prisoners have
families who depend on them for their needs;
when the breadwinner is in prison the family
need help with basics such as food and
shelter, so our grant is also used to help them.
After prisoners are released, they are given
help with security and health needs.
Project reference 12-863

Tajikistan: Training Brings Hope for Converts
Twenty new Christians
live in a Christian-run
drug rehabilitation
centre. As former drug
addicts and also
converts from Islam,
they find it very
difficult to get
employment, but at
Baptism: outreach to
the centre they are
Muslim drug addicts brings
learning skills that will many to Christ
help them to find jobs.
Ministries like this
bring many to Christ in Central Asia. A grant
of £3,579 (US$5,532; €4,285) helped with
equipment and running costs for the centre.
East Africa: Hospital Fees Paid for
Converts Attacked at Baptism
Earlier this year, on a secluded part of an
East African beach, 18 baptismal candidates
and eleven other Christians met together for
a baptism ceremony. No one else was in
sight, except some distant fishermen far out
at sea. Suddenly a crowd of around 100
Muslim men appeared from the nearby bush
and began throwing stones, iron bars and
bottles at the Christians, then attacking and
beating them with pipes and wooden clubs.
After ten minutes the Muslims departed,
leaving five of the baptismal candidates lying
Uganda: Rebuilding the
Lives of LRA Victims
The brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)
terrorises the populations of South Sudan,
northern Uganda and other nearby countries,
with Christians and churches a frequent
target. One of their most horrifying tactics is
to kidnap children from their families and turn
them into ruthless child soldiers. A grant from
Barnabas Fund of £8,522 (US$13,165;
€10,207) is supporting three Ugandan
Christians, who have been trained in
appropriate counselling methods, to work for
a year with communities of LRA victims and
help them to recover from their trauma.
Project reference 56-649
Project News
Syria: Security for
Project reference 00-113
Christian Schools
(Convert Fund)
A grant of £15,836 ($24,468; €18,958) has
provided a metal security fence for the top of
the wall surrounding a Christian middle
school and high school in Syria. When the
schools were built, the wall was considered
sufficient on its own, but now there is
concern that extra security is needed to keep
the students and buildings safe. Barnabas
Fund had previously contributed about 40%
of the building costs of the high school.
Catering skills will help these converts to
get work Project reference 49-686
bleeding on the sand and other
Christians with lesser injuries. A woman
was unconscious with a deep cut on her
head, while one of the men had a
broken arm and had lost two teeth. “Here Live Faith, Hope & Love” declare the
Three other people had severe cuts. words on the middle school. “Here Live
Hospital treatment for these five cost Truth, Light & Peace” says the high school.
£819 (US$1,210; €981), which was Christian schools in Syria are not allowed
covered by a grant from Barnabas Fund. to have a cross on them, but they are
allowed other Christian words or symbols.
Barnabas helped to build the high school
Project reference 00-345 and has now provided a security fence for
(Victims of Violence Fund) the whole complex, which will be added on
top of the wall
Community counselling with a strong Christian basis is helping to heal Ugandan families
devastated by the Lord’s Resistance Army
BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 5
 FOCUS: Pakistan Floods

FAITH IN THE FLOODS:

On 27 July torrential monsoon rains started
in the northern areas of the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The

HOW YOUR GIFTS BUILD

continuous rainfall was followed by heavy
floods that engulfed towns, villages and
cities from Swat valley in the north to Sindh
in the south.

UP FAITH AND HOPE

n More than 17 million people have
been affected.
n At least 1.2 Million homes were
destroyed.

AMONG CHRISTIAN
n 5 million people are now homeless.
n Families lost everything in the flooding
and subsequent landslides – livestock,
homes and businesses were swept

FLOOD VICTIMS
away; dozens of bridges were washed
away; roads and rail tracks were
submerged.

“The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is
enthroned as King forever.” (Psalm 29:10)
“When water attacked our house, I watched my parents who were worried and
confused. I asked my mother, ‘What is happening?’ She just kissed me and
took my hand and told me, ‘Just pray.’ Next day I was hungry and I asked my
mother, ‘I am hungry. Shall I go home and bring some food?’ She told me, ‘My
son, God will send everything for us. Just pray.’” Little Stephen was too young
to comprehend what was happening around them, and that they had been
evacuated from their village, leaving everything behind. Thankfully, one of
Barnabas Fund’s Christian partners arrived with food parcels for Stephen Jhon
and his family the next day.
From the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan As people struggle to rebuild their lives, the
to Sindh in the south, hunger, confusion Christians of Pakistan, already marginalised
and homelessness afflicted millions of and discriminated against, are particularly
people following the devastating floods vulnerable. Neglected by many other aid
earlier this year. The United Nations has channels, they trust in the Lord and look to
described it as the greatest humanitarian their Christian brothers and sisters for help.
crisis in recent history. “Christians are crying out for help!” said one
church leader.
Will you answer their
call?*
n 5 00 Christian families need non-food
items such as soap, cooking utensils,
mattresses and pillows. Cost: £80
(US$125; €94) per family.
n 1 ,000 Christian families have lost their
means of livelihood and desperately
need help to become self-sufficient
again. In Sindh and Punjab, families
require £65 (US$102; €77) per acre
Stephen Jhon, aged 8, and his mother could do
nothing to help themselves after the for seed, fertiliser and ploughing. For
devastating floods in July 2010; they could those who had shops or small
only pray. But the Lord answered through businesses, the estimated cost to help
Barnabas Fund and provided for their needs them start up again is £530 (US$830,
€623) per family.
n 8 0 Christian families need to rebuild their
homes completely. A simple brick house
consisting of two rooms, a washroom and
a veranda, and a concrete block roof will
cost £2,500 (US$3,800; €3,000).
n 5 50 Christian families need to repair their
damaged homes. Estimated cost: £760
(US$1,192; €894) per home.
Your gift to our Disaster Fund will enable
Barnabas Fund’s partners on the ground in
Pakistan to assist the Christians in need,
according to priority, and will strengthen the
faith of our brothers and sisters who have
lost everything. (Project Reference 00-634)
But how will the Christians manage
until their homes and livelihoods are
re-established? At least 1,000 Christian
families will need ongoing, long-term
food support while they rebuild their
lives. Can you sponsor a family? For
just £30 ($45, €35) a month, you can
provide the food needs of one flood-
affected family while rehabilitation work
is carried out.
BARNABAS FUND HELPING
THOSE IN NEED
In response to the initial emergency,
Barnabas Fund quickly stepped in to channel
support to Pakistani Christians through local
churches and Christian organisations in
Pakistan, providing food parcels. These
parcels contained such items as rice, flour,
* Figures are estimated at the time of writing and may change.
Prices are likely to rise because of post-flood shortages. Numbers
of families in need are likely to rise as our partners make contact
with more isolated Christian communities.

6 BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

 FOCUS: Pakistan Floods
grains, pulses, dry milk, cooking oil, tea,
sugar, salt and spices. (Turn to page 3 to
read more.)

Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province is

home to about 100,000 Christian families,
many of whom have been left reeling by the
devastating floods. In one small town near
Peshawar, a group of 45 Christian families
had worked laboriously for 25 to 30 years to
construct small houses. But in 20 short
minutes on 29 July their hard work was
swept away. At least twelve families saw
their entire homes destroyed by the gushing
waters, while the others lost most of their
belongings.

