March 2017 Persecution Magazine

WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG 

MARCH 2017 

PERSECU ION 

Hill 

Hero 

Rep. Chris Smith 

(New Jersey) has 

spent 36 years 

fighting for the 

persecuted! 

PERSECU ION.org 

INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN

Table of Contents 

In This Issue: 

HEROES ON THE HILL 

14 | Rep. Chris Smith 

ICC interviews Congressman Chris Smith 

on his defense of religious freedom. 

PAKISTAN 

18 | Victory in the Midst of Persecution 

A recent judgment in favor of two Christians 

accused of blasphemy in Pakistan provides 

a small, yet complicated, ray of hope for 

Pakistan’s Christian community. 

IRAQ 

22 | Home at Last 

ICC completes construction of homes for 10 

displaced Iraqi Christian families. 

INDONESIA 

24 | A Paradox of Religious Freedom 

Indonesian pastors must work 

underground despite “religious freedom.” 

VIETNAM 

26 | Christian Persecution in Vietnam 

Vietnam’s Montagnard Christians, one of 

the country’s most brutalized groups, are 

learning to report incidents of persecution. 

KENYA 

28 | Testimonies from Mandera 

Survivors of al-Shabaab attacks in 

northeastern Kenya share their experiences 

months after suffering great loss. 

Regular Features 

3 Letter from the President 

A few words from ICC’s president, Jeff 

King, on the promise and hope of home, 

life, and freedom. 

4 World News 

A snapshot of the persecution that 

impacts our brothers and sisters daily, in 

every corner of the world. 

8 Your Dollars at Work 

Learn how your gifts are providing 

comfort, relief, Bibles, education and 

vocational training to the persecuted. 

12 West Watch 

Faith under siege in the Western world. 

14 

23 

19 

27 

29 

2 PERSECU ION.org 



President’s Letter 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My 

Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that 

I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place 

for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be 

where I am.” 

- John 14:1-3, NIV 

Home is such a simple concept for most, but for too many Christians from Iraq 

and Syria it has turned into only a memory. Many have fled to Europe while others 

are in refugee camps in other regions. Still many more are refugees in their 

own countries. 

Driven out of their homes by ISIS, hundreds of thousands of Christians have lost 

their homes and many are living in the Erbil area. For many, their “home” for the 

last two years has been in a derelict building or in even in worn out, threadbare, 

burning hot, then freezing cold, tents. 

Jeff King, President 

International Christian Concern 

We were able to help a few of these Christian refugees settle into new compact, but comfortable, homes in Erbil (see pg. 22). 

The gratitude and relief on their faces as we gave them their new homes was at the same time heartbreaking and a blessing. 

Yesterday, a dear friend called to tell me that he had lost his job. As we spoke, he remarked that he’s really longing for home. 

His true home. You remember Jesus told the disciples that He must depart to prepare a place for us and would return when 

“everything was ready.” That place He’s preparing is our true home and the North star of your heart and what it aches for. 

You see we too are adrift, homeless, and stateless, but we don’t feel it as acutely as the refugee because we have houses and 

apartments to live in (1 Peter 2:11). 

I once heard an old preacher who taught young pastors say, “Preach to broken hearts because there’s one in every pew!” 

If you are one of those broken hearts, I want to let you in on a spiritual secret that I reminded my old friend of last night. 

When you’ve taken one of life’s shots to the gut is when the devil’s whisperings get into your soul. They leave you desperate, 

panicked, turning in circles, and in great fear. Remember, he’s a roaring lion! The devil’s great lies are that he (Satan) doesn’t 

exist and the other is that God has forgotten you and doesn’t love you. 

If you are presently broken and in great pain, I want you to try something: stop trying to escape! Rather, embrace your circumstances 

and thank Him for the spot you find yourself in. 

This doesn’t make any worldly sense and you will have to do this by faith at first, but thank Him repeatedly for the growth the 

pain will bring to you and let the pain drive you close to Him rather than driving you to a panicked desire to flee your cage. 

Thank Him over and over until your heart starts to overflow and thankfulness truly comes. Something happens when you 

reach this point that is close to magic. 

You will be set free! Not from all the pain, but from the fear, panic, and despair. He is close to the broken-hearted and knows 

your pain. Once you run on the fuel of trust, gratitude, and God’s presence, it will break Satan’s power. 

Please join me as we bandage and build His persecuted Church - your suffering brothers and sisters. 

As always, your donations will be used efficiently, effectively, and ethically. 

I promise! 

Jeff King 

President 

International Christian Concern 

www.persecution.org 


INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN 

3

News 

ISIS Leader Converts to Christianity 

after Trying to Kill TV Ministry Worker 

1 | MIDDLE EAST According to the Gospel Herald, a 

well-known leader from the Islamic State converted to 

Christianity after meeting up with a television ministry 

worker. The ISIS leader was watching one of Dr. Michael 

Youssef’s Christian television programs when he had the 

idea to call into the show, with the intention of killing 

whoever had the misfortune of picking up the call. 

The ISIS leader requested a meet-up with the ministry 

worker and, soon enough, the two were face-to-face as the 

ministry worker shared the hope of the Gospel. Following 

their discussion, the ISIS leader reportedly had a dream in 

which God was further revealed to him, confirming the 

truth that was discussed during this exchange. 

The ISIS leader has since given his life to Christ and 

abandoned his ties with radical Islam. Furthermore, upon 

a second meeting with the ministry worker, this new 

believer revealed his original intentions. Youssef (pictured), 

the host of the program, has testified to the man’s 

renewed life, referring to him as a “brother in Christ.” 

1 6 

4 

5 

2 

3 

Sudanese Court Frees Imprisoned 

Pastor Facing Death Sentence 

2 | SUDAN After much prayer and international outcry on 

his behalf, Pastor Kuwa Shamaal was recently released 

from prison. Pastor Shamaal was imprisoned with three 

other Christians who were all held on similar charges such 

as espionage, gathering false news, waging war against 

the state, and inciting violence. Some of these charges 

carry the potential for the death penalty as the maximum 

sentence. 

Pastor Shamaal was initially arrested on December 

18, 2015, but released a few days later before he was 

rearrested in May 2016. The international human rights 

community has condemned the arrest of Shamaal and the 

three other Christians, calling the charges against the men 

groundless. 

The four men were arrested in connection to a receipt, 

which showed that one of the men provided financial support 

to assist a Darfuri burn victim who was injured during 

2013 demonstrations. The evidence for these charges 

is weak and certainly not 

grounds for the death penalty 

by most standards. 

Thankfully, Shamaal was 

among a few Christian 

leaders who have been 

released from prison in 

Sudan due to international 

pressure in recent years. 

At the time of writing, 

Pastor Shamaal’s fellow 

inmates are still suffering 

in prison. ICC, along with 

the international community, 

continues to pray and 

advocate for their release. 

7 

Teenage Girls 

Released 

from Prison in 

Ethiopia 

3 | ETHIOPIA In 

the predominantly 

Muslim town of 

Babile, Ethiopia, 

four Christian 

teenage girls were 

recently released 

from prison after 

being detained for 

sharing their faith 

with a group of 

Muslim friends. 

Word spread about 

the religious discussion 

to the Muslim 

friends’ parents and 

eventually reached 

the local Muslim 

officials. The girls 

were taken in for 

“painting a bad 

image of Islam” 

and the prosecutor 

initially requested 

a jail sentence of 15 

years. 

Thankfully, the 

girls were released 

after several months 

of complicated court 

dealings. 

However, family 

and friends 

are concerned for 

the girls’ safety. 

Unfortunately, their 

concerns are justified 

as the girls have 

been the targets of 

death threats and 

threats of mob violence. 

While all are 

happy that the girls 

are no longer behind 

bars, there is a long 

way to go until they 

can return to normalcy. 




St. Mark’s Cathedral — Cairo, Egypt 

A nun looks on in the aftermath of a Sunday 

morning bombing that killed 28 parishioners, 

primarily women and children, on December 11. 

Cairo Church Bombing Kills at Least 28 

4 | EGYPT On December 11, the bombing of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, led to the deaths of at least 28 people and wounded many more. 

The suicide bomber, who had ties to ISIS, detonated the device during a Sunday morning service. The blast primarily struck women and children. 

In response, President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-day period of national mourning as the Christian community gathered to mourn and 

protest the most devastating attack on Egypt’s Christians in recent years. 

Christians Imprisoned for “Witchcraft” 

5 | NEPAL Toward the end of 2016, four Christians in 

Nepal were sentenced to a five-year prison term under 

charges of witchcraft. The charges arose when a mentally 

ill woman voluntarily reached out to a church, seeking 

assistance. The Christians in the church prayed for healing 

for the woman which was the basis for the witchcraft 

charge. This is just one of several instances of Christians 

being persecuted by the law in Nepal, many of which were 

due to Nepal’s new anti-evangelism laws. 

