COMPASS DIRECTGlobal News from the Frontlines

June 13, 2003

Compass Direct is distributed monthly to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted or edited by active subscribers for use in other media, provided Compass Direct is acknowledged as the source of the material.

Copyright 2003 Compass Direct

**********************************************************************IN THIS ISSUE

BANGLADESH

Christian Evangelist Escapes Kidnappers Abduction increases concern for welfare of local Christians.

CHINA

China Continues Raids on Worship ServicesEvidence surfaces of local police corruption behind arrests.

Letters from ChinaChristians reveal personal trials and triumphs.

COLOMBIA

Terrorist Bomb Kills Evangelical Christian Latest victim dies in dangerous border area with Venezuela.

INDIA

Catholic Nun Killed by Grenade in KashmirExtremists are threatened by reports of conversions to Christianity.

Secretive Survey Alarms Christians in GujaratResurrection of secret database raises fears of renewed conflict.

INDONESIA

Christians Protest New Education Policy Protestant and Catholic leaders unite against new law.

Five-Year Sentence Possible for Pastor***Rinaldy Damanik faces prison term despite no clear conviction on weapons charges.

Civil War Adds to Religious Tension Political conflict, sharia law affect Christians in war-torn Aceh province.

The Poso Conflict in Review

‘Boasting of Our Weakness’ A conversation with Jesuit philosopher Franz Magnis-Suseno on Christian-Muslim relations.

JORDAN

New Hope in Sight for Christian Widow *** Court case challenges Muslim guardian’s custody.

MALAYSIA

Bibles Seized Government continues to restrict Christian conversion of Muslims.

NIGERIA

Plots Against Christians Uncovered Muslim sect, retired military officers linked to religious riots.

Muslim Terrorists Invade Villages Hostages recount horrors of captivity in hands of bandit groups.

Justice Minister Critical of ShariaOfficial says Islamic law ‘procedurally deficient.’

Religious Violence Claims 10 Lives Churches burned, thousands displaced following murder of Christian evangelist.

PAKISTAN

Pakistan Acquits Illiterate Christian of Blasphemy *** Aslam Masih’s conviction overturned by Lahore High Court.

PERU

Quechua Evangelist Attacked*** Shining Path suspected in early morning assault.

PHILIPPINES

Living through Jihad *** Gracia Burnham shares insights learned as a hostage of Abu Sayyaf.

Vision for Conquest

Support for Missionary Hostages

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia Deports Ethiopian Christian***Eritrean prisoner jailed more than 10 weeks.

SUDAN

Priest Released in Khartoum***Delegation visits jail, completes land purchase payment.

VIETNAM

‘God’s Flock’ Attacked A Mnong church leader appeals to Christians worldwide.

***Indicates an article-related photo is available electronically. Contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.

***********************************Christian Evangelist Escapes Kidnappers in BangladeshAbduction Increases Concern for Welfare of Local Christiansby Sarah Page

DUBLIN, Ireland (Compass) -- The kidnapping of the Bengali evangelist known as “Moses” the last week of May confirms a worrying trend of violence against Christians in Bangladesh. An evangelist with Gospel for Asia (GFA), Moses was taken hostage by a Muslim terrorist group which then demanded a large ransom. GFA has not released the real names of the evangelist or the terrorist group for security reasons.

GFA reported on June 10 that Moses escaped on the night of June 9 after his eight guards fell asleep. With his hands tied behind his back, he ran for hours until he reached a town the next afternoon. Moses is suffering from exposure and lack of food but is in a safe place. His brother traveled to negotiate with the terrorist group, but GFA states, “The terrorists found and severely beat the brother and others with him. They threatened to kill Moses if the money was not brought soon. By God’s grace, these believers arrived home

safely.” The rendezvous point with Moses’ captors was four days walk from the nearest bus stop.

The kidnapping created a dilemma for GFA administrators. If they were to meet demands for a ransom, a precedent would be set for other terrorist groups in the area. But the alternative -- almost certain death for Moses -- was unthinkable.

Moses’ kidnapping followed the murder of evangelist Hridoy Roy, stabbed to death on April 24. Hridoy was returning home from a Christian film presentation when a group of men attacked him. Entering his house, they tied Hridoy to his bed in “crucifixion style” and repeatedly stabbed him until he died.

These events are part of a growing wave of violence in Bangladesh. On June 4, Human Rights Watch (HRW) asked the government to revoke a new authority granted to local police, who can now “shoot-on-sight” as part of an anti-crime campaign. In the last week of May, the government announced it would also deploy military troops to combat rising crime rates throughout the country.

Bangladesh has suffered from religious and social tension since 1971, when the nation was partitioned from Pakistan. However, tensions have increased dramatically since the election of a fundamentalist Islamic government in October 2001.

The new government is a coalition of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and three other Islamic parties. The third largest party, Jamaat-e-Islami, wants Bangladesh to become an Islamic state. Their youth arm, Islami Chhatra Shibir or CSI, is known for its militancy.

The coalition government has denied any alliance with Muslim extremists. Yet in December 2001, provincial officials of the BNP were linked to the harassment of Christians in the Natore district of northern Bangladesh.

A December 2001 edition of the Bangladesh newspaper Daily Janakanta reported the plight of 50 Christian families living in Chatiangacha village, Natore. Following the October elections, their rice crops were destroyed by members of Jubodol, a local militant Islamic group. Then in November, young men began riding through the village threatening to rape their teenage daughters.

The riders would call out the name of a girl’s father and demand 10,000 to 20,000 BDT ($200 to $400) as a “donation.” Families were given one week to pay. If they refused, the riders would return for their daughters.

In some cases where fathers refused payment, they were summoned to the local office of the BNP and forced to make confessions on false charges. According to the Daily Janakantha, Sanaullah Norrbabu, general secretary of the BNP in Natore, signed several of the summons documents.

Persecution is not confined to the north. Helen, a young woman from a Christian village in southern Bangladesh, told Compass she and her friends never leave the village alone, but always travel in a group, preferably with a male companion.

The south is the home of many extremist groups. Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), the largest and most militant, is based in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. With 15,000 members, HuJI once called itself the “Bangladeshi Taliban” and claimed it would turn the country into a second Afghanistan. According to the U.S. State Department, HuJI runs at least six terrorist training camps in the southern hill region bordering Myanmar (Burma).

Other groups include the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), formed by Rohingya ethnic refugees from Myanmar. Video tapes recovered in Afghanistan and shown on CNN in August 2002 indicate that both the RSO and HuJI have ties with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The rise of Islamic extremism can be traced in part to the 64,000 Muslim schools or “madrassas” established in Bangladesh over recent years. According to Bertil Lintner of Asia Pacific Media Services, many of these schools are funded by Islamic charity groups in Saudi Arabia and other countries on the Arabian peninsula.

In “The Creeping March of Christianity,” a thesis written by Islamic scholar Saidul Islam, the writer accuses Christian organizations of plotting to overthrow Bangladesh. He describes the work of many Christian NGOs in detail. “Their activities are a great threat and challenge for the whole nation in general, and our 88 percent Muslims in particular,” he writes.

“The Muslim Ummah owes great responsibility to safeguard the Muslims of Bangladesh against the plots, conspiracies and attacks of the Christians,” reads the closing paragraph of Saidul’s thesis. “We pray to Allah to give strength, courage and sagacity to the Muslim Ummah to counter the machination of Christian missionaries and their NGOs.”

(Return to Index)***********************************China Continues Raids on Worship ServicesEvidence Surfaces of Local Police Corruption Behind Arrestsby Xu Mei

NANJING, China (Compass) -- The Chinese government’s concentration on stopping the spread of the SARS epidemic does not appear to have lessened their zeal for arresting unregistered Christians.

On Sunday, May 11, local Public Security officers and other officials raided a house church meeting in Anshan city in the northeast province of Liaoning. About 40 Christians were tied up and their names recorded. They were released the same night but given a formal announcement that their “illegal gathering” was henceforth prohibited.

C. Baozhi, known as Sister Li and the former leader of this house church, previously was sentenced to two years “re-education through labor” on the false charge of being a cult leader. She was released a few months later. Fortunately, Sister Li was not present at the meeting the night of the raid. Otherwise she almost certainly would have been sent back to the labor camp.

A former house church leader now living in the U.S. managed to telephone assistant director Jin Xiangdong of the Anshan Religious Affairs Bureau. Jin confirmed the raid had taken place and that the “illegal religious venue” was closed because it represented “disturbance of social order,” a common excuse for persecution of unregistered Christians.

When asked to define “legality,” Jin stated that any unregistered religious meeting operating outside of the “patriotic churches,” such as the Three Self Patriotic Movement and the China Christian Council, was regarded as illegal and should be closed.

When asked how many illegal meeting places are closed each year, the assistant director confirmed that, on average, about 20 to 30 “illegal sites” have been prohibited in Anshan which, he claimed, has 100,000 Christian believers.

When asked further how a cult is defined, he replied that the Ministry of Public Security recently issued a document in which it defined a cult. If a religious meeting has illegal foreign connections and has deliberately separated from the patriotic churches, then it was regarded as a cult.

Last month Compass published disturbing evidence of corrupt police officers in northern China colluding with the dangerous “Lightning from the East” cult to attack Christians.

Further evidence has since emerged from the central Chinese province of Henan of similar collusion. According to a report issued by the China Gospel Fellowship (CGF) house church network on May 27, tensions between the police and the CGF house church Christians were relaxed somewhat over the last year. In April last year, 34 leaders of the CGF were kidnapped by the Lightning from the East cult.

The CGF approached police on the issue and developed a positive relationship to launch a crackdown on the cult, which claims that Jesus has been reborn as a Chinese woman in Henan province. The Henan Public Security came to realize that the CGF was not a cult.

However, a Christian named Wang Xianghai was recently arrested in Tanghe county, Henan. Fellow believers later discovered that his arrest was the result of an accusation made against him by cultists and that many other Christians in Henan have been arrested on the same grounds.

Christians suspect members of the Public Security of accepting bribes from Lightning from the East and using the accusations against Christians to arrest them. Apparently new leadership has emerged in the local Henan police department since last year, which may further explain the reversal in police behavior. Officers have begun to arrest Christians for trivial “offenses,” fining them about 3,000 RMB, a sum equivalent to several months’ wages in rural China, as a condition for release.

Cultists apparently are taking revenge against the house church Christians, and the police see this as an opportunity to make a profit. They can charge both sides.

The corrupt practice poses a growing threat to house churches. Church leaders want this news be widely publicized, hoping to put pressure on the Chinese government to hold local police accountable.

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***********************************Letters from ChinaChristians Reveal Personal Trials and Triumphs

Guangdong“I believed in Jesus in 1997 when I was still at primary school. I was not baptized

because the church here has regulations which say no one under 18 can be baptized. The church has many such regulations; they do not welcome little children.

