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PRAYER ALERT
August 1, 2003
Azerbaijan
Police have recently invaded a house church meeting and declared its
services to be illegal. All materials were confiscated, and two ethnic
Azeri Christians were fined and taken to the police station where they were
interrogated for several hours. In addition, they were videotaped and
their interrogation was released on television where they were presented as
partaking in “illegal activities.” The men were summoned back to the
station during the next several days, where they were interrogated for several
hours each time.
Prayer Points: Pray for the church members in Azerbaijan that
they will be able to worship without harassment from the police. Pray
specifically for the ethnic Azeris, that they will not be discriminated
against. Pray also that the religious materials that were removed from
this house church will be returned to the people.
Bangladesh
This country is newly under the rule of the pro-Islam Bangladesh
Nationalist Party, and the country has seen a lot of changes. Many
believe that foundation is being established to introduce Shar’ia law.
The Islamic fundamentalists are currently being placed in strategic positions
of government and academia. In addition, there has been increased
violence against Christianity in the country, and the believers are facing an
onslaught of extortion, torture, rape, and killings. Recently, up to 50
Christian homes in one western village have been the victims of extortion by
Islamic fundamentalists who ride on motorbikes. They are coming into the
village and calling out the name of specific Christian families. The
family leader then has about one week to raise a certain amount of money, and
if he fails to do so, he must give one of his daughters to the fundamentalists
to do with her as they please. Complaints against this action to the
government have been to no avail. In addition, there have been reports
of religious minorities being forced to pay large fines to be released from
false charges. It has also been reported that the local BNP has built an
extensive torture chamber in which they are torturing people until they
confess to the false charges.
Prayer Points: Please pray that the BNP will be overthrown
and that Shar’ia law will not be incorporated in Bangladesh. Pray also
that the believers will have the strength to endure the persecution and the
wisdom to know how to respond to their oppressors. Pray for the young
girls that are being raped by the Islamic fundamentalists and for their
families as they seek to prevent this atrocity.
Iraq
Since the fall of Saddam’s regime in Iraq there has been an
increase in the Christian church movement. However, there has also been
an increase in attacks by Muslim extremists. Christians are in danger
whenever they attend worship services because of the extremists who are
perpetrating violence against them. There have been reports of violence
against the believers as they go to church, and targets against stores owned
by believers.
Prayer Points: Pray that the Iraqi church will continue to
grow despite the opposition it is facing, and that there will be a spiritual
revival in the country now that its people are free to worship. Pray
also for the protection of the believers from the Muslim extremists.
PRAISE REPORT
Vietnam
After various troubles with the authorities over the construction of a church
in Saigon, the pastor of the church was summoned to appear before the Bureau
of Religious Affairs. Previously the authorities had tried to stop the
construction of the church. Once it was clear that the Christians would not be
dissuaded, they ordered for the newly constructed building to be closed down.
However, in July Pastor Nga and the authorities came to a compromise regarding
the church, which will allow it to remain open provided the church obtain all
of the necessary permits and gather in a “peaceful” way.
Prayer Points: Praise the Lord that the church has been
allowed to remain open. Pray that authorities throughout the country would
become more accommodating to Christians wishing to construct places of
worship, particularly in the more remote areas of the country. Thank God for
the faith and perseverance of the Vietnamese believers and pray that many more
in this country would come to faith.
International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #941
Washington, DC 20006-1846
Tel: (301) 989-1708 or 1-800-ICC-5441