As flood water carried away their simple

homes, many Christian families had to seek
refuge in church buildings and Christian
schools. There are very few jobs available
since the disaster, making daily wages
extremely difficult to find. For those fortunate
enough still to have employment, the wages
are likely to be so meagre that families will
not to be able to afford the deposit to rent
accommodation, let alone save up to
reconstruct their own homes.
But it is not just homes and possessions that
have been lost in the flooding. Across the
country, 8.9 million acres of farmland have
been ruined by the waters and farmers are
concerned that fields will be too waterlogged
to sow the winter wheat. An estimated 1.2
million livestock, including cattle used for
ploughing, have drowned in the floods. It is
also thought that up to a third of the harvest
in Sindh, which is known for growing rice,
sugar cane, vegetables, citrus fruit and
pulses, has been spoilt.
Christian families like this one could do nothing but watch as their homes were
levelled by gushing waters in the recent flooding in Pakistan
Receiving aid in this time of national crisis To help restore and rebuild the lives of
Christian families who lost everything
shows our Christian brothers and sisters
in the flooding, please fill out the form
how much we care, and serves to
on the inside back cover of this
strengthen their faith. Turn to pages 8 and
magazine or contact your nearest
9 to read testimonies of how eight
Pakistani Christian families have been Barnabas office (address details on
back cover).
affected by the floods.
“Despite this suffering and agony I was moved by
the strong faith of these homeless people.”
Barnabas Fund’s coordinator for South Asia visited
Pakistan following the flooding to see how we
could help our Christian brothers and sisters.

COURTYARD
WHO WILL HELP THE CHRISTIANS?
Christians in Pakistan live in great poverty,
despised by their Muslim neighbours and
BEDROOM BEDROOM suffering widespread social and political
discrimination; the disastrous flooding has
worsened their already precarious position.
The Pakistani government was criticised for
KITCHEN
VERANDAH its ineffective response at the beginning of the
flooding crisis, and international support was
BATH
also slow to arrive.
LAWN
On 26 August, Pakistani national newspaper
Dawn reported that flood victims were being
FLOOR PLAN refused shelter and discriminated against in the
distribution of healthcare and aid because of
their ethnicity, caste or religion
(http://bit.ly/af7RHG). Concern was also
The basic design of a new house for specifically expressed over the treatment of
Christian families who lost their homes in Christians in the distribution of aid; one local
the flooding volunteer reported, “The Christian refugees are
often ... not identified and registered. Thus, they
are automatically excluded from any health care
or food, as they supposedly do not exist.”
Bishop Humphrey Peters of the Church of
Pakistan’s Diocese of Peshawar (in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Province) said, “We are sure that
some countries will come forward with aid
packages, but hardly anything will reach the
minority Christians.”
Yunis Lal Din, leader of the Fellowship of
Brethren Churches in Pakistan, told Barnabas
Fund on 5 August: “Many Christians were
already in poor circumstances and are now
doubly affected and do not know where to find
help.” He praised Barnabas for being so quick to
send funds for Christians, right at the beginning
of the crisis.

BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 7

 FOCUS: Pakistan Floods

Trusting the Lord

Stories of Christian Flood Victims in Pakistan
Marry Daniels (23) and her family, who live in Charsadda
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, lost their home and
belongings in the floods – but they have not lost their faith in
“It’s a miracle!” the God who watches over His people.
was
Those were the words of a new mother whose first baby Marry described the moment the waters hit: “Initially we
born at the height of the flooding crisis in Pakist an. Hina
e moved our belongings to higher ground, but the water was
Gull and her husband, Aftab Masih, named their bundl sharply rising, and we got worried and started crying. My
of joy “Barnabas” because of the help they receiv ed from
cousins had already left the house. I told my mum, ‘Let’s
Barnabas Fund before, during and after his delivery. leave.’ I was crying and the water level reached more than
Our local partner helped to rescue heavily pregnant four feet. My mother and I left the house, and all the time I
Hina, who, along with scores of other Christian families, was telling my mother, ‘We will drown, we are going to die.’
was stranded in the remote village of Rangpur Khare, “But my mother recited Psalm 23 for me and held me close
d.
Muzaffargarh, in Punjab Province when the area floode to her. I thank my mum for her strong faith that encouraged
and was
She went into labour just days after the evacuation me to walk along with her in deep dirty water. I thank God
taken to Rangpur District for keeping my
Hospital by our partner. family safe.
Aftab is a labourer, and I will never
because the couple forget this
would have struggled to experience
afford the high hospital of how God
costs, Barnabas Fund saved me and
covered these expenses. my mother
The newborn, who from the
weighed a healthy 7lb clutches of
11oz (3.5kg), is death as long
doing well. as I live.”

Kamal Masih (30),

of Tarnab, is married
with four children
and survives on a
monthly income of “I was happy to help my uncle in the time of
just £39 (US$60; €47). his need.”
Floodwaters had half This 12-year-old boy with bare feet, small hands and a
destroyed their small servant heart came to help his uncle clear up the muddy
house, where he had mess left behind when the floodwaters poured into his house
lived for decades. The in Charsadda, Khyber
belongings the family Pakhtunkhwa province.
left behind were stolen by local Muslims. Despite their There were not many
sufferings, Kamal is continuing to trust in the Lord. people to help young
He said, “All these blessings were given by Waqar’s uncle Yousaf
God, I am happy that my wife and children Masih, and the school
are safe. I just pray that God will grant boy – who wants to be a
me the strength to rebuild my house and civil engineer in the future
continue the schooling of my children.” – gladly volunteered for
the grim task.

8 BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010


as the Waters Rise
Youngster Nadia
Joseph feared
she would never
see her parents
again when they
were separated
during a frantic
evacuation
from their
village. She
described the scene as “busy and confused”, with people
running around shouting. Nadia’s friends left the village, and
she was stranded until nightfall waiting for her parents.
Nobody came to Nadia’s rescue until Barnabas Fund’s local
partner found her and took her to the relief camp, which her
parents had already reached. Nadia said that at one point she
had lost hope of ever seeing her parents again, adding, “But
the messenger of God came for our help. Many people met
each other in the camp as I met with my parents.”
“On my present salary, even in 50 years I
cannot rebuild my house.”
Joseph Bashir (38) had to flee his lifelong home near the
Kabul River in the city of Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Province, when the floodwaters began pouring in on 29 July.
He carried his six children, aged between one and eight,
and his paralysed father to the road wondering where to
turn for help. The Bashirs – the only Christian family in the
area – found shelter in a relief camp set up by Barnabas
Fund partners. Like thousands of Christian families made
homeless by the floods, they are contemplating how they
will ever begin to rebuild their lives.
FOCUS: Pakistan Floods
“I don’t
know what
the future
holds for my
family.”
When Rashid
Masih’s house
in Kot Addu was
flooded with six
feet of water,
his family – like
so many others
– could save only
their lives. Their
meagre belongings were destroyed by the waters, leaving
them with nothing. Rashid’s daughter Tahira was due to get
married in November, but because they lost the dowry – an
important part of the marriage arrangement in Pakistan – the
wedding is unlikely to go ahead. Rashid, who had worked hard
to provide for his daughter’s marriage, said that the flood had
left them with nothing in a matter of minutes. He added: “It
took me so many years to build my household; now I don’t
know what the future holds for my family.”
“God gave this to me and He took it from
me, I do not blame God. God took away
everything from Job but later He blessed
him as well. I trust God will bless me again.”
Younis Masih (59) of Tarnab near Peshawar toiled for
around 25 years to construct his own house. It stood just
20 feet from the river bank and collapsed under the strain
of the gushing floodwaters. Younis said he has never seen
a catastrophe of this magnitude and, at his age, can hardly
imagine rebuilding and re-furnishing his home when his
monthly income merely covers basic household expenses.
BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 9
 Resources

NEW BOOK Tainted Legacy: Islam, Colonialism and Slavery in

Northern Nigeria Yusufu Turaki
Thousands of Christians have died in violent
attacks by Muslims in Nigeria in the last few
years. In the North of the country Christians
are a small and vulnerable minority, and in
12 northern states Islamic sharia is the main
source of law. Some Islamists there are
calling for an Islamic state to be established.
In this important new book Professor Yusufu
Turaki traces the roots of the current crisis
to the effects of Islam on Northern Nigerian
society through the centuries. He describes
the Muslim practices of colonialism and
slavery in West Africa, and how their
influence was reinforced by British
colonialists. He also shows how they have
left a tainted legacy of discrimination and
cruelty to the Christians of Northern Nigeria.
“Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of
the role of Islam in Africa and its impact on the
slave trade needs to read this important book,
but also it speaks into some of the difficult
issues we see in the world today.”
Malcolm L. McGregor,
SIM International Director
Yusufu Turaki is a Professor of Theology and
Social Ethics at the Jos ECWA Theological
Seminary (JETS) and Director of the Centre for
the Study of Religion, Church and Society
(CRCS).
Isaac Publishing, paperback.
Offer price £9.99 plus £2.00 postage

To order this book, please visit www.barnabasfund.org/shop. Alternatively please contact

your nearest Barnabas office (addresses on back cover). Cheques for the UK should be
made payable to “Barnabas Books”.