So when I and a friend brought many children to the church to study the Bible, the elder forbade us from coming inside the door. A lot of young people came to the church wanting to believe in Jesus, but as there was no love or concern for them, they did not come again. So now we meet so that the people in the church will not know about us, to avoid persecution. They say those coming to church must not bring children. But the little children in our village have such great faith, it puts the adults to shame! Recently a travelling evangelist came to the church. He said the church is God’s church, not the personal fiefdom of any individual. Church leaders should be God’s servants and do everything according to the Bible. Although the elder outwardly agreed, he actually hated what had been said. The United Front Work Department of the Communist Party has been investigating this preacher for six months. Since all the power is in their hands, they often forbid evangelists from preaching.”-- Letter from Miss Peng, February 6, 2003

Henan“I am a 20-year-old man born in a small mountain village in Henan. I grew up

knowing God’s love. My father was a leading Christian worker locally. After I graduated, I went to work in Zhengzhou for a while. Then at the beginning of last year, I attended a Bible school. The Bible school was run by a teacher from South Korea. He had great faith and set up two smaller classes. The teacher said he could never abandon his 100 students because they were the future hope of the Chinese house churches. But last November, the

school was discovered by the Public Security Bureau. The secret meetings of the students were reported by some of the church leaders. We never would have imagined that they would betray their own people! My Korean teacher was sent home and not allowed to return to China. I and several other students were detained by the police for a day. When we came out, we saw that many of the students were waiting for us, and we embraced each other weeping. Thus our Bible school was brought to an end. Now I am at home quietly waiting on the Lord. I long for the time when there will be another opportunity for theological training. This is also the longing of the other 100 brothers and sisters. Please pray for us.”-- Letter from Mr. Zhang, February 8, 2003

Jiangsu“The house churches here are now in a poor state. There are many elderly people, but

young people like me are very few. There are hardly any young men who are believers. We have suffered great persecution. The church was forced to stop meeting. Many of the church leaders and Christian workers have been arrested and fined. Some were beaten and thrown in jail. Two fine brothers have followed the Lord faithfully. One was sentenced to three years in prison, the other to five years. Both of them are under 30 and were in full-time Christian service. Their wives and children were also believers. The brother sentenced to five years in prison is called Cui and his wife came from Taiwan. As a husband and wife team, they served the Lord wonderfully and trained up many Christian workers to preach the gospel. The house churches in the city experienced revival as a result, with more than 100 households affected. Please pray!”

-- Letter from Miss Li, March 10, 2003

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***********************************Terrorist Bomb Kills Evangelical Christian in ColombiaLatest Victim Dies in Dangerous Border Area with Venezuelaby Deann Alford

BOGOTÁ (Compass) -- An evangelical Christian on his way to work died instantly when a bomb exploded May 21 on a highway in Colombia’s violent eastern border region with Venezuela.

Eliseo Camelo Ramirez, 35, of Arauquita, leaves behind a widow, Deisy Manosalva, and four children.

The village of Arauquita lies in Arauca, which Colombian church leaders call the country’s most violent department. The zone is dominated by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which is believed responsible for the bomb that killed Camelo.

Camelo became a Christian on September 12, 2001, according to Alberto Morales, pastor of the Pentecostal Christian Church of Colombia, the church in Arauquita attended by the slain evangelical Christian.

A report by the Restoration, Life and Peace Commission of the Evangelical Council of Colombia reveals that since December 2002, at least 18 evangelicals have died in Colombia’s armed conflict.

According to statistics reported by the BBC, of the 32,000 homicides in Colombia last year, 5,500 of them were politically motivated. Colombia suffers 30 homicides per 100,000 people annually, as compared to seven per 100,000 in the U.S.

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***********************************Catholic Nun Killed by Grenade in KashmirExtremists Threatened by Reports of Conversions to Christianityby Abhijeet Prabhu

BANGALORE, India (Compass) -- Suspected Islamic extremists in the Indian state of Kashmir killed a nun in a grenade attack on a Catholic school in late May. The assault followed threats against Christians lodged by militant groups after they received reports of Christian conversions.

Sister Kamlesh, a missionary teacher from West Bengal, died on May 22 when a grenade exploded near the main entrance of Saint Lukas Convent School in Nai Basti in the town of Anantnag, 50 kilometers from the capital Srinagar.

Another teacher, Sister Mary, was seriously injured in the explosion and taken to a local hospital. Later she was moved to Srinagar for further treatment.

“I will never return to Kashmir,” Sister Mary told local reporters following the incident.

Police said the militants tossed the grenade at the school gates as the two nuns were returning from a market.

“The grenade was hurled from a lane and exploded near the school, critically injuring the two school teachers,” an officer of the Anantnag police station said. “We rushed to the spot and took the two teachers to the sub-district hospital here. However, Sister Kamlesh succumbed en route.”

This attack on a Catholic school is the first since the flare-up of an Islamic insurgency that has claimed more than 50,000 lives. Christian schools are popular with Indian parents because of their reputation for high academic standards.

The Muslim-majority region of Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan. The attack on the nuns occurred in the India-controlled region.

Militant groups such as the Laskar-e-Toiba and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen had threatened the Catholic Church after recent media reports claimed that 20,000 Kashmiris had converted to Christianity over the past eight years. Sources in these reports maintained that many conversions had taken place in Anantnag and Pulwama, two districts in southern Kashmir.

In response to the reports, Kashmir’s grand mufti, the state’s top Islamic religious leader, issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslims from visiting churches, according to sources. The fatwa prompted many Muslim clerics to preach against conversions in their Friday prayer sermons.

Church leaders say the number of reported conversions is greatly exaggerated and insist on continuing their missionary work. “Every Christian is an evangelist. Our Lord has asked us to go and teach the good news to all the nations,” said Joseph Dhar, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Jammu and Kashmir. Dhar himself is presently translating the Bible into Kashmiri.

The tiny Christian community in Kashmir has lived in harmony for more than a century with its Muslim neighbors; however, American-funded evangelists working in the area have begun to sour this relationship.

Local church leaders say the new evangelists are more interested in quick conversions than in a real transformation of the state. According to a local evangelical pastor, Leslie Richards, local Muslims receive cash if they agree to convert.

“The conversions they are doing are biblically wrong,” he said. “This is not good for the local Christians, who for centuries have shared cordial relations with the local Muslims here,” he said.

The Rev. Chander Mani Khanna, pastor of All Saints Church in Srinagar, refutes the claims of mass conversions and of using money as an inducement.

“Of course, I believe that there are some black sheep in the fold -- evangelists who use money as a lure -- but I can tell you that I have only converted one person. So even if there are a few others in new churches, it is hardly a case of mass conversion.”

“It is ridiculous for anyone to be threatened by a few Christians in Kashmir,” said Fr. Dominic Emmanuel, public affairs spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. “Missionaries will continue to go where they are needed, where there are earthquakes or famines or conflict. And Kashmir is just one of those places.”

Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists also latched onto a story published in Christianity Today magazine on September 9, 2002, which reported that thousands of Kashmiris --

most of them young Muslims -- show an interest in Christianity. These figures have been used by Islamic fundamentalists as proof of Christian activity, aggravating tensions.

“Most of these young Muslims would be too scared to convert, too scared to tell their families,” Khanna said. “The young people come to hear sermons mainly to escape from the cycle of violence in their lives. It just gives them an outlet.”

“There has been no complaint of forcible conversions,” said Farooq Ahmad, deputy inspector general of police in Srinagar. “Yes, the matter has taken a serious turn as some militant organizations are reported to have issued a threat. We have taken note of that.

“As far as the Kashmir scenario is concerned, we have a good system that provides security to all sections,” he added.

However, the system has not prevented other violence against Christians. In June 2002, a missionary from Gospel for Asia was also murdered by Muslim extremists in Kashmir.

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***********************************Secretive Survey Alarms Christians in Gujarat, IndiaResurrection of Secret Database Raises Fears of Renewed Conflictby Vishal Arora

DELHI, India (Compass) -- The government of India’s Gujarat state has again started gathering community-based information in villages of the Patan district in northern Gujarat, heightening suspicions among local Christians that census information will be misused by fundamentalist Hindu organizations to stir up trouble in an area that suffered 443 major clashes between religious groups between 1970 and 2002.

According to media reports, a team led by Patan Taluk Police Inspector A.H. Jardosh arrived after midnight on May 24 at a Catholic retreat center in Dungripur village. They awakened 69-year-old Father Munnu, the manager, to ask him questions, but Munnu refused to cooperate without a written warrant.

The next morning, the police team visited the area again, this time in civilian dress, and conducted a survey of the retreat center and a branch of the Daughters of the Cross Education and Medical Society. Officers asked about the background of some students living in the center, the kind of food and facilities provided and whether any of the residents are converts from Hinduism.

The team also visited the homes of some 10 Christian families, asking them about their sources of income, why they kept pictures of Jesus Christ and when they had embraced Christianity. A similar survey was carried out later in the neighboring Tankvasna, Odhava and Khalipur villages.

On May 26, police summoned the superintendent and the watchman of the Catholic retreat center to the Patan Taluk police station to cross-check the information Father Munnu and Sister Jyoti of the Daughters of the Cross had given them.

On being questioned by reporters, State Director-General of Police K. Chakravarthy denied that police commanders had issued any survey instructions. However, government officials later acknowledged that senior police officers had visited the area to “ascertain reports about conversion of 18 people to Christianity.”

“The police were not interested in gathering genuine information, which we were furnishing them with,” said Father Gonsalves, head of the Catholic retreat center. “Rather, the officials plied domestic servants with peculiar questions about the functioning of Christian institutions in the region. Two of them were even asked if they have been converted to Christianity and if the institution forces villagers to convert.”

A similar survey of Christians in Gujarat was carried out by the state government in March, and Christians saw it as a build-up to the anti-conversion bill later introduced in the state assembly. (See “Christians Outraged by Surveys in India’s Gujarat State,” Compass Direct, April 11, 2003). The controversial bill passed on March 26, stirring controversy across India.

Community surveys were first initiated in 1999 in the wake of the violence against Christians in the Dangs district of Gujarat. Officials maintained that they were gathering information in order to ensure the security of the Christian community.

However, the questions asked suggest a different story. Intimidating inquiries probe whether Christians receive foreign grant money, how much they received and from which countries. Christians are asked whether they have been involved in any legal problems and the type of license they have for keeping weapons.

The All India Christian Council filed a petition challenging the recent census. As a result, the Gujarat High Court on May 29 issued a desist notice to the state government, the director general of police, the Patan district superintendent of police and the police inspector of Patan Taluk police station.

This is the fourth attempt by the Gujarat government to gather information that is not even available to census officials or tax auditors from the Foreign Contribution Regulation Department of the Home Ministry. Despite three High Court orders and continual written complaints from Christians, the state government has continued the surveys in the name of carrying out an “investigation based on some reports of conversion.”

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Christians Protest New Education Policy in IndonesiaProtestant and Catholic Leaders Unite Against New Lawby Sarah Page

JAKARTA (Compass) -- The government of Indonesia has agreed to endorse a controversial new education bill, despite protests from both Muslim and Christian communities. Almost 3,000 Muslims joined about 15,000 Protestants and Catholics in a protest march through the streets of Jakarta on June 5.

House representatives met in a special plenary session on June 10 to discuss final issues and endorse the bill. However the largest political party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) called a boycott on the meeting, delaying the endorsement until the following day. The majority of politicians agreed to endorse the bill on June 11. “Our failure to endorse the bill today will give rise to increasing disappointment among the public,” said Agun Gunanjar, a member of the Gokar Party.

Under article 13 of the proposed law, a Christian school with 10 or more Muslim students must provide Islamic worship facilities and two hours of Islamic instruction per week for these students. The teacher holding these classes must be a qualified Islamic instructor. The same rule will apply to Muslim and Hindu schools with 10 or more students from other religions.

Christian schools are popular in Indonesia because of their high academic standards. Some estimates say as many as 65 percent of students at Christian schools are from Muslim families.

A key member of the Christian community, who asked not to be named, said leaders of Protestant and Catholic churches have decided not to implement the new policies. “The Christian and Catholic (sic) schools have had a long discussion on what to do if the bill becomes law. One thing for sure, they will not follow things they cannot tolerate.”

The bill was a key issue at the National Prayer Conference held in Jakarta May 12 to 15. Abdurahman Wahid (also known as Gus Dur), former president of Nahdatul Ulama, the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, addressed the crowd of 11,000 people on the third night of the conference. He spoke out very clearly against the new bill, earning a loud round of applause.

Muslim groups are divided over the bill. Thousands of members of the Islamic Solidarity Forum held a rally in Yogyakarta on May 27 to show their support for the bill. The Forum of the Koran Reading Community in Greater Jakarta and West Java virtually demanded that the House endorse the new legislation.