Although Nepal is technically a secular nation, the 

country is plagued with religious restrictions and Christian 

persecution continues to grow, partially due to rising 

Hindu nationalism. 

Boy Beaten for 

Drinking Water 

from Mosque 

Fountain 

6 | PAKISTAN 

An online video 

recently surfaced 

of a Christian boy 

in Pakistan being 

beaten in public for 

drinking water from 

a fountain in a public 

facility within a local 

mosque. The boy 

cried out in pain as 

he was beaten with 

sticks by a group of 

Muslim men. 

This case is 

representative of 

countless incidents 

where Christians in 

Pakistan are treated 

as second-class citizens 

by the Muslim 

majority. 

Jakarta Governor Tried for Blasphemy 

7 | INDONESIA In December 2016, the trial began 

for the Christian governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja 

Purnama, commonly referred to as “Ahok,” who is on 

trial for blasphemy. Ahok initially received backlash 

following a speech he delivered, commenting that rival 

politicians were misusing the Quran to their political 

advantage. In response to the alleged blasphemy, many 

Muslims gathered in the streets in protest, with some 

calling for legal action and others calling for violence. 

Ahok has spoken out to defend himself, saying that it 

was never his intention to insult Islam, but rather to 

prevent an unfair election by informing Muslim voters 

that it was permissible for them to cast a ballot for a non- 

Muslim candidate. 



5

News 

1 

4 

3 

5 

2 

6 

Massachusetts Pastor Faces Possible 

Fine for Overseas Comments on 

Homosexuality 

1 | UNITED STATES Pastor Scott Lively of Springfield, 

Massachusetts, is being sued by a Ugandan LGBT rights 

group, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), for comments 

that he allegedly made while in their country against 

homosexual behavior. 

The group alleges that Lively’s speech amounts to 

crimes against humanity, asserting that his public remarks 

led to violence and discrimination against Uganda’s 

LGBT community. They also allege that Lively “conspired” 

to persecute LGBT Ugandans. 

Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, 

a non-profit that is representing Lively, says of the case, 

“After 100 hours of depositions and 40,000 pages of documents, 

SMUG has no evidence whatsoever connecting 

Lively to any act of so-called ‘persecution.’ SMUG has 

always claimed it was not trying to hold Lively liable for 

his speaking and writing. Yet the more SMUG writes, 

the more obvious it becomes that SMUG wants to punish 

Lively for his beliefs. This is clearly a vendetta against 

Lively for speaking 

about homosexuality 

and God’s design for 

the family in Uganda.” 

Liberty Counsel 

filed a brief to oppose 

this lawsuit in district 

court in December of 

2016. 

The Alien Tort 

Statute states that non- 

US citizens can bring 

suit in US courts for 

violations of US laws 

overseas. This is the 

first time that a suit 

has been brought 

under the Alien Tort 

Statute for persecution 

on the basis of sexuality. 

If found guilty, 

the legal implications 

could result in a precedent 

of prosecuting 

American citizens who 

are outspoken about 

their beliefs overseas 

if opposing entities file 

suit. 

Although this case 

is treading new ground 

in its prosecution of 

US citizens overseas, 

it is part of an ongoing 

trend which discriminates 

against religious 

leaders and business 

owners who speak 

openly about certain 

subjects in a way 

that conflicts with the 

mainstream media. 

Police Offensive 

Against Civil 

Rights Lawyers 

Continues 

China Admits to Detaining Activist 

2 | CHINA Weeks after Jiang Tianyong mysteriously 

went missing, the Chinese government has finally 

admitted that they are responsible for his disappearance. 

Although it is required by law that authorities 

notify the family within 24 hours when someone is 

detained, at the time of writing, Jiang’s family has still 

yet to receive contact, despite the government’s claims 

that they issued two notices. Rather, a state media 

report confirmed his detention. 

According to the report, Jiang is being held on 

charges of “illegally possessing documents classified 

as state secrets” and “illegally disseminating state 

secrets to overseas [sources].” However, Jiang’s wife 

believes that the charges are unfounded and that her 

husband was likely tortured into a confession. 

Jiang is a widely known human rights advocate 

in China who has worked alongside many notable 

figures in the field of human rights. Due to Jiang’s 

participation in several high-profile cases, Jiang lost 

the right to openly practice law nearly a decade ago. 

However, not one to be easily deterred, Jiang continued 

in his efforts to shed light on China’s abuses by 

providing legal counsel to victims of human rights 

violations. 

This is not the first time that Jiang has disappeared 

on account of the Chinese government. He has been 

detained at least three times, in 2011, 2012 and 2014, 

because of his role in exposing the Chinese government. 




Mother of Former Islamic Leader Attacked for Converting 

3 | UGANDA On December 8, Muslim relatives of a former Islamic sheikh attacked his 60-year-old mother for converting to Christianity. The 

former sheikh, Malik Higenyi, publicly proclaimed his conversion to the Christian faith last year, and was beaten unconscious by disapproving 

relatives and expelled from his village shortly thereafter. Later, when his mother went to visit her son as he recovered from his injuries, she also 

received Christ after listening to his testimony. Unfortunately, she was met with similar consequences and received both a head injury and a broken 

hand during her attack. While Muslims and Christians generally live in peace in Uganda, Christians sometimes face violence or isolation when 

they leave Islam in Muslim-majority communities. 

Youssef Lamei (right) operated his shop in Alexandria, Egypt, 

for decades and was known throughout the local community. 

Christian Shopkeeper Murdered in Egypt 

4 | EGYPT On January 2, Youssef Lamei, a Christian shopkeeper, was 

brutally murdered by an Islamic radical outside of his own shop in the 

bustling Montazah District of Alexandria, Egypt. 

Youssef was known to be both peaceful and accommodating 

to local Muslims by closing down his shop during the month of 

Ramadan and the five daily Muslim prayers. However, this did not 

prevent his attacker from yelling out “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) 

and slitting his throat while Youssef’s son was inside the shop. 

The man responsible for the attack was arrested and taken into 

police custody two days later. 

A nurse treats one of the many Christians injured by Hindu 

radicals who attacked believers during Christmas celebrations. 

Christians Attacked Celebrating Christmas 

5 | INDIA In the weeks leading up to Christmas, two separate groups 

of Christians were attacked by suspected Hindu radicals while celebrating 

the holiday. During the first attack, 30 Christians were gathered 

in a home, singing Christmas carols, when radicals stormed into the 

home and began beating them. Furthermore, the attackers accused the 

Christians of forcing conversions during their celebrations. In a similar 

attack, 20 Christians in another village were ambushed by radicals 

who began beating them with wooden clubs. Several of the Christians 

involved in the attacks were forced to go to the hospital as a result of 

their injuries. 

Two Injured in Philippines Church Bombing 

6 | PHILIPPINES On November 27, an improvised explosive device (IED) 

detonated at the entrance of Our Lady of Hope Church in the Philippines as 

congregants were leaving after Sunday mass. The IED was triggered remotely 

through a cellphone detonator. The service during which the attack took place 

was the first Sunday of the Advent celebration. 

Much of the explosion was deflected by a car which happened to be parked 

in front of the church at the time, undoubtedly saving many churchgoers from 

injury. However, even with the protection provided by the parked car, two 

people were injured during the attack and were taken to a local hospital. 

Although the Philippines is relatively peaceful on the global scale of persecution, 

this act of terrorism is cause for concern for the local Christian community. 



An IED explosion during a Sunday mass in the 

Philippines raises concerns for Christians. 

7

Your Dollar$ at Work 

Displaced Iraqi 

Christian Opens 

Copy Shop 

Community Rebuild 

A 

fter ISIS attacked Qeraqosh in 

2014, militants forced thousands of 

Christians to flee. Many are still struggling 

to survive, as they have been unable to find 

work. ICC has assisted numerous families 

by starting small businesses, allowing them 

to achieve a sustainable income to provide 

for themselves and their families. 

Samer lives with his wife, 18-year-old 

daughter, and 16-year-old son. They fled 

Qeraqosh in June 2014 when ISIS attacked 

for the first time. They returned to Qeraqosh 

after three days and stayed there from June 

until August, living in constant fear. Life 

was very difficult for the family. They had 

to sleep on the house’s rooftop because there 

was no electricity, and water was limited 

until the community dug wells. 

On August 6, 2014, the family fled from 

Qeraqosh for the final time to Akre in the 

Kurdistan region. They stayed in a church 

hall for a year before moving to Erbil, Iraq. 

In the year since moving to Erbil, Samer has 

been unable to find a sustainable source of 

income. ICC funded a microfinance project 

to help Samer establish a copy business that 

he can operate outside of a local library. 

Samer’s son accompanied his father and 

ICC to purchase the equipment because he 

is very familiar with technology. They carefully 

found the lowest prices and were able 

to purchase the supplies in one day. Supplies 

included a laminator, camera, laptop, photocopiers, 

a color printer, generator, and extra 

batteries. 

