barnabasaidChurCh partnersA partner from New Zealand encourages others to take on the role

barnabasfund.org

BARNABAS FUND - AID AGENCY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH May/June 2015

Boko haraMOrigins and objectives

tiMelineThe Armenian and Assyrian Genocide as it unfolded

Hear tHeir cry

We work by: ● directing our aid only to Christians, although its benefits may not be exclusive to them (“As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10, emphasis added) ● aiming the majority of our aid at Christians living in Muslim environments ● channelling money from Christians through Christians to Christians ● channelling money through existing structures in the countries where funds are sent (e.g. local churches or Christian organisations) ● using the money to fund projects that have been developed by local Christians in their own communities, countries or regions ● considering any request, however small ● acting as equal partners with the persecuted Church, whose leaders often help shape our overall direction

● acting on behalf of the persecuted Church, to be their voice – making their needs known to Christians around the world and the injustice of their persecution known to governments and international bodies

We seek to: ● meet both practical and spiritual needs ● encourage, strengthen and enable the existing local Church and Christian communities – so they can maintain their presence and witness rather than setting up our own structures or sending out missionaries ● tackle persecution at its root by making known the aspects of the Islamic faith and other ideologies that result in injustice and oppression of non-believers ● inform and enable Christians in the West to respond to the growing challenge of Islam to Church, society and mission in their own countries

● facilitate global intercession for the persecuted Church by providing comprehensive prayer materials

We believe: ●we are called to address both religious and secular ideologies that deny full religious liberty to Christian minorities – while continuing to show God’s love to all people ● in the clear Biblical teaching that Christians should treat all people of all faiths with love and compassion, even those who seek to persecute them ● in the power of prayer to change people’s lives and situations, either through grace to endure or through deliverance from suffering

new ZealandPO Box 27 6018, Manukau City, Auckland, 2241 Telephone (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805 Email office@barnabasfund.org.nz

uk9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX Telephone 024 7623 1923 Fax 024 7683 4718 From outside the UK Telephone +44 24 7623 1923 Fax +44 24 7683 4718 Email info@barnabasfund.org Registered charity number 1092935 Company registered in England number 4029536 For a list of all trustees, please contact Barnabas Fund UK at the Coventry address above.

usa 6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101 Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1-866-936-2525 Fax (703) 288-1682 Email usa@barnabasaid.org

GermanyGerman supporters may send gifts for Barnabas Fund via Hilfe für Brüder who will provide you with a tax-deductible receipt. Please mention that the donation is for “SPC 20 Barnabas Fund”. If you would like your donation to go to a specific project of Barnabas Fund, please inform the Barnabas Fund office in Pewsey, UK. Account holder: Hilfe für Brüder International e.V. Account number: 415 600 Bank: Evang Kreditgenossenschaft Stuttgart IBAN: DE89520604100000415600 BIC: GENODEF1EK1

australiaPO BOX 3527, LOGANHOLME,  QLD 4129 Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax (07) 3806 4076 Email bfaustralia@barnabasfund.org

northern ireland and republic of irelandPO Box 354, Bangor, BT20 9EQ Telephone 028 91 455 246 or 07875 539003 Email ireland@barnabasfund.org

singaporeCheques in Singapore dollars payable to “Barnabas Fund” may be sent to: Kay Poh Road Baptist Church, 7 Kay Poh Road, Singapore 248963

international headquartersThe Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside UK: Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030 Email info@barnabasfund.org

How to find us you may contact Barnabas Fund at the following addresses

What helps make Barnabas Fund distinctive from other Christian organisations that deal with persecution?

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

(Matthew 25:40)

The Barnabas Fund Distinctive

barnabasaid the magazine of Barnabas Fund

published by Barnabas Fund The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside UK: Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030 Email info@barnabasfund.org

To guard the safety of Christians in hostile environments, names may have been changed or omitted. Thank you for your understanding.

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 2015

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

Front cover: Displaced iraqi Christians

© Barnabas Fund 2015. For

permission to reproduce articles

from this magazine, please contact the

International Headquarters address

above.

to donate by credit/debit card, please visit the website www.barnabasfund.org.nz or by phone at (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805

“Thy Kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting Kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.”

this Greek inscription from Psalm 145 on the central lintel of a closed, walled-in gate of the present day Umayyad Mosque in Damascus reminds us that, during the Byzantine period, this building was the Christian St John’s Cathedral. For some time, the entrance may

have served both Christians and Muslims; at the beginning of the Islamic conquest of Syria in the 7th century the church building was used by both, before the Christians were expelled from it.

This inscription also reminds us of the decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam. There have been many waves of persecution and a long trail of martyrdom, with the destruction of churches and the periodic disruption, suppression and exodus of Christians from the heartland and cradle of Christianity. The Genocide of Armenian and Assyrian Christians a hundred years ago is well documented, yet still denied and belittled by the authorities in Turkey. It is therefore especially painful for all Christians in the Middle East that their right to exist in their ancient homeland is questioned and challenged afresh by the forces of an Islamic jihad ideology.

When talking about the persecution of Christians throughout history we hear often the third century words of Tertullian, often quoted as : “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”. But is this really the experience of the Church under Islam? We are surely witnessing afresh the historical persecution, with suppression, destruction, displacement and expulsion all taking place with renewed vigour. History is repeated as historic Christianity is in danger of extermination in the region where its roots go back to the beginning of the Church.

As Christians we are called to stand with Christ’s Church. We must hear and understand afresh that when one member suffers, all share in that suffering (1 Corinthians 12:26). What do we hear? Do we really hear the cry of our brothers and sisters in need, or are we constantly preoccupied by our own wellbeing? We see and hear the voice of chaos, destruction, religious strife and hate. We are perplexed at events and at the tragedy of dehumanisation. Yes, change and decay we see all around us. May we also hear the voice of Jesus: “Take up your cross and follow me”, and know that as we stand with Christ in His suffering we share in His glory to come.

Do we really hear the cry of our brothers anD sisters in neeD, or are we constantly preoccupieD by our own wellbeing?

hear the cry of our brothers and sisters in need

Grace upon GraceStories of God’s mercies

amidst persecution

Newsdesk - Behind the headlines

Boko Haram

Barnabas Church PartnersA partner from New Zealand

describes a rewarding role

Experts in the Art of DyingPersonal stories from

the genocide

DawaConversion and Islamisation through violence

TimelineThree decades of Christian

massacres in the Middle East

AdvocacyLast chance to return

Christians in the Middle East petitions

Albrecht Hauser Chairman of Barnabas Aid International

Contents

Compassion in ActionTrusting God amid death

threats in Indonesia4

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In TouchBarnabas supporters

in their own words

AlBrEChT hAusErfrom Germany, is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Barnabas Aid International

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Editorial

Project reference 56-934Project reference 48-575 Project reference 00-113

how barnabas is helping

Busy prison ministry

The prison ministry work supported by Barnabas Fund in Sudan has never been as busy as it is now. They are helping an unprecedented number of imprisoned Christian women, mainly arrested for breaking Islamic sharia law.

The number has risen to 1,100 Christian women, as well as 135 children who are imprisoned alongside their mothers. Many of the women are converts from Islam, a group that the Sudanese Islamist government has started targeting more intensively in recent years.

The workers, who risk imprisonment themselves for their work, provide the women with medicines, blankets, clothes and Bibles and help chaplain volunteers provide Sunday services and Bible studies.

“i can pay my rent”

Bira, who now has her own sewing business in Uganda thanks to Barnabas Fund, recalls the difficult place she was in after leaving Islam and turning to Christ. “I was harassed by my family... I had no place to stay,” she remembers.

“The church… picked me up and took me to vocational skills training in tailoring, supported by Barnabas Fund.”

“Because of the sewing machine [Barnabas Fund] gave me, I can pay my rent, get food to eat and clothes to wear.”

Besides Bira, another 299 converts from Islam in Uganda are now self-sufficient thanks to Barnabas Fund. All received vocational training for one year and tools to start a trade.