However, in a Jakarta Post commentary on May 9, Muslim scholar Ulil Absar Abdala said there were many other options for religious instruction. He also claimed Christian schools were not a threat to Muslim students. “A Muslim studying in a non-

Muslim school does not always have to end up with a conversion to another religion, or vice versa.”

Kornelius Purba, staff writer for the Jakarta Post, remarked on May 20 that “the government apparently does not realize the danger of the bill at the grassroots level.”

In response to public discontent, a sub-committee was appointed to address controversial issues in the bill. These included articles 3 and 4, which described the goals and aims of education; article 13, dealing with religious education in schools; and another article listing five religions officially recognized by the government.

Heri Akhmadi and several other members of the PDI Perjuangan suggested changes to article 13. “We propose a new clause in the explanation saying that schools and parents have to resolve the issue on religious classes on their own,” Akhmadi told the Jakarta Post on May 14. “This means the government ... respects the authority of private schools.”

The sub-committee rejected their proposal.

In the meeting on June 10, the government made minor changes to the remaining controversial issues of the bill. However article 13 governing religious instruction in schools remained unchanged.

Members of the House told the Jakarta Post they regretted the absence of the PDI Perjuangan, as it would give President Megawati a pretext not to sign the bill. However the 1945 constitution states that a bill will come into effect within 30 days of endorsement by the House, even without the president’s approval.

The bill does not mention penalties for any breaches of the legislation, although the implementation of the new law will be monitored by the House.

The Christian community in Indonesia stands by their decision not to implement the new measures. Christians in North Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua, provinces with large Christian populations, said they would seek independence if the bill became law.

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***********************************Five-Year Sentence Possible for Indonesian PastorRinaldy Damanik Faces Prison Term Despite No Clear Conviction on Weapons Chargesby Sarah Page

DUBLIN, Ireland (Compass) -- An Indonesian court could impose a five-year prison sentence on Rev. Rinaldy Damanik on June 16, on charges of illegal weapons possession. Damanik was arrested in September 2002 and brought to trial in February 2003. His

defense team claims the charges were an elaborate set-up by local police in retaliation for the outspoken pastor’s peace-keeping efforts in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

According to sources closely monitoring the case, prosecutors have demanded a five-year prison term for the prominent Christian pastor.

Damanik was a key figure in the reconciliation process between Christian and Muslim groups in Poso, where conflict has raged for the past four years. His church established a crisis center, offering relief for refugees on both sides of the conflict. He was also a key signatory in the Malino Peace Accord of December 2001, which raised the ire of police and military officers.

While traveling in a relief convoy on August 17, 2002, Damanik was stopped by police and asked to leave his vehicle. He and his traveling companions were taken some distance away from their vehicle for several minutes of questioning.

On the following day, police claimed they had found illegal weapons and ammunition in the vehicle. However, they had no search warrant and did not report the finding on the day of discovery. Nor did they arrest Damanik at the time.

Damanik and his defense team claim the weapons were planted in the vehicle as an attempt to incriminate him.

Police spent months assembling the case against Damanik, all the while holding him in custody. The case was presented to the high court several times and dismissed for lack of evidence. However, judges finally began the trial on February 10, 2003.

Professor J. E. Sahetapy, an expert on Indonesian law and a witness for the defense, believes Damanik’s arrest was engineered by the police. As reported in the Jakarta Post on May 13, Sahetapy said he had spoken with a soldier who was present at Damanik’s arrest.

“The soldier told me that the handmade rifles and guns found inside Damanik’s car were planted,” Sahetapy said.

Dr. George Junus Aditjondro, another key witness for the defense, has studied the conflict in Poso and is convinced that Damanik had no part in the violence.

Testimonies from police and soldiers in court were contradictory. A fact-finding team from Jubilee Campaign said the eye-witnesses could not agree on the vehicle Damanik was traveling in or the number of weapons allegedly removed from the vehicle.

Several witnesses claimed Damanik was traveling in a blue SUV with the license plate DN-790E. However, their testimony was discredited by Mr. Taswin, a mechanic who said the blue SUV with the license plate DN-790E was in his shop for serious repairs for three months, beginning on August 13.

Taswin testified that a police officer named Syahrial had applied severe pressure on him to provide a false written statement, saying the car was brought in after August 17, 2002.

Mr. Rongko, one of the drivers in Damanik’s team on August 17, was also intimidated by Syahrial in a pre-trial examination. The officer told him that Damanik was a cold-blooded murderer and a key figure in the Poso conflict. Rongko was then forced to sign a written statement without first reading the document.

The prosecution’s key witness, Sartob Sambegewe, said he was beaten while in police custody and that his written statement was a product of brutality and intimidation.

At the close of testimony, Sahetapy maintained that the case should be thrown out, given the clear proof of witness intimidation and false evidence.

Judge Somanada admitted that the prosecution had failed to present a cohesive case and appealed to Sahetapy for advice regarding the verdict. However, the prosecution argued that Damanik should be held accountable for the weapons regardless of where and how they were found.

Sahetapy replied that the weapons, if indeed found, were the result of an illegal search, conducted without a warrant. By law, findings of an illegal search must be disregarded by the court.

When given his chance to respond, Damanik said the court was obviously not interested in a just verdict and he did not expect an acquittal. According to a report from Jubilee Campaign, he was willing to go to prison if by so doing he could demonstrate the injustice of the Indonesian court system.

Damanik also hoped his case would throw light on the situation in Poso and contribute to establishing the long-awaited peace.

***A photo of Rinaldy Damanik is available electronically. Contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.

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***********************************Civil War Adds to Religious Tension in IndonesiaPolitical Conflict, Sharia Law Affect Christians in War-torn Aceh Provinceby Samuel Rionaldo

JAKARTA (Compass) -- Christians in the province of Aceh in northern Indonesia have faced huge challenges since the adoption of sharia law on March 4. With the outbreak of civil war, the pressure has risen to new levels, prompting thousands of Christians to flee the troubled province.

Government troops marched into Aceh on May 19 after the breakdown of talks between President Megawati Sukarnoputri and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). For 27 years, the GAM has fought for independence in a private war that has claimed more than 12,000 lives.

Christians in Aceh were already suffering under sharia, a form of Islamic law that takes precedence over state law in many cases. When the law was first introduced last March, Muslim clerics declared sharia would only affect the Muslim population. In practice, however, the law has brought many new restrictions to Aceh’s Christian community.

Civil authorities in Aceh have limited the activity of churches. In many areas, Christian worship is forbidden. Pastors and Catholic priests are banned from entering the province, leading some Catholic priests to disguise themselves as tradesmen in order to visit their parish members.

Christians also report a campaign of intimidation by Muslim clerics and neighbors. Hundreds have been pressured to re-convert to Islam; an unknown number have renounced their faith. Whenever a Christian re-converts, the event is declared through loudspeakers at the local mosque or in local newspapers.

The total number of Christians in Aceh is estimated at around 200,000 in a population of 4.2 million. However, numbers have steadily declined over the past few years as restrictions on Christian activity have increased. In recent years, for example, churches in Aceh have been compelled to celebrate Christmas and New Years in a single location.

Church closures are also increasing. In Aceh Singkil, only five churches remain from an original total of 22.

Rev. Sihotang from the Indonesian Christian Church says 13 Protestant and four Catholic churches have been closed in Aceh Singkil. “The Christians from these churches have been forbidden to worship at home, in another building or in open tents,” said Sihotang. “Moreover, we are forbidden to use Christian ceremonies when taking a dead body to the cemetery.”

Rev. Tumanggor, pastor of the Pakpak Dairi Protestant Church, confirmed these reports. According to Tumanggor, Muslims feel threatened by the growth of Christianity in this district. Acting at the behest of Muslim authorities, the local government announced that five churches were enough to meet the needs of the Christian community.

Leaders of churches in Aceh Singkil were asked to sign a letter of agreement on the church closures. Meanwhile, five churches continue to operate in the sub-districts of Keras, Kutakarangan, Meriah Mountain, Paris Lake (Biskang) and Lae Gecah.

Rev. Hutman Sianturi, an evangelist in southeast Aceh, said pressure on Christians has increased since the implementation of sharia law. In his opinion, the Muslim community is clearly pressing for Christian conversion back to the faith of Islam.

“Many young Christian men are looking for wives,” Sianturi added. “But there are not many Christian young women here. So if they want to marry Aceh girls, they have to change their religion.”

Under sharia law, Muslims are required to attend prayers at the mosque and wear full Muslim dress while in public. In sharia courts, the evidence of non-Muslims and women is worth only half that of Muslim men.

Sharia law allows for harsh penalties, including the amputation of hands and feet in the case of theft. Even more serious is the matter of conversion from Islam, which is defined as “apostasy,” a sin punishable by death.

Muslims in Aceh now regard Christians with suspicion, making communication with former neighbors and friends increasingly difficult. The outbreak of civil war has further isolated the Christian community. Minority groups are held in suspicion by the Indonesian military, and many Christians are fleeing the area as refugees.

Rev. Sahabat Purba, pastor of a Protestant church, has seen a huge decrease in church attendance. “Our people don’t come to worship anymore, in case they are stopped on the way,” he explained. Police and military patrols conduct frequent identity checks, and Christians identified as such by their I.D. cards are often harshly treated.

Church leaders have tried to negotiate with key Muslim leaders and local government officials but have had little success so far.

The status of the church in Aceh has always been precarious. According to Rev. Sihotang, church building permits were rarely granted. Christians found it almost impossible to acquire Bibles, hymnbooks or other forms of Christian literature. These items were carried in by Christian friends and relatives and could not be distributed publicly in Aceh.

The explosion of war between Indonesia’s military and the GAM has brought church worship and other activities almost to a standstill. “We are sure more Christians will move out of this province because of the war,” said Sihotang.

“This is not just the problem of Christians in Aceh,” he added. “Christians around the world must see this as their problem too.”

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***********************************The Poso Conflict in Review

by Sarah Page

JAKARTA (Compass) -- Rev. Damanik was a central figure in the reconciliation process between Muslims and Christians in the troubled region of Poso, Central Sulawesi, where inter-religious conflict has raged for the past four years.

Violence has abated to a degree, but the turmoil is far from over. In January 2003, Muslim groups circulated a pamphlet demanding the arrest of 23 Christians, claiming they were the initiators of the Poso conflict. The pamphlet accused Christians of conducting Muslim massacres in the areas of Buyumgkatedo, Toyado and Kilo Nine.

In late 2002, police arrested three Muslim men for carrying automatic machine guns. These men were accused of terrorizing Christians and other Poso residents with random gunfire. When President Megawati Sukarnoputri visited Poso in January 2003, Muslim activists demanded the release of these men, claiming they were innocent.

Staff members at the Crisis Center, a church-based relief center in Central Sulawesi, say the current climate of accusation and rumor will only fuel the anger of people on both sides of the divide.

The following is a brief review of events over the past 12 months in the Poso conflict. By no means comprehensive, it nevertheless provides an accurate glimpse into the crisis.

June 5, 2002. A bomb explodes on a bus traveling from Palu to Tentena, killing six people.

July 1, 2002. The army pulls 2,000 soldiers out of the province.

July 5, 2002. Four people die when a bomb explodes on an intercity bus.

August 4, 2002. Unknown assailants attack a Christian village at night, burning 27 houses to the ground and shooting seven people. No fatalities are reported.

August 12, 2002. The Christian village of Sepa-Silanca, 12 kilometers east of Poso, sustains a night-time attack. Five people are killed and several houses set afire. Refugees are taken to Tentena.

August 17, 2002. Police stop Rev. Damanik and his convoy on their way home from a relief mission. Damanik’s team had just given assistance to several Christian villages attacked by Muslim extremists.

November 3, 2002. Five thousand policemen and army peacekeepers remain on duty in the province.

January 2003. President Megawati makes an official visit to Poso. During the visit, local Muslims demand the resignation of President Megawati and Vice-President Hamzah Haz for their “failure” in dealing with the Poso conflict and other crisis situations.

