Persecution Unveiled Cause: September 2018

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Persecution Unveiled has established this cause to educate people about the persecution of Christians and religious minorities in the US & worldwide. Mission Raising awareness to the growing tide of bigotry and hatred toward Christians around the world has become a burden on those trying to wake up those who cherish religious freedom as a God given right. Persecution Unveiled has been called by God to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to speak up and act on behalf of those who have no voice. Email

persecutionunveiled@gmail.com

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Christian Man Beaten Nearly to Death, Body Burned on His Muslim Mother's Orders for Choosing Jesus

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

A Muslim woman in a Middle Eastern country ordered that her son be beaten nearly to death because he converted to Christianity.

Christian Aid Mission, which supports ministries around the world that are helping believers in dangerous places, recently reported that Abdel, as the young man is called (not his real name), has remained committed to his faith despite the attacks on his life.

Abdel's mother was distraught when she learned that he had decided to leave Islam and convert to Christianity, even though he knew he would be shunned by his family.

He had been unable to find work in his home country (also not named) and had been relying on his parents to pay for his apartment and other living expenses. Following his conversion, his mother came to him with a checkbook in one hand, and a burial linen shroud in the other.

"You must choose between the two," his mother told him.

Despite knowing that his mother was capable of anything, the young Christian replied: "I want to live for Christ and die for Him, no matter what the price will be."

His mother left, warning that he will "pay the price" for his decision. Abdel was kidnapped by a Muslim gang two months later and beaten nearly to the point of death, with cigarettes burned to his body.

Though Abdel survived, he has been subjected to further financial difficulties from his mother, who has sent people to collect money from him that he says he doesn't owe.

Still, Abdel has maintained his Christian faith, and has been encouraging others to turn to Jesus.

Christians in different parts of the world have faced intense attacks from within their own families for their decision to convert, and not only in Muslim-majority nations.

In 2017, Open Doors USA shared the story of a 20-something-year-old Christian by the name of Cheu in the Buddhist-majority nation of Laos who was severely beaten by members of his own family.

Christian Post continues here

Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.

Pastor Brunson's Daughter: Turkey's Charge of 'Christianization' Equates Christianity with 'Terrorism'

By Benjamin Gill
CBN News

Turkish leaders are hinting American Pastor Andrew Brunson could be released next month at his next hearing on October 12th, but only if the US stops putting pressure on the country.

Brunson is currently under house arrest after spending almost two years in a Turkish prison accused of crimes related to his Christian faith.

His daughter spoke at this year's Values Voter summit in Washington and says it's been difficult for her dad and their family.

Jacqueline Furnari, Pastor Brunson's daughter, said,

"There have been times I have not been happy with God's plan in this situation. I've really come to realize God is in complete control and He has a plan and this is all for his glory. He is worth everything that my family has gone through."

She continued, "I've seen that message come through in my dad's letters as well as he started to transform and submit to God and say, 'God, my life is yours. Whatever you do with me let it honor you, let it declare your name and your goodness to people.'"

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke at the event and says the United States is "sparing no effort" to see Brunson returned home safely.

Meanwhile, Furnari is also revealing that Turkey's official charge against her father is that he was involved in "Christianization." In other words, Turkey has decided that sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is equal to "terrorism," making Christianity a "threat to national security."

She says her father was held with 22 people in a cell designed for 8 people. And over the past two years, he developed anxiety and depression as he wondered why a NATO ally could possibly be holding him for an entire year-and-a-half without any charges based on the accusations of secret witnesses.

Eventually, he was charged with "Christianization" by the Turkish regime, which has increasingly shown signs of radical Islamic tendencies. And Turkey's leader Recep Erdogan even dreams of being the new caliph of an Islamic empire. More about that HERE.

Website: CBN News

Egypt's Persecuted Coptic Christians Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

"Coptic Christians have consistently refused to retaliate and continue to practice peaceful coexistence."

Mourners at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral for
funeral of four slain Christians. (Photo Morning Star News)

By Michael Gryboski
Christian Post

Egypt's persecuted Coptic Christian minority has been nominated for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, reportedly the first ethno-religious group given such an honor.

While the Norwegian Nobel Committee doesn't release the names of nominees, the charity Coptic Orphans announced the nomination on their Facebook page in a post from Tuesday, noting that they were nominated for their refusal to retaliate against recent acts of anti-Christian violence.

There are 331 nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize this year, which includes 216 individuals and 115 groups, making it the second highest number of candidates since 2016, when there were 376.

The recipient of the Peace Prize will be announced on Friday, Oct. 5, with the official award acceptance ceremony being held in December.

In a statement released in response to the news, Coptic Orphans noted the persecution that the Church has endured in Egypt since 2011, when the "Arab Spring" protests led to the overthrow of long-serving dictator Hosni Mubarak.