The shop will help Samer support his family 

and send his children to school. 

Many displaced Christians in Iraq desire 

to return home, but continued fighting 

between the government and ISIS has 

restricted their movement home. Even if 

they are able to return home, the destruction 

will be catastrophic. ICC continues searching 

for ways to support Iraqi Christians 

upon their return. 




Beds for Korean 

Students 

Suffering Wives & Children 

J 

angdaehyun School is a Christian boarding 

school for North Korean (NK) defector 

students and South Korean students who are 

interested in the reunification of Korea. The 

students had been using old bunk beds that 

were donated by a former school principal. 

They had been experiencing difficulty sleeping 

on the worn down beds. 

When ICC heard about the needs of 

these students, we immediately took action 

by donating 12 bunk beds to the school. 

These beds were purchased and delivered in 

September 2016. All of the students excitedly 

helped to set them up. 

Many of these students come from broken 

families and have had traumatic experiences 

while escaping from North Korea. However, 

with the assistance of the boarding school 

and the donation from ICC, the students can 

enjoy more comfortable living conditions in a 

Christian environment. 



More Radios for 

Fulani Victims 

Community Rebuilding 

I 

n the last few years, several rural communities 

along the Jos Plateau in Nigeria have 

been brutally attacked by Fulani terrorists. 

Most of these attacks take place late at night in 

Christian communities, which usually results 

in the destruction of the victims’ property and 

the killing of their Christian family members. 

ICC was made aware of these incidents and a 

local representative was sent to investigate the 

situation and provide assistance. In mid-2016, 

20 sets of Baofeng walkie-talkie radios were 

purchased in the US and shipped to Nigeria and 

were then delivered to the villagers. The radios 

were so effective, ICC purchased a second 

round for additional communities. 

A radio training session was given to the representatives 

of each village on how to operate 

the radios which was followed by a trial run. 

The Christian villagers are now able to 

notify and warn each other of any approaching 

terrorist threats. 

Small Business 

for Survivors 

Suffering Wives & Children 

O 

n March 27, 2016, a suicide bomber 

attacked Gulshan e-Iqbal Park in 

Lahore, Pakistan. The bomber detonated a few 

meters away from one of the busiest sections 

of the park, the children’s swings. That day, 

many Christian families were gathered at the 

park to celebrate Easter. The explosion killed 

21 Christians and seriously injured another 45. 

Many families still struggle to survive, having 

lost their breadwinner to either death or injury. 

In April, ICC provided short-term aid to 

41 bombing victims, including food packages, 

transportation money for travel to and 

from the hospital, and a year of schooling for 

children who lost siblings in the explosion. 

Several families, however, needed longerterm 

assistance. ICC recently purchased autorickshaws 

for four families and shop supplies 

for another family. Despite the debilitating 

injuries, these Christian families now have a 

stable source of income for the future. 

9


New Textile 

Business Helps 

Vietnamese 

Refugees in 

Thailand 

Hand of Hope 

V 

ietnamese Christians face incarceration, 

torture, and execution in their 

land because of their religion; thus, they are 

forced to flee and seek asylum in neighboring 

countries so that they can freely practice 

their religion. However, these same Christian 

refugees seeking asylum in Thailand also 

experience discrimination from the Royal 

Thai Government, especially in Bangkok, 

Thailand. Even though these victims are recognized 

as refugees by the United Nations 

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 

they are seen and treated as illegal immigrants 

as they are denied the ability to work and sent 

to prison if they do find work. This situation 

has made it difficult for persecuted Christians 

in the area to live since they are not able to 

return home because of their religion and they 

are not being allowed to support their families 

in a new country. 

ICC was made aware of the situation these 

Hmong refugees were facing as foreigners 

and persecuted Christians, and decided to support 

these vulnerable families by empowering 

their women. ICC partnered with Boat People 

SOS (BPSOS) and a project was developed to 

help the refugees earn a stable income without 

the fear of being threatened, persecuted, 

or incarcerated. As a result, a group of 15 

Hmong Christian women are now able to use 

their artistic sewing skills to develop products 

that they can sell to the public, giving them 

the ability to provide for their families in an 

otherwise difficult situation. 

This project entailed the purchase of sewing 

machines for each of the registered women, 

the purchase of raw materials, the rent for a 

safe space for them to work, and the transportation 

of the finished goods to their corresponding 

selling locations. In addition to the 

goods purchased and produced, the women 

also received training on how to use the 

equipment, how to sell the goods, and the 

logistics of their production. Currently, these 

women are making and selling T-shirts with 

embroidered pocket designs, canvas bags with 

handmade designs, pillows, notebooks with 

henna designs, and Christmas decorations. 

Furthermore, all profits from the sales of these 

handmade products go back to benefit the 

women, which helps them to generate income 

and strengthen their self-worth as Christian 

women who are able to contribute to the 

financial support of their families. 

ICC’s partners have witnessed great success 

in the implementation of this project and 

they expect to have more Hmong Christian 

women registered into the program in the 

coming months. ICC hopes to contribute and 

help more Hmong families in the upcoming 

projects as well because these Christian victims 

are seeking freedom and protection in a 

foreign land where they have found hostility 

instead. 

This type of support and empowerment can 

only be accomplished through God’s provision 

by allowing donors to contribute to such 

causes that impact the persecuted Christian 

community. Persecuted Christians are continually 

encouraged and strengthened through 

our prayers and generosity. 





Food Aid to Joy in Jesus Church 


O 

n March 23, 2014, three gunmen covering their faces in balaclavas (face masks) attacked 

Joy in Jesus Church in Likoni, Mombasa. At least seven were killed and several others 

were injured. Although the perpetrators were never linked directly with any of the known terrorist 

groups in the area, they were carrying AK-47 rifles and pistols like members of al-Shabaab. 

When ICC learned about the incident, we immediately responded by sending a local representative 

to investigate the situation and provide assistance to the victims. We then purchased 

several food packages and delivered them to six families that were directly affected by the 

attack. Additionally, each family was interviewed and medical reports were collected in order to 

discover any other struggles that these victims were facing. 

Thanks to generous donors, ICC was able to respond and serve these brothers and sisters in 

Christ during a vulnerable time. These victims were able to see God’s hand and provision to 

remind them that although they may be persecuted, they are not forgotten. ICC continues to 

communicate with the victims of this church and is actively looking for ways to serve them and 

other persecuted Christians in the community. 

Providing Relief for Yazidi IDPs 


I 

SIS militants have victimized many Christians and other religious minorities across Iraq. 

Among those communities, Yazidis are the most severely targeted by ISIS. The systematic 

attacks against Yazidis are so serious that the United Nations declared ISIS’s actions against this 

community a genocide in August 2016. Considered pagans by ISIS’s followers, most Yazidi 

men caught by ISIS are immediately executed. ISIS fighters also take Yazidi women and girls 

as prizes of war, rape them, and force them into sexual slavery. 

As a result of ISIS attacks, thousands of Yazidis have become internally displaced persons 

(IDPs) and relocated to makeshift IDP camps. In recognition of their suffering, ICC partnered 

with Joint Help for Kurdistan (JHK) to provide 70 relief parcels to the JHK camps. 

JHK representatives used ICC’s funds to purchase relief packages containing necessities such 

as powdered detergent, shampoo, soap, salt, sugar, oil, rice, and tea. JHK representatives also 

brought sweets to share with the children who, in spite of the trauma, fought for the camera’s 

attention to sing their favorite songs, play games, and embrace the volunteers. 



Attacked Pastors Receive Bibles 

Bibles to the Persecuted 

I 

n the Jhabua District of Madhya Pradesh, India, pastors experience extreme persecution in 

the form of beatings, vandalism, and the destruction of Christian literature, especially Bibles. 

Because the pastors often live in poverty, they cannot afford to purchase replacements. Without 

Bibles, it proves difficult for the pastors to continue with evangelism and discipleship. As more 

and more villagers are becoming Christians, pastors need the appropriate tools to help new 

believers develop their faith. 

ICC interviewed eight pastors in the Jhabua District to see how they could best serve them 

and further their ministry. They overwhelmingly stressed the importance of the replacement of 

Christian literature, especially Bibles, in Hindi. ICC worked with the Bible Society of India to 

determine the appropriate translation for the pastors and then purchased 240 Bibles. The Bibles 

were distributed among the eight pastors who have since given them to Christian families 

throughout their villages. 

Radical Hindu groups will always be a threat for Christians, but these Bibles encourage them 

to remain faithful through persecution. 

11

est 

atch 

FFRF Wants Polling Places Out of Houses of Worship 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation 

(FFRF) has now issued complaints to 

two municipalities, Palm Beach County, 

Florida, and Washington County, Arkansas, 

stating that polling locations located in houses 

of worship may influence votes and cause 

non-religious voters to feel uncomfortable. 