“Jesus has never ignored me”

“I really can never regret my accepting Jesus as a personal Saviour, because of how much he has done for me,” said “Margaret”, a Ugandan convert from Islam, whose education Barnabas is funding.

“Coming from a Muslim family, my parents were really not happy when they learned of it and indeed they ignored me.”

“But I’m so happy Jesus has never ignored me. I have always seen Him making a way where there seems to be no way.”

For three years, Barnabas Fund is paying the accommodation and educational fees of Margaret and two other young women disowned and persecuted by their families for converting from Islam, so that they can complete their education even though their parents have stopped paying their fees.

nZ$13,284 for prison ministry

nZ$1,194 for education and accommodation of three convert women

These converts from Islam can now provide for themselves again

The number of Christian women imprisoned for their faith in Sudan has increased

nZ$39,345 for 300 small businesses

Margaret's Muslim father cut off all educational support after she became a Christian

saved by books

“Roben’s” life was turned around after reading several Christian books purchased locally in Bangladesh thanks to Barnabas Fund.

The books led the young man to dedicate his life to Jesus Christ, a bold decision in a country where violence against Christians has increased and the family and friends of Christian converts will often put much pressure on converts to give up their faith.

Since then, Roben has not kept silent. He has shared his faith with many and as a result 32 families have been baptised.

Last year, with help from Barnabas Fund, the ministry that Roben bought the books from made available over 450,000 Christian books and tracts in Bangladesh.

Project references 79-719 and 00-1032Project reference 04-653 Project reference 20-1200

armenian winter survival

One hundred years after the worst year of the Armenian Genocide (see pages 8-10), Armenia is a free and independent country and feels honoured that it has remained a Christian nation down the centuries.

Although surrounded on three sides by Muslim-majority countries, it continues to provide a safe and free homeland for Armenians who have suffered greatly for their Christian faith in times past. At the same time, the country remains desperately poor.

Last winter, Barnabas Fund provided 400 Christian families in the north with monthly food baskets for four months. And, to warm themselves against arctic temperatures of minus 10° to 35° Celsius, 200 families received a four-month supply of wood, coal or gas.

Barnabas Fund also continued to help 500 Christian refugee families from Syria. Through the latest grant, they received aid for basic needs for four months.

sawra Village: shelter for displaced

Up to 1,000 displaced Iraqi Christians will soon find a comfortable, temporary home in Sawra Village, well-equipped, tented accommodation in Iraqi Kurdistan.

In their new abode, the displaced families will have bathrooms, laundry rooms and access to electricity that will provide heating and air conditioning against summer temperatures which can soar to the upper 40°s Celsius.

The village will be a major help for these families, who fled to Iraqi Kurdistan last year when Islamic State (IS) seized their towns and villages. They have been homeless ever since, living in church halls and unfinished buildings.

nZ$171,697 for winter needs (ref. 79-719)

nZ$ 143,176 for syrian Christian refugees in armenia (ref. 00-1032) nZ$14,182 for Christian

books and tracts nZ$987,387 for sawra Village

Christian refugees from Syria in Armenia with food parcels from Barnabas Fund

Last year, Barnabas Fund made over 450,000 Christian books and tracts available in Bangladesh Sawra Village (land in front) will have a

Christian village (back) as its neighbour

Strengthened and encouraged. This is what we often hear from Christians who have received support from Barnabas Fund. Thank you for making this possible. The following pages are just a few examples of the many ways we have recently helped persecuted and pressurised Christians

Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 5

Rudiman, a church planter, and his family live in complete reliance on God

The flood-damaged home of this family in Sri Lanka was repaired with help from Barnabas Fund

This seminar in Central Asia helped convert leaders to realise how their lifestyle had to change to become more Biblical, in the midst of an Islamic culture

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Flood disaster: Jesus in control

1 Malani will not easily forget the moment her house in Sri

Lanka was ripped apart by torrential monsoon rain last year, nor the moment of realisation soon after that God would take care of her – care that He used Barnabas Fund to provide.

Incessant rain and strong winds brought havoc to large areas of western and central Sri Lanka last June. They lashed against the little house where she and her five children lived, uprooting trees around it. Suddenly their roof collapsed. Rain water gushed into the home and submerged the family’s few possessions.

Malani was faced with a grave situation. Having no husband, she needed to find a safe place for her children. And as Christians living in a remote area where Hinduism and Buddhism are strongly represented, the family had already experienced discrimination and marginalisation for their faith. She also knew it was unlikely they would receive government aid.

But soon her worries and fear subsided: she remembered the Person she had come to know when she converted to Christianity, Jesus Christ. Even during these difficulties, she could trust Him.

With help from Barnabas Fund Malani’s roof was repaired. In total Barnabas repaired twelve flood-damaged churches and the homes of 208 Christian families in Sri Lanka last year.

Challenged to change

2 “Amir”, a Christian from a Muslim background, was not

the only participant to express astonishment at what he learnt last November at a Barnabas-funded seminar in Central Asia on Islam.

“I was very surprised so many things in our culture are from Islam. It was a big challenge for me and for many others,” he said.

Together with 53 other pastors and ministry leaders, Amir learnt that, because their society is so strongly influenced by Islamic culture, many converts to Christianity unwittingly continue to lead a Muslim lifestyle.

“We are Christians but we live in families as Muslims. It must be changed urgently!” exclaimed “Nasim”, another participant. “This seminar has opened our eyes to the reality of our lives.”

The participants of the four-day conference were encouraged to focus completely on the truth in the Bible. Amir said, “Today I understand it and can explain it to other believers from a Muslim background.”

When inviting people to the seminar, the organisers had intended to invite more. But they soon realised that e-mailing or phoning some converts with details about the teaching would put them into too much danger, as the government is known to tap believers’ phone lines.

trusting God

amid death threats

3 “I think that if I had ever tried to do this ministry in my own

strength, I would have given up long ago. But the Lord is my joy and strength,” confided Rudiman, a Barnabas-supported church planter in Indonesia.

Rudiman and another 39 Barnabas-supported pastors felt led by God to plant new churches in an impoverished Muslim-majority area of Indonesia. Their work does not come without opposition or danger – but also provides opportunities to learn to rely on God.

One such opportunity arose when Rudiman received death threats. His little congregation became very fearful at the thought of their pastor being killed. They begged him to hide in his house to avoid any risks. But Rudiman encouraged his congregation to trust God. He told them, “Pray, and leave this to the Lord.”

Over time it became clear that Rudiman was right, and this built up the faith of his members. What he teaches his flock, is how he leads his own life. He said, “I strongly believe that I should trust in His promises, build on Him and live in full surrender. That will never be in vain.”

Barnabas Fund will help these 40 church planters with approximately £28 (US$42; €39) each every month for four years as they build up their churches and become self-sufficient. They are now in their second year.

bringing hope, transforming lives

Project reference 00-430

nZ$2,013 for seminar in Central asia

Project reference 22-828

nZ$26,759 for 40 new church planters in indonesia for one year

Project reference 00-634 (Church and house repairs for victims of monsoon

floods in Sri Lanka)

nZ$31,486 for house and church repairs after floods

Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 7Compassion in Action

1878 ● The second Baltic War ends;

Turkey and Russia sign the Berlin Treaty, which requires Russia to withdraw from Western Armenia leaving it under the control of the Turkish Sultan

1891 ● The Turkish Sultan establishes a

Kurdish cavalry called Hamidie with the goal of orchestrating massacres of Armenians across the Ottoman Empire

1894-1896 ● The Turkish military massacres

approximately 300,000 Armenians; 100,000 are forcibly converted and expelled from their homeland

1908 ● A Turkish, nationalist movement

called “Young Turks” overthrows the Sultan, yet continues to carry out massacres in order to create a pure Turkish state

1909 ● An anti-Christian mob murders

approximately 20,000 Christians including 1,272 Assyrians

1911 ● The Young Turks hold a secret session

called the Salonika conference and adopt an official genocidal policy to Turkify all non-Turkish nations in the empire – including Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks

1914 ● Turkish boycott of Armenian

businesses declared. Police collect names and biographies of leading Armenians. Mass executions of Armenian soldiers in Turkish army in public squares

● Turkish authorities begin a violent, systematic approach to removing the Greek Christians of western Anatolia as all Pontic Greeks ages 21-45 are mobilised, rounded up and displaced during the summer months

● Talaat Pasha ordered the deportation of Assyrians living along the border of Turkey and Persia (Iran)

1915 January ● Young Turks leader, Talaat: “no

room for Christians in Turkey” (Reported by New York Times)

● Under the guise of military stratagem, Turkish authorities begin a violent relocation of Greek Christian communities located around the Black Sea

1915 February ● Young Turks leaders Talaat, Enver

and Jemal create the “Executive Committee of Three” who were responsible for the organisation and implementation of the deportation and massacre of all Armenians in the Ottoman Empire

1915 March ● Deportation of Armenians from

Zeitun begins ● Turkey disarms Armenian men serving

in Ottoman army

1915 april ● Deportation of Armenians from

Zeitun ends (total 25,000) ● Armenian intelligentsia deported and

later killed ● Staff of a leading Armenian

newspaper arrested and later killed

ForGoTTEN GENoCIDE: as it unfolded

1915 May ● Ezerum Province: mass

deportations begin; 200 Armenian leaders arrested

● Assyrians declare war on Turkey ● The Allies (England, France,

and Russia) issue a joint official declaration holding the Ottoman

Two of the Young Turks Leaders. Image Source: Library of Congress, Wikimedia

Victims of a massacre in Erzerum gathered for burial. Image Source: W. L. Sachtleben, Wikimedia

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the worst year of the Armenian and Assyrian Genocide. over a 30-year period, a series of premeditated deportations and massacres resulted in the deaths of up to 3.75 million Christians at the hands of the ottoman Turks.

On 24 April 1915 Armenian intellectuals and leaders were murdered, which is why Armenians commemorate it as the day their “head was cut off”. Overall, in that year alone some 800,000 Armenians were killed.

But the killing had started over two decades earlier. And besides 1.5 million Armenians, a further 750,000 Assyrians and 1.5 million Ottoman Greeks were murdered before the genocide came to an end.

Armenian Genocide Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 8

Empire responsible for the massacre of the Armenians

● Massacre of Armenians from Khnus region of Erzerum province

● The Allies officially warn Turkey to stop the anti-Armenian massacres

● 2000 Armenians deported from Marash

1915 June ● Coordinated attack to drive

Assyrians out of Turkey into Persia and Armenians told to leave within five days

● Turks massacre Assyrian settlements in the Bohtan region leading to the death of the Assyrian scholar, Addai Sher

● Armenians from Erzinjan deported to Syrian desert

● Massacre of 25,000 Armenians from Erzerum province

● Armenian notables of Trebizond thrown, tightly bound, into Black Sea

1915 July ● 2,000 Armenian soldiers in Turkish

army massacred ● Deportations from Trebizond,

Sivas (48,000), Aintab, Kilis and Adiaman. Many slaughtered en route to the Syrian desert

1915 august ● 1,000 Armenians burned alive in Bitlis ● Deportation of Armenians from

Adabazar, Mersin, Izmir, Bursa

1915 OctOber ● Turkey blocks exit of Armenians to US

1915 nOveMber ● Turkey blocks attempted relief effort

by US organisation

1915 DeceMber ● Deportations of Armenians

from Constantinople

1916 ● Further deportations of the

Armenian population; many massacred along the way, others die from starvation/dehydration

● Greeks evacuated from the Black Sea and other areas

● July – September, 70,000 troops massacred in Sivas

● Massacre of at least 260,000 deportees

● 3,000 elderly women and children are sent on a white march

● Total deaths around 750,000

1917 ● 12,000 Armenians murdered ● Greeks displaced and 100

villages burnt

1919 ● Turkish nationalists led by

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) split from Young Turks and aim to establish a Turkish State, engaging in the Turkish War of Independence against WW1 allies as represented in the region

1920 ● Sultan in control of the Ottoman

Empire, supported by the British ● 14,500 Armenians killed in the course

of unrest because of political changes ● Turkish military captures Armenian

city of Alexandropol ● Armenia annexed by Soviet Union

1921 ● Greeks again forced to relocate

1922 ● Abolition of Ottoman Sultanate ● 10,000 Armenians massacred.

More Armenian deportations ● 100,000 Greeks massacred.

Mass deportations

1923 ● Republic of Turkey declared ● New law prevents Armenians from

returning to Turkey

1939 ● Hitler gives instructions to: ‘kill

without pity or mercy all men, women and children of Polish race or language” asking, “who still talks nowadays of the extermination of the Armenians?”

1918 ● Turkey accepts WW1 defeat, making

provisions for return of Armenians which is never enforced

● Armistice allows Greek Christians to return to Western Anatolia

● Republic of Armenia established ● More than 30,000 massacred in Turkey

Armenians being deported. Image Source: narek781, Wikimedia

Armenians orphans. Image Source: Trustees of Anatolia College, Wikimedia

Armenian refugee children near Athens after population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Image Source: Quoth, Wikimedia

You can view a more detailed version of this timeline at: www.barnabasfund.org/armenian-timeline or scan this with your device

Armenian Genocide Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 9

“After been threatened, from Cilicia region in South-west Turkey, [my grandparents] fled in mid-April 1915 from Hajen city, leaving behind all their belongings, documents, and other things. They took the Der El-Zor route and after few months they reached Baghdad as a safe haven. During those days, they used to collect animal dung and take the seeds and grains from it to feed their children.” Dr Jany Haddad

“The Turkish authorities … rounded up [the elderly, the women and the children] and told them they were going to walk to a Der El-Zor, near Aleppo, where they could settle and live. All of them, even the pregnant women, were forced along the route in the heat of the summer of 1915. Eventually they realised that their promised destination was an empty desert region, with no settlements, no food and no water.” AC and LC

“The Armenian men were told by their captors, ‘Convert to Islam and you will be safe.’ The Armenians shouted, ‘We are Christians!’ In response the Turkish soldiers doused the church building [where the men were imprisoned] with flammable liquid and set it on fire.”

AC and LC

“The Turks packed and tied poor young widows in the Oriental oxen carts and drove them through the crowded main markets, while the victims were screaming and pulling their hair in agony. In those helpless, hopeless days, the writer, his wife and his old mother repeatedly knelt down to pray for the forgiveness of such a matchless sin.”

Rev. Sisag Manoogian

“On one occasion Elmas saw a line of Armenian children being systematically beheaded by Turkish soldiers. Terrible thunder and lightning broke out, which the Turks relished as showing the approval of Allah for the killing of the Christian children. But when a bolt of lightning killed some of those doing the beheading, the rest of the soldiers were terrified, stopped the beheadings, and sent the remaining children away.”

AC and LC how did Armenian Christians respond to the atrocities they underwent? seven years into the worst period of the Armenian Genocide, sisag Manoogian set down his thoughts and recollections. he tells how some Christians remained firm in their faith and Christ-like towards their enemies.

“Not less than one million Armenians have perished during these last seven years. Some, by the grace of God, were experts in the art of dying, and these saved the name of Christianity in the presence of their enemies.

Some ferocious gendarmes marvelled when seeing men and women, even children, instead of trembling in the presence of death, show calm and dignity, and instead of cursing, pray for the forgiveness of their murderers. In their defencelessness they tried to defend the weaker ones; in their hunger they shared their last piece of bread with the poorest.

The pastor of the Syrian church in Ourfa saw thousands of women and children, who were exhausted with the journey, and so had to spend one night on the ground there, and march on next morning. He said nearly all were hungry, thirsty, and literally naked. Some of them found pieces of charcoal and wrote on the rocks: ‘As Jesus did not deny us, do not deny Him’; ‘We have not denied Him, follow us’.

