Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

SUDAN: PASTORS CHARGED

Elizabeth Kendal writes in the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 309 | Wed 13 May 2015   

After predominantly Christian South Sudan seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011, Sudan's Arab-Islamist regime in Khartoum declared its intention to Islamise Sudan fully.

The Islamisation includes a campaign of systematic persecution, especially in the strategic major centres of Khartoum, Khartoum North (Bahri) and Omdurman. Foreign Christians have been expelled, numerous Southerners have been driven out and several churches have been seized and destroyed.

In mid-November 2014 National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) agents oversaw the partial demolition of the Khartoum Bhari Evangelical Church, a property belonging to the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SSPEC) [see RLPB
288 (26 Nov 2014)]. Then on Sunday 21 December 2014, Rev Yat Michael, an SSPEC pastor visiting from Juba, South Sudan, was arrested as he addressed the congregation at the partially demolished property.


Then, on 11 January 2015, SSPEC pastor,Rev Peter Yein Reith, was arrested as he returned to his home at the Gerif West Bible School in Khartoum after a prayer meeting. It has been suggested that Pastor Reith was arrested because he had delivered a letter to the Office of Religious Affairs in Khartoum in which denominational leaders enquired about the arrest of Pastor Michael. Both pastors were taken to a secret location and held incommunicado without charges or access to their families or a lawyer, triggering graveconcerns for their welfare. On 30 April the men were transferred from a police station in down-town Khartoum to a NISS detention centre in Khartoum, before being transferred to Omdurman Prison on Monday 4 May.

Both pastors faced the Khartoum Bhari Criminal Court on 4 May where they were charged jointly with undermining the constitutional system (Article 50 of the Sudanese Penal Code); waging war against the state (Article 51); disclosure and receipt of official information or documents (Article 55); arousing feelings of discontent among regular forces (Article 62); breach of public peace (Article 69); and offences relating to insulting religious beliefs (Article 125). Of the five charges, Articles 50 and 51 carry the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty.

Morning Star News (MSN) was able to speak briefly with Pastor Michael on 7 May. 'God will intervene and protect us even in prison despite the serious charges brought against us,' the pastor said. 'Thank you all for your prayers and concerns for us over this long period of imprisonment.' According to MSN, whilst NISS officials offered to drop the charges if the SSPEC paid $12,000, SSPEC will not open itself up to extortion. The pastors commenced a hunger strike on 28 April to protest their detention. Their families are understandably anxious. Pastor Michael's wife implored MSN, 'Let us continue to pray for them so that God can help them to be released.' The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday 14 May. [Visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog for updates.]

 

(Prayer guide follows): 

 

RECENTLY RELEASED FROM UNDER A DEATH SENTENCE IN A SUDANESE PRISON, MARIAM IBRAHEEM HONORED WITH THE "COST OF DISCIPLESHIP" AWARD

Mariam Ibaheem is the heroic, courageous 27 year old Sudanese Christian woman imprisoned for her faith and sentenced to death because of her faith in Christ.  With her in prison was her 20 month old little boy, Martin, and while in prison she gave birth to a baby girl.  Thanks to the hard work of many individuals and organizations, the Islamist Sudanese government finally released her.  The Family Research Council celebrated her release with a stunning gala program last Saturday.  You won't regret watching all (or even just part) of the video below.  You especially won't want to miss Mariam Ibraheem's appearance at around the 57:00 point in the video.  Her elegant, regal bearing makes it hard to recall and imagine the suffering she underwent for her refusal to renounce Christ which would have meant her immediate release and freedom.

 

If you listen to the whole video, you will be inspired by short talks by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.  7:40), Rep. Chris Smith (R - NJ  25:25) and Rep. Mark Meadows (45:00 R - NC) who all worked hard to secure Mariam's release.  These three stalwart, hard-working conscientious Congressmen deserve our gratitude and continued prayers.  Tina Ramirez of Hardwiredglobal.org (37:20) works hard to train local nationals in how to advocate for human rights and challenge legal systems.  Her organization's work proved crucial in Mariam's release.  Nachmeh Abedini appears and talks of her husband Saeed's continuing two year imprisonment in Iran (17:20).  The persecution of Christians in the world today may be the worst ever in history.  Who cannot fail to be inspired by Mariam Ibraheem's courage and steadfastness in remaining true to her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ?

 

CRITICS: US CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT IN IBRAHIM RELEASE

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese mom who refused to recant her Christian faith even in the face of death, will soon head to the United States.

The news comes one day after she and her family were allowed to leave the U.S. Embassy in Sudan, where they took refuge after her release from prison.
     
