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.
BANGLADESH
Rohingya Christian refugees (17 families in total) have been attacked by Rohingya Muslims. They were attacked with machetes, their homes looted and destroyed, their official documents stolen, their ration cards stolen, and their technology stolen. The UNHCR has moved the Christians temporarily but will soon return them to the camp.
CHINA
Officials in China are cracking down on funerals. New regulations forbid religious funerals. People are afraid to even attend as officials are arresting people at funerals. Pastors are forced to hurry into a person’s home, say a prayer quickly, and leave.
China is making it official that churches must show allegiance to communism and must propagate its ideologies.
EGYPT
The Coptic community in Egypt is being targeted for assassination, solely because if their Christian faith. Multiple attempts, with some successes, have been documented in this article. Unfortunately, this not new for those in the Coptic faith. Warning: the language describing the attacks can be graphic for some.
ETHIOPIA
Christian organizations are sounding the alarm that evangelical and protestant Christians in Ethiopia are increasingly becoming unsafe.
INDIA
A pastor is taken to a school, stripped, and beaten. Afterward he is charged with forced conversions.
ISRAEL
A Messianic Jewish congregation, meeting in the city of Arad, is being harassed by local Jewish groups. During a meeting, photos were taken of the members. The Congregation is worried of reprisals against those in the photos and are requesting prayer.
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.
January was a hard month for Plateau State. Morning Star News provided a rundown of the kidnappings, murder, and injuries for the month.
Morning Star News reports that in the first four days of this week, over 32 people have been murdered in Plateau State by the Fulani.
SUDAN
A Christian man attempted to return home to Sudan after being in exile. The GIS (intelligence service that replaced NISS) promised him that he would not be arrested. However, when he got to the airport in Khartoum, he was arrested by the GIS.
RESOURCES
PRAYER SHEETS
Open Doors February Prayer Calendar.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide has a prayer sheet for the week.
iCommitToPray has released a prayer sheet.
REPORTS & BOOKS
Asia Bibi, a woman who is now safe in Canada after spending a decade on death row, has published her biography with the help of a French journalist. The book is so far only in the French language.
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.
