Volume 6 Issue 10

Meeting was good. Want to have  more classes. Troop Church touched me the most. Was a blessing and deliverance. Sheena Mathew

Was a blessing. Liked the classes. Classes of deliverance touched me the most. Anne Varghese

Happy to take part in Evangelization of India. Class about getting reply from God in prayer touched me the most. Tessy  Shajan

Understood the deep meaning of God’s word. Kumaran M

Was helpful. Got courage to step out of the bonds of structural church. Class of forgiveness touched me the most. Kindly conduct More Classes . R Robin Raj

Was helpful to know more about Jesus and his word . Joseph George

Liked the classes. Learned to forgive and came to know  more of the  word of God .Classes of forgiveness and prayer touched me the most. Kindly conduct more such classes.  Rachel George

God taught me my duty as a believer. I learned the ways how devil attacks me and how to be safe from them. Classes should be longer. Ajayan BK

Was a blessing and an inspiration to fight by praying. Authority of children of God and classes about how to get answers from God touched me the most. These  classes should be conducted in all churches. Mrs Pushpa T Rajan

Should transform each believer into disciples. Should be given chances to ask questions. George

Holy spirit touched me.  Raghavan

Able to receive  Holy Spirit from God these days. Testimonies shared touched me the most. Wants to participate again in this programme a second time. Catherine Samuel Panicker

Was able to know much deep about Gods word. Classes of forgiveness touched me the most.  Conduct more meetings like these . Anitha Samuel

Got knew idea about church . Troop Church (The model church -  conducting prayer by and for  all participating) touched me the most.  Would like to attend a 5 day  programme in June. Elsamma Sudev

Got to know more about God’s model of the church. Teaching about how to cast out demon from ourselves and testimonies touched me the most. Nisha C

Participated  in FRP. Four warnings  given to  church touched me the most. Will pray for the correction of churches.  Prasanth Thomas

The concept of church and God’s plan for  me was cleared. Thomas KJ

Happy to know about real church and enjoyed the Troop Church  Meeting. Conduct class one more time in  this district . Shajan

Able to experience presence of God and witness great change going to occur in India. The Unadulterated word of God and his great work through Troop Churches touched me the most. Please Conduct more of meeting in Kasaragod and Kannur. Achza Esther

India: Mob Wounds 13-Year-Old Christian Girl, Threatens to Burn Mother

Tribal animists upset that Christians tried to bury one of their dead in a village in eastern India seriously injured a 13-year-old girl and others who tried to protect a Christian woman the villagers threatened to burn alive. On Feb. 26 Christians in Chitrangapalli, Tamguda village, were about to bury the body of a 3-year-old girl who had died of natural causes in Odisha’s state’s Malkangiri District, when villagers reached the field where they were performing last rites. The mob insisted they would not allow a Christian to be buried in their village, even though the burial site was on land owned by one of the Christians, area sources said.

They demanded that the Christians take the body outside the village for burial. After the land owner argued that he was free to bury his dead on his land, the villagers left, only to return at midnight with weapons. About 20 to 25 villagers carrying wooden sticks surrounded the houses of the three Christian families in the village of nearly 35 families and ordered them to come out. The mob was shouting loudly, reviling them for changing their faith.

Some Christians came out of their houses, and the villagers told them to renounce Christianity. When they refused, the attackers entered their homes, dragged the rest of their family members out and beat them, area residents told Morning Star News.

Savagely beating 45-year-old Nandi Madkami, an aunt of the girl who had died, the assailants threatened to burn her with gasoline they were carrying. “As they were attempting to burn her, Nandi’s 13-year-old daughter ran to her rescue,” Enka Pusham, a Christian from a neighboring village who gave refuge to the Christian families after they spent the night hiding in the forest, told Morning Star News. The villagers began to beat Madkami’s daughter, Savita Madkami, with wooden sticks, leaving her bleeding from head wounds. Savita’s father, Deba Madkami, was beaten when he came to his daughter’s rescue, as was his father, Ganga Madkami, and brother, Jaga Madkami. The elderly Ganga Madkami sustained a broken right hand.