January 16, 2003. The government completes the building of 10,000 “simple homes” for internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the Poso conflict. In March, the government announces that 25,790 IDP families have returned to their homes.

May 29, 2003. Two men returning from their cocoa farm to the predominantly Muslim village of Kayamanya were attacked by four masked men with automatic weapons. Jab, a Muslim, was killed in the attack while his companion Ibrahim, a Christian, was seriously injured.

June 2, 2003. Assailants attack the Christian village of Kapompa at 3 a.m. One man, Yefta Burunguju, was killed in the attack while another, Darman Sudarto Posuman, was seriously injured and hospitalized in Poso Public Hospital.

Rev. Damanik, currently on trial, heard of this latest attack while in custody. He made a public appeal on local radio for the residents of Tentena to stay calm and not react to this attack.

-------------Sources: GKST Crisis Center, Jakarta Post, Compass sources

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***********************************‘Boasting of Our Weakness’ in Indonesia A Conversation with Jesuit Philosopher Franz Magnis-Suseno on Christian-Muslim Relationsby Alex Buchan

Professor Franz Magnis-Suseno is a leading Jesuit philosopher in Indonesia. For many years, he has been a major figure in Indonesian politics, participating in the influential Forum Democrasi during the Suharto years, where reformers such as Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) and Amien Rais discussed ways to bring democracy to Indonesia.

A confidante of many leading political figures, he finds himself many times in the odd position of having taught them and their children at his Jakarta school. Magnis-Suseno is also well known in Indonesia as a writer and journalist, and is on the forefront of dialogue between Muslims and Christians. Compass Direct correspondent Alex Buchan interviewed him in Jakarta in March. Excerpts from that interview follow.

Compass Direct: From your vantage point as a political insider and one heavily involved in Muslim-Christian dialogue, how is the relationship between Christianity and Islam in Indonesia at the moment?

Franz Magnis-Suseno: There have been some remarkable developments in the relationship between Christians and Muslims lately. For instance, when Muslim leaders said, “We must defend our Iraqi brothers,” there was no accompanying anti-Christian rhetoric. This was because for many months, the leaders of the two big Muslim organizations, Muhammadiyah and the Nahdatul Ulama (NU), stressed, “We must make clear this is not a religious war. We are against the war solely because the reasons are unjustified, and the problem should be resolved by peaceful means.”

This is significant in itself, but the NU leader went further, creating a delegation of Muslim and Christian leaders -- a Catholic cardinal and a Protestant leader -- to travel around Australia and Europe calling for peace. There was a picture of the Catholic cardinal and the leader of the NU with the pope that received enormous coverage. It demonstrated to many Indonesians that the religions were united. And remember, this initiative came from the Muslims.

Compass: How did this happen, since for many months those outside Indonesia just heard the terrible news of Muslim-Christian war in Ambon and assumed things were getting worse?

Magnis-Suseno: Well, this Ambon war has died down a little. Of course there are still places where a Christian or a Muslim cannot enter and get out alive; but since Laskar Jihad left, there have been no major clashes.

Compass: Why did they pull out? Was it because of the international pressure in the wake of the Bali bombings?

Magnis-Suseno: It is still a mystery. The Bali bombing was on a Friday. On Saturday, Laskar Jihad dissolved, but made it clear they dissolved on the (previous) Wednesday. They said they already had people back on a ship at the time of the bombing. Well, I don’t know, but it must have had something to do with it.

Compass: Generally, has the conduct during the lead-up to the Iraq war resulted in better Muslim-Christian relations here, or did it start before that?

Magnis-Suseno: The first visible step was a year ago when the leaders of Muhammadiyah and the Nahdatul Ulama met to make peace among themselves. NU was still extremely angry because Amien Rais [a former Muhammadiyah leader] had deposed Gus Dur [Abdurrahman Wahid, the former president and long-standing leader of the NU]. There was a real danger that NU supporters would attack Muhammadiyah facilities.

Two weeks later after making peace between themselves, they invited the leaders of other religions, including the Roman Catholic cardinal and myself, to the headquarters of the NU and formed a National Peace Coalition for Internal Peace. This was actually all in consequence of the Afghan war. But it was the first big Muslim initiative that embraced the Christians.

The main proof of it working was when we had the special session of the People’s Congress in July. Leaders of both organizations came out against formalizing sharia. Attacks on churches have decreased very much. There is, on the other hand, an attempt to introduce sharia on a local and covert level. Also, in Muslim religious instruction, they are always told not to have contact with anyone of another religion. So it is not that everything is suddenly okay, but it is better.

Compass: The headlines are always terrible, especially on Ambon.

Magnis-Suseno: Yes, the problem so often is that Muslims only report the worst about Christians, and vice versa. I read Sabila, an extremist Islamic magazine, and it is full of terrible stories of atrocities committed by Christians against Muslims. Some are true, most are not.

Compass: What is the status of Islamic extremism in the country?

Magnis-Suseno: Extremely difficult to answer. The extremists are not growing, but they did come out of their holes in recent years. The good news is that the leaders of the NU and Muhammadiyah said, “We do not want Islamic discourse in Indonesia high-jacked by the extremists.” Now after the Bali bombing, the extremists have gone back into their holes. We had hardly any demonstrations against America with the Iraq crisis. So something has changed. The extremists are on the defensive.

The problem is that our democracy is still threatened by corruption, and if the economic situation gets worse, then extremist solutions always get more interesting for people.

Compass: It is true that, before Christians are persecuted, their persecutors have to believe a lie about them. For example, in India the lie is that Christians forcibly evangelize Hindus. After swallowing this, the extremists then persecute Christians. What’s the lie here?

Magnis-Suseno: Same here: We forcibly convert Muslims, they claim. I argue by saying that we are respectful and give a choice always. Also I say to them, look at the official statistics. Since 1961, Christians in Indonesia have grown by only two percent, compared to 12 percent (growth) of the population. So a two percent growth over 40 years, that’s not much to worry about. I tell Muslims, of course there is proselytizing, but put it into context. This modest growth does not deserve extremist reactions.

Compass: Some evangelicals say the figure is 23 percent already, and it’s going to be 50 percent in the next 20 years.

Magnis-Suseno: This is very dangerous. I actually hear these crazy figures quoted by the Muslims. They say, “The Protestants have a 10-year plan to make Indonesia Christian.” To claim Indonesia is over 20 percent Christian today is a huge shift, and would surely have been detected by government, if true. Protestant evangelicals play up statistics,

claiming there are more than there are. Catholics tend to play them down. For example in Jakarta, Roman Catholic statistics are 30 percent lower than the official government figure. But to boast through statistics is wrong. The only thing we should boast about as Christians is our weakness.

Compass: Looking back on the Christian-Muslim conflicts on Poso and Ambon, is this a good time to reflect on what really caused them, underneath all the propaganda?

Magnis-Suseno: It’s still difficult to get back to the real causes. I think in Poso it began with rivalry with regional parties in 1998, whereas in the Moluccas (Malukus) it began with the association of Muslim intellectuals under Habibie. The reasons themselves are very complicated. The point is, though, they are usually not religious. But they get boiled down and simplified: Christians against Muslims. Then they feed on longstanding suspicions and bad feelings and internalize the difficult history that always exists between groups. You get the old stuff coming up -- the Crusades, Colonialism. It becomes an ideological war, when in the beginning it was much more complex.

Compass: Some argue that Islam has no real theology of defeat. For example, one thinks of the statements of Osama bin Laden, and how he harks back to 80 years ago when the Western powers rolled back the empire of the Ottomans.

Magnis-Suseno: It goes deeper. Muslims have no theology of the cross. When Christians are hit, killed and so forth, we can accept it because Jesus taught us that being defeated is still a way of overcoming.

Compass: If that is the theological reality, how can there be peace?

Magnis-Suseno: The only way out is through ideas of human rights and freedom of religion. Many Muslims like Gus Dur talk this way. I sometimes have exchanges with hard-line Muslims on this question. One once said, “If someone really has the call of God to go to another religion, then we would have to let him go, because his highest duty is to be obedient to God.” So there is some hope, but that is rare.

Compass: But surely our Western notion of religious toleration is no use in this, because it is based on the idea that you tolerate religion because it is a public irrelevance. Can Indonesia find a model where the West has failed?

Magnis-Suseno: It has already. We have found it, if you count out the extremists. The big religious groups have said, “Religion is normal, and as regards the state, we work out the public morality with the inputs of all the religions.” So there is a religious pluralism at the moment. I use the expression that the majority should not bully the minority, but promote their well-being, and the minorities should be sensitive to the feelings of the majority. They should not provoke. For instance, if Muslims want Friday to be the free day, I would say, “Well, why not?” I would not make a big fight about it. This is how it goes.

Compass: Christians are concerned about a proposed law that would require Muslims attending Christian schools to receive religious instruction in Islam. What is your view on this?

Magnis-Suseno: Up to now, Christian have defended the right to give only Christian instruction in their schools. This has been under attack from Muslims for some time, and at least in some Catholic schools, Muslims have already been exempted from Christian studies and allowed to receive religious instruction in their own faith.

Personally I disagree with the stance of my church in opposing the introduction of this law. I have long pressed that Muslims in our schools should be allowed to receive Islamic instruction, because in Vatican II we said it was a human right that parents should determine what religious instruction their children get. We must give this freedom. In India, Pakistan, and Nepal, pupils of other religions in Catholic schools are taught in the religion their parents nominate. If we had allowed this here, we could have been able to choose the Muslim teachers. Now this law will allow the government to decide who the teachers may be. Our pupils could be sent off to Muslim instructors who may be very close-minded.

Compass: Does this apply to Christian Bible schools?

Magnis-Suseno: No, the law is only about Muslim students. In my place of higher education, we have 15 percent Muslim, and we choose the Muslim instructors. The Christians even go to (the classes) to gain understanding of the Muslim faith, and vice versa. It is an excellent situation.

Compass: How goes the process of reforming Indonesia?

Magnis-Suseno: We are just muddling through. But in a situation when millions are out of work, it’s not enough to muddle through. Will democracy succeed or not? If democracy succeeds, I am optimistic that extreme Islam will never get a majority here. If it does not succeed, those who appear to have decisive solutions are welcomed back.

For me, the central problem is corruption. Corruption makes our legal system bad, infecting the police and military. Then, economics cannot recover. This government is not so corrupt, but Megawati is completely insensitive. She likes to go on shopping sprees while millions starve. The rich are getting very rich again. If this massive inequality is not solved, it could make for more radicalization.

Compass: What can Western churches learn from the Indonesian experience of Christianity?

Magnis-Suseno: That the church should not be defensive, but missionary. Not in the sense of trying to get more adherents, but to spread the message of Christ. Be happy for the moment at being a minority and speaking out for justice, peace and healing that Christ brings.

Also, we show how it is possible to be open to other religions. I am not a pluralist. I don’t believe all religions are the same, or all true. I believe Jesus is the way not a way. But you can be open to other religions with that stance, esteem them, learn from them, work with them. Our message is not to allow Islam to become the big enemy in an apocalyptic sense. Sure, Islam has always had a terrorist fringe, but it has never been the majority. Look at Muslims like Jesus would look at them, with compassion, integrity and love.

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***********************************New Hope in Sight for Jordanian Christian WidowCourt Case Challenges Muslim Guardian’s Custodyby Barbara G. Baker

HUSN, Jordan (Compass) -- One of Jordan’s top law firms filed a new case in late May before the country’s Islamic courts, requesting a change in the legal guardianship of Christian widow Siham Qandah’s two minor children.

Qandah’s attorneys are expected to produce hard evidence before an Amman court of Islamic law that her children’s current Muslim guardian has embezzled at least 13,000 Jordanian dinars ($20,000) from the orphan benefits held in trust for her daughter Rawan, 15, and son Fadi, 14.

