| Barnabas editorial |
Islam in crisis
Two brutal attacks by Al-Shabaab on Christians in Kenya have followed quickly on the heels of one another, with up to 64 people shot or beheaded because they refused to recite the Islamic creed. Meanwhile Boko Haram’s attacks in Nigeria are so many it is getting hard to keep up with the news, let alone tally the number of dead. In both these contexts Christians are one of the prime targets, as zealous Islamists seek to extend their rule, believing that this is what their God demands.
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| The aftermath of anti-Christian violence in Jos, Nigeria |
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| Help Barnabas support victims of anti-Christian violence |
Two merciless attacks in Kenya recently by Islamist group Al-Shabaab saw 28 bus passengers shot dead and 36 quarry workers shot or beheaded after the militants separated Muslims from non-Muslims. In both cases, those who refused to recite the Islamic Creed were killed, most of them Christians.
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| Help Barnabas provide food and medical assistance for refugees in Cameroon |
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| Latest international news |
36 non-Muslims, mainly Christians, shot and beheaded by Al-Shabaab at Kenyan quarry
In another attack targeting Christians in the largely Muslim Mandera County close to the Somali border, Al-Shabaab militants shot dead 36 non-Muslim stone quarry workers just shortly after midnight on 2 December.
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36 non-Muslims, mainly Christians, killed by Al-Shabaab militants at Kenyan quarry
CIAT / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 |
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International leaders express concern for Christians in Middle East
The Prince of Wales has spoken of his distress about the suffering of Armenian Christians in Iraq and Syria, as he visited London’s Armenian cathedral on 19 November. And at the end of a three-day visit to Turkey, Pope Francis signed a joint declaration with Patriarch Bartholomew I condemning the persecution of Christian communities in the Middle East. Also in solidarity with suffering Christians, Russia’s ambassador to the UK has pledged that his country will support Christians in Iraq and Syria.
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| Barnabas Fund helps thousands of displaced Middle Eastern Christians |
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Thousands flee as Boko Haram attacks cause insecurity to soar
In a spate of fresh attacks across north-eastern Nigeria and Cameroon, Boko Haram is continuing its campaign of terror and seeking to expand the rule of its caliphate. On 29 November, they raided yet another Christian-majority town, Shani, in Borno State. This followed the capture of Damassak town also in Borno state five days earlier. The capital cities of two Nigerian states were attacked on 1 December and the central mosque of another state capital on 28 November. There are reported to be 700,000 people internally displaced in northern Nigeria and at least 141,800 refugees in neighbouring countries.
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| Barnabas supports Nigerian refugees in Cameroon |
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Christian homes raided in Uzbekistan, Bibles confiscated
Four Christians in Syrdarya, Uzbekistan were recently fined for allegedly holding a religious meeting without state permission after police raided the home of Denis Absattarov on 5 September. The court also ordered that two Bibles and two Christian songbooks be seized, and that a personal diary, a video-cassette tape and 26 DVDs be destroyed.
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Worshippers attacked and church vandalised in Karnataka, India
Around 25 extremist Hindu militants interrupted a Sunday worship service in Karnataka, southern India on 23 November. After vandalising the church, they attacked worshippers using wooden sticks and iron rods, warning them not to rebuild the church. Eight of the church members were injured, two of whom were hospitalised with broken legs.
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| Indian Christians are susceptible to attack as Hindu radicalism increases |
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