These women were asked to repeat a short sentence after the Turkish teacher, or lift up their testimonial

finger to show that they were willing to accept Islam, which meant they could stay free in their homes, but they refused, choosing rather to suffer and die in the desert.

The victorious Turks… will acknowledge that the Armenians gave up everything precious, but clung to their Bibles; how they thanked God first before they drank water after five days’ hot journey in the desert without anything to quench thirst; how innocent victims showed wonderful peace and offered earnest prayers for the salvation of Turks and Turkey, before the rope was around their necks to hang them.

It is not, of course, intended by this account to give the impression that all Armenians show the Spirit of Christ under persecution. This would be far from the truth; but the role of true martyrs, whether living or dying, is a noble and long one.”

These excerpts are taken from “Armenian Experts in the Art of Dying” by Rev. Sisag Manoogian, (2014). Our sincere thanks to his descendants, who have kindly allowed us to use the quotations.

“ExPErTs IN ThE ArT oF DyING”christ-like cOnDuct During the arMenian genOciDe

Armenians marched by Turkish soldiers, Image Source: Project SAVE, Wikimedia

Armenian Genocide Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 10

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DAWA

DAWA AND ISLAMISATION THROUGH VIOLENCE AND JIHAD

The Islamic Strategy for Reshaping the Modern World

...Pull-out

method for keeping society in check as well as for the expansion of Islam. Even moderate Muslims seem to accept the need for violence against infidels, apostates, those who criticise Muhammad, and perceived enemies of Islam.

In the West violent Muslim riots are sometimes organised to try to force non-Muslim governments

to accept Islamic demands. Such protests occurred in many countries following the Rushdie affair in Britain in 1989, Pope Benedict’s Regensburg speech in 2006,

and the Danish cartoons of Muhammad in 2005-2006. Governments usually respond by conceding to radical Islamic demands.

The fear of Islamist violence creates an atmosphere of excessive political correctness and self-censorship by non-Muslims in the West. As a

result Islam gains a privileged position in Western society in which it is never criticised.

MIlITAry jIhADThe principle of military jihad is based on the example of Muhammad’s life and of the first caliphs who expanded the Islamic empire. Later, during the Abbasid caliphate this strategy was codified as the sharia doctrine of jihad.

Military jihad was practised up to the time of the Ottoman and Mughal Empires and their jihads into Europe and India respectively. Islamic history also shows repeated cycles of puritanical revivals, such as those of the Almoravids (1054-1147) and the Almohads (1121-1269) in North Africa, the Wahhabis in Arabia (since the mid-18th century), Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817) in West Africa and the Mahdi (1844-1885) in Sudan. These all practised aggressive jihad as part of their programmes of reinstating original Islam and expanding its territorial base.

Only under severe constraints, when non-Islamic power was overwhelming, could the jihad imperative be put on hold for a while. This concession derived from sharia principles of darura and maslaha which permit the breaking of sharia principles when Muslims are weak and Islam is in danger. Such suspension of jihad was always temporary, and jihad could be reactivated at any time if Muslims considered their strength sufficient to change the balance of power and reassert Islamic dominance. Violent jihad is an important aspect of the resurgence of Islam since the 1970s and is fuelled by the growing dominance of Islamism across the Muslim world.

VIolENT IslAMIsTs: jIhADIsTsViolent radical Islamist groups wage a constant campaign of terror against a variety of targets: the regimes in their own Muslim-majority states; Western states, especially the US and their interests

DAWA lINkED To jIhAD Dawa is linked to jihad, as both have the same aim: to spread Islam and its dominion. The concept of jihad has been part of Islam since its beginning. The Arabic word means “striving” and Muslims interpret this as: (1) personal spiritual struggle for moral purity; (2) trying to correct wrong and support right by voice and actions; (3) military war against non-Muslims.

The early Islamic state imposed Islam by persuasion if possible, by force if not. Likewise, all forces hindering the spread of Islam and its dominion had to be fought and eradicated. After a Muslim victory, the non-Muslims brought under Islamic rule could be converted more easily with the help of the Islamic state and its institutions. This doctrine of early Islam remains a guiding principle of 21st century Islamists¹ for whom one of the purposes of jihad is to “to eliminate all elements that are acting as obstacles for the rest of the people converting to Islam”.² In this view jihad is dawa by force.

While dawa can be propagated by peaceful persuasion, jihad enables it to function freely to its fullest extent. Dawa is most effective when the state enforces sharia and uses all its resources to support dawa. Islamist movements see themselves as committed to both dawa and jihad, or rather, see both as different stages of the same enterprise.

VIolENCE IN IslAMThere has always been a strand of radicalism and violence in Islam’s traditional theology. This is based on passages in the Islamic source texts, on Muhammad’s example, and on early Muslim history. Because the Quran and hadith (traditions) contain many passages encouraging violence, they have provided a strong justification for those Muslims seeking to further the power of Islam by aggression and violence.

Numerous verses in the Quran command or commend fighting against non-Muslims, especially in the parts of the Quran “revealed” to Muhammad in Medina towards the end of his life. Peaceable Quran verses, dated earlier than the belligerent ones, are considered by most Islamic scholars abrogated (cancelled out) by the later belligerent verses. A favourite verse of Islamists is the “Sword Verse”:

But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them… (Q 9:5)

It is said to have abrogated all peaceful verses and to be the basis for militant jihad.

Through the centuries, Muslim societies have tended to view the use of violence as an effective

Even moderate Muslims seem to accept the need for violence against infidels, apostates, those who criticise Muhammad, and perceived enemies of Islam

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worldwide; progressive and liberal Muslims labelled heretics and apostates; and Israel and Jews. Some focus on what Islam calls the “near enemy”: Muslim rulers and regimes. Others focus on the “far enemy” such as the US, the UK, Israel, and other non-Muslim regimes.

Using a process called takfir, some condemn their more moderate fellow-Muslims as infidels or apostates. As sharia decrees a death penalty for adult male apostates and for all infidels (pagans), those classified as infidels or apostates can then be lawfully killed, at least in the view of the takfiris who have condemned them. This process is applied to liberal and progressive Muslims, to more secular Muslim governments and even to whole Muslim societies that the radicals consider to be insufficiently devout. This kind of reasoning allows violent jihadists to legitimise the horrors of the indiscriminate killing of Muslim innocents, as in the Algerian civil war and in Iraq post-2003.

The extent of activity by violent Islamists across the world, especially that involving suicide operations, is phenomenal. The range stretches from Pakistan and Afghanistan through Iraq, Syria and Yemen to Somalia, Nigeria, Algeria and Kenya. The terror they unleash is evident in daily news bulletins that recount suicide bombings, assassinations and shootings across the globe. The call for jihad has a powerful emotive attraction that constantly brings in new recruits from all over the Muslim world, replenishing the many fighters killed.

rElIGIous “ClEANsING”Islamist violence and threats of violence are causing whole populations of non-Muslims to flee their homelands. In some cases this policy appears to be deliberate; the Islamists intentionally seek to “cleanse” a country of its non-Muslim population in the religious equivalent of ethnic cleansing. Examples include:

IraqFollowing the downfall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Islamist militant groups, both Sunni and Shia, targeted indigenous Christians in a programme of sustained violence that included kidnapping, assassination and bombing of churches. This resulted in the displacement of about half the country’s Christian population. Many Christians received threats by letter, phone call or SMS (text message), telling them to convert to Islam, leave or be killed. The Islamic State group (IS) renewed this drive with great vigour in 2014 as it expanded the area of Iraq and Syria under its control causing a new displacement of hundreds of thousands of Christians and other minorities.

SyriaAs the “Arab Spring” unfolded in Syria from 2011 onwards, the rebels became increasingly dominated by radical Islamist jihadi groups. These factions attacked Christians, accusing them of supporting

the Assad regime, and used violence to intimidate them and cause them to flee.