The children’s father, a soldier in the Jordanian army, died in 1994 while serving with U.N. peacekeeping forces in Kosovo. Through the military benefits deposited in a trust fund after their father’s death, the children were to inherit $35,000 when they reach legal adulthood at age 18.

But lawyers who provide counsel for members of Jordan’s royal family have obtained proof over the past two months that Rawan and Fadi’s court-authorized guardian has illegally appropriated more than half of the children’s U.N. trust fund.

“We now have documents to prove that the present guardian is disqualified to exercise custody over the children,” a member of the law firm told Compass. “We have everything on our side,” he continued. “He has misused his authority, and he will be jailed if he cannot pay back the money he has stolen.”

The children’s Muslim guardian, who is Qandah’s estranged brother, converted to Islam as a teenager. Now named Abdullah al-Muhtadi, he is married with several children and said to be serving as a mosque prayer leader.

Shortly after the death of Qandah’s Christian husband, she learned that a “conversion” certificate filed in a local Islamic court stated that he had converted to Islam three years earlier. She and her family were incredulous, but the alleged conversion could not be contested under Jordanian law. Since both underage children were now legally

considered Muslims as well, Qandah asked her brother to be their court-designated Muslim guardian.

But al-Muhtadi often failed to transfer the children’s monthly stipends over the next few years, and in 1998 he opened a court case demanding custody of the children so he could raise them as Muslims. Al-Muhtadi said he objected to them being raised by their mother, who had enrolled them in Christian instruction at school and took them to a local Baptist church.

After four years of court proceedings, Jordan’s Supreme Court ruled in February 2002 that Qandah must relinquish her children to al-Muhtadi’s custody. But despite several subsequent court ultimatums ordering Qandah to surrender her children or face arrest, local authorities have yet to enforce the ruling.

In an audience granted in Amman in late May, Prince Mired bin Raed of the Jordanian royal family confirmed to Compass that Qandah’s case had been brought to the personal attention of King Abdullah II after news coverage about it appeared in the international press.

“His Majesty was concerned that she and her children would be properly protected,” Prince Mired said, “and he had been assured months ago that her case was being resolved.” But when it became known in mid April that she still needed expert legal counsel, the prince asked his personal lawyer to investigate the case.

After a thorough examination of the case files, the prince’s lawyer concluded that the attorneys hired to represent Qandah at the lower, appellate and supreme court levels had failed to defend her adequately. “They were not well qualified,” he noted.

“Religion has been used, or I should say misused, in this case,” Prince Mired said. “It is so blatantly obvious that injustice has been done.

“As a Muslim, I am very ashamed that this was done in the name of Islam,” the prince continued. “This has nothing to do with religion. It is not even a human rights case. It is a simple case of fraud, done in a very manipulative way.”

Qandah’s new lawyers estimate that within a month’s time, they will win a court decision to cancel al-Muhtadi’s legal guardianship.

But under Jordanian law, the children will still be required to have a court-sanctioned Muslim guardian and maintain Muslim identities until they become 18, when they are allowed to choose their official religious status.

Over the past 15 months, the widow and her children have gone into hiding on four different occasions, sometimes for weeks at a time, fleeing their small whitewashed cottage in Husn for refuge with relatives and friends in other towns and cities. The

upheaval has disrupted the children’s lives, affecting their schoolwork, emotions and friendships.

“Their classmates just repeat what they’ve heard around Husn,” one family friend commented, “but it hurts Rawan and Fadi to hear these comments. Technically they are Muslims now, even if it’s just for a few years, so the Christian community shuns them, and they won’t want them to marry into their families later on.”

According to one of her brothers, Qandah turned down a recent offer of a steady job in Husn, her hometown of some 25,000 located 50 miles north of Amman. “She can hardly manage and really needs the money, but she is so afraid she may have to flee again, to hide herself and the children.

“Siham has really sacrificed to keep her faith and her kids,” the brother said. “There’s just no stability in her life right now.”

***New photographs of Siham Qandah with her children in Husn and during her audience with Prince Mired are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.

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***********************************Bibles Seized in MalaysiaGovernment Continues to Restrict Christian Conversion of Muslimsby Sarah Page

DUBLIN, Ireland (Compass) -- The Malaysian government has impounded a shipment of 1,000 Bibles destined for Indonesian language speakers living in Malaysia. The action follows a ban applied in early April to 34 religious books, 12 of them Christian.

Lee Min Choon, president of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), said the shipment of 1,000 Bibles was impounded the last week of April. On May 30, the Bibles remained under impoundment, despite negotiations with the government for their release.

The Bible Society has now given an ultimatum to the customs officers. If the Bibles are not released, the BSM will take legal action.

The Malay language version of the Bible, known as the Al-Kitab, was first banned in 1983. In response to protests from the Christian community, the ban was modified to allow Christians to use the Al-Kitab in churches and in private homes.

In 1985, a directive was issued allowing the Al-Kitab to be distributed by certain groups. The Bible Society was one of the groups given permission to import the Al-Kitab.

Despite this ruling, further shipments of the Al-Kitab were impounded in 1996 and again in 2001. The shipments were eventually released on verbal condition that the Bible Society was not to distribute the books. In addition, the Bible Society was asked to supply the Home Ministry with a list of people who had previously purchased the Al-Kitab.

To date, the Bible Society has refused to comply with either of these conditions.

The requirement stems from several state laws passed in 1988 that prohibit the use of certain words by non-Muslims. These included the word “Allah” for God and “nabi” for prophet. Christian leaders say these words have been used for years in Malay language translations of the Bible.

Government officials fear Muslims may read the Al-Kitab by mistake, since the Al-Kitab uses the word “Allah” in reference to God.

“They have required that we stamp on the front cover a blurb to say it is for use in church, and include a sign of the cross to avoid confusion,” said Lee.

“Our Bible Society has refused to submit to this condition and we are still trying to reason with the authorities. We think they should relent as we have a document allowing us to import the Al-Kitab without the condition they have now specified.”

The Iban Bible, one of the books banned in April 2003, was returned to circulation after negotiation with the government. Lee believes the same pressure is needed to lift the ban on 11 other Christian publications.

“The problem is, the owners of the banned books have not come forward to fight for their books,” Lee said. “I know of some Christian friends who have started an online petition to ask the government to lift the ban. To fight for something here, someone must come forward and take ownership and do something. This has not happened for the other books.”

Malaysia’s Constitution provides for the right of religious freedom in Article 11(1), which states, “Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion.”

However, in 1998 the constitution was amended with a new article 121(1A) which gave the Islamic sharia court precedence over the state court system in religious matters.

In the mid 1990s, several Christians who had converted from Islam applied for legal recognition of their change of faith. The state courts refused, saying the issue could only be dealt with by sharia courts. But sharia law holds to the principle that conversion from Islam is a sin punishable by death.

As Lee explained, “Government departments are uncooperative when it comes to changing details in the official documents of Muslim converts.”

In a landmark case in April 2001, Justice Faiza Thamby Chik ruled that ethnic Malays are defined as Muslims in the constitution, and therefore cannot legally renounce their Muslim faith.

Without proof of leaving Islam, they remain under the jurisdiction of the sharia courts. Ethnic Malay Christians can therefore be punished for not performing basic Islamic duties such as fasting and praying at the mosque.

Efforts by Christian bodies such as the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) and the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) have brought closer cooperation between government and non-Muslim communities in recent years.

However, restrictions remain on non-Muslim places of worship, the allocation of cemeteries for non-Muslims, and the establishment of non-Muslim societies in schools and universities. Literature thought to be offensive to Muslims is often seized and destroyed by customs officials.

Lee believes the Christian community must work hard to protect their religious freedom, and he welcomes the support of the international community.

“Yes, things are difficult for the church and we welcome prayers from everywhere,” he said.

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***********************************Plots Against Christians Uncovered in NigeriaMuslim Sect, Retired Military Officers Linked to Religious Riotsby Obed Minchakpu

LAGOS, Nigeria (Compass) -- Security agents in Lagos have uncovered a document in which an extremist Muslim sect outlines plans to attack Christians while they worship. As a result, Christians in the southwestern Nigerian city have called for immediate surveillance on all Muslim leaders.

A one-page letter circulated by members of an Islamic group calling itself the Youth Forum Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) disclosed that the organization has completed plans to attack Christians in their churches, operating in concert with other Muslim groups.

NASFAT appealed to its patrons and notable Muslim leaders in Nigeria to aid its plan to carry out the attacks.

“Jihad is a religious duty of every Muslim and is an obligation of every Muslim to discharge,” NASFAT president Alhaji Abdul Wahab Abdul-Rahman told Compass in

Lagos when asked to react to the news of the disclosure. “If our youth want to give their lives for the cause of Allah, we cannot prevent them from doing so.”

Afolabi Sam Adeboye, a Lagos-based religious rights advocate, said that the Muslim group has acquired property near some churches along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, evidently for carrying out its plan of attack.

“This is an Islamic group that is not shy to publish its address and established backers,” Sam Adeboye said.

“The document and the letter by NASFAT have exposed the true motive for planting NASFAT between Christian churches. This affront is a carefully prepared agenda for the violent conquest of our nation Nigeria by Islamic fundamentalists,” he added.

Meanwhile in northern Nigeria, some former Muslim military officers have been accused of masterminding the incessant inter-religious violence that has troubled that part of the country over the past three years.

Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, governor of the state of Kaduna, said that the retired officers are behind the frequent religious clashes, manipulating Muslim leaders and their adherents.

Three times in two years, bloody religious riots have engulfed Kaduna, leaving some 10,000 people dead and millions of dollars worth of property destroyed.

According to Makarfi, himself a Muslim, government findings show that the clashes were masterminded and financed by retired Muslim military officers attempting to manipulate religious tensions in order to destabilize the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian.

He disclosed that perpetrators arrested during the riots confessed to law enforcement agencies that they were being sponsored and financed by the military officers.

“All these crises are being sponsored by some political elite, most of whom are retired army officers,” Elder Saidu Dogo, secretary general of the Christian Association of Nigeria, northern Nigeria chapter, told Compass in Kaduna. “Some of them are not happy with the government, either for retiring them or making them cough up ill-gotten wealth.

“It is these wealthy elite that often take advantage of their position and mobilize some disgruntled elements, who call themselves religious leaders, to create trouble.”

Dogo lamented that, in spite of glaring evidence of their involvement, the government has not brought the officers to justice. “The government ... has failed to do so because these people are powerful,” he said.

For his part, Kaduna state police commissioner Gasali Lawal confirmed the officers’ involvement in religious conflicts. “Already security agents are closing in on these people, and very soon we shall catch up with them,” he said.

“As retired military personnel, some of the ex-soldiers indeed belong to certain interest groups that could ... either be protecting and supporting or opposing a particular government policy,” said former army major Abubakar Umar. “For that reason they are likely to take sides.”

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***********************************Muslim Terrorists Invade Villages in NigeriaHostages Recount Horrors of Captivity in Hands of Bandit Groupsby Obed Minchakpu

LANGTANG, Nigeria (Compass) -- Inhabitants of Shirlur and Dadinkowa, predominantly Christian villages of Plateau state in central Nigeria, will long remember the tragedy that struck them on May 9, when four men died and most of the community’s homes were destroyed.

In the early hours of that Friday, about 200 Muslim terrorists invaded the villages, raping women and setting houses ablaze. Villagers who had retired to bed the previous evening were caught entirely off-guard.

Community leader Nantur Zhingven was the first victim of the rampage. According to survivors, the attackers shot Zhingven dead sometime around 3:30 a.m. and burned his house. Another villager whose name was not released also died.

Villagers mounted a spirited attempt to ward off the invaders, killing two of the attackers, according to reports.

“The Muslim militiamen came from Taraba state, in the company of Muslim mercenaries from Niger and Chad Republics,” Israel Voncir, chairman of the Transition Management Committee of the Langtang local government council, told Compass.

