September 17, 2014 – Missions Catalyst

Missions Catalyst News Briefs

In This Issue:

Dear readers,

This week we share more news about struggles over national identity, struggles that may have significant affect on Christians and on relationships between the people of different cultures and religions.

This week Scotland will vote on independence from the United Kingdom. The Kurds have postponed their referendum for independence to help forge a new Iraqi government. The Muslims of Mindanao have won a victory as the Philippine government has given them more autonomy. In Turkey, a government minister says Christianity is no longer a religion (able to offer peace and happiness) but simply another culture.

In a story titled Nigeria Declares Its Own Caliphate, Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada explores the dynamics that keep Muslim extremist groups fragmented and others that turn many Christians in extremist-dominated areas into amazing evangelists.

With so many tensions and opinions about sensitive matters, we are grateful to those who help set the record straight and expose misinformation. Hats off to INcontext Ministries for their Hoaxology page – a good place to look before passing on stories that sound too sensational.

Blessings,
Pat

Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for Missions Catalyst since 2004. In addition to churning out the news, she is working to create a SWARM (Serving World A Regional Mobilizers) in Northern New York using the NorthernChristian.org website. You can connect with her at www.whatsoeverthings.com.

WORLD: How Is Islamic State Affecting Muslim Nations?

Source: Mission Network News, September 11, 2014

As Islamic State (IS) terrorists wreak havoc in Iraq and Syria, their actions are spurring a ripple effect.

“It’s moving across the globe,” says Bruce Allen of Forgotten Missionaries International (FMI).

FMI supports national church leaders in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Each of these countries is now fighting Islamic State recruitment efforts. Allen says believers are fighting IS darkness with the light of Christ.

“The pastors and church planters and evangelists in these countries have a great window of opportunity,” he shares. “Especially as leaders of the Christian community in these places of darkness, we have to be people who are buoyed by confidence and who are motivated by hope.”

» Read full story, or listen to an interview with Allen.

SAUDI ARABIA: More than 20 Christians Arrested

Source: The Christian Post, September 15, 2014

[More than] 20 Christians were arrested for holding a prayer meeting at a home in Saudi Arabia, where Christian churches and worship are banned. The Christians, many of them women and children, are appealing to the United States for help.

According to a report on Fox News, the Christians were arrested at the home of an Indian national in Khafji, a city in east Saudi Arabia, by hard-line Islamists from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Their whereabouts is unknown.

Although the Saudi government has denied having any knowledge of the arrests, the Saudi Gazette reported that the arrests took place two Fridays ago.

“Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia), who raided the house in the city’s Aziziyah neighborhood, arrested 27 people of various Asian nationalities, including women and children, and seized copies of the Bible and various musical instruments,” said the Gazette.

» Read full story. (Note, other reports say 28 people were arrested. We were not able to confirm if any have been released.)

» Have a heart to reach out to the people of Saudi Arabia? Check out the Saudi Advocacy Network.

CHINA: Canadian Missionaries Accused of Spying

Source: CBN News , August 8, 2014

Chinese authorities are accusing a Canadian missionary couple of spying. Kevin and Julie Garratt own a coffee shop in Dandong, a Chinese city near the North Korean border, which they opened in 2008. Peter’s Coffee House, named after their son, made a name for itself in the city for its menu and as a place where locals could practice their English. Originally from Vancouver, the Garratts worked as teachers in southern China since 1984 before moving to Dandong and opening the popular coffee shop.

On Monday, Chinese authorities accused them of espionage and stealing state secrets. The couple had been hosting church services in their home and taking food and aid across the border into North Korea, with government permission.

The investigation comes a week after Canada accused a China-sponsored hacker of infiltrating Canada’s National Research Council.

» Read full story. See also a related story from the Wall Street Journal. Readers, do any of you know if this couple has been released?

INDIA: Violence against Christians in Bihar

Source: Morning Star News, September 13, 2014

Among a wave of attacks against non-Hindus since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in India on May 26, a Christian couple in Bihar state required hospital treatment after Hindu extremists beat and publicly resolved to kill them.

A small band of men forcefully entered the home of Shri Lal Khatiyan in Balwanazir, Kaliyanganj, the morning of August 30, asking who had visited and calling him and his wife pagans as they beat him, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). When Khatiyan’s wife, Asha Devi, tried to intervene, they called her a slut and hit her on the head with the handle of a sickle, EFI reported.

“Asha sustained a deep cut on her head, and Lal has pain in his chest,” said a local pastor who goes by the single name of Ajayan, adding that they their injuries required hospital treatment.

Later that day, about 100 Hindu extremists with clubs stood in each corner of the village and threatened to cut into pieces any Christian who tried to leave the area to file a police complaint, area pastor Laxmi Prasad told Morning Star News.

“The Hindu extremists warned the Christians that they should not go to anyone’s house, and neither should they entertain anyone in their house,” Prasad said. “The believers somehow contacted me by telephone, and I immediately informed the area superintendent of police.”

Authorities that evening sent two policemen to provide protection to Christians.

» Read full story.

» See also a story from neighboring Pakistan, where dozens of Christians were accused of blasphemy and arrested in a dispute concerning their rights to bury their dead in an old Muslim graveyard (Voice of the Martyrs).

WORLD: Learn about Cultures the Fun Way

Sources: various, via Pat Noble

Finally, something on the lighter side. Last week was the first ever World Nomad Games! Hundreds of competitors from 19-20 countries met in Kyrgyzstan for five days. The president of Kyrgyzstan has deemed 2014 as the year for strengthening Kyrgyz statehood.

The Kyrgyz team set a new record for the fastest time erected a yurt. You can watch this time-lapse video of Mongolians building a ger [yurt] but know that they took a lot longer! See also a BBC slideshow from the event.

Since God loves every tribe, nation, and language, do you think we might have some ethnic games in heaven? I hope so.