In October 2023, the government of the Islamic sultanate of Brunei announced a radical change in education policy to be implemented from Nov. 1. All 2nd to 5th grade students, including Christian children, are required to attend one hour per day of Islamic instruction. This includes practicing Islamic prayers and studying the Quran. This decree from the sultan applies to public and private schools.
Read MoreOn Feb. 13, 2017, a group of men on motorbikes and in SUVs abducted Pastor Raymond Koh. His wife, Susanna, and their children have not heard from him since, though Susanna has continued to seek information from the police and Malaysia’s justice system. Susanna filed a legal case requesting new inquiries into her husband’s disappearance, which she believes was connected to a 2011 confrontation with the Islamic religious police. The judge hearing the case visited the scene of the abduction on Nov. 6 and 7 to learn more about the situation.
Read MoreFive years ago, Bindu and her three children put their faith in Christ, becoming the first Christians in their village. Bindu’s husband, Hari, is strongly Hindu and actively tried to stop them from going to church. On Christmas day 2021, while Bindu and the children were preparing to attend a Christmas celebration, he began to beat them, knocking one of his daughters unconscious and chasing them out of the home. Bindu and her daughters decided to return home, and the persecution and abuse continued. Hari tried many times to open a case for divorce and finally left the village.
Read MoreRadical Islamic groups based in Somalia regularly attack Christians in Kenya who live near the border. Late in the evening of January 2, 2022, al-Shabab terrorists from Somalia broke into a house, pulled out a Kenyan father of four named Joseph and questioned him about his religion. When Joseph boldly declared that he was a Christian, they beheaded him. They then threatened his wife, Grace, and set the home ablaze. On September 26, 2023, terrorists returned to the village and destroyed Grace’s rebuilt home.
Read MoreMore than a million Sudanese refugees have fled to neighboring countries since fighting erupted in Khartoum on April 15, 2023. Egyptian authorities report that nearly 300,000 Sudanese have arrived in Egypt since the fighting began, significantly adding to the more than 4 million Sudanese who had fled there during previous wars seeking safety and improved economic opportunity.
Read MoreFront-line workers report that new believers in a small Gulf nation are under increasing pressure after one of their leaders was deported for his faith. “Most of the local Christians are young in faith and also young in age,” a front-line worker explained. “The community [members] had grown a bit relaxed and weren’t expecting anything like this to happen, so it caught them by surprise.”
Read MoreSam, a pastor in the majority-Hindu northern part of Sri Lanka, was sharing the gospel with a friend who seemed open to learning about Jesus. Without warning, the friend became aggressive and struck Sam in the face. Another time, villagers accosted him and berated him with profanity for his evangelism efforts. Sam remains faithful to his calling and is committed to his goal of sharing the gospel with 200 people this year.
Read MoreHindu radicals disrupted a worship service on Feb. 6, 2022, accusing Pastor Ramesh Verma of breaking anti-conversion laws. Police arrested Ramesh and placed him in jail. For the first 15 days, Ramesh asked God why he allowed this to happen. But when his son brought him a Bible and other prisoners became interested in what it had to say, Ramesh’s perspective changed: he began to minister to his fellow prisoners and lead them to Christ. He and his younger son distributed 60 New Testaments in the prison.
Read MoreOn Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, hundreds of Christians gathered at a church in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to end a weeklong series of prayer meetings. The gathering was so large that chairs and tarps were placed outside to provide overflow seating. Those in attendance did not know that radical Islamic group ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) had buried a bomb in the outdoor seating area. Just after a children’s choir finished performing, the bomb exploded, killing 15 people and seriously injuring roughly 70 more. “Now some people are saying that we planted the bomb!” said one assistant pastor, explaining, “Those people think we are trying to gain sympathy and funding.”
Read MoreBoonTaWong came to Christ because he wanted a changed life like he saw in other Christians. That decision brought the attention of the main religious leader of his community, who began to threaten and harass BoonTaWong. He demanded that BoonTaWong recant his faith in Christ, blamed his Christian faith for causing BoonTaWong’s wife to die, and mocked the impoverishment of most Lao Christians.
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