The group requested that the counties move 

their polling locations to secular locations. 

The complaint stated, “As our country 

becomes more religiously diverse, Christian 

images and iconography are increasingly 

seen by man as symbols of political intimidation. 

Selecting churches as polling places 

can serve to unduly influence voters to vote 

in a particular way that they might not otherwise. 

This is especially true if the voters 

themselves are promoting or demonizing a 

particular side of an issue.” The complaint 

continued to say that viewing religious displays 

may cause voters to feel like outsiders 

in their polling places. It is not clear whether 

either county replied to the demands of the 

FFRF or acquiesced to their demands. 

Atheist Group FFRF Urged 

Trump to Scrub References 

to God from Inauguration 

The atheist activist group Freedom 

From Religion Foundation (FFRF) 

issued a plea to President Donald Trump 

prior to his inauguration, asking him 

to remove any Christian elements from 

his inauguration in January. In addition 

to requesting the removal of the prayer 

portion of the ceremony, the group also 

requested that he remove the words “so 

help me God” from the traditional inaugural 

oath. 

The group’s complaint stated, “The ‘so 

help me God’ tradition violates the spirit 

of our secular Constitution in the very act 

of promising to uphold it. The Constitution 

prohibits rather than mandates religious 

oaths. In its altered, religious form, the oath 

has become a symbol of the disregard many 

in our nation have shown for our secular 

constitutional principles. Reciting the presidential 

oath in its original form would be 

an important symbolic step toward divorcing 

American politics from religion.” 

It is unknown whether there was any 

response from Trump’s transition team. 

Georgia Pastor Refuses to Turn Over Sermons to Government 

I 

n 2014, Dr. Eric Walsh was fired from 

his position at the Georgia Department 

of Public Health after sermons he had previously 

delivered surfaced, which included a 

traditional Christian view of sexuality. When 

the state was made aware of these sermons, 

it demanded that Dr. Walsh submit all of his 

sermons and notes dating back to when he 

was just 18 years of age. 

He has since refused to comply with this 

order and the Family Research Council has 

created a petition in support, which states, 

“I stand with Dr. Eric Walsh’s freedom to 

believe and live according to his deeplyheld 

beliefs. The demand that he hand over 

his sermons, sermon notes, and all pastoral 

documents including his Bible represents a 

S 

tudent choirs from Wake County, North 

Carolina, were forbidden from participating 

in the yearly Nativity performances 

this year following a complaint from the 

Freedom From Religion Foundation. The 

complaint stated that the choirs’ exclusive 

focus on a Christian holiday was unconstitutional 

as it would be an endorsement of a 

single religion. The county acquiesced, banning 

the choirs from participating. 

The complaint stated, “The whole purpose 

of the event is to display and honor 

nativity scenes, which highlight an exclusively 

Christian aspect of the holiday season, 

rather than a secular Christmas celebration. 

Students are intentionally brought to the 

government intrusion into the sanctity of the 

church, pastor’s study, and pulpit.” 

The petition has amassed approximately 

40,000 signatures. 

School Choirs Banned from Nativity Celebrations 

church to be exposed to hundreds of depictions 

of the Christian legend of Jesus’ birth.” 

A school district spokesman stated, “No 

one was particularly happy with the outcome 

of this. Some schools had been participating 

for several years.” 




Atheist Group Seeks Ban on 

Shoebox Gifts to Children 

T 

he 

atheist group American Humanist 

Association (AHA) has been working 

since 2014 to end the ministry of 

Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of 

Samaritan’s Purse that provides gifts and 

the Gospel during the Christmas season to 

the children of developing countries. The 

lawsuit was filed in 2014 and the decision 

appealed in February 2016. The AHA’s lawsuit 

states that public school children should 

not participate, as it is a violation of the US 

Constitution’s Establishment Clause. 

“As taxpaying citizens with children in the 

school district, these families object to their 

schools supporting the efforts of Christian 

missions to convert children in developing 

countries. Pressuring students to participate 

in religious programs in their public schools 

flies in the face of the separation of church 

and state that the Establishment Clause 

demands,” the lawsuit stated. 

A spokesman from Samaritan’s Purse 

stated, “Operation Christmas Child welcomes 

anyone to participate in this annual 

Christmas project for children in need 

around the world. We do not make determinations 

on individuals or groups that do 

or do not choose to participate each year.” 



Sam Alito: Religious Freedom 

May be In Greater Danger 

than Free Speech 

I 

n 

a recent speech at the Federalist 

Society’s national convention of lawyers 

in Washington D.C., US Supreme Court 

Justice Samuel Alito stated his belief that 

religious freedom might be “in greater danger” 

than the right to free speech. 

In his remarks, he commented on a specific 

case in Washington State that was 

appealed to the Supreme Court in which 

a pharmacy was required to provide abortifacient 

drugs despite their religious convictions 

against such prescriptions by a 

state law. The law allowed for pharmacies 

to make referrals to other pharmacies for 

numerous reasons except religious protections. 

The ensuing lawsuit was heard by the 

US Court for the Ninth Circuit which unanimously 

required the pharmacy to stock the 

abortifacient. The case was then appealed 

to the Supreme Court in which a majority 

of justices refused to hear the case, meaning 

the circuit court’s opinion stands. 

Alito went on to explain that the pharmacy 

was willing to refer clients to other 

pharmacies for these drugs, but that there is 

“strong evidence” that the law was crafted 

to “rid the state of those troublesome pharmacists 

who objected to these drugs on 

religious grounds.” 

Commander Under Fire for 

Stating Jesus’ Influence 

T 

he 

Military Religious Freedom 

Foundation (MRFF) recently issued a 

letter of complaint demanding that an Air 

Force commander receive punishment for 

stating that his faith in Jesus Christ affects 

his decision-making capabilities. 

The Incirlik Air Base in Turkey published 

the interview of Air Force Lt. Col. Michael 

Kersten. When asked about his influences, 

Lt. Col. Kersten replied, “As a Christian, 

my example is to be like Christ. He is my 

guide and affects all of my decisions. He 

teaches to do all things as unto the Lord, and 

I believe this is synonymous with integrity 

first and excellence in all we do.” 

The complaint asserts that Kersten violated 

military rules and “willfully and definitively 

violated [Air Force Instruction] 1-1 

with his sectarian Christian proselytizing 

statement.” An Air Force official responded 

that they uphold service members’ rights to 

practice their religion, yet the MRFF has 

now submitted a second complaint. The Air 

Force has not responded as yet. 

Court Ruling to Remove 

Ten Commandments Upheld 

A 

n 

appeals court hearing upheld a lower 

court order to remove a monument 

containing the Ten Commandments on the 

property of city hall in the New Mexico 

city of Bloomfield City. The appeals court 

ruled that the display is an unconstitutional 

endorsement of Christianity by the local 

government, stating, “Bloomfield has not 

undertaken sufficiently purposeful, public, 

and persuasive actions to secularize the 

monument’s previous ‘principal or primary’ 

religious message. The city has never 

explicitly said this monument was not for 

religious purposes, nor that it was exhibited 

only for its historical significance.” 

The monument was erected in 2011 following 

the passage of a resolution allowing 

private citizens to place historical displays 

at the city hall. The monument was proposed 

by a former city council member four 

years prior, approved by the city council, 

and paid for with private dollars. 

13

HERO 

ON THE HILL 

ICC interviews a nineteen-term 

congressman and champion of 

international religious freedom on 

why he fights for the persecuted. 

By Nate Lance 

Congressman 

Chris Smith (NJ) 

This is the first 

article in a 

new quarterly 

series ICC is 

launching in 

Persecution 

magazine to 

highlight the 

work of members of Congress 

or government personnel from 

across the political spectrum who 

are making exceptional efforts on 

behalf of the persecuted Church. 

These “Heroes on the Hill” 

often serve the persecuted for 

years without public recognition, 

yet all over the world prisoners 

of faith are set free and persecutors 

are held to account because 

of their courage to speak and act 

on behalf of religious minorities. 

Rep. Chris Smith has served 

the state of New Jersey for 

more than 30 years since his 

election to the US Congress in 

1981. Driven by his faith, he 

has for decades been a leader 

on issues of human rights and 

religious liberty. He is the chairman 

of the Global Human Rights 

Subcommittee as well as the 

co-chairman of the Commission 

on Security and Cooperation in 

Europe and the Congressional- 

Executive Commission on China. 

He is also incredibly active on 

Capitol Hill and is “tied for second” 

out of 435 members of the 

House for authoring bills which 

become law. His dedication was 

instrumental in getting the US 

government to declare acts by 

ISIS against Christians and other 

religious minorities in Iraq and 

Syria a genocide, and he has 

recently been working to pass the 

Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief 

and Accountability Act to provide 

aid to the affected area. 