The attackers proceeded to burn the houses of the Christians, destroying a roof. “The mob also looted 10,000 rupees (US$153) from Jaga Madkami’s house and destroyed his cycle,” Pusham said. The Christians ran to the jungle to save their lives and spent the night there. One badly injured Christian who could not run was secretly taken in by some kind villagers and kept safe. The next morning Pusham, from nearby Kalimela village, and other Christians went in search of the Christians hiding in the forest.

“News reached our village that the villagers assaulting the Christians had actually burnt Nandi alive, and we were horrified,” Pusham told Morning Star News. “We started to send messages for help and prayer support on social media.” Pusham and the others rescued the displaced Christians, who have now taken refuge at an undisclosed location.

That day (Feb. 27) the Christians went to a local police station to file a complaint but were refused, as officers told them to contact the main police station in Kalimela. Police did not help them obtain medical treatment as they customarily would, Pusham said. “Anti-tetanus injections were all that the Christians were given in the name of first aid,” she said.

After the Christians filed a complaint on Wednesday (Feb. 28) at the Kalimela police station, officers took the wounded to a hospital. Savita, Ganga Madkami and Jaga Madkami are still receiving hospital treatment. Nandi Madkam, who was threatened with being burned alive, sustained injuries on her legs and back, while Deba Madkami and Jaga Madkami have injuries on their legs, face and back. Savita has a severe wound on her head.

“The police had assured us that they would arrest the attackers, but we have not heard from them since,” said Pusham.Christian leaders from Malkangiri approached police, resulting in a First Information Report being filed against the assailants. Those assaulted are members of the Indian Missionary Society Church in Pulimtla village, six kilometers (less than four miles) from their home. After the attack, the villagers are not allowing the Christians to return to their homes or enter the village. “We had sent a known person to the Tamguda village to assess the situation there,” Pusham said. “He returned to report that the villagers are waiting to attack these families if they try to return to their homes.”

The three families had already been boycotted in their village, she said. “They were not allowed to fetch water nor associate with the other villagers,” she said. “In September of last year, animals belonging to the Christian families were taken away and were slaughtered. But they have stood strong in their faith.”

On Friday (March 2), Christian leaders from Malkangiri area, along with the police, arranged for a peace meeting between the leaders of the attackers and the Christians. It may be possible for the Christians to return to their houses soon, but at this writing the area remains tense, and the assaulted Christians are still waiting to return home. 

Christians in Malaysia to Fight for Rights after Court Ruling on Conversion

In the wake of the highest court in Malaysia refusing to hear an appeal by four Christians wanting to officially convert out of Islam, Christian leaders continued to hold hope for change. In a country where there is no legal way to leave Islam, the four people were asking the Federal Court to have their names and their faith changed on their national identity cards. On Tuesday(Feb. 27) the court held that the four people were Muslims and hence fell under the jurisdiction of the Sharia (Islamic law) Court system, and that it must adjudicate matters of Islamic law.

The five-member panel of the Federal Court unanimously ruled that civil courts had no jurisdiction to decide on apostasy cases. The four converts held that the Shariah Courts had no power to decide apostasy cases under state laws because they are no longer Muslims. Court of Appeal President Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin wrote that although no such legal provision for deciding apostasy cases existed in the law, there were clauses in it that Shariah Courts could apply.

The Federal Court decision helps clear up a gray area in apostasy cases in Malaysia, but bewilderment remains as Shariah Courts are state courts subject to different state laws. Furthermore, the Federal Court ruled in January that the federal civil court has the final say on legal matters even as they pertain to Muslims. Hence after the verdict, Joshua Baru, son of the four converts’ attorney, Baru Bian, said the decision “seems to suggest a double standard of the jurisdiction of the civil courts and the interpretation of [the federal constitution].”
 
Christian leaders, meantime, held out hope. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Kuching, capital of Sarawak state, Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng, issued a statement asserting Christians should not give up. “Next, we should pray that the lawmakers will table a just law to face this issue,” Poh said. “Do not lose hope. By the way, I was at the court hearing yesterday, and I testify that the judges were very neutral and fair. Pray, continue to pray. With God, nothing is impossible.’”

