InChains brings you the news about the persecuted Church worldwide. It also brings you resources available for prayer, statistics, and more. Part of being the body of Christ is remembering those that are persecuted. “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” We need to remember and pray for those that are being persecuted, but we also need to pray for those that are doing the persecuting, that they would come to Christ. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” InChains prays that you will use this knowledge to strategically and specifically pray.
BURMA/MYANMAR
Christian Parliamentarian that was abducted in November 2019 has been released.
INDIA
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi was desecrated. Criminals came into the church and destroyed the altar and other religious artifacts.
Pastor was assaulted, arrested, falsely accused, tortured, beaten, injected with unknown substances, and still kept his faith. Now he has lost his income. **MSN put out a second statement saying that the pastor did not admit to luring Hindus despite being tortured. The news agency accidentally reported it as if he had admitted it under duress, but that was not the case.
IRAN
Fatemah Mohammadi, now called Mary, was arrested again as she protested in Tehran. The protest she attended was in regards to the Ukrainian plane that the government shot down.
Iranian Christian, Ismail, has been sentenced to three years in prison for forwarding a message that the court deemed insulting to Iranian clerics. He still faces two more charges.
IRAQ
Four workers with the French NGO, “Christians in the Middle East,” have gone missing in Baghdad. They were there to renew their visas and have their work inspected. So far, there are no ransom demands and no groups have taken responsibility.
MALAYSIA
Pastor Koh has been missing for 3 years, after being abducted by the government! Voice of the Martyrs has a petition you can sign.
NIGERIA
It is important to note that there are many more killings, kidnappings, and injured victims than is reported here. Many instances of persecution are reported as “ethnic tensions” or “farmer/herder” actions. They are not reported as Muslim vs Christian. The two parties, in this instance, are the Fulani (Muslim) tribe and the Christians, but are rarely reported this way. In addition, the problems with Boko Haram (also bears the name Islamic State in the Western African Province – ISWAP) are so overwhelming that victims are rarely identified in the media. For the most part, the media is now only reporting casualties by location/attack However, ISWAP is known to target Christians. Because of the reporting challenges, InChains is only reporting those instances that are known to be on Christians. You can read an overview of the current state of Nigeria’s persecution (as an update to my book) here.
Two young women were killed in Kaduna State when the Fulani attacked their town.
| “We are under siege” says the Archbishop of Kaduna where 4 seminarians were kidnapped |
| Abuja (Agenzia Fides) – “No other Country will tolerate this type of insecurity without calling for mass protests. Definitely our country is under siege”, said His Exc. Mgr. Matthew Man-oso Ndagoso, Archbishop of Kaduna, Nigeria, the archdiocese where on the evening of January 8 four seminarians were kidnapped in the” Good Shepherd” Major Seminary of Kakau along the Kaduna-Abuja highway (see Fides, 13/1/2020). “This is the third time kidnapping is happening directly to our diocese”, said the Archbishop. “I can’t sleep at the thought of the conditions that the four students are experiencing,” added Archbishop Ndagoso. “People can no longer sleep with two eyes closed, yet our leaders have the courage to say that there is security in the Country”, said Archbishop Ndagoso, who adds that the population seems to be resigned to growing insecurity. “I think people now seem to have given up on the security situation because there is nothing they can do, they just resigned to fate”. The Archbishop wonders why security cannot be restored in the area because “with the technologically developed security gadgets in the 21st century, there is nowhere in the world, even underwater that criminals cannot be traced or tracked”. “But security agencies keep on saying that they are on top of the situation”. After saying that “security measures were strengthened in the seminary” in order to protect other students”, Archbishop Ndagoso concludes saying that “we will continue to pray for the kidnapped seminarians, until they are freed. We keep hoping that God will expose those behind the insecurity in this Country”. |
Catholic leader is Nasarawa State has been murdered by the Fulani. His son has also been killed in the same attack.
Borno State is becoming increasingly isolated due to Boko Haram’s continued attacks on road infrastructure. Although not a direct link to persecution, these acts are causing significant problems for the Christian community. Additional issues are arising as Boko Haram cuts of electricity to towns/cities in Borno State.
Despite executing Reverend Andimi, Boko Haram attacked his town, days later.
A student that was kidnapped has been executed by ISWAP.
PAKISTAN
Zafar Bhatti’s and Sawan Masih’s court dates have been moved again, Jan 29th, and Feb 13th, according to Church in Chains.
PHILIPPINES
A bomb plot against a church was foiled by security forces. Two suspects that belong to Abu Sayyaf, a terror organization operating in the Philippines, were arrested.
SUDAN
Three churches in Southeastern Sudan were burnt to the ground in December. Three weeks later, the temporary structures that were put in place have been burn down as well.
Thailand
Jubilee Campaign has reported that 51 Pakistani Christians have been rounded up by police and thrown in detention centers. Many Pakistani Christians flee to Thailand to seek asylum. However, they seldom get it and the conditions are terrible. Christians are targeted by the police instead of helped by government.
RESOURCES
PRAYER SHEETS
Release International has published its January edition of Voices.
Open Doors February Prayer Calendar.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide has a prayer sheet for the week.
iCommitToPray has released a prayer sheet.
REPORTS & BOOKS
Voice of the Martyrs has a Global Prayer Guide available for free.
OpenDoors released its 2020 World Watchlist Report.
Gatestone Institute released a report about 2019 attacks on religious sites in Europe.
ChinaAid has released its bi-annual report on religious persecution and national policy concerns. You can purchase it on Amazon in English and in Chinese.
If you would like to receive more frequent updates on Christian persecution, you can follow the Persecuted Church facebook page.
