At least nine Christians have been killed, churches set on fire and businesses and homes destroyed in Tundun Wada area of Kano State.

The violence was committed by Muslim youths following unspecified allegations that Christians had blasphemed the prophet Mohammed.

According to sources on the ground, no Christian church, house or business has been left undamaged. An unknown number of people were injured and displaced during the violence.

Tensions have reportedly risen throughout north and central Nigeria following allegations of blasphemy. These include stories of a new cartoon of Mohammed, that the name ‘Jesus’ was left written on a school blackboard, and rumours that a school dispute between pupils was related to religion.

Speaking on behalf of the Christian community following the violence, CAN National Secretary Eng. Samuel Salifu said,

“We are pleading for the government to step in. I am directly telling President Yar’Adua because this may be a very good litmus test for his administration.”

Federal Vice-president Dr Goodluck Jonathan pledged in response that the new regime would soon convene a national religious conference to address the cycle of religious violence that has affected Nigeria in recent years.   CSW

Catholics and Protestants are seeking the return of properties seized by the regime.

Massive, spontaneous Catholic prayer vigils in Hanoi - the biggest demonstrations in public since the Communists came to power - have authorities rattled. With tensions escalating authorities have warned a crackdown is imminent.

At 4a.m. on Friday September 19, the government broke its promise to the Catholic Church and started demolishing the former property of the Papal Ambassador which they had promised in February to return to the church.

On Sunday 21 September up to 10,000 Catholics braved the rain to pray at the site.

There was a heavy police presence complete with dogs.

Humiliation of Christian Children

The government is reported to have ordered school teachers to publicly humiliate students who attend the prayer vigils.

Two 11-year-olds told their parents their teachers forced them to stand in front of their classmates to be mocked in a 'humiliation session' that dragged on for hours until they promised not to go to the church again.   

Residents in North Jakarta have ordered the pastor of a small congregation to cease holding services in his home, despite a letter of permission issued by the Religious Affairs department.

On Sept. 12 village officials in South Rawa Badak, Koja district called a meeting with  the pastor, Syaiful Hamzah, and his wife Tiolida Sihotang, police officers, and representatives from the village mosque.

At the meeting, officials urged Hamzah and his wife to sign a document agreeing to cease all worship services in their home, effectively rejecting permission granted by Religious Affairs officials.

A sympathetic Muslim cleric, Wasi Sholeh, informed Hamzah that “certain people” had made violent threats against him, and that he could not guarantee Hamzah’s safety if he refused to sign the agreement.

The couple eventually signed the document under duress. Other signatories included an official from the Religious Affairs department.

The violence in India against Christians has continued since the outbreak in Orissa on August 24, 2008.According to the All India Christian Council (AICC), from August 24 to September 30 :

• at least 57 people have been killed,
• two Christian women were gang-raped,
• more than 18,000 have been injured
• more than 4,300 houses,
• more than 150 churches and
• more than13 educational institutions 

     -  have been destroyed.

The violence which spread to at least 14 districts of Orissa has left more than 50,000 people homeless. The attacks began following the killing of the Hindu extremist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples on August 23 in Kandhamal district. VHP—World Hindu Council)

 Maoists have claimed responsibility for the assassination, but the VHP has persisted in blaming local Christians.

In the southern state of Karnakata at least 19 churches and 20 Christians have been attacked.
In the north-central state of Madhya Pradesh at least four churches and four Christian schools have been vandalized.
In the southern state of Kerala at least four churches have been attacked.
In the national capital, Delhi, two churches have been damaged.                                                  

 On September 29, European Union (EU) representatives spoke to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during an India-EU summit about the government’s failure to prevent a “massacre” of Christians in Orissa and Karnakata states. Manmohan Singh gave assurances that attacks on Christians would be stopped.

On September 29 bomb blasts rocked three guarded Kandmahal relief camps. No casualties were reported, but the explosions left residents of the camps fearing for their lives and for the safety of other relief camps.

Apart from the rape, murder and arson that has plagued the Christians in at least four states, there are continuing reports of false accusations against pastors of “forced conversions”.

In order to stop the spreading of this awful carnage, sufficient units of India’s army must be deployed to Kandhamal district, Orissa and where needed elsewhere..    

 The Hindu fundamentalist leaders, whose inflammatory remarks triggered this action against Christians, must be brought to trial in appropriate state courts.        

It is important that India’s Prime Minister lead a delegation to visit the victims of violence in Orissa.

AICC also recommends that the Presidential Order of 1950 which gave privileges to members of “scheduled castes” be amended to include Dalit Christians, and Muslims who are currently excluded.                                

This law would close some religious organisations. Authorities plan ‘very delicately, very exactly, in a very coordinated way and without noise’ to do this.