Meanwhile, critics note that although Ibrahim's husband and children are American citizens, it was the Italian government and the Vatican that negotiated her release, not the U.S.

MERIAM IBRAHIM IS FINALLY FREED FROM SUDAN AND IS NOW IN ITALY

This is tremendous news!

CBN News headlines: Sudanese Christian Mom Now Free, Arrives in Italy

 CBN News:

Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese Christian woman who nearly died for refusing to recant her faith, is now a free woman.

Ibrahim, 27, arrived in Italy Thursday following an extended stay at the U.S. Embassy in Sudan.

Meriam Ibrahim is safely in Rome but is her ordeal over? Tina Ramirez, founder of Hardwired, an organization that works to end religious oppression around the world, explains what's next and how you can continue to help.

Sign the petition to help change Sudan's oppressive apostasy laws.

The mother of two had been sentenced to death for marrying a Christian, who is an American citizen, and for abandoning the Muslim faith.

A judge dropped the sentence after international outcry, but not before Ibrahim was forced to give birth to her second child in shackles.

Her release comes just one day after a congressional hearing about her plight, where religious rights advocates warned that her case is just one of many.

"She is the tip of the iceberg," Zuhdi Jasser, vice-chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee.

"For every one case of Meriam Ibrahim, there are hundreds, if not thousands of those Sudanese and others who are victims of a draconian implementation of Sharia law that creates an existence for the Sudanese under the leadership of President Bashir that is really an abomination of religious freedom," he charged.

Perkins, who also testified before the House panel, agreed, suggesting the Obama administration has dropped the ball on addressing religious persecution.

"The United States needs to show more concern about religious hostility and persecution abroad, in particular the case with Meriam Ibrahim, where I think the response of the United States has been woefully inadequate," Perkins told lawmakers.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., chairman of the subcommittee was equally critical, saying the U.S. State Department is aggressively promoting gay rights at the expense of religious rights.

MERIAM IBRAHIM, THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER IMPRISONED IN SUDAN AND SENTENCED TO DIE FOR APOSTASY, HAS BEEN FREED

Update 6/24/14   10:30 PM - Meriam cannot leave the country!!  The British Daily Mail reports in an exclusive story that she is being charged with fraud.  Reporter Dan Bates writes:

. . . Meriam Ibrahim has been accused of falsifying travel documents as she tried to leave the African country hours after the death penalty was dropped against her.

It is understood that the authorities told her she should have used the Muslim name she had when she was born, not the Christian name she uses after choosing to worship that faith.

It is not clear if her husband Daniel Wani, who is from Manchester in New Hampshire, has also been charged with any offenses.

The new allegations are a huge setback to Meriam's hopes of leaving Sudan and a further sign that the Sudanese government is playing twisted games over her release.

Meriam, a doctor, is on bail which was put up by a friend. She cannot leave Sudan until this matter is resolved as part of her bail conditions.

It came as campaigners working to free the mother-of-two attacked the U.S. Department of State for its ‘shameful’ response to helping her.

Tina Ramirez, founder of religious freedom organization Hardwired, called for Congress to investigate the 'incredibly negligent' handling of Meriam Ibrahim’s case.

Meriam and her husband were detained at the airport of the Sudanese capital Khartoum when they tried to leave the country with their son Martin, 21 months, and daughter Maya, one month.

Meriam was only freed on Monday after nine months in jail, during which she was shackled to the floor while she gave birth to Maya.

As noted, Tina Ramiraz of Hardwired, accuses the State Department of incredible negligence.  Read the whole news report to understand why.  Note also the reporter's chilling observation:

In a worrying twist, Meriam and Daniel were taken into custody by the feared National Intelligence and Security Services, MailOnline has confirmed.

NISS does not operate through the courts if it claims to be working on a matter of national security and can detain people indefinitely, Hardwired said.

The organisation was described as ‘Agents of Fear’ in a damning report by human rights campaigners Amnesty which outlined a catalogue of abuses they had carried out.

NISS is also notorious for taking prisoners to secret 'ghost houses' where they are tortured. . . 

We need to pray this family safely released and out of Sudan!  

(Original Post) - The following CBN News video interview offers  lots of insights into the freeing of Meriam Ibrahim.  Noteworthy is that Ibrahim was represented by Muslim lawyers who demonstrated tremendous courage in so doing.   Also noteworthy has been the negligence of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum.   As Tony Perkins points out, "where the Obama administration has fallen short, House and Senate conservatives have not. Congressmen from Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) to Senators Cruz, Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) were doing the heavy lifting -- while not a single White House official met with the Sudanese ambassador."  

