In a large-scale push in the past week, authorities in the East African nation of Eritrea detained 150 more Christians from at least five of the country’s outlawed churches. Starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, security officers in the town of Mendefera went house to house arresting Christians from a list of known members of Pentecostal and Orthodox renewal churches. A total of 38 men and 17 women were arrested the first day with at least 10 nursing mothers forced to leave their infants behind. More arrests occurred in the following days. Eyewitnesses reported that the Christians were beaten and otherwise physically mistreated. Last week’s arrests push the confirmed number of Eritrean citizens known to be jailed solely for their religious beliefs up to 2,078. Most are Christians and none have been brought to trial by the authoritarian regime. A local pastor who was arrested eight months ago was recently hospitalized due to harsh punishments while in prison. Two young men were beaten to death at a military camp on Oct. 17, two days after their arrest. (Compass Direct/Asia News)

NIGERIAN TELEVANGELIST TO BUILD $67-MILLION CHURCH IN BRITAIN

A Nigerian television evangelist has commissioned architects to design Britain’s first U.S.-style “mega-church.” The building, to become Britain’s largest religious building, will include an amphitheater and television studio in the 8,000-seat capacity building, valued at an estimated $67 million. Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo’s new building will dwarf Liverpool Cathedral, the country’s largest Anglican church with a seating capacity of 3,000. Ashimolowo, whose church teaches the controversial “health and wealth” version of Christianity, tells his followers, who are largely of African origin and living in deprived areas, that God wants people to be rich and healthy. The British Charity Commission found “serious misconduct” in the church’s finances in 2002 after spending almost $230,000 to celebrate Ashimolowo’s birthday, including the gift of a $150,000 car for the pastor. After an inquiry, Ashimolowo was ordered to repay more than $380,000. A new charity with fresh trustees has since been established. (WorldWide Religious News)

WORLD RELIEF APPLAUDS MUSLIM NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER

Christian development agency World Relief is applauding the efforts of Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus. Yunus, a Muslim from Bangladesh, was awarded the annual prize for a lifetime of work in microfinance -- providing economic help to the poor. Thirty years ago Yunus started the Grameen Bank which has given small business start-up loans and other financial opportunities to 6 million poor. “While stars like Bono [from the band U2] often grab the limelight, professor Yunus has quietly transformed the outlook for millions of the poorest people on earth,” said Bill Toannon, director of microfinance at Baltimore-based World Relief. Toannon believes microfinance to be “a force for peace and reconciliation.” He related a story from a World Relief microfinance institution in Rwanda. “One of our loan officers actually processed loans for an individual who was involved in the murder of her husband and son,” Toannon said. “That’s giving peace a chance.” Yunus’s Nobel Prize boosts the microfinance industry, Toannon added. “We hope microfinance will now take center stage in the fight against poverty.” (Christian Newswire)

300 CHINESE CHRISTIANS STAGE SIT-IN PROTEST FOR CHURCH PROPERTY

Some 300 Chinese Christians from the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) in China’s Gansu province have staged a sit-in to protest the government take-over of the local church’s property. The demonstration began on Monday, Oct. 16, and has continued for more than two weeks. The conflict with the state dates back to 1966 when the Chinese Cultural Revolution allocated the church’s 7,000 square feet of property to two nation-owned factories. After the revolution, the church has repeatedly requested the local government return the property. In 1984 local authorities unilaterally decided to remunerate the church less than half of the market value for the property, an amount the church has persisted in protesting. When the government recently sold the property to a developer for more than 300 times the remunerated amount, the Christians decided they could not keep silent and began the protest. Authorities have threatened to stop issuing the Christians retirement subsidies and have even resorted to physical violence. The Christians have answered by praying and singing hymns. (China Aid Association)

* HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra broadcasts 16.5 hours of Mandarin and 14 hours of Cantonese programming each week.

MYANMAR’S CONFLICT WITH KAREN PEOPLE INCREASES INTENSITY

The conflict between the government of Myanmar (Burma) and the Karen people has recently increased in intensity. Since Friday, Oct. 20, more than 700 Karen people have been forced to flee their homes in an area north of the Mon Chaung river following machine-gun attacks by the Burmese army on villages where Karen are in hiding. A recent news release from Christian Solidarity Worldwide stated, “These latest attacks form part of an ongoing offensive in Karen state which has resulted in 20,000 people being displaced from their homes.” The Karen’s conflict with the government began in 1948 and holds the distinction of being the longest running civil war in the world. Many Karen accuse Myanmar of ethnic cleansing, and estimates indicate that up to 200,000 Karen have been driven from their homes during decades of war. Between 30 to 40 percent of the Karen people are Christians who were evangelized by American missionary Adoniram Judson in the early 1800s. (Assist News Service)