“Be on Your Guard” – Suffering Church Sunday 2010-11

“Whatever you did for one

■ considering any request,

■ using the money to fund

■ channelling money through

■ channelling money from

■ aiming the majority of

however small

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WEWORKBY:
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that have been developed

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are sent (e.g. local churches
structures in the countries

through Christians to Christians

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emphasis added)
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opportunity, let us do good
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although its benefits may

BE ON YOUR GUARD

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not be
have
or Christian

elongtothe
to all people,
at
of the least of these brothers

bas Fund Distinctive”

6:10,
month in the next year if this suits you better) to remember those members of our Christian family

Fund distinctive from other

Distinctive
■ tackle persecution at

■ encourage, strengthen
■
WESEEKTO:

■ acting on behalf of the

injustice and oppression
and other ideologies that
known the aspects of the

■ acting as equal partners

missionaries
up our own structures or
presence and witness rather
communities – so they can
existing local Church and

meet

international bodies
persecution known to governments
world and the injustice of
needs known to Christians
Church, to be their voice

help shape our overall direction

persecuted Church, whose
in other parts of the world for whom persecution is part of their regular experience. It is also an
both practical and
its root by making

opportunity for you and your church to prepare yourselves to face the serious challenges that
of mine, you did for me.”
of non-believers

and enable the

result in
Islamic faith

sending out

spiritual needs

persecuted

Christian organisations that

Christian

– making their
their

with the
maintain their
than setting

around the

leaders often
and

confront Christians in the West.

■ in the power of prayer

■ we are called to address

WEBELIEVE:

■ facilitate global intercession

deliverance from suffering
through grace to endure
people’s lives and situations,

■ inform and enable Christians

to persecute them
even those who seek
of all faiths with love and
Christians should treat all
in
all people
– while continuing to show
religious liberty to Christian
and secular ideologies that

comprehensive prayer materials

persecuted Church by providing

their own countries

Islam to Church, society
to respond to the growing
the clear
(Matthew 25:40)

Biblical

deal with persecution? SUFFERING CHUR

CH
teaching that

SUNDAY 2010 – 2011

The following resources are available either to download or to order free of

to change
or through

compassion,
people

both religious

and mission in

Preparing for Persecution

God’s love to

challenge of
deny full
either

minorities

for the

in the West

Prayer for the Suffering Church Your Response

charge from our online shop www.barnabasfund.org/scs or your national Our Father in heaven, I/Wewouldliketoreceiveregularnewsandprayerinformationaboutthe
persecutedChurch

Barnabas Fund office (addresses on back cover).

We give you thanks and praise that You revealed Yourself to us in Your Pleasefindenclosedour/mygiftof forthe
Son and drew us to Yourself. We pray for those who endure sufferingchurchtobeused:
discrimination and persecution, violence and injustice for the sake of
Where it is mostneeded
Your Holy Name. We pray that you will grant them daily strength to
persevere in the hardships they may face. To support Christians suffering through violence

We pray for those who seek to persecute Your children, that they will To help Christians support themselves by starting up a smallbusiness
turn their eyes to You and come to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour. To support Christian pastors and evangelists

n Prayer-and-response cards,
We pray too for ourselves. Lord, we know that we are not immune to To help feed our persecuted brothers and sisters

n DVD “Be on Your Guard”. This contains mockery, harassment and even persecution for Christ. Should we find
ourselves suffering because of our faith in You, we ask that You will
enable us to stand firm in all our trials. May we know that You are with Name:
To help Christian children to get a Christian education

including a prayer for

us and that You are always faithful to your people.

an 8-minute testimony from a young

Address:
In Jesus’ Name

Amen

Christian woman who was born in the Suffering Church Sunday and UK Australia New Zealand Telephone:
Postcode:

a response form, for

9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX Postal Suite 107 PO Box 27 6018, Manukau City,

Gambia and raised a Muslim. She shares

Telephone 024 7623 1923 236 Hyperdome, Loganholme QLD 4129 Manukau, 2241 Email:
Fax 024 7683 4718 Telephone(07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365799 Telephone (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805
From outside the UK Fax(07) 3806 4076 Email office@barnabasfund.org.nz
Telephone +44 24 7623 1923 Email bfaustralia@barnabasfund.org
Nameofchurch:
Fax+44 24 7683 4718 USA
Email info@barnabasfund.org Jersey 6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101
Registered Charity Number 1092935 Le Jardin, La Rue A Don, Grouville, Telephone (703) 288-1681 or

the story of her journey to faith in the distribution to everyone in

Company Registered in England
Number 4029536
Jersey, Channel Islands JE3 9GB
Telephone 700600 Fax 700601
toll-free 1-866-936-2525
Fax (703) 288-1682 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
Email bfjersey@barnabasfund.org Email usa@barnabasaid.org
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10
International Headquarters
The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax01672 565030
From outside UK Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax+44 1672 565030 Email info@barnabasfund.org Please tear off and send to your nearest Barnabas office with you gift

your congregation
SCS 08/10

Lord Jesus and some of the trials she

has faced in her life so far.
Also included on the DVD:
- The words (including a PowerPoint) and
music for “Broken Bones for Jesus”, a
new song by a Barnabas Fund staff
member, and recorded versions with
and without accompanying vocals
- A PowerPoint presentation to
accompany the sermon outline (see
below)
- All these items may also be
downloaded individually.
n A3 poster (approx. 300x420 mm) to
advertise your church service or meeting
n Sermon outline on John 15:18
– 16:4, “If the World Hates
You” (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct
2010)
n Bible study on John 15:18 – 16:4,
“Facing Hostility for Christ” (in
Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)
n Timeline showing a selection of
incidents of persecution throughout
history (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)
n Testimony from a young Christian
woman caught up in anti-Christian
violence in Orissa, India (in Barnabas
Aid Sept/Oct 2010)
n “Persecution in the New Testament”
What is its teaching?
(in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct 2010)
n “What is persecution?” Its forms,
contexts and sources (in Barnabas Aid
Sept/Oct 2010)
n Prayer, suggested songs and how your
church can support persecuted
Christians (in Barnabas Aid Sept/Oct
2010)

10 BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

 Pull-out
supplement

Christian Converts from Islam: where are they most at risk?

