Christians from India, Nigeria and Iraq detail the persecution their communities face

”We depend on the prayer of fellow believers to pray to bring peace so that people will come back to their native land..."

Father Thabet Habib evaluates the inside of a burned out church right in Karamles,
Iraq right after the town's liberation from the Islamic State in October 2016.\
 |(Photo: Archdiocese of Erbil)

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post

At the rollout of Open Doors USA’s annual top-50 listof countries where Christians are most persecuted, Christians from Africa, Asia and the Middle East shared how persecution has affected their families and communities.

Last week, the nondenominational ministry that monitors persecution in more than 70 countries, released its 2019 World Watch List at an event held at a Heritage Foundation office in Capitol Hill.

As was the case in past years, Open Doors invited Christians from different countries to share their own stories of persecution.

The Christian Post spoke with believers from India, Iraq, Nigeria and one undisclosed South Asian country about the violence they and their communities have faced.

Rev. Dogo is a church leader from the Yobe state of Nigeria, which is located in the northeastern part of the nation.

Dogo explained how the Islamic militant group Boko Haram has attacked communities and how his own congregation has dramatically decreased in the last eight years because of various types of violence against the Christian community.

Dogo said that the most severe persecution the Christian community in Yobe faced came during the post-election riots in 2011.

In 2011, Goodluck Jonathan — a Christian from the south — defeated Muhammadu Buhari — a Muslim from the north — in the presidential election. Hundreds were killed and thousands were displaced as a result of 2011 post-election riots.

“Goodluck Jonathan won the election and that post-election riots led to the burning of not less than 50 churches in Yobe,” Dogo explained. “From there, immediately after that post-election riot, then the [persecution] of Boko Haram began in 2012 and it is a common thing that is on and on and on moving up to today.”

Based in northeast Nigeria, Boko Haram is regarded as one of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups and is responsible for thousands of deaths and kidnappings. In 2014, Boko Haram reportedly killed more people than the Islamic State did in Iraq or Syria.

“So what they do is attack people, kill, bomb and destroy houses or communities or businesses,” Dogo said.

Since the 2011 post-election, Dogo said that the Christian community in Yobe has dropped nearly in half as many Christians have fled to other states.

“The church that I was pastoring as of then that used to have not less than 700 people is reduced to 100 or even less 100 every Sunday,” Dogo said. “They just run and left the state. They fled to Plateau and some other middle part of the country.”

Dogo is calling on Christians around the world to pray that the Christians will return to Yobe state.

”We depend on the prayer of fellow believers to pray to bring peace so that people will come back to their native land,” he said. “In Nigeria, your citizenship stems from the place of your birth. If you leave that area, you don’t have any part of Nigeria that is designated for you to call your own.”

Continue reading article 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.

Christian Persecution Expected to Increase in 2019; Believers Facing 'Modern-Day Jihad'

Villagers stood at a mass grave in Dogon Na Hauwa, Nigeria, in 2010
(Photo: Reuters/Credit Akintunde Akinleye)

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

The persecution of Christians around the world is expected to increase in 2019, with a watchdog group sharing particular concern for believers in Nigeria, China, and India.

Release International, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, said in a press release that 215 million believers face violence and discrimination for their faith.

"In Nigeria, Fulani militants look set to continue devastating attacks against Christians in the north and central Nigeria. In the first six months of 2018 alone, they killed up to 6,000 and drove 50,000 from their homes," the group said of the situation in the African country.

A Release partner, who wasn't named, said that there is a "deliberate plan to destroy and take over the predominantly Christian communities in the region." The source added that Christians are facing a "strategic modern-day jihad."

In June, the Christian Association of Nigeria and church denominational heads in Plateau State said that what is happening Nigeria is "pure genocide and must be stopped immediately."

Watchdogs, such as the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, separately warned that the Fulani attacks on Christians should not be confused for decades-long clashes between cattle herders and farmers.

Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman of Intersociety, told The Christian Post in August that believers have seen their churches burned down, and have been driven out en masse.

"How many Muslim farmers are being killed by Fulani herdsmen? How many Muslim homes have been destroyed or burned? The answer is in the negative. It has nothing to do with herdsmen-farmer clashes. It is false," Umeagbalasi told CP at the time.

The Communist government of China was also mentioned among the highest causes for concern, with new rules on regulating religion cracking down on churches, pastors and congregations throughout the country.