"According to a 2018 report by the Christian charity Open Doors, Christians in Egypt face 'unprecedented levels of persecution.' Last year, according to the report, 128 Egyptian Christians were killed for their faith and more than 200 were driven out of their homes," the organization said.

"Despite this, Coptic Christians have consistently refused to retaliate and continue to practice peaceful coexistence."

Over the last few years, Coptic Christians have been subjected to numerous brutal attacks and church bombings carried by Islamic extremists.

For example, in May 2017 Islamic extremists attacked a group of Coptic Christians on their way to a monastery south of Cairo, killing around 30.

In October 2011, over 20 Copts were killed and around 200 injured in violent clashes after the Christian minority was protesting increased persecution of churches.

Earlier this year, a female Coptic journalist named Engy Magdy wrote an op-ed published by the Brooklyn-based Catholic news website The Tablet documenting how life for Christian women in Egypt was "hell."

"To be a woman in a country where most of her people see women as a disgrace, and at best look at her from a sexual point of view, it is a heavy burden, but even worse when you are a Christian woman," wrote Magdy.

"Most Muslim women in Egypt wear a hijab and therefore, the others who do not wear it are most likely Coptic. ... This means that the Egyptian man thinks he has the right to harass her, simply because he sees her as a whore and a disbeliever."

Monday, September 10, 2018

Chinese Officials Burn Bibles, Close Churches, Force Christian to Denounce Faith Amid 'Escalating' Crackdown

The suppression of religious freedoms is part of an official

government campaign to “Sinicize” religion by demanding

loyalty to the atheist Communist party. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

By Lukas Mikelionis

Fox News

The Chinese government is destroying crosses, burning bibles, closing churches and forcing Christian believers to sign papers renouncing their faith as the crackdown on religious congregations in Beijing and several provinces intensifies.

The suppression of religious freedoms is part of an official campaign to “Sinicize” religion by demanding loyalty to the atheist Communist party and removing any potential challenge to the party’s power in the country.

“The international community should be alarmed and outraged for this blatant violation of freedom of religion and belief,” Bob Fu of China Aid, said.

“The situation for Chinese #Christians becomes more dire by the day. We are working tirelessly to put maximum pressure on China stop the persecution,” Jay Sekulow, President Trump attorney and Chief Counsel at the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), wrote in a tweet.

The persecution of Christians in China is nothing new. A report by the watchdog group Freedom House found that Christians and other religious groups in China have been persecuted since 2012, Fox News reported.

A third of all religious believers in China who belong to a faith group were also found to face “high” to “very high” levels of persecution, which ranges from bureaucratic harassment and economic exploitation to harsh prison terms and even violence, the report said.

But experts and activists say the Chinese government is now waging the most severe suppression of Christianity in the country since religious freedoms were granted by the Chinese constitution in 1982. The escalating anti-Christian campaign coincides with President Xi Jinping recent consolidation of power that made him the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, the notorious communist leader responsible for millions of deaths.

Activists reportedly filmed footage of what appeared to be piles of burning bibles and forms declaring that the signatories had rejected their faith. The authorities allegedly forced the believers to sign the forms or risk being expelled from school or loosing welfare benefits.

A Christian Pastor in the Henan city of Nanyang, whose name was not identified out of fear of retaliation by the authorities, reportedly confirmed that crosses, bibles and furniture were burned during a raid on his church on Sept. 5.

Father Benedict Kiely gives a first-hand account of the state of persecuted Christians in the Middle East and what sort of impact, if any, the Trump administration's campaign promise of providing aide has had.

He added that local authorities were in discussions with the church about reforming it, but no agreement had been reached. According to Chinese laws, religious believers are allowed to worship only in government-sanctioned congregations.

But many millions of Christians belong to underground or house churches that ignore government regulations.

Officials reportedly disputed the allegations raised by Christians, saying authorities respect religious freedom.

The anti-religion campaign affected not only Christian denominations. Around 1 million Uighurs and other members of Muslim minority groups in the country's northwest have been detained in indoctrination camps where they are forced to denounce Islam and profess loyalty to the Communist Party.

The Chinese government denied setting up the camps for indoctrination, but stressed the importance to tackle extremism.

China has an around 38 million Protestants, and some have predicted that the country will have the world's largest Christian population in a few decades.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Website: Fox New

Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.

Trump Admin. Reopens Asylum Cases of Indonesian Christians Facing Deportation

Ethnic Chinese Christians who fled Indonesia after wide scale rioting
decades ago and overstayed their visas in the U.S. arrive for a family meeting
with ICE in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., October 13, 2017.

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post

The Trump administration has reopened the asylum cases of nearly three dozen Indonesian Christian immigrants who face the possibility of deportation back to a country where they could be persecuted.