Christian Converts from Islam:
where are they most at risk?
For those who convert from Islam to Christianity their decision to follow Christ is a costly one. They
may face many kinds of persecution.
In its core texts Islam prescribes a range of severe punishments for any of its adherents who choose
to leave their faith. Sharia law requires the death penalty for adult men who leave Islam, and some
schools of law require it for women too. Although this punishment is rarely written into national law or
carried out officially by the government, many converts (apostates) still live in fear of violent and fatal
reprisals from their families and communities, or mysterious murders that may have been organised
by the authorities.
Even when converts’ lives are not threatened, they often lose their spouses and children, their homes
and their jobs. They may be arrested, tortured or imprisoned, sometimes on another pretext, but really
as a punishment for leaving Islam. Moreover, apostasy is a cause of deep offence to many ordinary
Muslims, who see it as betrayal of the Muslim community and may harass converts relentlessly,
making it impossible for them to live a normal life.
These very common forms of persecution are supplemented in some countries by more unusual ones
specific to particular cultures. For example, in the Maldives the 2008 constitution declared that a
non-Muslim could not become a citizen, raising the possibility that converts would be stripped of their
citizenship and with it the protection of the law.
But although apostates may face danger in any Muslim context, the risks are much greater in some
countries than in others.

Convert Danger Index
Barnabas Fund has recently carried out a survey of 24 Muslim-
majority countries to discover where in the Muslim world converts
from Islam are most under threat. We have ranked each country
according to the risks faced by its converts. The survey also
highlights the different types of problems that converts encounter
in different contexts1.
Creating the survey
The ranking system we have created focuses upon two key areas:
the legal structure of Muslim countries and the actual incidents
of persecution suffered by converts. We have given each country
a score in each of these areas, and then added the two scores
together. The higher the score a country has, the worse it is
considered to be for converts from Islam.
First, the legal threats to converts were analysed by looking at
the laws that can be used against them in different countries.
Important here is the role of sharia. Some Muslim countries make
sharia one of several sources of law, while others make it the
main source. Under sharia the punishment for leaving Islam is
death. Even though this punishment is rarely enforced officially,
it is written into the legal codes of some Muslim countries and
influences attitudes in their societies. While most Muslim countries
have subscribed to international treaties that protect religious
freedom, such as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
many of them consider sharia more important than such treaties,
making the treaties virtually useless.
1
The following countries were omitted from the survey owing to lack of data or other reasons: Albania, Bahrain, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Kazakhstan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Niger, Oman, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, United Arab Emirates.
The ranking system also takes into account many other legal factors
that affect converts’ lives. These include prohibitions on worshipping
freely and and meeting together, prohibitions on evangelism and the
production of religious literature, and limitations on converts’ changing
their religious status in law from Islam to Christianity, which in turn
impacts on their freedom to go to church, to marry a Christian, and
their children’s freedom to inherit.
The ranking also reflects how strongly certain norms of Islamic
behaviour (for example, regarding dress or education) are legally
enforced, as converts often find life harder if they are in an
environment where the population is legally obligated to adopt these
norms. Finally, it acknowledges positively the legal rights to change
one’s religion and to propagate religions other than Islam that exist in
(relatively few) Muslim countries.
However, the laws of Muslim countries provide only half the picture.
To complete it we need also to focus on the actual incidents of
persecution that converts face, because it is these that impact most
directly upon their lives. It is possible for a country to have lenient laws
but for converts to experience much persecution from society or even
from officials acting outside the law. We have graded such incidents
according to severity: official executions by government are ranked as
the most severe, followed by unofficial murders of converts, and then
by imprisonment, fines and other forms of harassment. The incidents
are also graded by how frequently they have occurred in particular
countries over the last three years, relative to the number of converts
in that country: regular occurrences are treated as more significant
than occasional ones.

BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 i

 Pull-out
supplement
Christian Converts from Islam: where are they most at risk?
8. Egypt
There is no law
in Egypt against
apostasy, but
Christian converts
often face
harassment and severe pressure from
the authorities and from society and
cannot change the religion shown
on their identity cards from Islam to
Christianity. In 2009 Maher el-Gohary
was refused permission to have his
card amended, and since then he and
his daughter have both been forbidden
to leave the country and subjected to
physical assault.
17
11
10
9. Mauritania
Mauritania is governed by sharia.
Conversion from Islam is forbidden,
and apostasy is punishable by
death, although the penalty has
not been imposed in recent years.
The Christian population is a
tiny proportion of the whole, and
almost all of them are expatriates
rather than Mauritanian converts.
Converts have to practise their
faith in secret for fear of legal or
communal reprisals.
ii BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
3. Saudi Arabia
Saudi law is based on sharia,
which prescribes the death
penalty for apostates, so
the small number of Saudi
Christians have to practise
their faith in secret. In 2008
Fatima Al-Mutairi had her
tongue cut out and was
burned to death by her family
when they discovered that
she had converted from Islam
to Christianity.
23
24
18
23
21
20
8
3 22
7 5
1
6
7. Sudan (North)
The South of Sudan is predominantly
Christian, but the North is mainly Muslim,
and sharia is in force there. Converts from
Islam face violence from their families
and persecution by the authorities. When
Alladin Omer Ajjabna Mohammed was
charged with apostasy, he was prevented
from leaving the country, tortured, injected
with drugs and finally forced into hiding.
2. Afghanistan
Most Afghan Muslims
believe that death is the
appropriate punishment
for conversion from
Islam. Abdul Rahman
was charged with apostasy in 2006, and
Muslim clerics led calls for his execution.
Eventually he was freed but had to leave
the country. In June 2010 two converts
were pilloried on national television: a
senior politician called for their execution,
and the president has promised action
to prevent further conversions. Over 20
Afghan Christians were arrested following
the broadcast.
19
13
14
16
4 2
12
6. Comoros
Only a few hundred converts from
Islam are known to live in the
Comoros, although there may also
be many secret believers. Apostasy
is prohibited by the country’s penal
code. Comoran Christians have
no church buildings and suffer
discrimination and harassment.
There is concern that Islamic
radicalism is increasing, threatening
a stricter interpretation of sharia law.
 Pull-out
supplement

Christian Converts from Islam: where are they most at risk?

This table and map show 24 Muslim-majority countries convert danger index
ranked on how they treat Christian converts from Islam, 1 Somalia 225
according to the overall ranking devised by Barnabas Fund.
2 Afghanistan 219
3 Saudi Arabia 210
4 Iran 193
5 Yemen 159
4. Iran 6 Comoros 156
Converts from 7 Sudan (North) 150
Islam are
persecuted more 8 Egypt 143
severely than 9 Mauritania 129
other Christians 10 Algeria 117
in Iran, and arrests and detentions
are common. The authorities try 11 Morocco 105
to intimidate the converts into 12 Pakistan 98
abandoning their faith or leaving the
13 Uzbekistan 96
country. In 2005 Ghorban Tori, a
convert who had converted other 14 Turkmenistan 91
Muslims, was kidnapped by the 15 Indonesia 81
security forces, and soon afterwards
16 Tajikistan 77
he was found stabbed to death.
Convert and church leader Hossein 17 Tunisia 63
Soodmand was accused of apostasy in 18 Turkey 60
1990 and was executed by hanging.
19 Kyrgyzstan 57
20 Jordan 56
21 Iraq 53
22 Bangladesh 48
23 Syria 32
24 Azerbaijan 28

15

5. Yemen
1. Somalia In Yemen apostasy is punishable by
Converts in Somalia live execution. In 2000 Muhammad Haj
in greater peril than most. Omar was sentenced to death by
Many have been murdered a Yemeni court for his conversion
by Muslim radicals. In to Christianity, and only after an
2008 David Abdulwahab international outcry was he deported
Mohamed Ali was killed by his cousin and instead. Although there are no recent
members of the militant group al-Shabaab reports of the death penalty being
when he acknowledged to them that he was carried out, Christian converts face
a follower of Christ. The killing of converts has arrest, torture and murder by the
continued to the present time. Political Security Office.

BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 iii

 Pull-out
supplement
Christian Converts from Islam: where are they most at risk?

