From the Barnabas Fund comes these reports:
Taliban Claim to Have Cut the Throat of an Afghan Convert to Christianity
A spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban guerrillas told Reuters that they had slit the throat of Muslim cleric Maulawi Assadullah on 30 June because he was propagating Christianity in the remote Awdand district of Ghazni province.
Speaking about the convert from Islam, Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said, "A group of Taliban dragged out Maulawi Assadullah and slit his throat with a knife because he was propagating Christianity." He said, "We have enough evidence and local accounts to prove that he was involved in the conversions of Muslims to Christianity."
Hakimi also warned that any foreign aid workers found to be involved in spreading Christianity in Afghanistan would face a similar fate. At least 33 foreign aid workers have been killed by the Taliban since the beginning of last year. The number of Afghan Christians killed by the Taliban is not known.
[See also the report from ICC below.]
Iraqi Christian Injured in Attack on Mosul Church
Two unidentified men injured a Christian woman when they threw a grenade from their car at the Holy Spirit Chaldean Catholic Church in the Hay Al-akha’a area of Mosul at 10:30 a.m. on 26 June. The injured woman, who was taken to hospital, is the sister of the parish priest.
And from International Christian Concern come these items:
Taliban Say Cut Throat of Afghan Christian
Afghanistan's Taliban guerrillas say they cut the throat of a Muslim cleric after they discovered him propagating Christianity and warned foreign aid workers they would face similar treatment if they did the same. Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi telephoned Reuters on Thursday to say that the guerrillas killed Maulawi Assadullah in the remote Awdand district of Ghazni province the previous day. "A group of Taliban dragged out Maulawi Assadullah and slit his throat with a knife because he was propagating Christianity," he said. "We have enough evidence and local accounts to prove that he was involved in the conversion of Muslims to Christianity." Provincial officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Hakimi charged that a number of foreign aid agencies were also involved in spreading Christianity in Afghanistan, where the adherents to the religion are in a tiny minority. "We warn them that they face the same destiny as Assadullah if they continue to seduce people," he said.
Pastor Brutally Attacked in Indian Village
An Indian pastor brutally beaten in a night-time attack in West Tripura is still recovering from serious knife wounds. Letthang Gangte, a missionary of the Evangelical Congregational Church of India, received cuts to the head and back, and a deep stab wound in the stomach. Witnesses say it was a miracle he survived the attack from as many as 10 assailants who broke through the walls of the family’s mud hut around 3 a.m. on April 19. Mrs. Gangte sustained injuries to her head and one arm and the couple’s daughter Bebem, 7, and son Bawilun, 10, suffered slashes on their calves and thighs. The family had lived in the village of Rajghat since 1995. Sources think the attack was inspired by the recent propaganda efforts of militant Hindu groups to discourage local tribal peoples to convert to Christianity. The family’s sending church requested law enforcement authorities to investigate the crime, but the police refused, saying Gangte must first identify the men who attacked him.
Chinese Woman Beaten to Death After Distributing Bibles
A 34 year old woman has been beaten to death by police after she was arrested for handing out Bibles in southwest China’s Guizhou province, ASSIST News Service learned Monday, July 5. The French News Agency (AFP) quoted China's state run Legal Daily newspaper as saying that police in Guizhou’s Tongzi county arrested Jiang Zongxiu, a farmer, on June 18 on suspicion of “spreading rumors and inciting to disturb social order." They had planned to detain her for 15 days, the report said, alleging Jiang died in police custody the afternoon she was arrested. Her mother-in-law, Tan Dewei, who was arrested with Jiang but later released, told reporters police kicked Jiang repeatedly during interrogation, AFP reported. Police later informed Jiang’s family she had died of a sudden illness and turned over her body to the family, but relatives saw she was covered with bruises and blood stains, the report alleged. It is at least the second published killing of a Christian by Chinese police in as many months, although human rights watchdogs believe torture of Christians and dissidents is wide spread in the Communist nation.
Posted by Clifton at July 7, 2004 01:00 PM | TrackBack