What sparked your passion 

for helping persecuted 

Christians around the 

world? 

There is no doubt it comes from 

my own faith. I’m a Catholic. 

I’m a strong believer. I believe 

in the importance of working 

with Evangelicals and across 

the spectrum of Christianity and 

other faiths. I got very involved 

with combatting anti-Semitism 

during my first term and then 

I read a couple books. I read 

Tortured for Christ by Richard 

Wurmbrand, which was a strong 

Congressman Smith visits with Christian families during 

a recent trip to Erbil, Iraq. 




“ICC is an effective advocate for the persecuted Church; they make 

sure the voiceless have a voice in Washington D.C. and elsewhere. I 

have been honored to work with them for several decades to protect 

the fundamental right of religious liberty. Sadly, there is so much 

more work still left to do; people of faith and goodwill cannot rest as 

we seek to address the immense challenges facing Christians around 

the world today.” 

– CONGRESSMAN CHRIS SMITH OF NEW JERSEY 

appeal for people in the West 

to speak out for the persecuted 

Christian. I also read God’s 

Smuggler by Brother Andrew, 

who fearlessly smuggled Bibles 

into the former Soviet Union. 

Are there any specific areas 

you are especially concerned 

about? 

I just returned from a trip 

to Erbil, where some 70,000 

Christians and some Yazidis have 

escaped ISIS. [The Christians 

there] are wonderful people who 

love Christ and are really committed 

to their faith, but have 

been inadequately served by the 

Obama administration and by 

the international community at 

large… That has to change. 

For three years I’ve chaired 

nine congressional hearings; the 

tenth I’ll hold in early 2017 to 

say that they need humanitarian 

assistance right now. They do 

get some from private charities, 

but it’s not enough. 

Secondly, we need to hold the 

perpetrators of these terrible 

atrocities to account…we’ve 

held ad hoc tribunals in the 

past and that needs to be set up 

immediately. 

And third is to provide refugees 

a category called P2 status. 

Currently, Christians are not 

given the interview necessary 

to relocate to the United States. 

What a gross oversight that is! 

And yet, it’s the reality on the 

ground, so there’s no durable 

solution for them if they want to 

go back. Many want to go back, 

but as we’re seeing increasingly, 

it is not safe to go back, especially 

in the near time, so the 

safety valve would be for some 

to come to the United States. 

This legislation would give them 

the necessary interview to come 

here. 

Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, of 

course ISIS, all of these radical 

Islamist groups pose an 

existential threat to Christians 

in particular, but also to pious 

Muslims. And I’ve actually been 

to places like Jos, Nigeria, where 

Boko Haram has gone on killing 

sprees, blowing up churches, 

and taking full credit for it… and 

literally dragging people out 

and killing them if they refuse to 

convert from Christianity… 

The other big existential 

threats are the communists in 

China. If anyone thinks that 

China [is no longer] a gross 

cruel dictatorship [and not] a 

democracy, they need to have 

their head examined! They have 

gotten worse under Xi Jinping. 

He is in a race to the bottom with 

North Korea when it comes to a 

myriad of human rights abuses 

including religious freedom… 

Believers are singled out, even 

those [in] the officially recognized 

Three Self Movement. 

Looking Forward 

ICC concluded the interview by 

thanking Congressman Smith for 

his efforts and discussing future 

initiatives with his staff. Sadly, 

members like Congressman 

Smith who do consistent work on 

behalf of the persecuted are few 

and far between. 

If you live in the US and would 

like your congressman to get 

involved, call his or her office 

and ask them to reach out to 

International Christian Concern! 

National Statuary Hall in the US Capitol 

features statues of prominent Americans. 



15

ICC’S 

THE BRIDGE 

THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON THE PERSECUTED CHURCH 

THE CHURCH, GOVERNMENT LEADERS, & NGOS 

UNITING TO BREAK THE CHAINS OF THE PERSECUTED 

JUNE 2-3, 2017 

Breaking the Chains of 

North Korea 

Saddleback Church 

Los Angeles, CA 

www.thepersecutionconference.org 

www.thepersecutionconference.org

The Bridge is an annual conference for the persecuted 

Church where the Church, government leaders, nongovernmental 

organizations (NGOs), and ministries unite 

to break the chains of the persecuted. 

This year, we will focus on the prison state of North 

Korea (DPRK). The incredible increase in high-level DPRK 

defectors, along with the massive stream of news from 

the outside world flowing into North Korea, represent 

cracks in the foundation of the prison state. We 

are calling the Church together to pray, and 

to also work proactively with NGOs 

and the US government, 

to bring down the 

world’s evil 

regime. 

For the latest info: 

www.thepersecutionconference.org 



17

Victory 

in the Midst of Persecution 

A recent judgment in favor of two Christians accused of 

blasphemy in Pakistan provides a small, yet complicated, 

ray of hope for Pakistan’s Christian community. 

By William Stark 

“ 

At 6:00 a.m. I heard my 

brother and wife crying 

out as they were dragged 

out of their house near 

the brick kiln by their 

hair,” Iqbal Masih told 

International Christian 

Concern (ICC). “In 

about 15 or 20 minutes, 

a mob of thousands had 

gathered at the brick kiln, shouting that they wanted 

to kill my brother and his wife.” 

In November 2014, Pakistan’s Christian community 

witnessed one of the most brutal instances of persecution 

in recent memory at a brick kiln located in 

Kot Radha Kishan. The violence that came to shock 

both the nation of Pakistan and the international community 

was, as is often the case, sparked by the country’s 

notorious blasphemy laws and is often referred 

to as the Kot Radha Kishan case or incident. 

Motivating this murderous mob was the rumored 

accusation that Shehzad Masih (Iqbal’s younger 

brother) and his wife burned pages of the Quran, 

an act widely considered blasphemous in Pakistan. 

Unfortunately, for Shehzad and his wife, extrajudicial 

killings of those accused of blasphemy are all too 

common. In fact, more than 60 individuals have been 

murdered after being accused of blasphemy since the 




Kot Radha Kishan has become 

infamous in Pakistan as the scene of 

one of the country’s most brutal and 

shocking instances of persecution 

— a couple beaten and burned alive 

at the city’s brick kiln by a mob of 

thousands. 



19

A Small, Complicated Victory 

In rare form, an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan 

convicted 13 men for the brick kiln murders two 

years after the incident. Five were sentenced to 

death for their role in inciting a mob via mosque 

loudspeakers. 

laws were added to the country’s penal code. 

“They stoned Shehzad and his wife, then 

they broke their legs and beat them until they 

were unconscious,” Masih told ICC. “The 

mob put them over holes on top of the brick 

kiln where the flames were coming out. They 

were so badly beaten that they were unable to 

get away from the flames.” 

Both Pakistan and the international community 

were shocked by these brutal murders and 

many of those involved, especially the local 

religious clerics who had stoked the mob’s 

rage using sound systems at local mosques, 

were quickly arrested. 

Following the arrests, many Christians, 

including members of the victims’ family, did 

not believe justice would be done in this case 

because of the religious identity of the victims 

and the rumored blasphemy accusation. Often, 

cases against individuals or groups accused 

of attacking religious minorities drag on at 

a glacial pace. In the meantime, the accused 

perpetrators are released on bail and allowed 

to harass the religious minorities bringing the 

charges until they are dropped. 

This unfortunate truth is exemplified in 

the results of the case against those accused 

of burning down Joseph Colony, a Christian 

neighborhood in Lahore. Despite a wealth of 

photo and video evidence showing individuals 

engaged in the attack and destruction of Joseph 

Colony, many of the accused have been either 

acquitted or released on bail as the trial drags 

on. This stands in stark contrast to the speedy 

conviction and death sentence handed down 

to the Christian individual whose blasphemy 

accusation initially set off the riot. 

Fortunately, in the case of the brick kiln 

murders, the family’s doubts in Pakistan’s justice 

system were proven wrong. On November 

23, 2016, over two years after the murders, 

an anti-terrorism court officially sentenced 

13 men connected with the violence. Of 

those, five were sentenced to death, including 

Mehdi Khan, Riaz Kambo, Irfan Shakoor, 

Muhammad Hanif, and Hafiz Ishtiaq, a local 

prayer leader. The harsh punishments were 

given to these five individuals specifically 

for their hand in making announcements over 

mosque loudspeakers that incited the mob that 

attacked and killed the Christian couple. 

According to the Express Tribune, the convictions 

handed down in November represented 

the first time a case of such nature has been 

decided in the favor of a religious minority in 

Pakistan, whether it be a Christian, Hindu, or 

Ahmadi. 

“Civil society has been very consistent 

on monitoring the developments of the Kot 

Radha Kishan incident and the resulting judgment 

that has come,” Peter Jacob, Executive 

Director at the Center for Social Justice told 

ICC. “There wasn’t a big response to the judgment 

because it involved death sentences for 

five people, but it was generally welcome that 

justice in some form had been done.” 