Christians were threatened, kidnapped and killed. Church buildings and clergy were especially targeted. Many thousands of Christians left their homes, some seeking refuge in Lebanon or further afield. Ironically, many of the Christians who fled the anti-Christian violence in Iraq a few years earlier had found safety in Assad’s Syria; they then had to face religious cleansing once more, this time in their country of refuge.

NigeriaThe resurgence of Islam has radicalised many Nigerian Muslims. Modern Islamism fits well with the traditional Northern Nigeria model of revival, creation of an Islamic state under sharia and jihad as exemplified by Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817) when he established the Sokoto Caliphate. Following the imposition of sharia in twelve northern states (1999-2001), radical Islamists have been demanding the Islamisation of all Nigeria, including the south of the country, which is predominantly Christian.

The militant Islamist group Boko Haram, now linked to IS, has been responsible for countless violent attacks on Christian churches, villages and individuals, resulting in thousands of deaths and in the displacement of huge numbers of Christians in the north. Boko Haram has stated that it is engaged in a war on Christians in Nigeria, and Nigerian Christians believe that the group is coordinating attacks with the aim of eradicating Christians from those parts of the country where Boko Haram is trying to establish an Islamic state.

IslAMIC lIBErATIoN MoVEMENTsMany Muslim states and organisations such as the powerful OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) support Muslim-minority demands for independence or autonomy as well as outright rebellions against non-Muslim central governments. This is evident in Kashmir, the Philippines, southern Thailand, Xinjiang Province in China, Chechnya and elsewhere. The theological basis for such rebellions is that Muslims believe they should never live under non-Muslim rule and must always work to expand the territory under Muslim political rule. Insurgency and terrorism to support such causes are accepted as legitimate jihad, and funds, arms and fighters are provided by wealthy Muslim states and organisations.

Resistance to non-Muslim rule is considered a sacred duty in Islam and Western leftists often accept this view of Islamist activities as a valid liberation struggle.

DEsTABIlIsATIoN oF sTATEsDestabilisation is currently occurring in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Kenya, the Philippines, India and elsewhere. Muslim minorities are urged to increase their power in the state and its institutions and to defy secular constitutions. They demand the implementation of

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source texts, including the Quran. This enraged some Islamists who declared he had blasphemed against Islam and called for his death. In 1993, seven Muslim lawyers brought a case of apostasy against him. He was found guilty of apostasy by the Cairo Appeals Court on 14 June 1995 and ordered to separate from his wife. This ruling was based on the Islamic principle of hisba, which permits any Muslim to defend Islamic morals and behaviour. The landmark ruling against Abu Zayd, the first of its kind in modern Egypt, emboldened Islamists to file hisba lawsuits against other liberal and secularist Muslim intellectuals. It was an effective way of silencing them.

PErsECuTIoN oF ChrIsTIAN MINorITIEsIn the post-communist era, Islam has emerged as the main persecutor of Christians. This is partly due to the rise of Islamism and its doctrines of hostility and contempt for non-Muslims.

In Muslim-majority countries, Christianity is often presented as the religion of the hated Western colonial powers. When Muslims seek to retaliate against Western air strikes that accidentally kill Muslim civilians, the local Christians – unarmed and few in number – are easy targets. Christians in Muslim-majority contexts are thus bearing the brunt of the West’s “war on terror”.

In the grand plan of Islamisation, the persecution of Christian minorities serves to encourage their conversion to Islam or is intended to cleanse a country of all Christians.

Anti-Christian violence is sweeping across the Muslim-majority world. If the trend is not reversed, this generation will witness the eradication of the Christian presence in many nations. Everywhere, Christians are now living in fear of further attacks, with no one to protect them.

1 Islamisation is a form of dawa that aims to convert whole societies and their structures. It can be defined as a process by which not only individuals but also groups, societies and cultures become more and more Islamic. The process of Islamisation will be considered in later instalments of this series of “Dawa” pull-out supplements.

2 Muhammad Qasim, “Destroying the Country Idol”, published in the Taliban’s magazine Azan, Issue 3, 24 August 2013

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From outside the UKTelephone +44 24 7623 1923Fax +44 24 7683 4718Email info@barnabasfund.orgregistered Charity Number 1092935Company registered in England Number 4029536

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© Barnabas Fund 2015

BarnaBas FunD hope and aid for the persecuted church

sharia in Muslim-majority regions of the country as a prelude to imposing sharia on all the population.

At the same time Islamist jihadists destabilise the status quo by violent and indiscriminate attacks on civilians. The population becomes polarised as the state increases its defensive measures and focuses on possible sources of terrorism in the Muslim population.

sEIZING PowEr By MIlITAry ForCEViolent Islamists of the Seleka rebel group overwhelmed the armed forces of the Central African Republic in March 2013 and seized political power. This happened despite the fact that Muslims are only 15% of the country’s population.

PrEVENTING INDIVIDuAls FroM lEAVING IslAM

Apostasy from Islam is viewed in sharia as a very serious crime, equivalent to treason against the umma (Islamic nation). Adult male apostates are to be punished by death, and most schools of sharia decree the same penalty for adult female apostates.

A few Muslim-majority states include in their legal systems the death sentence for a Muslim who changes religion (Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Qatar, among others). However, in most Islamic contexts no specific state law exists for execution of an apostate. Nevertheless, authorities may find the convert guilty of another offence linked to a perceived threat to the public order.

Sharia sets out a wide range of punishments for apostasy in addition to the death sentence. These include dissolution of the convert’s marriage, loss of custody of children and loss of inheritance rights. The authorities often discourage conversion from Islam simply by refraining from punishing Muslims who harass or even kill the convert.

PErsECuTIoN oF lIBErAl MuslIMsHeresy in Islam is almost as serious a charge as apostasy. Sometimes state authorities condemn as heretics liberal Muslims who have wandered too far from the “true faith”. Once they are classified as heretics, they can be punished and silenced.

Dr Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd in Egypt is a good example. Abu Zayd was a liberal academic who extended his linguistic research to the study of Islamic

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“I started receiving Barnabas Aid and Barnabas Prayer when I was 18 years old. Last year one of

the magazine issues had a call for church partners throughout New Zealand. I thought, “I can make a difference here.”

I think there’s great potential in younger ages. Young people can be on fire for God, especially in the late teen years, early twenties. The question is, how can you keep that fire alive? Being a Barnabas Fund speaker or church partner is a great way.

Doing this work has helped me grow. I mean, you can pray for your friends, you can pray for your family. You can pray for church members. But that’s only good enough for so long. Eventually you’re going to start asking for more.

It’s about putting yourself in the mission of God for the benefit of the Church. You can make a difference in people’s lives, both in the country that you live in and also in other countries. It’s about knowing the work that you’re doing is helping to sew the Church together.

You don’t have to think, “Oh, can I do this? Oh, I am too young and so-and-so is probably a better speaker than I am.” You don’t have to be the best person. People often respect genuineness and sincerity and a love

for Christ, for the Gospel and for the church, more than they do a good speaker. It’s about recognising in your heart that this is a passion and part in which God could play through you.

That’s something which is critical for me: helping others to see that there’s more to life than just what is in New Zealand.

What I like about a lot of the information from Barnabas Fund that I’m sharing is that it is eye-opening. You get to see what different people go through in different countries. The testimonies of Christians undergoing persecution are inspiring and, at times, sad. But they show an awful lot of God. There’s a lot of humility in there and a raw working of God in their hearts.”

We need more Church partners!Hundreds of Christians volunteer for Barnabas Fund in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Would you like to know more about becoming a church partner? Have a look at: www.barnabasfund.org/get-involved/partnership. You could also scan this code with your device.

people often respect genuineness and sincerity and a love for christ, for the gospel and for the church, more than they do a good speaker

CAMEroN BlAIr was 28 years old when he became a Barnabas church partner at his church in Invercargill, New Zealand. In an interview he advocates that being a Barnabas speaker or church partner can keep a young person on fire for God.

