Moroccan Islamists Use Facebook to Target Christians

Local Christians sense authorities, extremists and society in collusion against them.

RABAT, Morocco, June 17 (CDN) — Moroccan Christians say Muslim extremists in the country are aiding and encouraging the government to pursue them by exposing and vilifying them on social networking site Facebook.

Facebook user Gardes Maroc Maroc has posted 32 image collages featuring dozens of Christian converts, calling them “hyena evangelists” or “wolves in lamb’s skins” who are trying to “shake the faith of Muslims.” That terminology on the website, which is in Arabic, matches that of Morocco’s anti-proselytizing law, which outlaws efforts to “shake the faith of Muslims.”

The online images depict Christian converts and their families from across the country and include details about their roles and activities in churches, their personal addresses and anecdotal stories attempting to malign them.

“These are some pics of Moroccan convert hyenas,” reads one image.

Since March, the Moroccan government has expelled more than 100 foreign Christians for alleged “proselytizing.” Authorities failed to give Christians deportation orders or enough time to settle their affairs before they left.

Observers have called this a calculated effort to purge the historically moderate Muslim country, known for its progressive policies, of all Christian elements – both foreign and national.

Amid a national media campaign to vilify Christians in Morocco, more than 7,000 Muslim clerics signed a statement denouncing all Christian activities and calling foreign Christians’ aid work “religious terrorism.”

On the Facebook page, Gardes Maroc Maroc makes a particularly strident call to Moroccan authorities to investigate adoptive parents of children from the village of Ain Leuh, 50 miles south of Fez. The user claims that local Christians under orders of “foreign missionaries” were attempting to adopt the children so missionary efforts would not “go in vain.”

On March 8, the Moroccan government expelled 26 Christian foreign staff members and parents working at Village of Hope in Ain Leuh.

Now efforts against national Christians have gained momentum. One image on the Facebook page challenged the Islamic Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments, saying, “Evangelist hyenas are deriding your Ministry.” The page with the images claimed that Christians had rented out an apartment belonging to that government ministry.

An entire page was dedicated to a well-known Christian TV personality in the Middle East, Rashid Hmami, and his family. The user also inserted pictures of hyenas next to those of Christians, presumably to indicate their danger to the nation.

 

National Christians Threatened

Moroccan Christians told Compass that authorities had begun harassing them even before the forced deportations of foreigners, and that pressure from officials only intensified in March and April.

Since the deportations started in early March, it seems that authorities, extremists and society as a whole have colluded against them, local Christians said. Dozens of Christians have been called to police stations for interrogation. Many of them have been threatened and verbally abused.

“They mocked our faith,” said one Moroccan Christian who requested anonymity. “They didn’t talk nicely.”  

Authorities interrogated the convert for eight hours and followed him for three weeks in March and April, he said. During interrogation, he added, local police told him they were prepared to throw him in jail and kill him.

Another Moroccan Christian reported that a Muslim had taken him to court because of his Christian activities. Most Moroccan Christians that spoke to Compass said the attitudes of their Muslim relatives had shifted, and many have been kicked out of their homes or chosen to leave “to not create problems” for their families.

Moroccan converts meet in house churches. Some of them have stopped meeting until the pressure subsides.

“The government is testing the reactions,” said Moroccan lawyer Abdel Adghirni of the recent pressure on Christians.

The lawyer, known as one of the strongest defenders of Berber rights in Morocco, said that although the government’s recent reactions seem regressive, they are part of the nation’s societal transformation process.

“The government is trying to dominate,” said Adghirni. “They are defending themselves. They feel the wind of change. All of this is normal for me – like a complex chemistry that activates as different elements come into contact. Things are moving.”

 

Congressional Hearing

In an effort to alert U.S. Congress to the sudden turn against religious tolerance in Morocco, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission is holding congressional hearings today on the deportations of foreign Christians from the country.

Earlier today, the National Clergy Council held a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to congratulate the Moroccan government on religious tolerance. Organizers of the congressional hearings said they view the council’s press conference as an effort to counter the hearings.

The Rev. Rob Schenck, who heads the council, has had numerous exchanges with Moroccan Islamic leaders and in early April met with the Moroccan ambassador to the United States.

“I have enjoyed a close friendship of several years with the ambassador,” Schenck stated on his website.

Organizers of the congressional hearings have said they are baffled that the National Clergy Council, and in particular Schenck, would speak so highly of the Moroccan government at a time when it is in such blatant violation of human rights.