When asked how this case was decided in 

favor of religious minorities, Jacob credited 

both Pakistan’s Supreme Court and vigilant 

civil society. 

“This judgment has come after the intervention 

made at the Supreme Court level. The 

court at district level was able to deliver this 

judgment because there was oversight by the 

Supreme Court and civil society did not stop 

monitoring.” 

Despite the eventual victory the Kot Radha 

Kishan judgment represents, these sort of 

victories are often complicated for Pakistan’s 

Christian community. Months after the murder 

of Shehzad and his wife, a branch of the 

Pakistani Taliban bombed two churches in 

Youhanabad, a Christian-majority neighborhood 

in Lahore. Following these March 2015 




ombings, Christians poured 

into the streets in protest, 

enraged by the bloody scenes 

at their churches. 

In the midst of the protests, 

two Muslims rumored 

to be involved in the church 

bombings were lynched and 

killed by the Christians. In the 

weeks that followed, police 

arrested over 100 Christians 

from Youhanabad, often for 

little more than their identity 

as Christians from the 

neighborhood. Following 

the arrests, reports of torture 

by police seeking to hone 

in on the identities of those 

involved in the lynching were 

common. 

The Kot Radha Kishan 

judgment has spread fear 

among many of the Christian 

families of those accused of 

the Youhanabad lynching 

because they feel that their 

loved ones will also be sentenced 

to death, regardless 

of the evidence, in a sort of 

tit-for-tat judicial maneuver 

to satisfy both Pakistan’s 

Muslim and Christian communities. 

“We are worried for our 

children when we 

think and listen about 

the convictions in the 

Kot Radha Kishan 

case,” Sugran Bibi, 

mother of one of the 

accused, told ICC. 

“My son was not 

present at the lynching,” 

Bibi continued. 

“The police arrested 

him from home 

seven months after 

the incident. Almost 

two years have 

passed and we don’t 

see any hope of our child 

returning home.” 

Regardless of the implications 

the Kot Radha 

Kishan judgment has for 

the Christians accused of 

the Youhanabad lynching, 

it should still be marked 

as a victory for Pakistani 

Christians. 

For Christians living in 

Pakistan, change comes 

slowly and is often complicated. 

Consistently ranked 

among the most persecuted 

Christians in the world, 

officially ranked fourth on 

Open Door’s World Watch 

“We are worried 

for our children 

when we think 

... about the 

convictions in the 

Kot Radha Kishan 

case.” 

– MOTHER OF IMPRISONED SON 

List, the lives of Pakistani 

Christians are widely 

defined by the discrimination 

and injustice they 

endure because of their faith. 

Amidst the intense persecution 

and discrimination of 

Christians in Pakistan, a ray 

of hope came out of one of 

Pakistan’s most hot-button 

issues, the country’s blasphemy 

laws. It is small and 

complicated victories like 

this that will eventually start 

to turn the tide for Pakistan’s 

Christians and may someday 

promise a brighter and 

freer future. 

Joseph Colony, a Christian neighborhood in Lahore, Pakistan, that was 

burned to the ground, stands as a stark reminder of the continued injustice 

and inequity of the country’s blasphemy laws. In January, a Pakistani court 

acquitted over 100 suspects charged with perpetrating this act on “insufficient 

evidence,” despite ample photographs and video footage of the event. 

Asia Bibi 

In June 2009, Asia Bibi was 

accused by Muslim coworkers of 

blaspheming against the prophet 

Muhammad. As is often the case, 

this false accusation was made 

against Asia to settle a personal 

score following a dispute between 

Asia and her coworkers over the 

use of a watering bowl. 

Although false, the blasphemy 

accusation came to radically 

change both Asia’s life as an individual 

and Pakistan as a nation. 

In 2010, Asia was formally sentenced 

to death by the Session’s 

Court in District Nankana, Punjab. 

In October 2014, the Lahore High 

Court confirmed Asia’s death sentence. 

In July 2015, Pakistan’s 

Supreme Court decided to review 

Asia’s death sentence, but then 

indefinitely adjourned on October 

13, 2016, after one of the justices 

recused himself from the case. 

Widely considered the most 

famous case of blasphemy, Asia’s 

case has seen many dramatic 

moments including the assassination 

of two major government 

officials advocating on behalf of 

Asia. It remains to be seen what 

Pakistan’s Supreme Court will do 

with Asia’s case, but there is hope 

that one day she will be released. 



21

Home at Last 

ICC completes construction of homes for 10 

displaced Iraqi Christian families living in 

tents for two years. 

One of the families’ tents 

that they lived in for two 

years after fleeing ISIS 

violence. 




Top Left: One of the tents that 

families lived in for two years 

after fleeing ISIS violence. 

Bottom Left: A family that ICC 

has followed for the past year 

shows appreciation for their new 

home - a permanent structure on a 

church’s property. 

Below: After two years of living 

in tents on a church’s property, 

Christian families began moving 

into the newly constructed 

homes just before Christmas and 

the first snow. 



23

Indonesia is a country with great 

ethnic and religious diversity. It is 

the world’s most populous Muslim 

nation. In fact, 90 percent of its 

250 million citizens are Muslim. 

At the constitutional level, 

Indonesia has created a framework 

guaranteeing freedom of religion 

for all government-recognized religions: 

Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, 

Buddhism, Confucianism, and Judaism. Followers 

of these religions, according to national laws, 

should be able to freely practice their religion. 

If you only examine the surface, you will come 

to the conclusion that Huffington Post did when 

it said that Indonesia practiced a more “liberal, 

pluralistic brand of Islam.” 

Go beyond the surface and look at recent 

history in Indonesia though, and you will not 

see a pluralistic society, but country that vigorously 

oppresses Christianity and other faiths, 

sometimes with extreme violence. 

A growing movement of radical Islam 

is exerting more and more influence in 

Indonesian affairs, including politics. Such 

entanglement has not only empowered the 

spread of extremism but has increased attacks 

and the suppression of religious minorities. 

The Setara Institute for Democracy and 

Peace in Indonesia recorded a 33% increase 

in cases of religious violence between 2014 

and 2015. They also noted that in 2016, 

Indonesia’s freedom level fell to a new low 

with “more rights violations committed by 

the government and local administrations.” A 

report by Indonesia’s National Commission on 

Human Rights (Komnas HAM) found that the 

most frequent violators of religious freedom 

are regional administrations, and that the number 

of complaints being filed against them are 

rapidly increasing. 

How is this happening in a democratic 

country that guarantees religious freedom? 

“Because,” as the Setara Institute argues, 

“no one dares draw a line and recognize 

Feature Article 

A Paradox of 

Religious Freedom: 

Pastors Working Underground 

in a Religiously Free Society 

By Daniel Harris 

religiously-inspired incitement for what it is, 

let alone condemn it or take measures to stop 

it.” The absence of accountability in upholding 

religious freedom, especially by the government, 

destroys religious minorities while 

encouraging extremism’s spread. 

The coordinator for the faith freedom desk 

at the National Commission on Human Rights 

for Indonesia (Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi 

Manusia) said, “The three main factors fueling 

the violations [of religious freedom] are the low 

level of understanding of government officials 

about human rights principles, the inability of 

regional leaders to deal with intolerant groups 

and the implementation of regional laws that 

often contradict higher laws.” 

Ahok and Religious 

Extremism in Action 

The recent case against Jakarta’s first 

Christian governor is a perfect example of this. 

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as 

Ahok, became the governor of Jakarta when 

Joko Widodo left the office to run for president 

in 2014. It was a significant step for Indonesia. 

Ahok is an ethnic Chinese and a Christian. His 

term would stand as a litmus test for religious 

and racial tolerance in Indonesia. 

Immediately, hardline Muslim organizations 

such as The Islamic Defenders Front 

(FPI) demanded his removal from office. They 

insisted that a Christian could never govern 

Muslims. But Ahok was popular with the 

people as he worked hard to tackle corruption 

and Jakarta’s crippling traffic problems. He 

should have easily won his bid for re-election 

this year, but one short statement taken out 

of context stifled his victory. During one 

campaign speech, Ahok challenged voters to 

vote their conscience and not allow Muslim 

leaders to scare them into voting for a Muslim 

by using particular verses from the Quran. 

Anti-Ahok Muslim groups edited his statement 

so it appeared that Ahok condemned the 

Quran itself rather than political manipulators. 

That video led to hundreds of thousands of 

protesters flooding Jakarta’s streets, calling for 

Ahok’s imprisonment and even death. 

Ahok is now on trial for “blasphemy.” The 

sentence carries a five year prison term and 

few are ever acquitted. 