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Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 11Interview

We are calling upon our government and the united nations:

● To intervene actively to protect Christians and other minorities in the Middle East, especially Iraq and Syria, from genocide, persecution and terror;

● To allow Christian refugees into our countries and to take active steps to promote humanitarian asylum and a positive welcome;

● To support and give humanitarian aid to Christians in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East and to provide assistance to those fleeing as refugees.

Please sign the petition and gather other signatures, too. You can get a copy of the petition by contacting your nearest Barnabas Office, by downloading it from www.barnabasfund.org/MEpetition, or by signing it online at the same address.

You could also write a letter to your elected representative. A letter sent by post will be more effective than an email, but any letter sent by any method will help.

So far we have received over 28,864 signatures worldwide.

Why act? In June 2014 Islamic State (IS) militants shocked the world when they seized vast amounts of territory in northern Iraq and in Syria. Hundreds of thousands of Christians were forced to flee as IS confronted them with the choice of converting to Islam, paying the jizya tax as a sign of subjugation or being killed. Many women and girls were seized and sold as slaves.

But for those Christians who have escaped, predominantly to Iraqi Kurdistan, a humanitarian crisis has been unfolding. Nearly one year on from IS’s major offensive, their situation is still desperate.

in our emergency we Christians looked for help everywhere, but they didn’t help us… i plead to the international community, to churches, to human rights organisations, to the un, to all who promote peaceful living together, to help us! Iraqi Christian woman (speaking to Ishtar, an Assyrian TV channel)

last ChanCe to senD in your saVe the Christians oF the MiDDle east petitions

CorrectionIn the example letter provided in Barnabas Aid March/April 2015 it was incorrectly stated that “An estimated 800,000 Armenians were killed in 2015 alone”. This sentence should read: “An estimated 800,000 Armenians were killed in 1915 alone.”

Displaced Christian children living in empty offices Dohuk, Kurdistan - a long way from home

urGent april 2015

Deadline 30th

a familiar story? One hundred years ago Christians were massacred at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. In 1900 about 32% of Ottoman Turkey’s population was Christian. Just 27 years later, the Armenian and Assyrian Genocide, which peaked in April 1915, reduced the Christian population to 1.8%.

Numerous Christians were forced to leave their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs and walk hundreds of miles across the desert to concentration camps. Huge numbers died of hardship and deprivation on their journey and many others were deliberately murdered in organised killings. Their plight was largely ignored by the international community.

Thankfully, today you can make a difference by contacting policymakers and signing this petition. If you have not yet sent in your petition form, please send it to your nearest Barnabas Office by 30 April. (Addresses on inside front cover.)

Would you like to do something practical to support your persecuted brothers and sisters in the Middle east?

at Barnabas Fund we have been running a campaign to urge our governments and the united nations to save the Christians of the Middle east, who are facing severe persecution at a level not seen for generations.

NZ readers can find their local MP’s details at the following website: www.parliament.nz/en-nz/mpp/mps/current

Campaigns Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 12

Islamic State (IS) fighters in the north-eastern region of Hassake raided numerous villages along the Khabur River in the early hours of 23 February, abducting those who did not manage to flee.

Men, women and children, including the entire population of the village of Tel Shamiram, were captured. Local residents overheard the militants confirm on wireless devices that they were holding the “crusaders”, who were alive but the men had been separated from the women and children.

Four churches were burned during the raids and a car bomb and mortars were heard going off in subsequent days. At least 1,200 families have been displaced.

At the time of writing, 23 of the hostages have been released, 19 arriving safely in the city of Hassake on Sunday 1 March and another four on 3 March. According to the Assyrian Human Rights Network, a sharia court ordered the release of the captives after paying the humiliating jizya tax.

On 15 February a video was released depicting the co-ordinated beheading of 21 Christians by Islamic State militants. Twenty were Egyptians working in Lybia, most of whom had been abducted from the Libyan city of Sirte on 4 January. The twenty-first man was an African also working in Libya. His nominal Christian faith had been re-kindled by the Egyptians, so that when IS came looking for Christians he refused to save his life by embracing Islam, but instead embraced martyrdom.

The five-minute long video footage shows the hostages being led, handcuffed, in single-file before being made to lie face down. The Christians were then executed simultaneously.

One jihadist, speaking in North-American accented English, declared “All crusaders: safety for you will be only wishes, especially if you are fighting us all together. Therefore we will fight you all together… We will conquer Rome, by Allah’s permission .”

(See Grace upon Grace, p. 16)

Islamic State in Libya behead 21 Christians

Kazakh courts sentence Christians for illegal religious activities

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“All crusaders: safety for you will be only wishes, especially if you are fighting us all together. Therefore we will fight you all together”

Twenty-one Christians executed on the Libyan coast

A court order has fined a Christian-run drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre and closed it down for three months after police seized religious books and materials, and accused the Centre of illegal activity (religious worship without authorisation).

On 19 January the court order was upheld meaning that the Centre, in the Pavlodar Region, had to pay a fine of 185,200 tenge (£660; €880; US$1,000; AU$1,300; NZ$1,360). The Centre’s director was also fined. In November 2014, another case accusing the same Centre of inciting religious hatred was dropped after police admitted to finding no evidence.

Furthermore, in separate incidents, two Christians have

received heavy fines for exercising their right to freedom of religion without state permission but have refused to pay, making them subject to further punishment.

In Uralsk, West Kazakhstan, Nikolai Novikov was fined three times between 2013 and 2014 for meeting to worship without state permission. He described the fines as “illegal” – indeed, they violate legally binding international agreements.

Maksim Volikov was fined on 19 December for talking to people on the street about his faith whilst giving out religious literature in North Kazakhstan. He was also issued a three month “ban on his activity”, but he intends to appeal the fine and seizure of his materials.

Around 280 Christians taken captive in Syria

Displaced elderly Christian among the many who have fled their homes along the Khabur River

Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 13Newsdesk

On 20 January at around 2.00 a.m., a church building in Mashewa, in the Muheza district of Tanga Region, was set on fire. The church’s pastor had been threatened repeatedly by local Muslims. On 2 November in Zirai, Muheza district, a Christian woman who converted from Islam was beaten and burned by her parents after choosing to marry a Christian man. In a separate incident, on Mafia island, part of the Muslim-majority Pwani (coast) Region, a pastor who had converted from Islam was ordered by the local area leader to close the church.

On 17 February, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a speech condemning religious violence stating, “We consider the freedom to have, to retain, and to adopt, a religion or belief, is a personal choice of a citizen.” This is a welcome message from the Hindu nationalist leader of the BJP. The speech followed arrests at a large-scale protest in New Delhi on 5 February when hundreds of Christians gathered to protest the recent spate of attacks against Christian buildings. There have been six such attacks since December. Some 200 Christians were reported to have been arrested during the protest.

Commissioned by a leader of the RPP, a Nepalese nationalist party, a Buddhist monk was sent to convert the Christian community in Borang village in Napal’s Dhading district. The Christian villagers were detained and forced to accept Buddhist teachings. Church leaders who did not comply were attacked. A pastor was captured, beaten for three days and forced to sign a document agreeing not to report the incident, not to leave the village and to close the church. On 1 February a group of assailants attempted to set the church building ablaze. They also attacked the pastor's home, cutting off the electricity and phone lines. Unable to leave or contact authorities, the pastor is still in Borang and local Christians are concerned about his health.

The Montagnard Christians of Vietnam are fleeing their homes in the Central Highlands of Vietnam due to persecution from the authorities. Four different groups fled to Cambodia in January alone. Hiding in the jungle in the north-eastern Ratanakiri province of Cambodia, these groups were afraid of being arrested and forcibly deported to Vietnam. On 1 February a Montagnard family of five who had crossed into Cambodia’s jungle were arrested and taken to a secret location by the police.