Plateau state police commissioner Innocent Ilozuoke confirmed the incident and said a detachment of anti-riot police had been sent to the area to contain attacks on Christian communities.

“As soon as we got the news that they (Muslim militants) had attacked some Christian villages, a unit of mobile men was drafted there,” Ilozuoke said.

Mr. Toma Jang Davou, special adviser to the governor of the state of Plateau, descried what he described as “the constant terrorist attacks on the Christians of Plateau state” and called the Nigerian government to declare war on the militants.

“We must chase them out of the state and pursue them across borders because they must be brought to book,” Davou said.

Meanwhile, 60 Christian women kidnapped by Muslim bandits in attacks on Christian villages in Langtang have regained their freedom.

The women, abducted in November 2002, were held captive in the predominantly Muslim local government area of Kanam, Plateau state.

Telzing Miri, a Christian youth leader from the area, told Compass that one of the victims, a secondary school student, died as a result of torture at the hands of her kidnappers.

Two of the victims spoke to Compass in Jos about their ordeal. Grace Nandom said that she is now pregnant after being sexually abused by her captors. Her husband was taken captive and later killed.

Namicit Bimbol said the Muslim bandits also shot her husband to death. She gave birth to a baby boy while in captivity.

“The situation in the conflict areas is frustrating because law enforcement agents we drafted there to restore law and order are also being attacked,” said police public relations officer Emmanuel Adams.

Since September 2001, religious and ethnic conflict has engulfed the state of Plateau, claiming thousands of lives and causing millions of dollars worth of property damage.

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***********************************Nigerian Justice Minister Critical of ShariaOfficial Says Islamic Law ‘Procedurally Deficient’by Obed Minchakpu

ABUJA, Nigeria (Compass) -- In his final public speech before leaving office last month, Nigeria’s outgoing Minister of Justice expressed disapproval of sharia, the Islamic justice system implemented in some northern states, describing the law as “procedurally deficient.”

Musa Elayo made the declarations before the National Consultative Committee on Justice Sector Reform, just before President Olusegun Obasanjo dissolved the Federal Executive Council to make way for the formation of a new administration.

“The sharia justice system is procedurally deficient, as has been shown by the three controversial cases in the country laid to rest by the higher court,” Elayo stated. “So you

will agree with me that if the three cases that have gone on appeal have been set aside by the appeal court on technical grounds, then it shows procedural deficiency of the operators of sharia.

“What we need is a judicial pronouncement on sharia. If not, then until we reach the Supreme Court, we cannot say anything about the issue of sharia criminal justice application,” he added, noting that the Supreme Court alone has the power to resolve the controversy arising from the implementation of Islamic law three years ago.

Meanwhile, Elayo urged northern states that practice sharia to initiate an intensive enlightenment campaign among Muslims in order to curb some of the abuses associated with Islamic justice.

The minister acknowledged that sharia violates the rights of Christians and other non-Muslims, and agreed with the position of international human rights organizations that the application of the Islamic legal system is a “violation of the tenets of fundamental human rights.”

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***********************************Religious Violence Claims 10 Lives in NigeriaChurches Burned, Thousands Displaced Following Murder of Christian Evangelistby Obed Minchakpu

NUMAN, Nigeria (Compass) -- Religious violence broke out on June 9 in Numan, a town in the northern state of Adamawa, Nigeria. Clashes between Muslims and Christians left 10 people dead and places of worship destroyed.

Police said the murder of a Christian evangelist at the hands of a Muslim man ignited the conflict. Thousands of residents fled the town after the fighting broke out.

In a press conference, state police spokesmen said the Muslim attacker, Muhammad Salisu, stabbed Mrs. Esther Ethan to death while she was doing street evangelism.

After the fatal stabbing, Salisu apparently took refuge at the town’s police station. Angered by the brazen crime, local youths and neighbors of the evangelist pursued the man to the police station to seek revenge.

News about the killing of the lady evangelist spread quickly, sparking clashes between Muslims and Christians. According to reports, a number of churches and mosques were burned to the ground, including the Living Faith Church and Numan’s central mosque.

State officials have ordered police reinforcements into the town to restore law and order and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew.

After inspecting the loss of life and property in the town, Adamawa state deputy governor Alhaji Bello Tukur said the authorities are saddened by the outbreak of violence. Tukur said the government would create a panel to investigate the causes of the violence that has pitched Muslim against Christian.

State police commissioner Alhaji Hafiz Abubakar stated that only two people died in the violence, although many sustained injuries. “We are trying to restore law and other here,” he said.

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***********************************Pakistan Acquits Illiterate Christian of BlasphemyAslam Masih’s Conviction Overturned by Lahore High Courtby Barbara G. Baker

ISTANBUL (Compass) -- After four and one-half years in prison for alleged blasphemy against Islam, Pakistani Christian Aslam Masih was acquitted on June 4 in a 15-minute appeals hearing before the Lahore High Court.

In his mid 50s and illiterate, Masih was arrested in November 1998 on charges that he had desecrated the Quran by hanging verses from the Muslim holy book in a charm around a dog’s neck. He has been jailed without bail ever since.

Although the prosecution only produced hearsay evidence against Masih, he was found guilty on May 7, 2002. The Faisalabad Additional Sessions Court sentenced him to serve double life-sentences in prison and pay a fine of 100,000 rupees (then $1,660).

In overturning Masih’s lower court conviction, Justice Najam ur-Zaman reportedly took what one observer called “a very aggressive attitude against the prosecution.”

During the trial proceedings, the judge noted, the prosecution’s star witness had actually retracted the statement attributed to him by the police, accusing them of concocting it. The court minutes record that the witness denied even being present during the alleged incident or filing any complaint against Masih, which forced the prosecution to declare him a hostile witness.

All the other witnesses brought against Masih were second or third hand, relegating the basis of any judgment to hearsay evidence. Although such evidence is legally inadmissible for conviction, the Faisalabad judge found Masih guilty.

“Due to the pressures of the fanatics, the trial court judges do not take the risk of acquitting the accused,” one of Masih’s defense lawyers told Compass. The jailed Christian has been represented by a team of lawyers from the Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) in Lahore.

Justice ur-Zaman also scolded the prosecution for their accusations against Masih for having some copies of Quranic verses in his pocket at the time of his arrest. “It’s not an offense for Christians or anyone else to have verses from the Quran in their pocket,” he declared. “How can you convict a person for that?”

In accordance with appellate court practice, Masih was not present in the court when his acquittal was announced. But his lawyers who visited him in the Faisalabad Central Jail the week before the hearing said their client appeared “very weak” and was suffering from ongoing back pain. Although badly beaten at the time of his arrest, Masih was never given proper medical treatment for his injuries.

“We gave him money for medicine, and for admittance to the hospital, to be properly looked after,” one of his lawyers said. Masih, who is unmarried, had been living with his brother’s family at the time of his arrest.

Security arrangements are now in process for Masih’s release from prison, CLAAS Coordinator Joseph Francis said on June 4. Once the high court verdict has been delivered to the lower court, the latter will order the jail superintendent to release the defendant.

“There are a lot of threats when such a person gets acquitted and then released,” one of the lawyers pointed out. Most go into strict hiding until they can be safely sent out of the country for asylum, out of the reach of extremist Muslims vowing to kill them despite their judicial acquittal.

Seven other Christians remain jailed in Pakistan on drawn-out charges of blasphemy under the country’s notorious “black laws,” under which members of the Ahmadi sect and other religious minorities continue to be targeted.

Appeals are pending on the death sentence against Ashiq “Kingri” Masih in Faisalabad, as well as lifetime prison sentences against Ranjha Masih in Faisalabad and Amjad Masih and Asif Masih in Jhang. The trials of three other Christians arrested in 2001 are still being heard before the lower courts: Pervaiz Masih of Sialkot, Anwar Kenneth of Lahore and Shahbaz Masih of Faisalabad.

*** A photograph of Aslam Masih is available electronically. Please contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.

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***********************************Quechua Evangelist Attacked in PeruShining Path Suspected in Early Morning Assault Special to Compass Direct

MIAMI (Compass) -- Police in Peru believe that an early morning bomb attack on the home of a Quechua Christian evangelist in Ayacucho could signal a resurgence of the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla army that waged a terrorist war in the Andean nation for nearly a decade before disintegrating in the early 1990s, Open Doors reported on May 19.

Joshua Sauñe and his wife, Missy, were awakened early on May 17 by a blast from the street below their bedroom window. They found the remains of a partially exploded bomb. A red flag hung from the garage door nearby.

Police officers told the Sauñes that the attack had all the marks of a Shining Path assault.

“The red communist flag that was left behind means that we are now ‘marked,’” Missy Sauñe wrote in an email to friends. “The police have urged us to remain extremely cautious in whatever we do.”

“They told us to be careful, not to go to public places,” Joshua Sauñe told Open Doors on May 18. He said that the bombing incident forced him to withdraw from leading a Bible conference for Quechua evangelists and pastors held over the weekend in a rural mountain community.

The same morning, a local business suffered an identical bombing attack, complete with red warning flag. The assaults could have been a kind of malicious anniversary celebration, the Open Doors report said. Abimael Guzmán, a professor at Ayacucho’s National University of San Cristobal de Huamanga, founded the Shining Path Communist Party on May 18, 1970. Every year around that date, people in the city brace for possible terrorist activity.

More evidence that the Shining Path may be resurfacing came from Huanta, a small city some 40 miles north of Ayacucho. In recent days, peasant farmer unions have paralyzed the town with protest strikes aimed at ending government controls on the production of coca leaf, the raw material for making cocaine. When the sun rose on May 18, it revealed red Shining Path flags tied to the doors of the Huanta city hall.

Such acts may foreshadow a Shining Path propaganda campaign aimed at winning over -- or bullying into submission -- Peru’s native Quechua population. The Shining Path attempted to do that in the 1980s as part of its grand strategy to re-style Peruvian society in accordance with Maoist doctrine.

The movement ultimately failed to dominate the indigenous population, partly because rural militias mounted armed resistance to the terrorists and partly because the steady growth of evangelical Christianity among Quechuas rendered them unreceptive to Maoist doctrine.

Joshua Sauñe’s family played a key role in the spread of evangelical Christianity. Before his death at the hands of Shining Path guerrillas, Joshua’s maternal grandfather,

Justiniano Quicaña, helped plant dozens of Quechua churches during his long career as an itinerant evangelist.

An elder brother, Rómulo Sauñe, gained international recognition for his work translating the Bible into the Ayacucho dialect of Quechua, despite constant threats on his life. In September 1992, Rómulo and another Sauñe brother, Ruben, were killed in a Shining Path ambush near Ayacucho, along with two more family members.

***Photographs of Joshua Sauñe’s family are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.

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***********************************Living through Jihad in the PhilippinesGracia Burnham Shares Insights Learned as a Hostage of Abu Sayyafby Deann Alford

ROSE HILL, Kansas (Compass) -- His family was Christian, he fell in love with a Christian girl and attended a Christian and Missionary Alliance church.

Aldam Tilao had every chance to follow Christ. Instead, the Filipino embraced radical Islam, adopted the name Abu Sabaya and joined the Muslim terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. He became the flamboyant spokesman of the group whose trademark was beheading hostages and prisoners of war.

On May 27, 2001, Sabaya and fellow guerrillas wielding M-16s raided the Philippines resort of Dos Palmas where Martin and Gracia Burnham were celebrating their wedding anniversary. The terrorists took the couple and 15 other hostages. Days later, Abu Sayyaf took four more captives from a hospital.

Gracia Burnham recounts this saga, a story of despair, faith, hope and love, in her newly released book, In the Presence of My Enemies. For 376 days, radical Muslims held the missionary couple hostage, providing them with insights into militant Islam and the hearts of some of its adherents.

