Religious Freedom?
Not Here!
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| Bangladesh: When M.B. and her family would not celebrate a Muslim holiday, the villagers beat her husband breaking his leg.
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| Burma: The military government of Burma, now known as Myanmar, have systematically targetted the indigenous Karen people, who are mostly Christian, in their country-wide slavery and genocide policies.
Western companies such as Total, and Premier Oil contuinue to trade with this government. Pepsi, Heineken, The Burton (UK) Group and Levi Strauss, to their credit have got out.
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| China: Sister L. is an extremely brave young woman who distributes Bibles and Christian Literature throughout China. She has spent 5 months in Prison for her work. Her home is frequently raided and her Bibles confiscated.
The present Chinese government has a policy of stamping out house churches throughout the country.
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| Columbia: R. a preacher, was recently kidnapped by a gang while his wife and son watched helplessly. R. was shot dead a few hours later. His son was so traumatised by the death of his father that he had to go to hospital. Christians suffer from being caught between guerillas, paramilitaries and drug barons.
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| Egypt: H. is a convert from Islam. This in itself is enough to warrent the death penalty under Islamic law!
Over the past 5 years she has suffered emotional and physical abuse and been under house arrest. Her passport has been confiscated and she was placed in the 'custody' of her family who forbid her to have a Bible and force her to follow a Muslim way of life against her wishes.
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| Eritrea: Although a relatively small country, currently has one of the highest number of Christians imprisoned for their faith in the world.
Since 2001, the Eritrean police have conducted a government crackdown against the country's evangelical Christians. The known number of evangelical Christians detained for their faith is over 1,700. Prisoners include pastors, women, teenagers, children, the elderly and dozens of soldiers.
In May, Haile Naizgi, chairman of the Full Gospel (Mullu Wongel) Church, Dr. Kifle Gebremeskel, chairman of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance, Pastor Tesfatsion Hagos of the Rema Evangelical Church in Asmara and Helen Berhane, 29, a Christian musician were arrested. Helen Berhane has been incarcerated in a shipping container at the Mai Serwa military camp because she refuses to sign a paper recanting her faith.
sign the petition
The Curious Website is especially focussing on Helen's plight and urges you to take action.
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| Mexico: O. witnessed the brutal murder of her parents, and was then ganged raped during a raid on her village by a gang angry that Christians would not take part in their illegal and immoral practises. Houses belonging to Christians in the village were also burned to the ground.
Mexico officially has religious freedom, but caciques see Christians as a threat and have terrorised them for the last 30 years.
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| Morocco: A British yachtsman was put in prison in Morocco, kept in a tiny darkened underground cell for two days without food or water and interrogated for about 30 hours, after being accused of smuggling Bibles into the country. He had on board 400 Bibles and 1,000 miniature New Testaments at the request of friends in the Christian community in Morocco.
It is not against the law to take Bibles into Morocco as long as the custom duty is paid. A Spokesman for "Fair Trials Abroad", said, "This raises strong suspicions of religious persecution."
In Morocco, it is an offense to attempt to convert Moslems to Christianity.
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| Pakistan: M.N. was wounded by a gunshot when he tried to stop the destruction of a Christian cemetery by Muslim mobs.
Bishop John Joseph, having just given communion to a Christian sentenced to death for blasphemy, declared, "It is no longer possible for my people to live in Pakistan". He then put a gun to head and killed himself.
Such is the level of persecution in Pakistan.
The great irony is that the Koran punishes neither blasphemy nor apostasy. It proclaims, "There is no compulsion in matters of faith" (2:256), and, "To you be your religion and to me be mine" (109:6).
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| Philippines: N. is a former Islamic Imam who converted to Christianity and uses a boat donated by 'Open Doors' to travel around the islands with the gospel. He is activly opposed by muslim extremists.
In the Muslim dominated south, Christian Pastors have been murdered and churches blown up.
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| Sudan: P. has been beaten and tortured because he has stood up to the injustices and persecution suffered by Christians under Sudan's radical Islamic Government. He is continually watched and regularly threatened with death.
Since declaring itself an Islamic state in 1983, the Sudanese government has attempted to wipe out Christian communities by bombings, child abductions and slavery. Since 1989, the Sudanese government has been engaged in wholesale war against Christians who constitute one-fifth of the total population. The declared goal of the National Islamic Front is to, "eradicate non-islamic religion"
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