At least 16 people were killed and over 70 injured when suicide bombers belonging to Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter group from the Pakistani Taliban, attacked two Lahore churches in one of the largest Christian communities in Pakistan on Sunday 15 March. The attacks occurred during morning services in the predominantly Christian neighbourhood of Youhanabad in Lahore, capital of the Punjab province. Stopped at the church gates by church members acting as volunteer security guards, both bombers were unable to enter and blew themselves up at the entrances. Two of the guards died in the explosions and their brave actions prevented many more deaths.

On Sunday 11 January church official, George Karidhimba Muriki, was gunned down by unidentified assailants on a motorbike. George Karidhimba Muriki was standing inside the entrance gate of his church, located in the Majengo neighbourhood of Mombasa City when the attack occured. It was reported that police stopped the gunmen from getting inside the church, preventing greater carnage. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but many suspect Somali Islamists Al-Shabaab to be behind the incident.

Rise of anti-Christian violence in Tanzania’s coastal areas

Indian Prime Minister speaks out for religious minorities

Nepalese Christians forced to convert to Buddhism

Christian Montagnards flee Vietnam and take refuge in Cambodia

Taliban suicide bomb church attacks

Kenyan church leader shot dead in Mombasa city

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Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 14In Brief

The church in Kisota Gamboni, in Mafia, has been closed since November

Narendra Modi breaks his silence on religious violence Global Panorama / CC BY-SA 2.0

In Brief

Image source: brian.ch, Flickr

Boko Haram violence spreads into Niger and Chad

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On Saturday 21 F e b r u a r y Boko Haram m i l i t a n t s attacked an island on

Niger’s side of Lake Chad, but were repelled by the Nigerien army. Preceding this, the border town Diffa saw a wave of raids by the militants, and on 9 February five people were killed in a car bomb.

Boko Haram’s first fatal attack in Chad took place in Ngouboua, a village near Lake Chad, on 13 February. A spokesperson for Chad’s armed forces said five people died in the raid: a local chief, a police officer and three civilians. Dozens of militants arrived by motorised canoe, burning houses, and then attacked a police station.

Boko Haram, which has also continued to wreak violence in Nigeria and Cameroon, is believed to be expanding its movements in response to the formation of the Multinational Joint Task Force, a regional force made up of soldiers from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, numbering around 8,700. The force’s formation was backed by African Union countries to combat Boko Haram on 30 January and has successfully reclaimed some land captured by the Islamists, most notably Baga town in which up to 2,000 residents were killed on 3 January.

The militant group hold around 20,000 square miles (approximately 50,000 square km ) of territory (the size of Belgium) in north-east Nigeria and have established an Islamic Caliphate (state under sharia law).

For the first time Nigerian-based jihadi group Boko Haram have launched attacks in neighbouring Niger and Chad.

The origins of Boko HaramBoko Haram was founded in 2002 by Nigerian Islamist cleric Mohammed Yusuf. The popular name, which is in the local Hausa language, is usually translated as “Western education is forbidden” but they themselves want to be known by the Arabic name Jama'atu ahlis sunna lidda'awati wal-jihad means “People committed to the propagation of the prophet’s teaching and jihad”. The group developed out of African post-colonial dissatisfaction. Newly-formed governments attempted to oversee largely destitute peoples whose primary identity was a mixture of religious, ethnic and tribal. These government territories did not reflect cultural, ethnic or religious divisions.

In Nigeria, the Muslim-majority north is more impoverished than the Christian-majority south. The north had previously been subject to sharia law, but a settlement in 1960 reduced sharia law’s influence in favour of state-run systems. In the next two decades as Islamic fundamentalism became prominent in the Middle East, so it emerged in discontented northern Nigeria, culminating in riots against the Nigerian government in the 1980s.

Yusuf was a Salafi (Wahhabi) Muslim and came from the Kanuri ethnic group (as do most members of Boko Haram). He rejected the “infidel” secular state and strove for a purer Islamic one. He wanted to re-establish a caliphate in lands that had belonged to the successful,

and later Islamic, Kanem-Borno Empire: predominantly northern Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. This explains the group’s opposition to any kind of education that is nor purely Islamic, and their violence towards Christians (whom classical Islam says should be fought until they submit to Islamic rule), to governmental security forces who try to hinder their agenda, and to moderate Muslims who do not share their vision for a pure Islamic state.

In 2009 Boko Haram further radicalised after escalating violence between it and the Nigerian police resulted in the killing of around 700 militants and the execution of Yusuf. His successor, Abubakar Shekau, increased the group’s insurgency, drawing many fighters from poorly educated, disadvantaged backgrounds.

Boko Haram originally had a mostly local focus for its jihad (holy war) mainly in north-east Nigeria and more recently across the borders into neighbouring states. But it is thought to have had guidance and help from Al-Qaeda or one of its affiliates. However, in early March 2015 Boko Haram pledged its allegiance to Islamic State (IS); this may mean that Boko Haram will be able to develop a more sophisticated propaganda and information strategy. It may also lead to Boko Haram striking more at Western targets.

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Boko Haram violence spreads to Niger and Chad

Behind the HeadlinesBarnabas Aid May/June 2015 15

Faith and solidarity grow in the midst of persecution

When asked what he would say if he were asked to forgive Islamic State (IS) militants for killing his two younger brothers, Beshir Kamel gave this response:

“My mother, an uneducated woman in her sixties, said she would ask [the executioner] to enter her house and ask God to open his eyes because he was the reason her son entered the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Kamel, whose brothers, aged 23 and 25, were amongst 21 Christians beheaded by IS in Libya on 15 February, spoke bravely in an interview with a Christian television channel. He particularly thanked

IS for not editing out the last words of some killed; many had cried out “Lord Jesus Christ!” as they met their deaths. Their declarations, Kamel said, strengthened his own faith:

“Since the Roman era, Christians have been martyred and have learned to handle everything that comes our way. This only makes us stronger in our faith because the Bible told us to love our enemies and bless those who curse us.”

Further messages of forgiveness and prayers for the IS executioners

have been expressed across Egypt by Christians and their leaders, and by those bereaved by the Islamists. But many Muslims, too, have shared in their pain and condemnation of IS’s actions.

A video created by a young Christian woman in May 2011, during the early days of the “Arab Spring”, was viewed by huge numbers on social media in February in response to the executions. Muslims and Christians alike shared the video, widely distributing its message of forgiveness, mercy and solidarity across Egypt as they did so. In the film, the woman reminds Christians to have hope and calls not for hateful retaliation, but recites Jesus’ own words from Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” The video has now been watched over 680,000 times.

Ramez Atallah, General Director of the Bible Society of Egypt, also spoke of unity in Egypt. Christians, he explained, have felt comforted following the “sympathetic and caring response of Muslims all over the nation… The execution shocked the country and has united Christians and Muslims as never before”.

When invited to pray for his brothers’ murderers, Kamel spoke not of retribution or anger, rather he prayed:

“Dear God, please open their eyes to be saved and to quit their ignorance and the wrong teachings they were taught.”

The lord is doing amazing things in the lives of persecuted Christians, despite the difficulties they face. here are just a few of the ways in which he has blessed our brothers and sisters recently.

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ce A stretch of the Libyan coast. Twenty-one Egyptian Christian hostages were killed near here.

"the Bible told us to love our enemies and bless those who curse us"

Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 16

Struck down but not destroyed: a Bangladesh congregation grows

after their building was ruined

In 2012 the shed that Pastor Sunil’s congregation used for church meetings in Kusot, Bangladesh, was destroyed by a cyclone. With a foundation of mud and a roof of tin, the building frequently flooded and in the end did not stand up to the violent winds. Later that year, Barnabas funded the construction of a brick building for the church. Since the completion of

this new church building, Sunil has seen a rise in Sunday attendance and baptisms, as God continues to build His Kingdom one soul at a time.

Sunil was raised as a Hindu in Bangladesh – a country that is less than 1% Christian. Struggling with guilt, Sunil was driven to seek a god who could forgive his sins. One day, while studying both Hindu and Islamic religious texts, Sunil discovered a New Testament. Reading the words of Jesus, Sunil found the forgiveness he had always desired. Soon afterwards Sunil felt the Lord

calling him to ministry and started attending a Bible College.