 

Perkins also notes that,

If the State Department isn't busy bringing Meriam home or dealing with the imploding Middle East, what exactly is it doing? According to Secretary Kerry, he's "working hard to… have lesbian, bisexual, and transgender ambassadors." Like his boss, Kerry foreign policy seems to be a foreign concept for this administration, whose only real overseas "progress" is bullying other nations into accepting this President's twisted sexual agenda.

During last week's LGBT pep rally at the State Department, Kerry's rah-rah moment was saying that if confirmed, Ted Osius would be the sixth openly homosexual ambassador. "… We now have hundreds of LGBT individuals in our bureaus at State, USAID, and at posts all around the world." Of course, what Kerry neglected to mention is that many of those posts are in complete and utter turmoil -- in large part because the Obama administration is too obsessed with its homosexual agenda to focus on the real priority of protecting America's national interests. It all confirms what former Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote in his book -- the only time he sensed passion from the President about any issue involving the military was overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Last week I read of the disturbing fanatical gay foreign policy of the Obama Administration when it cut U.S. aid to Uganda because it refuses to bow down to imperialist U.S. government pressures to remove restrictions on homosexual practice in the country.  I read:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday cut aid to Uganda, imposed visa restrictions and canceled a regional military exercise in response to a Ugandan law that imposes harsh penalties on homosexuality.

The White House said in a statement the measures were intended to "reinforce our support for human rights of all Ugandans regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."

Homosexuality is taboo in most African countries and illegal in 37, including in Uganda where it has been a crime since British rule.  [more . . .]

Which leads one to ask why the Obama administration doesn't cut aid to countries that persecute Christians?  Why doesn't it, at the very least, advocate for freedom of religion and speak up on behalf of imprisoned Christians?  Why the Johnny one-note imperialist commitment to homosexual acceptance worldwide and failure to address human rights more broadly?

The news of Ibrahim's release has brought to my attention the good work of Hardwired, an organization I had not heard of before. 

SIMON DENG - FORMER SUDANESE SLAVE SPEAKS OUT ON ARAB GENOCIDE

As a friend correctly wrote: "The UN spends all its time on Israel, while the Arabs get away with genocide on a massive scale."  

Below is a MUST READ speech given by Simon Deng, a former Sudanese slave, at the Durban III Counter- Conference held in New York City in September, 2011.   The Arab atrocities in Sudan and elsewhere continue! This speech is not out of date!!!   The text of the speech appears below.  

 

I want to thank the organizers of this conference, The Perils of Global Intolerance. It is a great honor for me and it is a privilege really to be among today's distinguished speakers.

I came here as a friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. I came to protest this Durban conference which is based on a set of lies. It is organized by nations who are themselves are guilty of the worst kinds of oppression.

It will not help the victims of racism. It will only isolate and target the Jewish state. It is a tool of the enemies of Israel. The UN has itself become a tool against Israel. For over 50 years, 82 percent of the UN General Assembly emergency meetings have been about condemning one state – Israel. Hitler couldn't have been made happier.

The Durban Conference is an outrage. All decent people will know that.

But friends, I come here today with a radical idea. I come to tell you that there are peoples who suffer from the UN's anti-Israelism even more than the Israelis. I belong to one of those people.

Please hear me out.

By exaggerating Palestinian suffering, and by blaming the Jews for it, the UN has muffled the cries of those who suffer on a far larger scale.

For over 50 years the indigenous black population of Sudan — Christians and Muslims alike — has been the victims of the brutal, racist Arab Muslim regimes in Khartoum.

The UN is focused about Palestinians, while ignoring ethnic cleansing in Sudan.

In South Sudan, my homeland, about 4 million innocent men, women and children were slaughtered from 1955 to 2005. Seven million were ethnically cleansed and they became the largest refugee group since World War II.

The UN is concerned about the so-called Palestinian refugees. They dedicated a separate agency for them, and they are treated with a special privilege.

Meanwhile, my people, ethnically cleansed, murdered and enslaved, are relatively ignored. The UN refuses to tell the world the truth about the real causes of Sudan's conflicts. Who knows really what is happening in Darfur? It is not a "tribal conflict."

It is a conflict rooted in Arab colonialism well known in north Africa. In Darfur, a region in the Western Sudan, everybody is Muslim. Everybody is Muslim because the Arabs invaded the North of Africa and converted the indigenous people to Islam. In the eyes of the Islamists in Khartoum, the Darfuris are not Muslim enough. And the Darfuris do not want to be Arabized. They love their own African languages and dress and customs. The Arab response is genocide! But nobody at the UN tells the truth about Darfur.