Tightening of the screw

Increasing anti-Christian regulations worldwide provide a sharp reminder of our troubled times.

The Bulgarian Parliament has agreed not to pass into law prohibitive amendments to the nation’s Religious Denominations Act after thousands of Christians protested against a crackdown on the religious activity of minority religions.

The Bulgarian parliamentary Committee for Religion and Human Rights met on the 19th December 2018 to discuss changes to the Religious Denominations Act with representatives of minority religions, including members of the Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance. The final vote on the changes, without the severe amendments, took place two days later on 21st December.

Christians had gathered in Sofia on three consecutive Sundays on 11th, 18th and 25th November to protest against oppressive amendments that would have placed limitations on evangelising, banned worship outside officially recognised buildings and restricted church leader training. Religious groups would also have needed 300 members before being officially recognised.

“We are relieved to state that the most discriminatory and limiting clauses which affected us have been successfully removed or changed appropriately,” wrote Teodor Oprenov, pastor of an evangelical church in Sofia. “We are fully aware that this would not have happened without the strong international support and prayers that questioned the intentions of our lawmakers and the strong and consistent protesting and lobbying within the country,” he added. “The Bulgarian constitution itself guarantees freedom of religion stating, ‘The practising of any religion shall be unrestricted.’”

When a gift is not a gift

A Christian man was fined two weeks’ average wages (around £50) after police discovered a copy of the New Testament during a search of a woman’s flat in December 2018 in Bukhara, south Uzbekistan. The man, Shukrat Safarov, said that he gave the Uzbek-language copy as a gift to the local woman. Most Uzbek speakers are Muslim.

A court ordered that the book be destroyed. Using a New Testament for “missionary purposes” is a crime, according to the government’s Committee for Religious Affairs. Forum 18 reported that police forced their way into Safrov’s flat on 27th December without presenting a search warrant or identification and demanded he go to the police station to hear the charges against him. He refused, but complied on 5th January when they returned to his home with an official warrant. At the police station, Safrov was informed that his case was being dealt with by the local “Struggle with Extremism and Terrorism Department” and he was being charged with breaking two separate laws. These were Administrative Code Article 184-2, which refers to the illegal production, storage or import of religious material for distribution, and Article 240-2 banning proselytization.

Christians are often targeted by the authorities in Uzbekistan. In November 2018 a church was raided by military personnel during a Sunday morning service. Fourteen Christians were arrested and held outside in the cold for nine and a half hours after they refused to confess to a crime they had not committed. There are also frequent cases of unlawful detention, beatings and confiscation of property.

Tent closures

Christians in Algeria were forced out of a tent they were worshipping in by police on 28th January after their church building was sealed by authorities. The tent, set up in the grounds of Azaghar Church, enabled the 300-strong congregation to continue worshipping following the forced closure of their church building for spurious “health and safety” reasons.

The church in the village of Azaghar, around 110 miles south-east of Algiers, lost the use of its building in October 2018, despite the congregation responding to requests to install fire exits and fire extinguishers. The officially recognised church had been open for five years and is a powerful ministry to local Muslims. Azaghar is reportedly the fourth Christian place of worship closed down in the past year.

Non-Muslim religious groups in Algeria are required to be registered to conduct services and are restricted to approved locations. In practice, authorities have typically allowed churches registered with official religious organisations and even non-registered Christian groups to meet without needing specific permission. However, a number of churches have been shut down since the start of 2018, either for alleged breaches of health and safety, or because authorities claim they are not properly registered.

Militants on rampage

Large numbers of suspected Boko Haram militants attacked the predominantly Christian villages of Gochi and Toufou in north Cameroon, on 24th January. The raids came in the middle of the night, overwhelming the soldiers on guard, forcing them to flee and causing appalling damage.

Barnabas Fund contacts report that 190 houses were destroyed in the villages. Four churches were ransacked, with valuables stolen and livestock killed. A Christian hospital was set on fire, dozens of motorbikes destroyed and essential household items such as mattresses vandalised or looted. Witnesses at the scene of the attack said, “Is it really human beings who are doing this?”

Contacts said that although the attackers came in force, they were not intent on killing people this time, as they fired into the air. Their aim seemed to be the looting of clothing and food to panic the local population and economically ruin them – forcing families to flee the area. The prefect for the area has promised additional security, but no emergency relief for the victims has been offered at this time.

The attack on Gochi and Toufou is the fourth by militants in two weeks. In the previous attacks three people were killed and churches and homes were damaged or destroyed. According to Barnabas Fund contacts, Christian villages in the far north of Cameroon are subject to attacks by Boko Haram Islamist militias as they attempt to establish an Islamic caliphate from northeastern Nigeria all the way to northern Cameroon, which is where most Cameroonian Muslims live in what is a predominantly Christian country.

Chinese clampdown

Police in China arrested 30 students gathered for a Bible class in the first week of January, during a spate of police raids on the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Sichuan province. The students were arrested as they gathered in a restaurant for an “introduction to Christianity” class. Their mobile phones were seized and they were interrogated for several hours, before being released.

The church’s Pastor Wang Yi and his wife Jiang Rong remain in jail where they have been held since 9th December after being arrested on charges of “inciting subversion”. At the time of writing, another 20 of the church’s congregation arrested remain in detention. The pastor has released a “Letter from a Chengdu Jail” in which he makes clear that he does not seek to overthrow the state but to worship freely. He writes, “Separate me from my wife and children, ruin my reputation, destroy my life and family – the authorities are capable of doing all these things. However, no one in this world can force me to renounce my faith.”

The past year has seen an intensification of government action against unofficial Chinese congregations – known as “house churches” in China, a country where there are thought to be 60 million Christians. A statement signed by 500 church leaders in November 2018 said authorities have removed crosses from buildings, forced churches to hang the Chinese flag and sing patriotic songs, and barred minors from attending services. Barnabas Fund has launched a global initiative to pray for Pastor Wang Yi through its new webpage: Christian Prisoners of Conscience.