Islamic fundamentalists have been a problem in the southern Philippines for at least six centuries. “There’s always been fighting between the Christians and Muslims down there,” Burnham said. “The Muslims claim they were the first ones there, so they’re always fighting to retake their land. This isn’t a new problem.”

Sabaya’s role in the terrorist group was to negotiate ransoms to finance the group’s jihad. He often bragged that Abu Sayyaf was part of the network of Osama bin Laden -- a name that meant little to most Americans until September 11, 2001. Gracia said that some of her captors had gone to Europe and been taught by someone linked to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

In June 2001, Sabaya called Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by satellite phone to deliver Abu Sayyaf’s demand of $1 million to release Martin Burnham, a veteran missionary pilot who had worked in the country for 15 years. If the president did not let Malaysian mediators talk to his group, he said, he would kill one of the “whites” Abu Sayyaf was holding. That meant Martin, Gracia or fellow American hostage Guillermo Sobero.

Four days later, guerrillas uncuffed Sobero’s wrist from Martin Burnham’s, tied Sobero’s hands with a rope and led him away. Days later, Philippine authorities found his beheaded body.

During the next year, the Abu Sayyaf released some hostages and beheaded others. For more than a year, the Burnhams, members of the Florida-based New Tribes Mission, lived among the Muslim radicals. The missionary couple endured 17 firefights between Abu Sayyaf and soldiers of the armed forces of the Philippines, including the final one on June 7, 2002, in which Martin was killed and Gracia wounded.

Gracia said that when the couple was kidnapped, “We thought, ‘Oh, no, we’re Christian missionaries. We’re in big trouble.’ And we were, but it wasn’t because of our Christianity.”

Since Muslims worship Allah as the one true God, the rebels took no issue with the Burnhams’ work. That’s because New Tribes Mission focuses on tribal animists who worship multiple spirits.

Conversations with Sabaya and another English-speaking guerrilla, Solaiman, often turned to religion.

“It’s not like these guys didn’t have any light,” Gracia said. “[Sabaya] has heard the gospel over and over. He could quote John 3:16.” Solaiman also had heard the gospel many times and could quote that key verse “with a sneer on his face.”

A guerrilla named Ustedes Hail detailed Abu Sayyaf’s vision for retaking the “Muslim homeland” from those the rebels consider their Christian oppressors. When Martin Burnham pressed him about what that entailed, the guerrilla named five islands. And if the government were to cede those islands to the Abu Sayyaf, would that mark the end of the guerrillas’ quest?

“Oh, no, no,” Hail said. “That would be only the beginning.” Hail named more islands the guerrillas planned to conquer, until they eventually took over the entire Philippines. After forcing the country to submit to Islam, the group would go after Thailand and other “oppressed countries.”

“You see, Islam is for the whole world,” he said.

The kidnappers pushed their hostages to convert. At least two women did, apparently because the guerrillas told them that if they became Muslims, they would be released. To honor Ramadan in November 2001, the kidnappers freed one of the women, Sheila. Though initially promised freedom with Sheila, Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap was denied freedom at the last minute by an Abu Sayyaf leader. She died seven months later in the same firefight that killed Martin Burnham.

Sabaya told the Burnhams they were “war booty” and shared Quranic passages about their possible fates. That could mean death, enslavement, conversion to Islam or taxation if they continued to practice their religion.

The captors often asked Martin if he was ready to convert to Islam. In her book, Gracia reports his astute reply: “Hmmm, well, you know, my father is a Christian. His father before him was a Christian. Going even further back, my family has always been Christian.” For some reason, the Muslims respected the logic and dropped the subject.

The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas often fasted, prayed, read the Quran, took ritual baths and refused to eat pork. They made Gracia wear a head covering and avoided touching her. Yet they flaunted other Islamic rules.

For example, they considered the civilian armed forces, the “CAFGU,” their greatest enemies. “If they were going into a town wanting to chop some heads, they would look for the CAFGU,” Gracia said. “[To the Abu Sayyaf] anyone who had ever worked for the military was even more of an evil than a Christian.”

So while the Abu Sayyaf claimed to be on a jihad, their rampage was not just about religion. “They’re using their jihad to get their homeland back,” Gracia Burnham said. “They would chop off a Muslim’s head as quickly as they’d chop off a Christian’s head.”

Nevertheless, the Abu Sayyaf viewed Christians as enemies. “Something they told us right away was that they hate the cross because we (Christians) believe Jesus was God,” Gracia said. “They say, ‘Any time we see a cross anywhere, we destroy it.’” Once they pointed out a chapel that had no cross and said they had torn it down.

Although the guerrillas prided themselves on their ties to Al-Qaeda, the Burnhams never heard Arabic spoken, apart from the sing-song rote of the captors’ reading of the Quran, which none of them could understand.

Only once, a few days after September 11, 2001, did the Burnhams see anyone who was not Filipino. Two men, whom the Abu Sayyaf claimed Osama bin Laden had sent, joined the group for a few days. The two never spoke to Martin or Gracia, and their captors never told the Burnhams why the men had come.

“The FBI says they were there to tell them: ‘Get out of this kidnapping-for-ransom business, because you’re making us look bad,’” Gracia said.

Some of the hostages said the two strangers came to teach the Abu Sayyaf how to build bombs. When the men finally left, all the other people of importance in the group left as well.

Gracia said she realized why many of the Abu Sayyaf fighters joined the group. “I always felt very bad for them. Here they were, stuck in this religion, trying their hardest to get to heaven.”

According to some Islamic teachers, those who die in jihad bypass a horrible judgment and go straight to paradise. “If you’re trying to appease a God who requires so much of you, but you never measure up, what choice do you have if you truly want to go to heaven? Your choice is jihad, really,” Burnham said.

“A lot of those guys were in the Abu Sayyaf because they didn’t have jobs,” she added. “They joined the Abu Sayyaf because there was a payoff.”

Gracia does not consider her husband a martyr, although “that’s a nice thing to say about Martin,” she said. The kidnapping was about one thing -- money.

“We just were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We didn’t give up our lives because of our faith. Granted, we were in the Philippines because we were missionaries, but there are people all over this world who believe and they’re not going to turn their backs on what they believe. And that intrigues me.

“I think the person needs to do what God calls them to do. If God puts a passion in your heart to go reach the Muslim community, that’s what you do. You don’t look at the danger and weigh out the dangers, because if it’s time for you to leave that village, God’s going to make that clear, too.”

She added, “I don’t have a real good opinion of ‘Should we go? Should we not go? Isn’t it foolish to go?’ Yeah, looking at it from the outside, it’s pretty foolish. But God has called people to do very foolish things before. Even if he calls you to America to the concrete jungle, you need to do it.”

Since her release, Gracia has created the Martin and Gracia Burnham Foundation, which seeks to support missionary aviation, tribal outreach, Muslim missions and persecuted Christians.

***A photo of Gracia Burnham is available electronically. Please contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal. For more information, log on to www.graciaburnham.org.

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***********************************Vision for Conquest

by Deann Alford

ROSE HILL, Kansas (Compass) -- For centuries, Islam posed a threat only in the southern Philippines. That’s changing, said Paul and Oreta Burnham, parents of slain missionary Martin Burnham. The Burnham parents have ministered as church-planters on a northern Philippines island.

From Mindanao, a predominantly Islamic island in the south where their son and daughter-in-law were held hostage by the radical Muslim group Abu Sayyaf, Muslims are moving northward and making inroads, the Burnhams say.

In recent years, the couple has noticed them in the markets of Luzon island. “They’re quite a ways away from where we work, but they are reaching out,” Paul Burnham told Compass. In areas where Muslims live, they are forcing conversions to Islam and killing any Muslims who embrace Christianity.

Paul and Oreta Burnham, who for 30 years have served with New Tribes Mission, work with the Ibaloi, a remote group of animists on north-central Luzon. The couple is now translating the Old Testament into the language. “We didn’t see any [Islamic] threat in the north,” Oreta Burnham said. “I didn’t think it would affect us in any way.”

But now in the post 9-ll world, Islamic fundamentalism is recognized as a threat.

“They wouldn’t be satisfied just with [taking over] the Philippines,” Paul Burnham said. “They would move on to other countries.”

Asked how likely it is that Abu Sayyaf will achieve that goal, he said, “If we don’t do anything, it’s very feasible because they have the will to do it. They think they have the Quran to support it, and they’re very aggressive.”

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***********************************Support for Missionary Hostagesby Deann Alford

ROSE HILL, Kansas (Compass) -- What’s the most important thing that Christians can do to support missionary hostages and their families?

“Prayer,” said rescued hostage Gracia Burnham.

“Prayer,” said Paul Burnham, father of Gracia’s husband Martin, who was killed in that rescue.

During the 376-day captivity of Martin and Gracia Burnham in the southern Philippines, Christians around the world lifted their plight to God in prayer. Men gathered at Rose Hill Bible Church six days a week for morning prayer.

Friends of the Burnhams launched a website that promoted prayer for the couple’s release. The families’ sending agency, New Tribes Mission, devoted prayer services at their mission bases around the world to Martin and Gracia and promoted prayer for them through e-mail prayer updates and flyers.

“Prayer is the most important thing,” Paul Burnham said. “We really appreciated people praying for us, letting us know they were praying.”

“I was reading II Corinthians this morning and this verse just leapt out at me,” Gracia Burnham told Compass. “It was talking about praying for those who are persecuted. That’s how we hold each other up, [by] praying.”

Thousands of believers prayed for her and Martin, Gracia Burnham said. “So many people said to me, ‘I’m not a pray-er. I’m not a prayer warrior. I don’t take things on and pray for them faithfully. But I prayed for you fervently and with tears every day.’

“I think God touched people’s hearts to pray for Martin and I. And we needed it.”

 Martin Burnham was killed in the rescue attempt. Nevertheless, “We feel like our prayers were answered,” Martin’s father, Paul, said.

“We prayed God’s will be done. And he was released. He’s not suffering any more. He’s not chained up. He’s not hungry. He’s not worried about Gracia. We will meet him again someday.”

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***********************************Saudi Arabia Deports Ethiopian ChristianEritrean Prisoner Jailed More Than 10 Weeksby Barbara G. Baker

ISTANBUL (Compass) -- An Ethiopian Christian was deported from Saudi Arabia on May 16 for alleged “Christian activities,” but a fellow Christian prisoner of Eritrean citizenship remained jailed in Jeddah.

Girmaye Ambaye, who was arrested on March 25 in the Saudi kingdom’s largest port city, reportedly cannot be processed for deportation to Eritrea until local authorities complete the official transfer of a car purchased in his name.

“Maybe they will finish it this week, so that he could leave for Eritrea on the June 7 flight,” one of Ambaye’s close friends told Compass from Jeddah on June 2.

According to a fellow Christian who visited Ambaye on May 28, the jailed Eritrean Christian continues to experience some health problems while incarcerated in a crowded waiting cell at the Bremen deportation center at Terhil. “He is still a little bit sick,” the source reported.

Both Ambaye and Endeshawe Yizengaw had been active in the ministry of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Christian congregation in Jeddah, where they lived for the past 12 and 10 years, respectively. After the men had their residence permits secretly revoked in March and April, they were tracked down and arrested by Saudi police.

Yizengaw, who is 32 and unmarried, was deported to Addis Ababa on May 16, only 20 days after his arrest on April 27.

On the day of his arrest, Yizengaw said the security police literally tore his house apart, searching through all six rooms. “Finally they brutally beat me on the face,” he said, leaving his left ear badly injured.

Their stated objective, he said, was to force him to name every Arab Muslim to whom he had ever “preached Christ.”

Yizengaw, who speaks Arabic as well as his native Amharic and Tigrinya languages, told Compass that his interrogators accused him of trying to evangelize Saudi Muslims and of receiving American and British funding in payment for it.