Kazakhstan's controversial new restrictions on freedom of thought, conscience and belief have passed the lower house of parliament, the Majilis.

"The Senate will consider the Law within days, then go to the President," said Kayrat Tulesov, Head of the state Religious Affairs. "We're trying to have this law adopted in its current form”.

He brushed aside the many strong criticisms from human rights defenders and religious organisations.

The draft Law amends the Religion Law, the Administrative Code, and other laws. The text is being finalised.

Kazakh human rights defenders, such as Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, strongly criticise the lack of openness and delay in releasing the text. She pointed out that "clarifications" can still be introduced into the draft before it is sent to the Senate.               

A senior official has allegedly suggested that the authorities plan to "very delicately, very exactly, in a very coordinated way and without noise" close some religious organisations.                          

More than 600 mosques, of Britain’s 1350, are under the control of a hard-line Islamic sect, Deobandi. This sect loathes Western values and has called on Muslims to “shed blood” for Allah, according to “The Times”.
SHARIA COURTS
Five sharia courts have been set up in Britain. The Labour government has quietly sanctioned that their rulings are enforceable with the full power of the British judicial system.
Danger of dual legal system
Lawyers have issued grave warnings about the dangers of a dual legal system. The shadow security minister has said a Conservative government would end sharia courts and impose a tough crackdown on Islamic extremism.        Telegraph UK

LAOS, a land-locked, poverty-stricken, repressive, one-party dictatorship, is one of the world's worst abusers of religious liberty.
Whilst most totalitarian regimes use all sorts of false, non-religious charges as pretexts to imprison Christians,  Lao Christians are imprisoned for believing in Jesus. Meanwhile,
Pastor Sompong Supatto (32),    Boot Chanthaleuxay (18) and    Khamvan Chanthaleuxay (18)
have been in handcuffs and foot stocks since their arrest on 3 August.
They are in considerable pain. The two teenagers are suffering from loss of feeling and infection in their legs and feet due to lack of blood circulation.

AUSTRALIA. A Memorial Mass was held in Sydney on September  21 2008 for  Fr Thomas Pandippally CMI.
It was attended by family and friends.
Fr Thomas was brutally mutilated and murdered in Andra Pradesh, India, as reported in the September newsletter.
A supporter of Tears of the Oppressed put us in contact with his friend, Father Jaison Paul Mulerikkal CMI, a student at Australian National University, who co-celebrated the Memorial Mass.

IRAQ  - a father and his son have been murdered within two weeks of each other. An unknown group of gunmen killed Rayan Nafei Jamooa, a Syrian Catholic, near his home in violence-plagued Mosul on September 10. His father had been kidnapped two weeks earlier and murdered.
A shrinking minority in Iraq, Christians are frequently kidnapped for a mix of financial and IRAQ  - a father and his son have been murdered within two weeks of each other. An unknown group of gunmen killed Rayan Nafei Jamooa, a Syrian Catholic, near his home in violence-plagued Mosul on September 10. His father had been kidnapped two weeks earlier and murdered.
A shrinking minority in Iraq, Christians are frequently kidnapped for a mix of financial and religious reasons, but no ransom was asked for in either of these cases.
Father Bashar Warda, dean of Saint Peter’s Seminary in Ankawa, a small town near Erbil said about the murders, “The reason would definitely be a religious one.”

IRAN The Iranian Parliament passed the bill on September 9, (196votes - 7votes).
If the bill is approved by the Guardian Council it will make death mandatory for those guilty of apostasy or promoting apostasy (including on the Internet), on the grounds that it harms the ‘mental security’ of society.
The bill states that the punishment 'cannot be commuted, suspended or changed'.
On May 15, Iranian converts to Christianity, Mahmood Matin Azad (52) and Arash Basirat (44), were arrested in Shiraz. Their lawyer went to authorities to inquire about the case in early August and was informed the two men had been formally charged with apostasy (leaving Islam). Iranian Christians have feared the government will test-run the legislation on them. Adn Kronos International reported on September 30 that Azad and Basirat had been released. 

  

Azerbaijan
A motion to free Pastor Hamid Shabanov, who was arrested on June 20 for allegedly holding an illegal weapon, has been rejected. He will remain in custody for another two months while criminal investigation against him continues. Bibles had been confiscated from his home.                
Pakistan
Saba Masih, whose birth certificate states she is 13, has been given into the custody of man accused of abducting her. Her sister Aneela, 10, has been returned to her parents.
Egypt
Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy, who filed a case for a change of religion to ‘Christian’ on his identification card, is hiding for his life with his wife and baby girl. His family want him dead. A court ruled against him in January as it is against Islamic law for a Muslim to convert to Christianity.
Kenya
On September 14, approx 50 Muslim youths stormed the Redeemed Gospel Church building in Garissa and ransacked it. At last report, the Christians were being prevented from returning to the church.