"The government wants to reduce Christianity to just a minor activity by unimportant older people," another Release partner warned.

In India, Release pointed to violent radical mobs that have stormed prayer meetings, ransacked churches, and beaten believers.

"Release is providing Bibles in local languages to replace those the militants destroy and is giving vital legal aid and support to pastors who have been arrested," the group revealed.

Other countries of particular concern for 2019 were listed as North Korea, Eritrea, and Pakistan.

Continue reading 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.

'Barbaric': 4 Catholic Priests Ambushed, Kidnapped by Armed Gunmen in Nigeria

The Saint Philips Catholic Church in Ozubulu, Nigeria.

By Stoyan Zaimov

Christian Post

Nigerian officials are condemning the kidnapping of four Roman Catholic priests by armed gunmen earlier this week.

Benue State Gov. Samuel Ortom called the abduction of the priests in Delta State on Tuesday "barbaric, dehumanizing, and shameful."

PUNCH Metro identified the clergymen as the Rev Fr. Victor Adigboluja of the Ijebu Ode diocese; Anthony Otegbola, Abeokuta Diocese; Joseph Ediae, Benin Archdiocese; and Emmanuel Obadjere, Warri Diocese.

They were reportedly all returning from a class marking their 10th priestly ordination when the gunmen, whose identities are yet to be confirmed, ambushed and kidnapped them, spraying their vehicles with bullets.

Andrew Aniamaka, a spokesperson for Delta State, confirmed the incident with AFP.

"They were abducted on their way to Ekpoma, Edo state, from Delta for an event," Aniamaka said, adding that police are hunting for the suspects.

The incident comes less than three weeks after five Catholic nuns were also kidnapped in the state, but were released two weeks later.

Vatican News noted that church officials are asking the faithful to pray for the clergymen's release.

Ortom meanwhile speculated that the kidnappers could be Fulani attackers under the cover of herdsmen. Fulani radicals have massacred thousands of Christians in what some church officials have described as a genocide of believers.

Benue State suffered a tragedy earlier in 2018 when two priests and 17 worshipers were killed by the Fulani in Mbalom, Gwer East Local Government Area.

The latest kidnapping comes as U.S. State Department officials visit Nigeria this week, in the wake of continued killings of Christians and other civilians by Islamic radicals.

Emeka Umeagbalasi, board chair of the Int'l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, told The Christian Post that October was one of the deadliest months of the year, resulting in the deaths of 260 Christians and 100 Muslim, at the hands of both Fulani and Boko Haram extremists.

"The killings, perpetrated in the name of 'Islam,' are done with reckless abandon despite heavy presence and deployment of soldiers in all the 36 States of Nigeria and the Abuja," the monitoring group said in an October report on the killings.

continue reading 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.

Christians Could Be Killed Off in Nigeria by 2043 If Massacres Continue, Leaders Warn

Christians in Nigeria worship at a church in undated file photo.(Photo: Open Doors)

By Stoyan Zaimov 

Christian Post

Nigerian Christian leaders have warned that if the current rate of massacres continue, with hundreds of believers being killed each month, Africa's most-populous nation is on the brink of decimating its Christian population by 2043.

The warnings echoed as 86 more people were killed by the largely Muslim Fulani herdsmen in attacks on Christian farmers.

The Punch on Sunday obtained comments by Bosun Emmanuel, the secretary of National Christian Elders Forum, at the recent conference of Catholic Men's Guild in Lagos, where the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was accused of "openly pursuing an anti-Christian agenda that has resulted in countless murders of Christians all over the nation and destruction of vulnerable Christian communities."

"Realistically speaking, Christianity is on the brink of extinction in Nigeria. The ascendancy of Sharia ideology in Nigeria rings the death toll for the Nigerian Church," Emmanuel said, calling on the Christian Association of Nigeria to be restructured to be able to better speak out for Christianity in the country.

Although Christians make up nearly half of the 186 million population, for nearly a decade they've been heavily targeted by Islamic extremist groups, such as Boko Haram, and most recently by the semi-nomadic herdsmen.

"In 2018, we can say in 25 years from now, we are facing the risk of being the last Christians in Nigeria. Therefore, Christians should be in the frontline of defending democracy in Nigeria," Emmanuel warned.

The Church is the bastion of democracy. A divided CAN cannot defend democracy and promote justice, equity, and fairness. Consequently, Sharia will grow stronger. As Sharia grows stronger, democracy will become weaker and the Church will be emasculated out of existence."