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Southern Baptist missionary Mendy Nantz, 33, was in her car outside the Africa Inland Mission (AIM) center in Nairobi, Kenya, when she was greeted by the barrel of a gun. She was being kidnapped. As she was shoved into the passenger seat of her red car, she began to pray. “I had guns on me all the time. I couldn’t cry. I couldn’t scream for fear they would shoot, but I could pray,” she said. Looking back several months after her quick, safe return, Nantz sees how a string of events revealed the power of prayer. A last-second honk before the gunman arrived caused a neighbor to look outside, see the kidnapping and alert friends. A dozen blue balloons Nantz had in the car were discarded by the gunmen and spotted by an incoming AIM pilot who then directed a search plane. Nantz attributes her safety to her personal prayers and the fact that a prayer chain was mobilized within 10 minutes of her kidnapping. “I don’t know what these gunmen saw or felt at that very moment,” she said, “but I do know they had evil intentions and were stopped by the power of intercessory prayer.” (Baptist Press/Evangelical News)

JOURNALIST CLAIMS BRITS SUSPICIOUS OF EVANGELICALS AND BUSH

A journalist from Great Britain claims the attitude of the British people toward the war in Iraq is an outgrowth of their distaste for evangelical Christians. Columnist Melanie Phillips, who has written about British culture and politics for nearly 30 years, said the “British tend to view with great suspicion anyone who actually is a religious believer. They think it’s a sign of either imbecility or, quite frankly, insanity.” Although she knows most Americans would be shocked at this attitude, she says it is readily apparent when Brits are asked what they think of President George W. Bush. “They know that President Bush is a firm Christian who has a very strong faith,” she says. “They know that he prays, and they think this is a sign of irrationality.” She says many people in the U.K. don’t believe there is a jihad against the West, even after the July 7 attacks on London’s mass transit system by Islamic terrorists. She claims most Brits blame Bush for “creating” the threat by invading Iraq and by supporting Israel. (Religion Today)

HINDU PARTY CALLS FOR ARREST, DEPORTATION OF MISSIONARIES

Hindu nationalists in charge of India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh have accused U.S. and Canadian missionaries of organizing conversions to Christianity among local outcastes through fraud. The leaders then urged the government to “arrest and deport the missionaries instead of remaining indifferent to the problem.” S.V. Seshagiri Rao, vice-president of the Bharatia Janata Party (BJP), made this allegation last week during a press conference in the capital. “Teams of Christian missionaries have fanned out in various tribal areas of Nalgonda district and are forcibly converting tribals to Christianity,” he said. Another politician who addressed the press conference with Rao said the missionaries “promised those who converted free medical treatment, homes, education and 100 rupees per day.” The leaders then claimed that about 6,000 people had converted around the state. “The 68 foreigners in the area divided into several teams that are visiting villages with the help of locals for their conversion work,” Rao continued. “The matter was reported to the Nalgonda police but no action was initiated.” Experts warn this final phrase signals danger because fanatical Hindus will then “feel duty-bound to intervene personally given the indifference of the armed forces.” (WorldWide Religious News)

VIETNAM REGISTERS 18 CHURCHES AS U.S. WEIGHS TRADE DECISIONS

As the U.S. debates whether to include Vietnam on the list of worst violators of religious freedom and congress votes on trade with the Asian nation, Vietnamese authorities advised the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi that 18 churches were recently registered. However, the same authorities failed to notify the churches which first discovered the news from U.S. officials who contacted them. The Vietnamese church leaders said that such dysfunctional communications lead them to doubt the government’s intention to change repressive policies toward the Hmong and other ethnic minorities in northwestern Vietnam’s mountainous provinces. Observers believe the country has stepped up efforts to convince the U.S. of improvements in religious freedom as these key decisions are made. Religious leaders in Vietnam point out that churches that have registered were required to list members by name and have since been under scrutiny with officials “observing” services and forcing unlisted visitors to leave. Authorities also chose to register 18 small, non-threatening churches while 534 churches that applied, some much larger and more vibrant, remain denied. Several churches have said they will refuse to register if these are the “benefits” of doing so. (Compass Direct)

UPDATE: VIEWERS RESCUE CHRISTIAN ARABIC TV STATION IN U.S.

The forced shutdown of Alkarma TV, America’s first 24/7 Arabic Christian TV channel, was recently averted by donations from its Arabic-speaking viewers. The station, run by an Egyptian-born couple out of their southern California home, was given a 10-day notice ordering them to move out following a complaint. Without the $200,000 needed to relocate and set up a nearby warehouse, the couple feared they would be forced to cease operations. After much prayer, the couple shared with viewers the problem and the costs involved. Donations from viewers flowed in. “People immediately began calling and encouraging us and saying things like, ‘We are with you; we’d like to help you and support you to continue.’” The city has now given the couple a two-month extension, allowing them to continue broadcasting from home until the warehouse studio is completed. The husband added, “I felt as if God was saying, ‘It’s time to move out of the house. I want a place where the ministry can grow more.’” (Assist News Service)

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Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) leaders in Lebanon are racing to establish an aid network for the war-torn country before winter weather sets in. Medical and construction teams and aid from U.S. churches are urgently needed as this the post-war cleanup continues. The EFCA of Lebanon has assisted nearly 4,000 people with food, fuel medical supplies and transportation. In the meantime, the U.N. food aid agency ended its relief program on Oct. 31, saying there was now enough food available after the war. Churches can mobilize aid teams by contacting the EFCA International Mission for more information. (Mission Network News)