Results of the survey But it is important to remember that the safety of converts also
depends upon their families, and even in Muslim countries that
The Convert Danger Index has revealed the most dangerous
are relatively safe (and also in non-Muslim countries) converts’
countries for converts from Islam in the Muslim world. The top five
families can put heavy pressure on them or even threaten them
on the CDI are:
with violence and death.
1. Somalia is ranked as the most dangerous and restrictive
country for converts. Aggressive Islamic radicals exercise immense Legal ranking Incident-based ranking
power, and although only a few hundred converts are believed to
1 Saudi Arabia 110 1 Somalia 125
be living in the country, regular reports are received of their being
murdered for leaving Islam. The radicals aim to kill all of them. 2 Afghanistan 109 2 Afghanistan 110
2. Afghanistan is home to a particularly radical and intolerant form 3 Iran 108 3 Saudi Arabia 100
of Islam, and converts are very unsafe there. The government has 4 Yemen 104 4 Iran 85
recently launched a crackdown against missionaries and converts, 5 Somalia 100 5 Pakistan 75
and the Taliban have also killed apostates from Islam.
6 Comoros 96 6 Egypt 70
3. Saudi Arabia’s legal structure is completely intolerant of 7 Sudan (North) 90 7 Uzbekistan 65
converts from Islam. As almost all are secret believers, it is hard
to estimate the numbers. The law gives a death sentence for 8 Mauritania 79 8 Algeria 60
apostasy. 9 Egypt 73 9 Comoros 60
4. The large numbers turning to Christ in Iran have prompted 10 Morocco 60 10 Sudan (North) 60
a harsh government backlash. Converts face harassment, 11 Algeria 57 11 Turkmenistan 60
imprisonment and torture. One has been executed and others have 12 Tunisia 43 12 Yemen 55
been kidnapped and murdered.
13 Uzbekistan 31 13 Turkey 55
5. Yemen’s legal system officially prescribes the death penalty for
14 Indonesia 31 14 Tajikistan 55
anyone who chooses to leave Islam.
15 Turkmenistan 31 15 Indonesia 50
The rankings also show that some countries that have a reputation
for representing a tolerant form of Islam are in fact very intolerant 16 Jordan 26 16 Kyrgyzstan 50
of converts. 17 Pakistan 23 17 Mauritania 50
The survey has shed some light on the different types of problems 18 Iraq 23 18 Morocco 45
converts face in different countries. Some countries, such as 19 Tajikistan 22 19 Bangladesh 35
Yemen, have harsh laws against converts but relatively few 20 Syria 22 20 Iraq 30
incidents of persecution. In these countries there are a very small
21 Bangladesh 13 21 Jordan 30
number of converts, most of whom are living in complete secrecy.
Other countries, such as Turkey, have a relatively liberal legal 22 Azerbaijan 13 22 Tunisia 20
system, but some converts are targeted by radicals and there is a 23 Kyrgyzstan 7 23 Azerbaijan 15
strong feeling in society against them. 24 Turkey 5 24 Syria 10
It appears also that in some countries – notably Kyrgyzstan and
Bangladesh – converts are relatively safe. They may not be These tables show the ranking of treatment of Christian converts
completely free and may sometimes face dangers, but they can for from Islam in 24 Muslim-majority countries, according to the
legal and incident-based ranking
the most part lead normal lives and do not have to live in secrecy.

Freedom to Believe: Challenging Islam’s Apostasy Law by Dr Patrick Sookhdeo explains

Islam’s law of apostasy and the punishments it requires for those who leave Islam. It vividly
illustrates the dangers faced by Muslim converts to Christianity in many parts of the world.
Islam stands alone among world religions in officially prescribing a range of severe punishments for any of
its adherents who choose to leave their faith, punishments that include the death sentence. As a result of this
aspect of Islamic teaching, most Muslim people feel a strong hostility towards apostates, and many feel they
are justified – indeed duty-bound – to harass, attack or even kill former Muslims. In some countries apostasy
is officially punishable by death (although the sentence is seldom carried out), and in some others it is treated
as illegal and carries lesser punishments. As Islam becomes increasingly conservative and its calls for the full
implementation of shari‘a become more insistent, the danger of a more consistent and widespread enforcing of
the apostasy law increases considerably. (p.14)

Freedom to Believe is available to order at the offer price of £6.99 plus £2.00 postage and packing. Please visit our website,
www.barnabasfund.org/shop, or contact your nearest Barnabas office (addresses on back cover).

iv BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

 Operation Nehemiah

Operation Nehemiah Update

A call to rebuild
Mission Statement: Operation Nehemiah is teachers, for their protection, and for the
committed to maintaining Christian values of preservation and growth of Christian
schools. Unlike the children of Ephraim,
freedom of conscience, speech and religion for
may the children of today not turn back in
the next generation in church and society. the day of battle!
As the people of God under Nehemiah’s
leadership took decisive action to rebuild the
disintegrated foundations of Jerusalem, now is the time for Christians
A call to research
We would like to invite you to send any
in the UK to join together and take action in a hurting society that
news articles or personal reports that might
desperately needs reconstruction. A team at Barnabas Fund has be relevant for any of the issues covered by
begun implementing various aspects of this campaign, but we need the Operation Nehemiah booklet. We need
your help. Here are some areas where you can assist: this material to help our research, monitor
the impact of secularism and Islam and
A call to prayer facilitate 24/7 prayer. Together we can
start the work of rebuilding.

1. The government 3. The Children Please send your contributions to

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests,
prayers, intercession and thanksgiving
be made for everyone – for kings and all
those in authority, that we may live
peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness
and holiness. This is good, and pleases
God our Saviour, who wants all men to
be saved and to come to a knowledge of
the truth.”
(1 Timothy 2:1-4)
Pray that our country’s leaders will listen to
the voices of Christians and acknowledge
God in their decision-making. Pray for
Christian MPs and MEPs in all parties that
they will be strong ambassadors for God.
Pray against the strong challenges they face
from secular humanism and Islamism. Pray
for government support for legislation that
promotes freedom of conscience and
freedom of speech.
2. The Church
“Blessed are you when people revile you
and persecute you and utter all kinds of
evil against you falsely on my account.”
(Matthew 5:11 NRSV)
Pray that the Church will give a clear and
strong response to the challenges facing the
UK, raising awareness amongst Christians
and calling believers into action. Pray that
controversies, confusions and compromises
within the Church will be resolved as it
becomes proactive in confronting the key
issues affecting society. Pray for the growth
and mission of the Church, particularly in
regions impacted by Islamist agendas.
“So the next generation would know them,
       even the children yet to be born,
       and they in turn would tell their children.
Then they would put their trust in God
       and would not forget his deeds
       but would keep his commands.
They would not be like their forefathers –
       a stubborn and rebellious generation,
       whose hearts were not loyal to God,
       whose spirits were not faithful to him.
The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
       turned back on the day of battle.”
(Psalm 78:6-9 )
The children in this country are growing up
in an environment that is increasingly anti-
Christian and anti-God. Remember in prayer
our children, the next generation, and the
formidable challenges they face daily. Pray
against the effects of secular humanism and
Islamism in our schools. Pray for an
increase in the number of Christian
Halal meat could be served to children in
52 primary schools in Harrow if current
plans go ahead. This is despite Muslims’
comprising merely 7 per cent of the
population in the London borough. Halal
is meat from an animal killed and
prepared in accordance with Islamic
teaching, including prayer over the meat
by a Muslim butcher.
The Chief Coordinator of Harrow Pakistani
Society has responded to such
developments by arguing, “For Muslim
children the only option they have to eat is
Operation Nehemiah, Barnabas Fund, The
Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey,
Wiltshire SN9 5DB.
A call to respond
We trust that, with the Lord’s help,
Operation Nehemiah will be delivered by a
broad coalition of Christian organisations,
churches and concerned individuals.
Please contact us if there is an area where
you believe you can help.
We will be facilitating training across
Britain on Islam entitled Greater
Understanding of Islam. Topics will cover
effective outreach to Muslims and
answering Muslim objections to the
Gospel. Dates to be announced.
For more information on Operation
Nehemiah, please contact us at the
addresss above, or at
on@barnabasfund.org.
halal whereas it isn’t a problem for
children of other faiths to eat halal. This
isn’t about Islamification or pandering to
Muslims. It’s just common sense.”
However, this is a problem for non-Muslim
children, who are in the majority,
especially the Christian child who doesn’t
want to offend God. Interestingly, the
slaughter of animals without their being
stunned, a common practice in the
preparation of halal meat, has also been a
great concern for animal welfare groups,
who consider it cruel.

BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 11

 Newsroom
INDIA / PAKISTAN: REPORTS OF
QUR’AN DESECRATION SPARK
ATTACKS ON CHURCHES
Tensions were raised in many Muslim-
majority parts of the world when a
Florida pastor threatened to burn
copies of the Qur’an on the anniversary
of the September 11 attacks. In some
places specific threats were voiced
against local Christians. In the end the
burning did not go ahead, but rumours
that a Qur’an had been desecrated
elsewhere in the United States
provoked a violent Muslim response in
one Indian town.
Late at night on Sunday 12 September
the one Christian church in Malerkotla,
the only Muslim-majority town in the
CHINA: PRAYER CENTRE DESTROYED, CHURCHES CLOSED
China’s “house churches” (unregistered
churches) continue to suffer many
harassments at the hands of the
authorities. On 30 August the police
entered a prayer centre owned by a
house church in Zhejiang province and
forcibly ejected 20 Christians from the
building. The believers then watched
helplessly as their prayer room, school
room and training centre were
demolished.
12 BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
Indian state of Punjab, was attacked by a
Muslim mob. They dragged the church
furniture out of the building and set it on
fire, and also tried to demolish parts of the
church. The authorities confirmed that the
trouble was sparked by a report about the
alleged defiling of a Qur’an in Michigan.
Other incidents in the region have been
connected to similar rumours. In Kashmir
a Christian school was set ablaze on 13
September during a violent demonstration.
And that same weekend a bomb exploded
outside a church in the Cantonment area
of Mardan, Pakistan. Two people were
injured and were taken to hospital.
A policeman surveys the damage at the
church in Mardan
Earlier in August three churches belonging
to one of the major unregistered networks,
which has an estimated 5-7 million
members, were also targeted. The
network’s leaders had been invited to the
Third Lausanne Congress on World
Evangelization in South Africa in October,
but the Public Security Bureau learned of
this and put pressure on them not to
attend. When the leaders refused, the
three churches were closed down.
(Source: www.ChinaAid.org)
INDONESIA:
CHURCH LEADERS
ATTACKED
Two Indonesian church leaders from Batak
Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) were
assaulted while on their way to conduct
morning prayers on 12 September. Asia
Sihombing was stabbed as he walked
towards an outdoor area to hold a worship
service. Luspida Simandjuntak went to his
aid, but she was beaten with a stick by the
attackers. Sihombing was taken to a local
hospital, where he underwent surgery for
his injuries.
Local police claimed that this attack was
not religiously motivated. However,
Luspida said she recognised the attackers
as men who frequently demonstrated
during their services, and after Sihombing
had been stabbed, she reported, “I heard
people at the nearby mosque shouting
‘Allah Akbar’.” (This is a traditional Islamic
cry meaning “god is great” and is often
used in the mosque and also in jihad.)
This is now the sixth reported attack on
this congregation, which has been forced
to meet in an open field following a dispute
with local authorities. On 8 August, a mob
of 300 Muslims surrounded worshippers
during their service. They threw shoes and
water bottles, then chased down and
punched several members of the group,
injuring at least a dozen Christians,
including one of the church leaders.
Chinese Christians sit amidst the rubble
outside their demolished church in Zhejiang
province (Source: www.ChinaAid.org)

AZERBAIJAN: WORRYING
PRECEDENT SET AFTER
CHURCH LOSES LEGAL
FIGHT
On 30 July, a church in Azerbaijan lost its
fight to win back legal recognition after
being refused registration under a new
religion law.
The law, passed in 2009, required all
previously registered religious
organisations to gain new accreditation.
All churches had to submit documents to
re-register by the start of 2010, and many
were required by the authorities to amend
their constitutions, particularly with regard
to outreach and children’s summer
camps. Churches then began receiving
IRAQ: HOPE FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS
The Iraqi government has pledged to
help exiled Christians return to their
homeland after thousands were forced
to flee amid intense persecution.
Over the last 20 years, Iraqi Christians
have been targeted in waves of savage
anti-Christian violence, resulting in a
massive decline in the Christian
population of Iraq, from 1.5 million in
1990 to perhaps as low as 400,000
today. Much of this decline took place
after the invasion of 2003, with many
of the remaining Christians now
internally displaced.
Following a meeting with the Pope in
July, the new Iraqi ambassador to the
Vatican, Habbeb Mohammed Hadi Ali
Al-Sadr said that the government had
offered assistance to those Iraqi
Christians who had fled the country.
He said, “For its part, the government
has committed itself to all those who
return, to give them a job, a plot to
letters informing
them that their
applications had The remains of Cathedral of Praise Church, Baku City,
been refused, which was destroyed in a fire in January
including Cathedral
of Praise Church, Baku City.
On 25 May Pastor Halilov, from Cathedral of
Praise Church, wrote to the Committee of
Religious Affairs (CRA) to contest the refusal,
but two months later, a judge delivered the
disappointing verdict that the CRA had not
acted unlawfully in rejecting the application.
This ruling sets a worrying legal precedent for
rebuild their homes and 1.5 million
Iraqi dinars.” He affirmed that the
Iraqi Constitution sanctions the total
equality of rights for Christians and
also gave them the possibility of
creating a semi-autonomous region
like Kurdistan.
This follows years of campaigning on
behalf of the decimated Iraqi Christian
community on an international stage by
Barnabas Fund. In addition to sending
practical help, Barnabas Fund stepped
up efforts in 2003 when it became
apparent that most of the international
community was unaware that a
Christian presence remained in Iraq –
and nobody else was speaking up for
them. In July 2010, Barnabas Fund’s
International Director, Dr Patrick
Sookhdeo, held high-level talks about
the plight of the Iraqi church in
Washington DC, where a prayer vigil
involving senior Iraqi church leaders
also took place.
Newsroom
further appeals and gives a bleak outlook
for the other churches who have also
contested the refusal of their applications.
On 9 January the tent used by Cathedral
of Praise Church for worship was
destroyed in a fire; the CRA refused
permission for the congregation to rent
alternative premises for church services.
NORTH KOREA: THREE
CHRISTIAN LEADERS
EXECUTED
Three leaders of an underground church in
North Korea have been executed and 20
Christians have been sent to a prison
labour camp in Yodok. Sources say the
arrests and executions were carried out in
mid-May when police raided a house in
Kuwal-dong in Pyungsung County,
Pyongan Province, and arrested 23
believers who were gathered there. The
leaders were tried and sentenced to death,
and the authorities wasted little time in
carrying out the executions.
North Korea is one of the most difficult
places in the world to be a Christian, and it
is estimated that there are at least
400,000 Christians, all of whom are living
under constant threat of imprisonment,
torture or public execution if the authorities
discover their Christian faith. It is thought
that between 40,000 and 60,000
Christians are currently in prison labour
camps because of their faith. Such camps
are notorious for brutal treatment,
starvation and torture, sometimes to death.
BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 13
 Country Profile