Yizengaw said he does not deny talking about Christ on a regular basis with Muslims, and that he was well aware that by doing so he was putting his life at risk. “But I did not get a penny from anybody, no organization or even a church. God was on my side, and He blessed me.”

In an effort to conceal their real reason for arresting and deporting him, he said, the Saudi authorities told the Ethiopian Consulate that Yizengaw had been involved in making alcohol and running a prostitution ring.

Both his hands and legs were kept cuffed while he was in jail, he said, and he was repeatedly pressed to identify all his Muslim friends.

“They wanted to do some bad things to us, to punish us,” Yizengaw told Compass from Addis Ababa, “but the mighty Lord was with us, and they couldn’t do that.”

Despite the fact that all of their jailers and most of their 300 or more cellmates at any given time were Muslims, Yizengaw said, “Girmaye and I just told every one of them that Jesus is Lord.” In response, he recalled, “One police officer was saying to cut our heads off.”

The Ethiopian said he had been taken in for questioning about a year ago, when seven armed police officers raided the Jeddah fellowship where he was preaching. “Finally they just gave me my residence permit and let me out from the jail,” he said. But he told them “clearly” then that within his own home he was not going to stop preaching and worshipping God.

“Since that day on, they have focused on me,” he said. He was summoned two more times for interrogation before his final arrest in late April.

Saudi security police have kept Yizengaw’s congregation under regular, open surveillance for the past three months. According to the Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern, at least eight other members of the group have been called in recently for questioning and warned to stop attending worship services. Some of the church elders again spotted security police who were following them, a local source confirmed to Compass.

“But the church of our great Jesus is continuing in Jeddah,” Yizengaw declared. “There are many, many believers there.”

*** A photograph of Endeshawe Yizengaw is available electronically. Please contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.

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***********************************Sudanese Priest Released in KhartoumDelegation Visits Jail, Completes Land Purchase Paymentby Barbara G. Baker

ISTANBUL (Compass) -- Six weeks after a Sudanese court jailed an Episcopal priest for refusing to tear down his own church, the Rev. Samuel Dobai Amum has been set free, with the legal process set in motion for his Khartoum North parish to obtain official ownership of its land.

Amum was sent to Soba Prison on April 7 for an “indefinite sentence” until he either demolished St. Matthew’s Parish in Takamol on the outskirts of Khartoum North or paid 7 million Sudanese dinars (about $2,700) to purchase the land on which he had built it 11 years ago. The priest said he did not have such a huge sum of money, and he could not personally destroy a house built in God’s name.

He was released on the afternoon of May 21, just after the Bahri East Harasic Court in Khartoum accepted full payment for the plot of land on which his congregation has worshipped since 1987.

The day before Amum’s release, a small Christian delegation making a five-day visit to Sudan from the United States asked their government hosts if they could meet the

jailed priest. Local officials agreed to escort their visitors to the Soba Prison, where Amum was brought from his cell to meet them.

“We were able to talk freely with him,” said Gary Kusunoki, the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Rancho Santa Margarita in Southern California. When they first arrived, the director of the prison admitted that he did not really know why Amum had been jailed or even that he was a priest.

In response to specific questioning, Amum told his visitors that he had been beaten while in prison. “But I am being treated like every other prisoner,” he said. “They beat everyone. So it’s not because I’m Christian or pastor a church.”

“They tried to stop me from translating some things he said,” the Sudanese Christian translating for the Calvary Chapel group told Compass. “But I told them I can’t do that, because I am a pastor, and I have to be honest.”

Through the translator, Kusunoki said he asked the priest whether he wanted them to ask the Sudanese authorities to drop the case against him so he could be released.

“Absolutely not!” Amum told him. Rather, Amum explained, the only way he could guarantee a place for his church to continue to worship was to pay in court for the land it was built on, and then have that purchase registered officially in the name of the church.

“Even if I have to be here 10 years,” Amum told Kusunoki, “I’ll stay until I get it paid off.”

During Amum’s first six weeks in prison, local Sudanese Christians had raised a total of 2.6 million dinars ($1,000) towards the 7 million dinar purchase price of the land demanded by the court.

The Calvary Chapel delegation promptly declared they would cover the remaining 4.4 million dinars. When they raised Amum’s case later that night with Sudanese government officials, just hours before they left the country, they were given a firm promise: If the 7 million dinars was paid in full to the court the following morning, Amum would be released the same day.

By 6 p.m. on May 21, Amum was walking through the door of his home, where he said his wife and children couldn’t stop crying and hugging him.

“My children told me that because I was not with them for all this time, they had wanted to go stay in the prison, to be with me there!” Amum said when reached by telephone on May 29 in Khartoum.

Amum said that his congregation packed into the mudbrick St. Matthew’s Parish in Takamol for the first Friday worship service after his release. “Normally we are just over 100 people, starting at 10:30 and finishing about 12:30,” Amum said. “But last Friday

there were several hundred people and the church was packed, and they stayed until 3:30 in the afternoon to see me and hear my testimony.”

The Calvary Chapel delegation’s direct intervention on Amum’s behalf is believed to have been a key factor in his prompt release. Kusunoki took the opportunity of a personal audience already arranged with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to inquire about the priest’s case.

But Amum himself declared, “God heard the prayers everywhere, and He got me out of prison.”

According to an Episcopal leader in Khartoum, the church’s lawyers have been working steadily since Amum’s release to secure the legal transition of the land ownership papers into the name of St. Matthew’s Parish. “I think that things are going in the right direction,” he said, “and perhaps within another week we will have finally acquired our lands.”

***Photos of the Rev. Samuel Amum and St. Matthew’s Parish are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.

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***********************************‘God’s Flock’ Attacked in VietnamA Mnong Church Leader Appeals to Christians WorldwideSpecial to Compass Direct

In mid March, a 55-year-old leader of the Mnong tribal church in Vietnam’s southern Dak Lak province issued a plaintive appeal to Christians worldwide. The letter, reprinted below, has been edited and parts have been omitted for security reasons. It was smuggled out of Vietnam and translated into English by missionaries abroad.

The Mnong church in Vietnam, which numbers more than 45,000 Christians, has long been a victim of oppression. Persecution at the hands of local authorities has been particularly brutal and systematic during the past year. An extensive Human Rights Watch report released in April detailed much of the oppression of Mnong Christians.

This letter further confirms that report and documents, for the first time, the death by suicide of a leader who had been forced to recant his faith. The writer fears that “gradually, day by day, God’s flock is being lost to evil.”

*****Dak Lak ProvinceMarch 15, 2003

To: Foreign brothers in other countries overseas

Here I am sending word to you … so that you will know the sorts of hardships that we believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are facing.

Ever since 1975 our faith is considered wrong. This faith of ours does not deserve such condemnation and criticism. It is just because it is our faith. I can’t tell you here all the hardships we have faced everywhere. I will just tell you briefly.

1. Before they cracked down, the Bureau of Minority Culture and Religion instituted the traditional village communal house and ordered the believers to beat gongs and drink liquor the way the Mnong used to do in the past. If Christian believers won’t go along with what they say, they call the faith unpatriotic. This requirement has resulted already in one church leader drinking poison and dying at Dak Ndrung commune, Dak Song district, Dak Lak province.

2. The Vietnam government declares loudly to other countries overseas that it is permitting the Mnong people to assemble for worship. You must have heard what they announce, and it sounds like they are quite good. But this is just to give foreign countries what they want to hear.

3. I was imprisoned in 1976 for being a pastor. The government said, “You can’t call yourself a pastor any more. None of you can go preaching from village to village. You will be imprisoned or fined every time you do. But just wait. In the future, the government will allow you to have a faith.” That’s how it still is until today.

4. What it is pressuring us most strongly now in every place is the pressure on all pastors and church leaders and Christians to abandon the faith (like N’Kran did at Dak Ndrung and then drank poison). Meetings for this took place one after another from November 28, 2001, to November 27, 2002.

They also destroyed our prayer chapels and the places where we assembled regularly in our own houses. The churches that were destroyed, or in some cases had their doors damaged, were the churches in Bu Bong Buk So, Bu Ndrung, Quang Truc, Dak Rlop, and Dak Sreh (completely destroyed). Just the places that were damaged, from the time they began destroying until now, include many houses. It looked like a battle zone.

There were soldiers with guns surrounding the village.

Officials entered churches and threatened the believers and ordered them to sign that they would abandon the faith right there in the church.

They took our hammers and nails and all sorts of things that we owned and destroyed them.

About 10 trucks were used to arrest and imprison people.

Specific DetailsSome assembly houses were completely destroyed and some damaged. Now they

don’t let Christians assemble. Many people visiting one another is not permitted either. Any assembly at all of believers is forbidden. If they find Christians assembling, they fine them or put them in stocks and tell the family to feed them.

As for me, every time they summon me, I say I have been a Christian for a long time, from the time of my parents in 1953 until now. I have the job of teaching my people. They say I am lying and won’t listen to what I say. Those in authority say I follow the American faith for the advantage it gives me.

“Did you ever study God’s Word?” I say, “Yes. From 1970, Pastor Ho Hieu Ha taught me.” They say, “You are lying; you are just in it for personal advantage.” The authorities say I believe wrongly.

Wrong on Five CountsOn November 27, 2002, the authorities said we were wrong on five counts:1. We are wrong to construct churches on our own without permission.2. We are wrong to have pastors and lay preachers on our own -- we are taking

advantage of religious freedom. 3. They consider our faith to be faith in America, not in God.4. We are wrong in starting churches on our own, to assemble for prayer, and

spreading our faith from village to village.5. We are wrong to contribute money or goods that believers have. They think we

send it all to other countries.

Christian MarriageOn marriage there are two things: We Christians have lost our enjoyment in wedding

ceremonies.

One, if marrying within the Christian faith, we must make a written report and then proceed only if there is permission. We must make a proper petition with the day, hour, month, number of people participating, and tell who will preach and who will lead the program and whatever else we Christians do for enjoyment.

Two, when marrying, unbelievers are not required to make all such application papers. For their programs, they still beat gongs and drink liquor and do whatever they want. No one forbids it, and anyone can attend whether many people or few. One village does not seek to do evil to another.

In the regions of Krong No, Dak Ndrung, Dak Rlap, and Quang Son, the government is still persisting in what it wants to do. They warn us that if they can’t persuade us by persecution this year, they will do it another year until we abandon our faith, and only then will the persecution stop. That’s what they are promising.

Rewards

If successful in destroying a church or getting one person to sign a promise that he will abandon his faith, they get a reward of from 5 to 10 million Vietnamese dong ($300 to $600).

Foreign brothers in other countries overseas: Is it right or not for you to have concern for us Christians in Vietnam? From the liberation of Vietnam in 1975 until 2003, they always claim concerning believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that things have not changed. But gradually day by day God’s flock is being lost to evil.

Personally I have had enough of the evil of every kind that they have done to me. All I do is wait patiently for the Lord’s return. We wait for what the Lord has promised -- to separate the unjust from the just. God promised to deliver the just that they may be with him forever.

Final requests1. I ask that you Christian leaders and Christians pray for us unceasingly that God’s

flock may not be lost.2. Pray for God’s flock being weakened here because they are separated from the

counsel of preachers. 3. Pray for our believers here in Vietnam that they may no longer be persecuted.4. Many of us live constantly in difficulty and sadness. It is hard for us to have places

to make rice fields.As I close these requests, I thank God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Savior who

makes us one and cares for us to the end. Amen.

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**********************************************************************COMPASS DIRECTGlobal News from the Frontlines

David Miller, Managing EditorGail Wahlquist, Editorial AssistantSuzi Quinones, Design

Bureau Chiefs:Barbara Baker, Middle EastSarah Page, Asia

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Compass DirectP.O. Box 27250Santa Ana, CA 92799USA

Phone: 949-862-0314FAX: 949-752-6536E-mail: info@compassdirect.orgwww.compassdirect.org