CHURCH MEMBERS FORCED TO BOW TO HINDU GODS OR BE SHUNNED

Members of the Lambini tribe in the remote Kurumaradikere village in India’s Karnataka state prohibited Pastor Revanna Naik and his congregation from worshiping on Sunday, Oct. 29, forcing them instead to bow to Hindu gods. Three out of 11 Christian families at the church refused to bow before the idols or partake of the offering that indicates allegiance to the Hindu deities. The local council chief ordered the village to ostracize those families. “This stigma of ostracization will crush the very spirit of the Lambini, who are very clan-oriented people,” said Dr. Sajan George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians. “This is the worst form of punishment that could be meted out to these Christians who stood firm in their Christian faith.” The pastor, who lives 24 miles from the village and visits for services, has gone into hiding following threats. The congregation’s troubles began when members declined to participate in an annual Hindu celebration, Saturday, Oct. 21, that is important to the Lambani. Poor and illiterate, the congregation was terrified at the raucous outrage and insults of the large number of villagers. (Compass Direct)

* Radio programs in 17 languages air to India from HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra. The programs are produced at the ministry’s studios in New Delhi, India.

EVANGELIST TO MUSLIMS SAYS GOSPEL IS BEST HOPE TO STOP ISLAM

A former Muslim woman who has dedicated her life to winning Muslims to Christ, W.L. Cati recently traveled to an area of northeastern India dominated by the country’s Muslim minority. Cati, president and founder of the Florida-based White Horse Ministry, is planning to speak two to three times a day. She says the gospel message is the best hope for stopping radical Islam. “That’s the bottom line. Our salvation is their salvation,” said Cati, a former Muslim. “We need to stop playing ‘patty cake’ with them and start giving them the truth and praying that they find Jesus -- because if they don’t, we’re all going to be wearing the veil soon.” The group Cati is traveling with plans to distribute 7,000 copies of the “JESUS” video in three of the languages that are spoken in India. “[The area is] full of Muslims. I’m really expecting signs, wonders, and miracles, whatever it takes to bring them into the kingdom,” she said. “So I’m going there, laying my life down for their salvation.” (Religion Today)

SOMALI CHRISTIAN REFUGEE REUNITED WITH ONE OF HIS SONS

A Somali Christian refugee in Kenya has been reunited with one of his children. Abdi Aziz has suffered severe persecution including a beating that left him comatose and the kidnapping of his three children -- all because he is considered an “apostate” by Muslims. Aziz recently reported that one of his sons had been delivered safely to him after escaping from Somalia, and he expressed his thanks to all those who have been praying for him and his family. Aziz has received numerous threatening telephone calls indicating his other two kidnapped children remain held in a compound in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, unable to leave. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

* ECUADORIAN STAMP HONORS HCJB WORLD RADIO’S 75TH ANNIVERSARY

A postage stamp commemorating 75 years of broadcasting on Radio Station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador, was unveiled in a presentation at the station on Thursday, Oct. 26. About 80 people attended, including Carmen Elena Salazar, executive president of the Postal Services of Ecuador, and HCJB World Radio President David Johnson.

“I cannot forget the occasions when Radio HCJB was my companion,” said Salazar who presented examples of the first-day cover -- an official envelope bearing the anniversary stamp canceled with a special commemorative seal from the post office.

Salazar told of enjoying the station’s classical music as well as hearing the early-morning personal greetings from people living in Ecuador’s Amazon region.

“It was their only way to communicate,” Salazar said, explaining a longstanding programming service to Ecuadorians. “They sent messages via the radio to their relatives living in the rest of the country.”

Counting it a privilege to be a part of Ecuador’s entry into the technological age, Johnson thanked God for Ecuador’s varied landscapes of beaches, mountains and rain forests.

He also said the nation’s people have welcomed HCJB World Radio. Born in Ecuador of missionary parents, Johnson said Ecuadorians have warmly embraced the broadcasting ministry through the years “not just out of courtesy but with a deep desire, a deep affection that was much more than was deserved.”

Pictured on the stamp are five members of the ministry’s founding families who participated in Radio Station HCJB’s first broadcast in English and Spanish on Christmas Day, 1931. Superimposed on the photo’s lower portion is emblazoned “75 ańos” (75 years) while a close-up photo of an HCJB microphone lies diagonally across the stamp’s lower left-hand corner.

Ecuador previously issued commemorative stamps on the 70th and 50th anniversaries of Radio Station HCJB, the flagship station of HCJB World Radio.

Speaking of Ecuador’s golden era of postage stamps, Eduardo Espinosa, manager of philately (stamp collecting) and postal history, said the country’s stamps were once considered among the world’s best. That era began in 1950. He sees philately reviving again as the Postal Services of Ecuador promotes it through seminars in schools and elsewhere. His department’s slogan is, “Philately Is Art, Science and Culture.”

As part of the HCJB commemorative stamp, the cancellation seal (28 mm by 38 mm) includes the mission’s 75th anniversary logo. The stamp is valued at US$1, and first-day covers are available from Correos del Ecuador for $3.50. For more information visit http://www.correosdelecuador.com.ec/espanol/index.php. (HCJB World Radio)

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