Iran
Iran is a country often in the news. Its development of nuclear energy, its
suppression of political opposition after a disputed election, its threat to stone or
lash a woman accused of adultery: all these are widely covered in the media and
seize the attention of Western observers.
But another story from Iran goes almost untold and unnoticed: the story of Iran’s
Christians, and especially of its Christian converts from Islam, who are among the
most severely persecuted believers in the world.

estimates would now put the total Christian

The churches discrimination and persecution, which
reached a peak in the 1990s when several population as high as 1-2 million.
of Iran prominent church leaders were assassinated

Christianity began to spread in the territory

that is now Iran shortly after the death and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus. During its
long history in the region the churches
have seen first significant growth, even
numbering 25% of the population before
the Arab invasion of the 7th century, and
then steep decline as a result of wars,
massacres and Muslim pressure. In recent
years, however, they have both lost and
gained large numbers of people.
In 1979 a revolution led by Muslim clerics
overthrew the secular, modernising and
pro-Western government of Iran and
established an Islamic Republic. There
followed a sharp increase in anti-Christian
Although some Christians in Iran can
worship in an impressive building, the
life of the churches is closely regulated
(Source: Avemundi, Wikimedia Commons)
or executed. A more moderate government
eased the pressure on the churches for a
while, but then the hardliners made a
comeback with the election of Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad as president in 2005, and
hostility against Iranian Christians increased
once again.
Many Christians have fled to the West to
escape the harsh treatment that they suffer
in their homeland. The Armenian and
Assyrian churches (the historic Christian
communities) have been badly affected by
this trend. But at the same time, the believers
who remain in Iran have been joined by a
rapidly increasing number of converts from
Islam. Precise figures are unavailable, as
these new Christians have to practise their
faith mainly in secret, but the many reported
incidents of harassment and arrest suggest
strongly that the Islamic government regards
the scale of conversion to Christianity as a
serious problem. A significant level of
dissatisfaction with Islam, produced by 30
years of Islamic rule, is helping to turn many
people to Christ. (See further below.)
According to the United Nations the number
of Christians in Iran today is around 300,000,
which is only a small fraction of what it was
before the revolution. But this figure is likely
to be a significant under-estimate, as it does
not include the believers who have converted
from Islam and are thought to number at
least in the tens of thousands. Some
A persecuting
regime
The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the
hardest places in the world to be a Christian.
In the annual “Hall of Shame” produced by
International Christian Concern the country
was ranked third in 2009, and it holds fourth
place in the Barnabas Fund list for the
persecutors of converts (see pp i-iv). It is not
the community in general that is hostile to
Christians; most Muslim citizens are
prepared to co-exist with their Christian
neighbours and leave them largely
undisturbed. But the government and its
agencies have consistently oppressed the
churches, along with other religious
minorities.
A totalitarian Islamic regime such as the
Iranian government will inevitably regard
Christians as a threat to its religious and
political authority. In the short term its
persecuting zeal seems to be aimed
especially at checking the flow of
conversions from Islam to Christianity and
intimidating converts into renouncing their
new faith. But President Ahmadinejad has
reportedly pledged to “stop Christianity in
this country”, and some commentators
believe that his longer-term goal is to
“cleanse” Iran – and perhaps the whole of
the Middle East – of its entire Christian
population.

14 BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

 Country Profile

Leader s and converts suffering for Christ

Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh
Amirizadeh, both converts from Islam,
were arrested in 2009 and held for 259
days in the notorious Evin prison in
Tehran. In court the young women
refused the demands of their prosecutors
to renounce their Christian faith. Eventually they were
released and acquitted, but they left Iran after being
warned against any future Christian activity there.
Wilson Issavi, a church leader, was
arrested at a friend’s home and taken
away. For weeks his family had no news
of his whereabouts. When his wife was
finally allowed to visit, she found that he
was being kept in dreadful conditions and
bore visible marks of torture. He was set free after 54
days, but awaits further investigation of his charges by
the courts.

Hamid Shafiee and his wife Reyhaneh
Aghajary, also converts and church
leaders in Isfahan, were detained on 28
February 2010. When Reyhaneh
protested, officers insulted and assaulted
her and squirted her with pepper spray.
Bibles, books, CDs and computers were
confiscated from the couple’s home.
They too were released later, but are
expected to face a court hearing.
Abbas Amiri and his wife Sakineh Rahnama, a
couple in their 60s, were physically assaulted by
security officers at a church meeting that they
hosted in their home in July 2008. Abbas, who was
a convert, was savagely beaten, and he died of his
injuries two weeks later. Sakineh also died of her
wounds and from stress-related causes the
following month.

The constitution of Iran offers recognition

to some religious minorities. Shi‘a Islam is
the state religion, but “other Islamic
denominations are to be accorded full
respect”, and the country’s pre-Islamic
religious groups (Zoroastrians, Christians
and Jews) are given “protected” status,
with freedom to practise their faith.
But the constitution also states that all laws
and regulations must be “based on Islamic
criteria” and consistent with the official
interpretation of sharia (Islamic law), and in
practice the government severely restricts
religious freedom. Even members of the
supposedly protected religious groups
report harassment and intimidation, arrest
and imprisonment on the grounds of their
beliefs. These actions, together with hostile
rhetoric and inflammatory statements from
political and religious leaders and in the
media, have served to create a deeply
threatening atmosphere for Christians in
Iran. They are often accused of activities
against the regime.
Anti-Christian antagonism takes many
forms, but the most common are
discrimination, regulation of churches,
attacks on church leaders and
persecution of converts.
Discrimination
Christians in Iran suffer discrimination in many
areas of life, and at local, provincial and
national levels. With respect to employment,
they are disqualified from serving in senior
positions in the government or public sector,
as regular officers in the armed forces, and in
any role in the judiciary or security services.
They cannot be elected to any representative
body, except for three seats in the 290-seat A Bible in Farsi, the language of most
Iranian Christian converts from Islam. It is
Iranian parliament (the Majlis).
illegal to sell or even possess one of these
No Christian religious teaching is allowed in Bibles in Iran, or to hold services or Bible
government schools. The government allows studies in the Farsi language
Christians to educate their children in their
own schools, but the directors of these Gender segregation is enforced throughout
schools must usually be Muslims, and the the country on people of all faiths, and
Ministry of Education has to approve all Christian women are expected to wear
textbooks used. Christian schools are Islamic clothing in public; the government
monitored closely by the authorities, and this periodically cracks down on “non-Islamic
supervision is seriously restrictive in some dress”.
cases. Christians are also unfairly treated
with regard to university admissions.
Regulation of
There is clear and explicit discrimination
against Christians in both the civic and the
churches
religious courts, and Islamic laws on The authorities keep a close watch on
marriage and inheritance are applied to them events and organisations run by the
as well as to Muslims. They are also churches, and spies from the Ministry of
disadvantaged in the provision of housing. Information or the Ministry of Islamic

BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 15

 Country Profile
Guidance often attend services. Permits
are required for many activities and are
not always granted. Church leaders in
particular are subject to intense
surveillance, and some even have their
phones tapped.
Congregations are required to register
with the authorities, to compile and
submit membership lists for them, and to
inform them before admitting new
people. Their members have to carry
membership cards and provide
photocopies of these to the government.
Worshippers are subject to identity
checks outside church buildings, and
some churches are allowed to hold
services only on Sundays.
It is illegal to conduct church services
and Bible studies in Farsi, the language
of the Muslim majority in Iran. This
means that while members of the historic
churches are allowed to worship in their
own languages, converts from Islam,
who are Farsi-speakers, cannot do so.
Sharing one’s faith with Muslims is
strictly prohibited, and Christians can be
put under extreme pressure to reveal the
names of any Muslims to whom they
have spoken about their faith. Some
church leaders are pressured by the
authorities to sign pledges saying that
they will not evangelise or baptise
Muslims or even allow them to attend
church services. Such pledges can be a
condition for the issuing of government
licences for ministry. Muslims are
discouraged from even entering Christian
premises.
Many conversions from Islam to
Christianity have resulted from satellite
television and radio broadcasts. The
government has responded by putting up
towers in major cities to jam signals and
controlling telephone lines to Christian
16 BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
television programmes. The main
telecommunications company was recently
bought by the Revolutionary Guards.
Sometimes the government refuses
applications for the construction of new
church buildings or forces existing ones to be
closed. Christian training centres and other
institutions have also been shut. A ban is in
place on the publishing or importing of
scriptures and Christian literature, and it is an
offence even to possess or sell a Bible.
Attacks on
leaders
Since the 1979 revolution a number of
prominent Christian leaders have been
violently attacked, and several have been
murdered. It is alleged that at least some of
the assassinations were carried out by a
death squad operating within the security
services and acting on orders from the
highest level. There was a spate of such
killings in the 1990s, though more recently
these have become rarer.
But leaders remain in danger, especially
those who are involved in ministry among
Muslims or who lead convert churches –
especially if they are converts themselves.
Those who refuse to collaborate with the
secret police are threatened with arrest,
indefinite detention and even death.
Persecution of
converts
Converts from Islam to Christianity are
persecuted more harshly than other
Christians in Iran. Converts are the primary
target of the Iranian authorities. For this
reason they cannot participate openly in
Christian worship, and many choose to keep
their faith secret. The growth of house
churches in Iran has happened in
response to this persecution to provide a
way for Muslim converts to worship.
Apostasy from Islam is seen by many
Muslims as equivalent to treason, and all
schools of Islamic law specify the death
sentence for adult male converts from
Islam. The connection between
conversion and treason has been
reinforced recently by the government’s
linking of converts with the West and
Israel. At a time of international tension
this poses a significant risk to them.
But according to the 1989 Iranian
constitution, judges must make their
judgments first on the basis of Iranian
law; only in cases where Iranian law has
nothing to say are they directed to use
authoritative Islamic sources and
authentic fatwas. Thus far Iranian judges
have been able to impose the death
penalty in apostasy cases only on this
second basis, not on that of Iranian law.
There have been no reported executions
of converts since the hanging of Hossein
Soodmand in 1990.
But in September 2008 the Iranian
parliament gave provisional approval to a
bill that mandates the death penalty for
(male) apostasy as part of Iranian law. In
June 2009 a committee of the parliament
recommended removing this provision
from the bill, but no further news has
been received since then. If it were
passed into law, converts to Christianity
would be in greater danger of judicial
execution.
Even without this ultimate sanction,
however, the Iranian authorities have
effective means of persecuting converts.
In recent years there have been numerous
reports of their systematic arrest and
indefinite detention.

Converts still persecuted in Mashhad
Hossein Soodmand, a Christian
convert from Islam, was charged
with apostasy and other “crimes”
and executed in 1990
On 3 December 1990 Hossein Soodmand
was executed by hanging in the Iranian
city of Mashhad. He converted from Islam
to Christianity in 1964 and acted as a
pastor and evangelist in a local church. In
Although charges are rarely pressed as far as
conviction and sentencing, the authorities’
tactic appears designed to intimidate the
Christians into either abandoning their new
faith or fleeing the country. In this hostile
environment the conversion of so many
Iranian Muslims to Christianity is all the more
remarkable – and even greater ground for
thanksgiving.
For many years the Iranian government has also
been threatening Iranian converts to Christianity
outside the country. Then in September 2008
the Iranian parliament gave it the authority to
reach beyond the borders in pursuit of
Iranians who have left Islam. Converts have
been harassed even in the West.
Storm clouds
gathering
Under its hard-line president, and with its
barely disguised ambitions to become a
nuclear power, Iran has become a serious
threat to the stability of the Middle East.
Country Profile
1989 he was arrested and charged with there. The Christians were all arrested
apostasy and insulting Islam by his own and held for a week and were subjected
conversion and his efforts to convert other to harsh interrogation. Though most were
Muslims, and with allegedly being an then released, three of those arrested,
American spy. A Revolutionary Court Stephen Reza (48), his wife Maria and
sentenced him to death. Ehsan Behrooz (23), remain in detention
at the time of writing.
Twenty years later,
converts from Islam
are still being
persecuted in
Mashhad. On 18
July 2010 a bus
carrying 15 newly-
converted Christians
was forced to stop
by government
security forces in
the city. The group
were on their way to
a provincial town to
A mosque in Mashhad, where a group of Christian converts from
spend time with Islam was detained in July (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
fellow believers
Western governments are currently Barnabas Fund’s
considering their options for containing
this threat, and it seems that military
support for
action of some kind is a real possibility. Iranian
Western intervention in Iraq and the Christians
internal strife that followed it have been
disastrous for the churches, with vast
numbers of believers displaced within the
country or forced to become refugees Barnabas Fund is assisting with a
elsewhere, and many killed in savage number of projects that help Iranian
outbreaks of anti-Christian violence. Their Christians, but we cannot usually
tragic story suggests that if similar action publicise what we are doing in case
it puts them at risk. If you would like
is taken against Iran – whether justified
to support this work, you may like to
or not – the consequences for the Iranian
send a donation to the Iran General
churches are likely to be enormous. And
Fund (project reference 19-940)
if there is indeed a backlash against
which will be distributed between
Christians, converts from Islam will suffer
the most.
the various projects.
Please pray for strength and courage
Turn to page 4 to read about a
project supporting Iranian Christians
for our brothers and sisters in Iran, that we have been able to publicise.
that they may be protected from harm
and stand firm in their faith in the face
of persecution and an uncertain future.
BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 17
 In Touch

Christmas Cards to Support Barnabas My Devotional

With this edition of Barnabas Aid
we are enclosing a form to order
packs of Christmas cards by
post. Barnabas Fund has
partnered with Just Cards Direct,
a Christian organisation that
supports the work of Christian
aid agencies. They import and
sell handmade greeting cards
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Africa as well as printed cards
from around the world.
You can purchase these cards using
this form or online at
www.justcardsdirect.com. Simply
select “Barnabas Fund” on their
website at the payment stage and we
will receive 10% of the proceeds from
all sales.
Journal
Have you ordered your copy of the
Barnabas Fund year journal? This
valuable devotional resource has
pages for you to record your
thoughts and reflections throughout
the months, as well as uplifting
Bible verses and short testimonies,
prayers and poems from Christians
around the world who have drawn
closer to the Lord through trials and
suffering.
My Devotional Journal can both
encourage you in your own spiritual
journey and make an ideal present

Barnabas Goes Direct for your Christian friends. It is

available now
at the special
You may have noticed that some of our donation forms have changed. Barnabas offer price of
Fund has taken the decision to move from Standing Orders to Direct Debits, as they £5 (plus £2
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Supporting Barnabas as an Alternative Christmas Present

Supporting a Barnabas Fund project as a gift
for a friend or relative is a valuable means of “Dear __________________________ “Dear __________________________
resourcing vital ministries. Why not do this A gift of £_______ has been received on A gift of £_______ has been received on
as an alternative Christmas present for your
your behalf from __________________ your behalf from __________________
loved ones this year?
If you choose to support a Barnabas Fund This gift will assist Christians who are This gift will assist Christians who are
project, we can supply you with an attractive persecuted for their faith. persecuted for their faith.
“Thank you” card, which you can send to the With many thanks on behalf of the With many thanks on behalf of the
person on whose behalf you have made the persecuted Church” persecuted Church”
donation. Tick here if you do not want the amount to be Tick here if you do not want the amount to be
stated on the card stated on the card
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18 BARNABAS AID NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010