New Hampshire Public Radio reports that 44 of the 51 Indonesian Christians named in a class action lawsuit over their deportation orders last year received notice on Wednesday that their asylum requests are now being reconsidered by the U.S. government.

The decision came from the Justice Department's Board of Immigration Appeals and comes after a judge had previously ruled that the government could not deport the Christians while they seek to have their cases reheard.

"The kind of abrupt nature in which the government sought to deport these people really was an issue," attorney Nathan Warecki told NHNPR. "We're happy that the Department of Justice agrees and is reopening their cases."

The ethnic Chinese Christians in the case have lived illegally in New Hampshire for decades after they fled persecution and violence in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country which ranks as the 38th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution.

"I'm very relieved for New Hampshire's Indonesian community. This is the right decision," U.S. Sen Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said in a statement Thursday. "I hope further progress can be made to grant permanent asylum to these families and will do all that I can to provide assistance towards this goal."

Sandra Pontoh, pastor of the Madbury Maranatha Indonesian United Church of Christ who has been an outspoken advocate for the group, also praised the Justice Department's decision.

"I told them, 'this is good news, congratulations to everyone, but you know, you cannot stop working hard,'" Pontoh said, referring to the fact that the group of asylum seekers still need to do their part to ensure that their applications are accepted.

According to SeacostOnline.com, an order from the Board of Immigration Appeals shows that at least one of the Christians in the group appealed the previous dismissal of his case on grounds of "changed country conditions for Christians in Indonesia."

William Hahn, an attorney who represents 10 of the Indonesians who faced with deportation, told SeacostOnline.com that one of his clients argued that his application should be reevaluated "on the basis of escalating violence and intolerance directed toward Indonesian Christians." His client fears radical Muslim groups will persecute him if he's sent back to Indonesia.

In her statement, Shaheen warned that deporting these Christian immigrants back home where they could be persecuted is "not consistent with American values."

"These individuals learned our language, found employment and became contributing members of our community and shouldn't have to live under constant threat of removal to a hostile land," she said.

Shaheen has been vocal in her advocacy for the Indonesian Christians and has questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on the issue.

Website: Christian Post

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Egyptian Teen Embraces Christianity After Muslims Murder Father Who Refused to Convert

By Leah Marie Ann Klett
Christian Post

An Egyptian teen embraced Christianity after witnessing the faith of his father, who was brutally murdered by Muslim extremists for refusing to convert to Islam.

Seventeen-year-old Marqos told persecution watchdog Open Doors USA that just a few years ago, his family lived at peace with their Muslim neighbors in El-Arish, a small city on Egypt's Mediterranean coast. Marquos' father, Baghat, was a veterinarian who had good relations with his Muslim colleagues and friends.

However, everything changed when Palestinian immigrants with a very strict view on Islam moved to the village. Marqos' mother, Fawziya, recounted how the Muslims began threatening believers by spreading leaflets warning Christians to leave the city or die. In the beginning of 2017, they began to carry out their threats.

One Sunday morning, Baghat woke up early to go to church, and then went to work at the veterinarian clinic of one of his Muslim friends. While Marqos and Fawziya weren't present at the tragedy that followed, Marqos spoke with a Muslim friend of his father who witnessed the event.

"He told me that two young masked men entered the pharmacy and dragged my father outside," Marqos said. "They told him to kneel in the street. They put two guns at my father's head and told him to convert to Islam. But he shook his head. Then they shot him. When I heard he'd died, I couldn't walk to the morgue."

Prior to his father's death, Marquos cared little about Christianity. But Baghat's unflinching faith in the face of death made him want to know more about Jesus Christ.

"I was proud of my father, for standing by his faith until the last moment," he said. "It made me curious. When my father was still alive, he woke up every morning at 5 am to study the Bible and pray. Apparently, that helped him become a strong believer. My father's death for Christ has made me search for Jesus."

Fawziya said she's seen a noticeable change in her son's heart and habits since embracing Christianity.

"You know, Marqos used to be a difficult teenager," she said. "But after the murder, all of the sudden, I found him reading his Bible and praying. He started going to church often, studied harder. He really changed as a person. If he doesn't understand a verse, he asks me about it. And we pray together.

"This is what my husband and I have always prayed for together: that the Lord would touch our son's heart and pull him closer to Him," she added.

Egypt is No. 17 on Open Doors' World Watch List and continues to be a country that poses extreme danger and violence for Christians, according to the persecution watchdog. In 2017 alone, 128 Christians were killed for their faith and more than 200 were driven out of their homes.

Egyp's Coptic Christians in particular, who account for around 10 percent of the population, have experienced a wave of attacks at the hands of Muslim extremists. Last year, the Islamic State group vowed to "wipe" Christians "out."