Gracious words amid the emotions that ran high on all sides; the Malaysian Insight noted that the archbishop was indeed present at the hearing, and then was heckled by demonstrators trying to jostle him as he exited the court. At the same time, Christian organizations, including the Association of Churches in Sarawak, have reportedly appointed senior lawyers Leonard Shim and Libat Langub as amicus curae(friends of the court) to monitor their interests. The Sarawak Dayak Iban Association, which represents the state’s largest ethnic group, and the Methodist Church in Malaysia, the Sarawak Ministers Fellowship and the Sarawak Evangelical Churches Association have appointed lawyers to hold a watching brief.

Three of the four appellants were raised as Christians but converted to Islam in order to marry Muslims. Jenny Peter divorced her Muslim husband in 2006 and returned to Christianity. Salina Jau was divorced by her Muslim husband in 1992, and then she returned to Christianity. Tiong Choo Ting began to practice Christianity after his Muslim wife died in 2007. All three signed “statutory declarations” that they intended to return to Christianity

The fourth person, Syarifah Nooraffyzza, is an ethnic Malay raised as a Muslim. According to the Malaysian Constitution, all ethnic Malays are Muslims – a principle upheld in the case of Lina Joy, who was denied her right to leave Islam in 2007 and convert to Christianity. Syarifah filed a document stating that she no longer practices Islam, and she was baptized in 2009, according to published reports. She is asking to change her identity card from Muslim to Christian and to change her name to Vanessa Elizabeth.

She as well as the other three people are “still Muslims on papers,” according to an appeals court. For the moment, they must take their cases back to Sharia Court to try to get letters of apostasy.

Bible Burning in Southern India Shows Depth of Hostility toward Christians

Hindu extremists in southern India issued harsh threats to Christians distributing Bibles before snatching their car keys, taking Bibles out of their vehicle and setting the Scripture on fire, sources said. Christians associated with Gideons International, all senior citizens, told Morning Star News that their advanced age did not temper the vitriol they received in Singotam village, Nagar Kurnool District, in Telangana state on Jan. 21.

“From now on, if any of you distribute Bibles, we will attack you brutally [till your genitalia are damaged],” one of the Hindus warned the Christians, according to a video the extremists took of the attack. “How dare you promote Christianity?” The video shows the group harassing Christians after one of the group snuck into the car, took the keys and tossed the Bibles out, which the group then began kicking.

“You are useless people, and all your activities are useless,” the video shows one saying. “You will give a Bible to whoever you want? How dare you …You shameless idiots. Get the hell out of here.” One of the assailants then poured fuel as his colleagues instructed him to pour it on the copies; he then lit a matchstick and set the Bibles on fire. The hostilities come after “one of the most traumatic” years of persecution of Christians, according to a report released last week by the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI).

The Christians had obtained permission to distribute the Bibles at government-aided school in Singotam village from the headmaster. They had set out from Nagarkurnool at 11 a.m. and reached Singotam 90 minutes later, waiting another half hour for four other Christian associates, the group’s Richard Nixon told Morning Star News. “Eight of us were travelling in two different cars,” he said. “Before distributing the Bibles, we prayed together, and we had first asked the school administration that we will place the Bibles there, that the students may take them, but we were told to distribute them by ourselves. It was such a joy! The children came to us few at a time with their friends and received the Bibles happily. 

They distributed nearly 170 Bibles, Nixon said. Five cartons remained with 80 copies of the New Testament in each, and they proceeded towards the town distributing the Bibles to shops and passers-by. “There was a Lakshmi Narsimha Swamy temple in that area called Kollapur, and a man came out from the temple and asked us if we can give him some copies of New Testament, and we gave some 20 copies to him,” Nixon said. “Each of us was carrying handful of Bibles and were walking on the road adjacent to the temple.”
 
Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess for wealth, and Narsimha is the Hindu lion god. They are regarded as husband and wife in Hindu mythology. A group of at least 10 Hindu extremists approached and ordered them to stop distributing the Bibles, Nixon said. “We didn’t want to argue with them and just kept calm,” he said. “But they started badgering us with questions: ‘Who sent you here? Why are you distributing Bibles?’ They soon slipped into filthy language. We told them that we will move on from here, and requested let there be no fight.”

Counter-Charge against Christians

The Christians had distributed Bibles in the area for 30 years without any opposition, said another member of the group, K.J. Anandham, a retired police sub-inspector. “The Hindus harassed us and even threatened to beat my wife,” he said. “We are all retired employees and senior citizens; they did not have courtesy for age. Their language was uncivilized and brutal.” The extremists told them to leave, and they resumed their journey, stopping the car after about 800 meters to wait for their colleagues in the other car.

“We found the same man who picked a fight with us in the town following us with 10 more,” Nixon said. “They started abusing us in extreme vulgar language. One of them sneaked into the car and picked up the copies of Bibles and threw them out. They started kicking the Bibles.” While their driver was about to start the car, another extremist jumped in and pulled the keys from him, he said. 

“They started tearing the Bibles savagely. They got the cartons we had not even opened yet from the boot of the car, threw them down and started kicking and stamping the copies. We tried to stop them, saying, ‘We will not distribute them here, but please don’t tear the Bibles. It’s the Holy Word of God,’ but they paid no heed. They also started videotaping.” The extremists then set the Bibles ablaze. Area resident A. Navanitham saw the video and informed Kollapur police. Circle Inspector of Police Saida Babu told Morning Star News that officers registered a case, First Information Report No. 12/2018, based on Navanitham’s complaint and the video, and took the assailants into custody. A counter-charge, however, has been filed against the Christians, Sub-Inspector of Police G.V. Satyanarayana told Morning Star News.

“This case will not be produced before the court as yet,” he said. “We are waiting for the orders of the District Collector.” District Collector E. Sridhar was unavailable for comment. A legal expert who requested anonymity said police have taken the tactic of registering an FIR against “unknown” assailants.

“There is no name – that simply means they have not charged anyone, and no assailants were produced before the court,” the legal expert said. “Had the police been serious, they would have made arrests, and the accused according to legal procedure should have been produced before the court of law since Section 295-A is a non-bailable offense.” Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) outlaws “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings,” punishable by a fine, prison terms or both. There is no chance of intervention by the District Collector, since it is police who levy charges depending on the evidence, the source noted. Asked what the charges had been filed against the Christians, Police Inspector G.V. Satyanarayana said, “We are yet to decide that, but a case has already been registered under section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code.” 

Gideons associate Anandham said that three days after the incident, he and his wife were summoned to the police station. “Because of the complaint given by Navanitham, the police joined hands with Hindu extremists and are after us,” he said. He and his wife, both diabetics, were held at the police station all the day, he said. “We were exhausted, without food and water,” he said. “On the day of attack, we discussed the matter and decided to pray and forgive the assailants, and to not file any case against them. But Navnitham has shown interest, and his motives are still not known.” Asked to comment, Navnitham told Morning Star News only, “The police have already arrested the assailants, the matter is over.”

Sharing Christ’s Love

Navneet Chhabra, executive director of Gideons International in India, told Morning Star News that there have been several instances of people telling workers to stop distributing Bibles, though the workers are not assigned to religious conversion. “The book has got Proverbs, which are written by Solomon, and it speaks about wisdom,” he said. “It has got several things, and we do not know in which state the people are when they receive a copy. We only believe that when they read it they will receive some peace in their heart.” Gideons workers politely stop distributing when people decline, he said.

“There have been testimonies where people who have themselves burned the Bibles have invited Christ into their lives,” he added. “There are instances where people have picked up torn papers of Bible from garbage, and their lives were transformed.” The organization has received letters from hospitals and jails from people who received the Bibles and whose lives the Lord has touched, Chhabra said. “Whoever has done this act of burning the Bibles, we will pray for them that the Lord wipe away the hatred from their hearts,” he said. “We belong to the same country and share as much patriotism as they do, then why this animosity? We don’t retaliate, we don’t hold any animosity, and we forgive them. We love them.”