Buhari, himself from a Fulani background, has insisted that his government is trying to enforce peace, but hundreds of citizens are being killed each month due to clashes and attacks.

AFP reported that 86 people were killed in another Fulani attack in the Barikin Ladi area of Plateau state last week, reportedly in retaliation of ethnic Berom farmers fighting against herdsmen.

State police commissioner Undie Adie said that beside the 86 people killed, another 50 houses were destroyed. Buhari said he "appeals for calm and assures that no efforts will be spared" to bring attackers to justice.

"The grievous loss of lives and property arising from the killings in Plateau today is painful and regrettable," he added.

Still, Christian leaders blasted the sentencing of five Christian men to death earlier in June over the killing of a Fulani herdsman.

The five men were told by Yola High Court they will face the death penalty for their actions, in what some politicians, such as Femi Fani-Kayode, the former Minister of Aviation, have said were in self-defense.

The Supreme Council of Bishops, also known as World Council of Bishops, said in a letter to Buhari that not a single Fulani has received a similar sentence despite the thousands of Christians dead.

"Till date no adequate justice had been meted out on them commensurate to the lives and property lost," the bishops wrote.

Website: Christian Post

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.

Christians 'Violated, Betrayed': Nigerian Bishops Ask Buhari to Resign Over Horrific Mass Slaughters

Villagers stood at a mass grave in Dogon Na Hauwa, Nigeria, in 2010.

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

The Catholic Bishops' Conference in Nigeria, the highest church authority in the country, is calling for President Muhammadu Buhari to resign following a mass wave of slaughter of Christians at the hands of radical Muslim Fulani herdsmen this month.

In a statement titled "When Will This Barbarism End?" the bishops lamented the killing of 19 people, including two priests, during Catholic mass last week in Benue State.

At least another 39 Christians were killed in separate attacks later on in the week in several villages.

We are sad. We are angry. We feel totally exposed and most vulnerable. Faced with these dark clouds of fear and anxiety, our people are daily being told by some to defend themselves. But defend themselves with what?" says the statement.

"The Federal Government, whose primary responsibility it is to protect lives, for its part alleges that those who ask the people to defend themselves are inciting them to take the laws into their hands."

"But how can the Federal Government stand back while its security agencies deliberately turn a blind eye to the cries and wails of helpless and armless citizens who remain sitting ducks in their homes, farms, highway and now, even in their sacred places of worship?"

The bishops declared that Christians "feel violated and betrayed in a nation that we have all continued to sacrifice and pray for. We collectively feel abandoned and betrayed."

The statement went on to criticize what it said was Buhari's lack of effective action to stop the Fulani attacks, saying that if he cannot keep the country safe, then the citizens cannot trust him any longer.

"He should no longer continue to preside over the killing fields and mass graveyard that our country has become," the bishops stressed.

"It is clear to the nation that he has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens. Whether this failure is due to inability to perform or lack of political will, it is time for him to choose the part of honor and consider stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse."

Buhari described last week's attack on the Catholic church as "particularly despicable."

"Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshipers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting," he said at the time.

Christian Post article 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.

Christian Students Forcibly Converted, Beaten With Whip, Mentally Tortured: Report

Students in Nigerian classroom in undated photo.
(Photo: Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

By Stoyan Zaimov

Christian Post

A groundbreaking new report by watchdog group Christian Solidarity Worldwide has exposed the atrocities Christian children face at school in several countries, from being forcibly converted to other faiths to being beaten and humiliated by teachers for daring to speak out.

CSW explained in its "Faith and a Future" report shared with The Christian Post Thursday that it has conducted research in five countries, namely Burma, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan, where students of various faiths, not only Christians, face religious hatred, including psychological and physical abuse from other students and teachers.

"The psychological impact of abuse received by children at school cannot be overstated. Many interviewees told CSW of the 'mental torture' they have suffered as a result of religious discrimination and intolerance in educational settings. Rejected by their peers and teachers, this suffering can have lasting consequences," the report states.

CSW pointed out that in Burma, where Buddhist nationalism has targeted both Christian and Islamic minorities, Christian children are "regularly forcibly converted" at schools.

"This is particularly prevalent in Chin, Naga and Kachin States where poor families are often offered the opportunity to send their children away for a 'free education.' The children are then taken to a Buddhist monastery or monastic school (Na Ta La school) without their parents' permission, and forced to regularly participate in Buddhist worship or even to become novice monks," the report continues.