Rather than support a fair investigation, 

the government offered little assistance to 

Ahok. The president barely acknowledged 

the 200,000+ person protests shutting down 

the capital. The police blatantly supported the 

Muslim crowds by supplying them with water, 

a stage, and a sound system. In Ahok’s trial, 

few cared that most of the “witnesses” were 

not even present for Ahok’s speech. 

The Setara Institute, a non-governmental 

organization that conducts research and 

advocacy on democracy, political freedom, 

and human rights in Indonesia, summed up 

Indonesia’s imagined religious freedom versus 

the unfortunate reality: “Indonesia’s spineless 

political leaders have allowed extremists to 

seize the momentum and foment religious 

hatred against the governor – who happens to 

be an ethnic Chinese Christian – for more than 

a month without challenging the substance or 

methods of their arguments.” 

Technically, blasphemy laws apply to all 

of Indonesia’s protected religions. The issue 

is not the absence of laws regarding religion, 

but that those laws are disproportionately used 

against Christians. In Ahok’s case, the leader 

of the organization that launched the protests 

demanding Ahok’s imprisonment openly 

mocked Christianity during several of his 

speeches. His speeches insulted Christianity 

so much that even Muslims are calling for his 

trial on the charge of blasphemy. The government 

has yet to press charges. 

The political tension has spilled into the 

public sphere, stressing an already tenuous 

relationship between Muslim Indonesians and 

ethnic or religious minorities. Many Christians 

are afraid for both their religious freedom and 

their lives. They should be. 

Jihad 

Ahok’s case and the lack of government 

protection is not a new story in Indonesia. The 

Saudis and Gulf states starting pouring money 

into Indonesia in the 1970s to radicalize the 

country’s Muslims. Their efforts came to fruition 

around 1998 when the country’s Muslims 

went on a massive jihad against Christians. 

From 1998 to 2003, Christians suffered greatly 

as their churches and homes were burned to the 

ground and they were raped and murdered. 




Two large churches in 

Indonesia had their buildings 

shut down by local government 

officials. They now gather outside 

the presidential palace and hold 

their services in an act of protest. 

Although the government did not launch 

an official investigation, an unofficial report 

found that 2,244 people (both protesters and 

Christians) died, 168 were raped, and 1,604 

shops were destroyed. These statistics were 

only in Jakarta, however. The violence spread 

to other parts of the nation, including Java, 

Sulawesi, and Maluku and lasted until around 

2004. ICC has heard reports that as many as 

10,000 Christians actually died and approximately 

1,000 churches were burned down 

across the nation. 

That period of extreme anti-Christian violence 

is especially relevant today because it 

underlines the government’s lax stance against 

extremism. Shortly before the outbreak of violence 

in 1998, Human Rights Watch stated, 

“Not only have [government officials] 

expressed no sympathy for the victims or made 

any effort to explain to the public the causes 

and consequences of the economic crisis, but in 

some cases, they have tried to deflect blame for 

the economic crisis onto prominent members of 

the ethnic Chinese community.” 

Recalling the political climate of 1998, 

The Economist noted, “At best, Ahok’s persecution 

represents a blow to the rights of all 

Indonesian minorities...At worst, the risk of 

communal bloodshed like that of two decades 

ago is closer.” 

So What? 

Since then, the increasing trend of Islamic 

extremism threatening both religious and ethnic 

minorities has sent many Christian pastors 

underground, an irony in a country proud of its 

religious diversity. 

Islamic radicalism seems to be on the rise 



in Indonesia. Cases of violence and persecution 

against Christians are increasing and the 

government appears ill-prepared or unwilling 

to uphold basic religious freedoms. This is a 

deadly combination driving Christian pastors 

underground. ICC asked several pastors why 

they are working underground in a country 

that guarantees freedom of religion. One pastor 

responded, “Freedom of religion? Yes, but it is 

only in theory. In practice, it [doesn’t exist].” 

The pastors shared that in the last few 

months, radical Muslims have bombed a 

Christian church and forced Christians to 

abandon their places of worship. The government 

did little to stop the radical groups. In 

fact, in some cases they have helped them. At 

a Christmas service in Bandung, for example, 

the government positioned police officers 

outside of a church to protect congregants 

from radical Muslims. Instead, the officers 

helped the Muslims chase away the Christian 

participants. In Aceh Province in October 

2015, an angry mob destroyed three churches 

after which the local government destroyed 

seven more. 

The government justifies destroying churches 

because they contend that the churches do 

not have the correct licenses. Procuring the 

correct licenses at the local level in Indonesia 

is a complicated process requiring scores 

of signatures from community leaders and 

government officials. The process is so complicated, 

according to unconfirmed reports 

received by ICC, that most religious institutions 

do not have the correct licenses, including 

mosques. This means that some members 

of radical Islamic groups that destroy unlicensed 

churches are probably members of an 

unlicensed institution themselves. 

Double standards as evidenced by licensing 

have led pastors to determine that they are 

not protected by the law, because extremists 

are allowed to operate freely outside the law. 

Openly practicing one’s faith can mean death. 

As one pastor told ICC, “The reason why I 

reach out underground is more for the safety 

of the converts. If I do it openly I will not only 

endanger the lives of these people but also the 

ministry and the ministers themselves.” 

Speaking Out 

Despite the government’s silence, some 

groups are boldly asserting the importance 

of religious freedom. During Christmas, a 

dangerous time for Christians in Indonesia, 

the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, 

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), pledged to help protect 

Christians as they attended Christmas Eve 

services. Christians need moderate Muslims 

like NU to make their voices heard over the 

growing rhetoric of radicalism and the government’s 

reluctance to protect religious freedom. 

One pastor told ICC, “My fear is that moderate 

Muslims will keep silent and thus give 

more room for the radicals to grow. My fear is 

that, in the end, the government will oblige the 

radical’s demand, leading Indonesia in a different 

direction.” When moderates remain silent, 

minorities must hide their beliefs in exchange 

for their safety. Indonesian Christians hope for 

the support of moderate Muslims to protect 

them from religious extremism and a stagnant 

government. An irony indeed. 

ICC supports underground pastors like 

these in Indonesia who are risking their lives 

to share the Gospel. 

25


Christian Persecution in Vietnam: 

A church gathers 

for service in rural 

Vietnam. Montagnard 

Christians have faced 

more persecution than 

many other Christians 

groups in the country. 

“Just last month, they murdered my 

father in order to arrest me because 

they believe that I will return to 

Vietnam to attend my father’s funeral. 

I was supposed to return because I 

loved my father deeply. But for my 

safety my mother asked me not to 

return. I was so scared of returning 

home even though I really wanted to.” 

By Daniel Harris 

This tragic story belongs to 

a Montagnard Christian from 

Vietnam who fled the country 

to escape government agents 

seeking to arrest him for his 

Christian activities. When he 

escaped their grasp, they murdered 

his father, hoping he would return for the 

funeral so that they could arrest him. 

Montagnard Christians are the forgotten 

heroes and victims of a failed war. Also 

known as the Dega/Degar, they are a predominantly 

Christian ethnic group that lives 

in the highlands of Vietnam, Cambodia, 

and Laos. When US troops were fighting in 





Montagnard Victim Testimonies 

Vietnam, Montagnards fought 

alongside them and subsequently, 

many of them converted to 

Christianity. Now they are hunted 

like animals by their own 

communist government. 

Christians, such as the one 

quoted above, are forced to flee 

their homes to escape Vietnamese 

government agents who track 

them down for interrogation and 

execution. 

Desperate to suppress the 

Montagnard people, nothing 

has been out of bounds for the 

Vietnamese authorities. They 

have used illegal arrests and 

detainment, brutal torture, rape, 

and even murder. There are even 

reports of forced sterilization 

campaigns. 

One example of persecution 

includes an extensive campaign 

to shut down churches among 

Montagnard communities. In 

2015, Human Rights Watch 

reported, “Official Vietnamese 

media makes it clear that such 

government actions are part of 

a high-level policy to eliminate 

‘evil way’ religions such as De 

Ga Protestantism and Ha Mon 

Catholicism practiced by some 

ethnic Montagnards…” 

Official state media has reported 

waves of “search and hunt” 

operations designed to “deal seriously” 

with core religious leaders. 

There are reports of public 

forced recantations in which 

hundreds of Montagnards were 

forced to recant their faith in 

front of fellow villagers. “Mobile 

trials” are held in Montagnard 

villages to convict and imprison 

followers of Christianity. Many 

Montagnards report experiencing 

torture because of their faith. A 

recent report describes one pastor’s 

martyrdom: 

“Around 7:30 a.m., the public 

security agents came to Pastor 



“His death resulted from the multiple injuries 

inflicted by the beatings which came as a result of 

his refusal to give up his faith.” 

A Christians 

processional 

moves through the 

streets of Vietnam. 

A choir sings 

during a church 

service in Vietnam. 