Sunil finished his training in 2008 and went on to plant the church in Kusot, Bangladesh. However, Pastor Sunil said that “the village leaders threatened to kill me and the new believers”, so he began to conduct church meetings in family homes secretly during the night.

Things have changed since the early days of Pastor Sunil’s ministry. By 2009 nine families had been baptised and joined Pastor Sunil’s church. As his congregation became more established within the community, they began meeting in a church building. Despite facing persecution daily, the church continues to grow with the support of Barnabas Fund, which not only financed their new building in 2012 and but also sponsors a feeding programme to help support the church members.

Sunil has seen a rise in Sunday attendance and baptisms, as God continues to build His Kingdom one soul at a time

christian child in Syria “can live and smile again”

Amid all the tragic news from Syria about children’s lives blighted by war, comes a story of hope.

"Milad", an eleven-year old Syrian Christian boy now considers a shelter built and funded by Barnabas as his home. He lives there with his family and eleven other Christian families. Milad describes it as a place where"we can hope and dream".

“I love everything [about the shelter],” he said. “We have nice rooms and a big lobby, we have a huge kitchen and a big yard to play in, and of course I love it because it is so close to the church.”

Milad and his family fled from their home in Homs in February 2011 after armed rebels took over their neighbourhood. He remembers, “I always wished that what was happening in my city is not real and that it is only a bad nightmare it will disappear when I wake up.”

Last year, after hearing that their neighbourhood had been cleared from armed groups, they went to see what remained. “My house was ruined and my room was burned. I lost my books, toys. I only have memories now in my mind and heart,” he says.

“Now this shelter is my house after we lost our house in Homs,” he says. “We are like a family. I have so much fun with all the children. Being here has made me believe that we still have a bright sight in the world we can live and smile again.”

In some areas of Syria Christian children like “Milad” can still grow up in safety

Pastor Sunil’s congregation in their new building

Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 17Grace

Hear a Barnabas speaker

at your local church

Throughout May Barnabas Fund will be

speaking at various venues. We would love to

meet you. Here are the dates and locations:

● 7 May – St Stephens Community Church,

Nelson 7-9 pm (61 Tahunanui Drive, Tahunanui

7011) ● 10 May – Waikanae Anglican Church, 10 am

● 16 May – Forrest Hill Presbyterian Missions

Dinner, Auckland 6:30 pm (151 Forrest Hill

Road, Forrest Hill, Auckland 0620)

● 24 May – Calvary Baptist Church, Mount

Maunganui 6pm (64 Girven Road, Mount

Maunganui)

If you would like a Barnabas Fund representative

to speak to your church, youth group or home

group, contact us at (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008

805 or write to us at:

PO Box 27 6018

Manukau City

Auckland, 2241

You can also contact via email at

office@barnabasfund.org.nz

Pakistani Christians thanking Stephanie for praying

Attention: Prayer Needed!Reflecting on her recent trip to Pakistan, Barnabas Fund’s Stephanie Dole has realised the power of prayer. Here are some of her thoughts:

The thing that impacted me the most is that time after time someone would come up to me and say “thank you for praying”. They were so grateful knowing that someone in New Zealand cared enough about them to pray for them. It was what got them through the toughest times. Prayer matters. It matters to the countless people in Pakistan that came up to thank me (YOU!) for praying for them. Maybe you could start a local prayer group? We can provide you with prayer resources to make this as easy as possible! It’s our prayers that spread the hope of Christ to situations that seem hopeless.

Please contact stephanie@barnabasfund.org.nz if you are interested in starting a local prayer group, or phone the BF office 09-280-4385.

Suffering Church Action Week 2015

Sunday 1 November – Sunday 8 November

This year’s theme for Suffering Church Action Week

will be Struck Down but Unconquered. Please join

us in remembering the persecuted Church and taking

action on their behalf. Barnabas Fund invites you to

set aside the week of 1-8 November, or any other week

that suits your church calendar, and start planning

how you could get involved.

The theme is from 2 Corinthians 4: 8-10:

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;

perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not

abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

We always carry around in our body the death of

Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed

in our body.

Persecuted Christians need our help, prayers and

support as they continue to face violence and oppression.

Barnabas Fund is calling on Christians to take time to

learn about the needs of our brothers and sisters and to

remember them in prayer. Could you and your church

get involved in Suffering Church Action Week? Barnabas

Fund will be providing resources and ideas for those who

choose to participate, which will include materials for

children’s ministry, a sermon outline, a Bible study and

other suggestions for the week.

● Sunday 1 or Sunday 8 November

Suggested dates for a Suffering Church Sunday

service at your church

● Saturday 7 November

Barnabas Fund International Day of Prayer for

the Persecuted Church

1st-8th

...Barnabas Aid May/June 2015 18

In Touch

yes, i WoulD like to help the perseCuteD ChurCh

Title ............... Full Name ................................................................................................

Address ............................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

Postcode .......................... Telephone .............................................................................

Email .............................................................................

barnabasfund.org

please return form to Barnabas Fund NZ, P.O. Box 27 6018, Manukau City, Auckland, 2241

phone 09 280 4385 or visit our website at www.barnabasfund.org/nz

Barnabas Fund will not give your address or email to anyone else.

alternatiVe GiFt CarD if you would like to make a donation as an alternative gift for a friend or relative, we can supply you with an attractive “thank you” card, which you can send to the person for whom you have made the donation. Please fill in the details as you would like them to appear on the card. “Dear ..................................................... A gift of $ ............................ has

been received on your behalf

from .............................................................................................................This gift will assist Christians who are persecuted for their faith. With many thanks on behalf of the persecuted Church”

Tick here if you do not want the amount to be stated on the card

Tick here if you do wish details about the project to be included on the card

Please state your preferred card choice (see right): .......... If you would like to have the card sent directly to the recipient, or if you would prefer to receive blank cards and fill them out yourself, please contact your national office (address details on back cover).

If you would like more cards, please photocopy the form or attach a separate piece of paper with the details for extra cards and send it with your donation. You can also call your nearest Barnabas Fund office with the details and pay by credit/debit card over the phone.

i would like to give a gift of $ ...................................................... *

I enclose cash or a cheque payable to “Barnabas Fund”.

Please debit my Visa Mastercard

Card No. Expiry date /

Name on card ...........................................................................................

please use my gift:

taX DeDuCtiBle For NZ Purposes

non taX DeDuCtiBle For wherever the need is greatest (General Fund)

For Overseas Project No ....................................................................

Description ..........................................................................................

I would like to give regularly through my bank. Please send me an Automatic Payment bank form.

I will donate through internet banking (Barnabas Fund account 02 0562 0046270 97)

Barnabas Fund is a Company registered in England Number 4029536. NZ Charities Commission Reg. No CC37773 *We reserve the right to use designated gifts for another project if the one identified is sufficiently funded.

Please send me information about being a Barnabas Fund church representative.

Please add me to your email news service.

a

B

C

D

MaG 05/15

IRD has authorised Barnabas Fund to issue Tax receipts ONLY for donations specified for usewithin NZ

struCk DoWn But unConquereD

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:8-12Suffering Church Action Week:

1-8 Nov 2015

Barnabas Fund International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church Saturday

7 Nov 2015

surviving the armenian Genocide:a personal story

smpat Chorbadjian

This book provides a compelling narrative of one man’s experience during the Armenian genocide in the period of World War 1. With frank simplicity the author reveals the appalling hardships suffered by a Christian living in a Muslim-majority society and caught up in a global conflict. The book challenges the reader to develop a thoughtful, prayerful approach to contemporary situations in which Christians face persecution.

ISBN: 978-0-9916145-7-8Paperback

Comingsoon

To order these books, visit www.barnabasfund.org/shop. Alternatively, please contact your nearest Barnabas Fund office (addresses on inside front cover).

barnabasfund.org