Christian children there are "systematically prevented from practicing the religion in which they were raised and are effectively required to convert to Buddhism."

While Nigeria is largely divided between its Christian and Muslim populations, followers of Christ in areas under Sharia (Islamic) law have seen their children abducted, forcibly converted and forced into Islamic marriages.

"Parents seeking the release of their abducted daughters are generally informed they have converted and married, or are in the custody of Muslim traditional rulers or shari'a commissions and have no desire to return home," the report explains.

"Appeals to law enforcement agencies for assistance generally prove fruitless amid false claims by abductors that the girls are not minors, and fear on the part of the police of provoking large-scale social unrest."

CSW shared of one specific case study in 2010 at Unity School in Kachako, where Christian students were interrogated and abused in a variety of different ways after being falsely accused of insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

The students were apparently told by teachers to use the hallway as a toilet rather than be allowed to go to the bathroom.

When one girl, named Grace, complained and said that she was "tired of this rubbish," a teacher reported her to the principal.

"Grace was taken from the room, beaten with a whip made of animal hide, and her hair was shaved off. The others were called to see what had happened to her, and told, 'You heard what Grace said? She will find out what 'rubbish' really means on Monday, when the results of the investigation come out. Anyone who insults God, either their throats will be cut or they'll be burnt to death, or they'll be expelled from school,'" the report describes.

Christian Post report continues here

Inspiring: Archbishop Announces ‘All Christians Must Stand Together Against Islam Because The Muslims Are Planning To Murder Us All’

'It is just God that can spare us from our current circumstance.'

By Bison4
This is England

Christians in Nigeria at this moment are probably the most aggrieved Christians in the whole world. Once a determinedly Muslim country, Nigeria is quickly moving in the opposite direction of Islam and to Christ, which has brought the anger of numerous Muslims upon them. Several Christians have been killed in quite recently the previous couple of months and that number is relied upon to soar.

In an announcement by Archbishop Jospeph Bagobiri, he has said that all Christians must stand together against the Muslims or else the Christians will bite the dust in an enormous genocide:

The Catholic Bishop of Kafanchan Diocese, Joseph Bagobiri, has required a successful cooperative energy by every single Christian category in the nation to counter the precise disposal of Christianity in the northern piece of the nation.

Minister Bagobiri decided when he got an official designation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) which went to him in Kafanchan. The designation was in the ward to sympathize with him; the whole Catholic devoted and the Christian people group of southern Kaduna on the current outrages of Fulani Cattle herders in the range, which brought about the passings of thousands of Christians and the devastation of property worth a huge number of Naira.

The assignment was driven by the Archbishop of Jos and President of the Bishops’ Conference, Ignatius Kaigama. Ecclesiastical overseer Kaigama was went with on the visit by Fr. Ralph Madu, Secretary General of Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN); Fr. Zacharia Samjumi, CSN Deputy Secretary General and Fr. Chris N. Anyanwu, the Director of Social Communications at the Secretariat.

This is England article continues

Blogger's Note: Christians are in the crosshairs of not only the Islamists, but also godless leftist nations. They view Christians and Jews as obstructing their goal of a one world government. Even though they are at odds with each other, I believe God will use them in bringing about end times prophecies to their ultimate destruction.

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.  Follow us on  Pinterest, and Google; like us on Facebook, and visit our website using this link.  

Report: Boko Haram Destroyed Over 900 Churches in Northern Nigeria

By Wale Odunsi
Daily Post

The youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), 19 Northern states‎, yesterday said over 900 churches have been lost to Boko haram terrorism in the North east.

It therefore urged the Federal Government to rebuild the churches and also re-establish Nigeria Inter Religion Council (NIREC) with a view to curbing incessant religious violence in the country.

Speaking after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Gusau, Zamfara State, the youth wing Chairman, Evangelist Musa Misal, noted that demolished churches that needed to be rebuilt were spread across Gombe,Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, among others.

The youths lamented “continued attacks on Christians in Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, and Taraba communities”, stressing This carnage is no longer accidental”.

They also called on the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-rufai, to treat both religions with equal rights and privileges in the provision of dividends of democracy.

Meanwhile, CAN national leadership has urged Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to use his postion to address critical matters, especially killing of Christians.

Website: dailypost.ng