Despite the persecution they face, followers of Christ are winning new converts in the Muslim-majority country.

Christian Post story continues here

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Erdogan Says Turkey Won't Grant 'Unlawful Requests' to Release Pastor Andrew Brunson

U.S President Donald Trump (L) welcomes Turkey's President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan in White House in Washington, DC
May 16, 2017. (Photo: Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

By Samuel Smith
Christian Post

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that the Turkish government will not accept requests to release detained American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Citing the pro-government Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, Reuters reports that Erdogan told reporters that the Turkish government would not fulfill "unlawful requests" pertaining to Brunson, who has been detained since October 2016 and charged with what the U.S. government says are baseless terrorism crimes.

Erdogan's remark comes as President Donald Trump and his administration have been steadfast in their pressuring of the Turkish government to release the 50-year-old pastor from North Carolina, who has served as a church leader in Izmir for the past two decades.

"It's not nice for them to demand 'you will send him, hand him over to us,'" Erdogan said, according to Bloomberg. "Such threats won't produce results."

Erdogan's spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, told Reuters last week that the U.S. should respect Turkey's judicial independence.

"There is rule of law in Turkey and the Andrew Brunson case is a legal issue," Kalin was quoted as saying. "There is an ongoing legal process related to this individual."

Yet, that legal process has been questioned by U.S. officials and human rights advocates.

Brunson was not only held for 17 months before being charged with affiliation with Kurdish militants and an Islamic group blamed for the 2016 coup attempt, but he also faced a court process that critics say has lacked due process.

Advocates for Brunson say that the prosecution's case has consisted of secret witnesses lacking firsthand accounts. So far, Brunson has faced three hearings. Days after the third hearing in July, Brunson was removed from prison and ordered to home confinement.

Christian Post continues here

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Indian Christians Refuse to Deny Christ Despite Persecution From Hindu Radicals

"Doors are often closed to the Gospel, but God has a way of working through, and around, and over closed doors....."

School children listen to a speech by a Christian leader during

a protest rally in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata August 29, 2008.

By Leah Marie Ann Klett

Christian Post

Christian families in India who were forced to stop attending church after Hindu radicals threatened to beat and kill them have vowed to continue worshiping Christ in secret.

Pastor Singh, who leads a congregation in India's Madhya Pradesh State, told International Christian Concern that 15 families have stopped going to his church in recent months after facing persecution at the hands of Hindu radicals.

"The reason for this drop in the attendance is the threats from Hindu radicals," Pastor Singh told the nonprofit persecution watchdog. "The radicals say they will beat and kill my church members if they continue to attend the services."

"Prior to May this year, around 200 people used to worship regularly in my church," he continued. "But now only 50 to 60 people attend my church on Sunday. They are under tremendous pressure from Hindu radicals."

Shankar Damor, a 37-year-old from Kardubadi village near Jhabua, told ICC his family stopped attending church because they were under serious threat of physical attack.

"In a meeting last May in the village of Kardubadi, the Christians were told that we should not attend any church and should not even pray in our homes," Shankar explained. "When we complained to the village diktat, the entire village stopped associating with us. No one attended our weddings and we were totally cut off from the people of the village."

"In that same month, when my family was praying in our house, someone from the village called the police and I was taken to the police station on false charges of forced conversions," Shankar said. "The police beat me brutally and harassed me while in custody."

Despite such persecution, Shankar said his family will continue to worship Christ — in secret.

"We are on shaky ground as a family," he said. "However, we might stop attending the church, but we will not leave Jesus."

Babu Singh Damor, another Christian from Kardubadi village, told ICC that after completing his Bachelor of Theology, he wanted to serve as a pastor. However, he's forced to practice his faith in private.

"We Christians are closely monitored as to where we are going and whom are we meeting," Babu explained. "It's quite a pathetic life we are living. However, we are not going to leave Jesus, no one is going snatch Jesus from our hearts."

Pansingh Bhuriah, a 23-year-old Christian by birth and former member of Pastor Singh's church, decided to distance himself from the church and Christian activities after his sister was sent to jail on false charges of forced conversion.

"We are attacked from all corners," he said. "It affects our livelihood as we are denied work in the village. It affects our social life as nobody from the entire region attends any of our social gatherings. We have been forced to not identify with Christians and churches and live like Hindus in the village."

India ranks as the 11th worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA's 2018 World Watch List. While religious freedom is supposed to be a constitutional right in the country, several Indian states have implemented anti-conversion laws, making it illegal for anyone to use force or allurement to convert others to another religion. Such laws are often abused by Hindu radicals to file false complaints against pastors and pressure Christians not to share their faith.

Christian Post article continues here

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