Thanh’s (name changed for security) 

house and ordered him to 

report for investigation. Pastor 

Thanh was interviewed for the 

whole day on the [practice of 

Christianity] in his village. 

The interrogation [was focused 

on convincing him to give up 

Christianity].” 

“[On his refusal], the secret 

police got mad … and used various 

tools to beat him up. They 

beat him in the ribs, chest, and his 

abdomen. They also slapped his 

face and [repeatedly punched] his 

head. Consequently, he felt pain 

while breathing and he got seriously 

sick due to internal injuries. 

While they were beating him, he 

fell unconscious.” 

“He passed away around 9:30 

a.m. (two weeks after his detention) 

in 2016. His death resulted 

from the multiple injuries inflicted 

by the beatings which [came as 

a result of his] refusal to [give up 

his faith].” 

Secrecy is the greatest asset of 

Vietnam’s secret police. When 

their activities are recorded and 

broadcast to the world, they often 

withdraw. For that reason, ICC is 

involved with training Vietnamese 

community members how to 

record and report cases of persecution 

to government and human 

rights agencies. 

Reports, like the one above that 

came from this project, expose 

Vietnam’s relentless and violent 

persecution of Montagnard 

Christians and gives them a 

way to defend themselves and a 

chance to finally end decades of 

brutal persecution. 

27

TESTIMONIES 

from Mandera 

Survivors of al-Shabaab attacks in northeastern Kenya share their 

experiences and conditions months after suffering great loss. 

By Sandra Elliot and Michelle King 

Most people 

don’t realize 

that al- 

Shabaab 

has consistently 

targeted 

Christians 

with deadly 

attacks for 

years. Most people remember the Westgate 

Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, during 

which militants killed 67 and wounded 

175, but al-Shabaab’s smaller, more consistent 

attacks have focused on Christian 

populations in particular. 

Mandera, a town in the northeast corner 

of Kenya bordering Ethiopia to the north 

and Somalia to the east, has been targeted 

repeatedly by al-Shabaab. The most recent 

attacks occurred in October 2016. 

On October 6, 2016, al-Shabaab launched 

a calculated attack on Mandera, killing six 

Christians. Within hours, al-Shabaab’s military 

operations spokesman proudly claimed 

responsibility for the slaughter of the six 

innocent men. 

Eighteen days later, militants struck 

Mandera once again, this time targeting 

a guesthouse known to host Christians. 

Among the 12 killed were two high school 

theater members who were visiting Mandera 

as part of their high school drama team. 

These are only two of the most recent 

al-Shabaab attacks on Christians in northeastern 

Kenya. They have become infamous 

over the years for intercepting buses and 

attacking quarry workers in their sleeping 

compounds. 





John Muriuki stands next to his mother with both of his arms bandaged after being shot during an al-Shabaab attack. 

ICC has worked with numerous victims 

of al-Shabaab attacks, like Maina, John, 

Shillah, and Pastor John, to bring encouragement, 

financial support, food, and medical 

assistance. 

Maina Justus 

In July 2015, for example, al-Shabaab 

militants attacked a housing complex 

of quarry workers, most of whom were 

Christians. They killed 13 people. 

Maina Justus was one of the victims who 



survived the incident, but was severely 

wounded. 

“As usual, we had come back from work 

in the quarries, had supper, and slept. That 

night we had no electricity,” Justus told 

ICC. “At around 2:00 a.m., we heard two 

loud explosions at the gate. Then, shortly 

after, the door to our sleeping hall was shot 

and opened. It dawned upon us that the al- 

Shabaab has attacked,” he added. 

Amidst the fear and chaos, quarry workers 

ran for their lives in all directions. 

Unfortunately, not all were able to escape 

and some even died in their sleep. 

John Muriuki 

John Muriuki, another victim, was asleep 

when the attack began. While escaping, John 

was shot multiple times in his hands, permanently 

deforming them. He is no longer able 

to work because of his condition. 

“It has been a long journey for me,” he 

recently told ICC. “The pain in my hands is 

extremely unbearable and I can’t sleep well. I 

29

John Muriuki shows x-rays of his injuries which deformed his arms, preventing him from the physical labor he used to do. 

have suffered for a long time since I was shot 

in July 2015.” 

“My wife is doing manual work at farms to 

buy food and medicine. It pains me to see her 

struggle alone to provide for our family,” John 

explained to ICC, “Life has not been easy but 

we know that one day it shall be good because 

as long as we are alive we are capable of 

changing our situation.” 

This year, ICC developed and implemented 

a project to help the seven families that 

were victims of last year’s Mandera attacks. 

ICC built seven cow sheds and gave each of 

the families a dairy cow, so that they could 

sell the milk and make a sustainable living. 

The income earned from these cows has 

helped the families pay for school expenses 

for their children, provide food, and cover 

other basic needs. 

Meshack Otieno 

Meshack Otieno is another victim of al- 

Shabaab violence. On December 21, 2015, 

he was riding the bus to get to work in 

Mandera when al-Shabaab attacked. Otieno 

briefly escaped when militants herded the 

primarily Christian passengers off the bus, 

but he didn’t get far. Gunmen found him in 

the bush and shot him. 

Otieno’s death left his widow and four 

children with no source of income. Shillah 

Otieno had the desire to work, but no 

opportunities to do so. ICC met Shillah 

shortly after her husband’s death and was 

able to start a beauty salon. We could not 

“Losing a husband is 

a tragic thing that I 

would not even wish 

to happen to the 

wives of al-Shabaab,” 

confessed Shillah. “It 

is a tragedy that we 

would not [have] been 

able to overcome but 

God has been really 

good to us.” 

replace what was stolen from her, but ICC 

was able to build a beauty salon so that 

she could maintain a stable income source. 

God used ICC to help Shillah to find a 

renewed devotion to the Lord despite her 

circumstances. 

“Losing a husband is a tragic thing that I 

would not even wish to happen to the wives 

of al-Shabaab,” confessed Shillah. “It is a 

tragedy that we would not [have] been able to 

overcome but God has been really good to us. 

We continue to ask for your prayer support as 

we look forward to 2017 and the rest of our 

lives,” she told ICC. 

Pastor John Njaramba 

In July 2016, al-Shabaab attacked another 

bus carrying Christians and killed six people. 

Among the dead was Pastor John Njaramba, 

who militants shot in the head. 

“It is now six months since my husband 

was brutally killed. It is still fresh and painful, 

but we are coping on well by God’s 

grace,” Freshia Njaramba told ICC, “He was 

such a friendly and vigorous missionary in 

God’s vineyard. His death was a big blow to 

our lives and the church.” 




Pastor Peter Wagura survived the 

same attack that claimed the life of John 

Njaramba. He has endured the pain of 

losing his friend more privately as he has 

a responsibility to lead the church during 

these hard times. 

“It hurts me every day and every time I 

remember my friend John,” he told ICC. 

“Being a pastor to many people I sometimes 

lack confidence to cry with, hurt with, and 

pray with.” 

Pastor Peter feels the weight of persecution 

in his country as he continues 

to lead the flock there. To share in his 

burdens, ICC provided medical assistance 

and funding for Christian literature so that 

he can continue his ministry. While the 

gesture may seem small, he is thankful 

because such relief has helped him maintain 

extraordinary humility and leadership 

in his ministry. And, despite all that he has 

suffered, Pastor Peter is optimistic about 

his nation. 

“I am seeing great hope in Mandera,” 

Pastor Peter expressed, “I am seeing many 

churches and even Bible schools coming 

up in the city, I will soon personally 

go there to train pastors and meet with 

Muslim leaders. God will make a way for 

this country.” 

It is difficult to imagine such hope. 

Mandera’s Christians wake up every day 

knowing there’s a group of people nearby 

constantly targeting them for attacks, yet 

they persevere. ICC understands that as the 

Body of Christ, we have a responsibility 

to uphold each other, especially those who 

are suffering. Mandera’s Christians need 

such relief more than ever. Al-Shabaab 

has promised a war against Christians, and 

they have already followed through on 

their threat. 

As you pray for Mandera, pray for God’s 

love to outshine al-Shabaab’s hatred. Pray 

that Christians in Kenya will endure. Pray 

that families will heal from the losses 

already dealt out. Pray for the enemies 

themselves and that they would come to 

Christ. Finally, pray that Christians living 

in Mandera will find renewed strength 

tomorrow morning as they wake up to 

persecution. 



ICC provided goods for Shillah Otieno and her children immediately following the murder. 

ICC then gave Shillah a beauty parlor to provide a sustainable income for her family. 

The Njaramba family received goods after their father and husband, Pastor John, was 

killed in an al-Shabaab attack. 

31

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Kot Radha Kishan has become 

infamous in Pakistan as the scene of 

one of the country’s most brutal and 

shocking instances of persecution 

— a couple beaten and burned alive 

at the city’s brick kiln by a mob of 

thousands. 

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March 2017 Persecution Magazine

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