“There’s good and bad in every country, but what Morocco has done on the whole to advance religious liberty in that region of the world is extraordinary,” Schenck said in a media statement yesterday on Christian Newswire. “We hope to present a fair and balanced picture of this unusual country.”

Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va.), co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, said that the Moroccan government has deported nearly 50 U.S. citizens.

“In spite of this, the U.S. government has pledged $697.5 million to Morocco over the next five years through the Millennium Challenge Corporation,” he said. Wolf is advocating that the United States withhold the nearly $697.5 million in aid that it has pledged to Morocco.  

“It is inappropriate for American taxpayer money to go to a nation which disregards the rights of American citizens residing in Morocco and forcibly expels Americans without due process of law,” he said.

Among those appearing at the hearing today is Dutch citizen Herman Boonstra, leader of Village of Hope, who was expelled in March. Boonstra and his wife were forced to leave eight adopted children in Morocco. Moroccan authorities have refused re-entry for the couple, as they have for all deported Christian foreigners.

Lawyer Adghirni said he believes Morocco cannot survive and develop economically – and democratically – without national diversity.

“We can’t be free without Christians,” Adghirni said. “The existence of Christians among us is the proof of liberty.”

Report from Compass Direct News

Sheikh Incites Muslims to Attack Christians in Egypt

Assault on community center, church, homes leaves 24 Copts wounded.

ISTANBUL, March 17 (CDN) — A mob of enraged Muslims attacked a Coptic Christian community in a coastal town in northern Egypt last weekend, wreaking havoc for hours and injuring 24 Copts before security forces contained them.

The violence erupted on Friday (March 12) afternoon after the sheikh of a neighborhood mosque incited Muslims over a loudspeaker, proclaiming jihad against Christians in Marsa Matrouh, in Reefiya district, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Alexandria, according to reports.

The angry crowd hurled rocks at the district church, Christians and their properties, looted homes and set fires that evening. The mob was reportedly infuriated over the building of a wall around newly-bought land adjacent to the Reefiya Church building. The building, called al Malak al Khairy, translated Angel’s Charity, also houses a clinic and community center.

“I was very surprised by the degree of hatred that people had toward Christians,” said a reporter for online Coptic news source Theban Legion, who visited Reefiya after the attack. “The hate and the disgust were obvious.”

The attack was a rarity for a northern coastal resort town in Egypt; most tensions between Copts and Muslims erupt in southern towns of the country.

According to a worker building the wall around the newly-bought plot, local Sheikh Khamis along with a dozen “bearded” men accused the church and workers of blocking a road early on Friday, staff members of Watani newspaper said.

Worried that the dispute could erupt into violence, one of the priests ordered the workers to take the wall down.

The governor of Marsa Matrouh approved the building of the church center and granted a security permit to conduct religious services in 2009.

Following afternoon mosque prayers, Sheikh Khamis rallied neighborhood Muslims, gathering more than 300 people. The mob broke into groups, attacking the church and nearby houses of the Coptic Christian community. There are nearly 2,000 Coptic Christians in Reefiya.

Around 400 Copts fled into the church building while the rioting mob looted and destroyed 17 houses, 12 cars and two motorcycles, according to Watani.

Local security forces were unable to contain the attack and called-in back up from nearby Alexandria. At nearly 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (March 14) they managed to contain the crowd and let the Christians out of the church.

Police arrested 16 young Christian men among those who were inside the church building, according to Watani. Later, four of them who were released because they were underage told reporters that security forces beat them. Police also arrested 18 of the assailants.

Some of the attackers and security forces were also wounded in the altercation. Of the wounded Copts, two were reportedly rushed to a hospital in Alexandria in critical condition. Sobhy Girgis, 33, was taken to Alexandria’s Victoria Hospital for internal bleeding in the kidney from injuries sustained from rocks the crowd threw at him, and Mounir Naguib, 41, was treated for multiple stab wounds, according to Watani.

Naguib, a teacher, said he was accosted while on his way to the Angel’s Charity building, with a knife-wielding member of the mob asking him if he was a Christian. When he said he was, the Muslim told him to convert to Islam by pronouncing the two testimonies of the Muslim faith (that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger).

“When I refused, he stabbed me in the thigh and hit me on the head,” Naguib told Watani.

One Copt, Nabil Wahba, told of how his house was destroyed. Wahba said he came home at 6 p.m. to find around 40 men hurling stones at his house. At 9 p.m. they came back with clubs and iron pipes, ripping the windows open and throwing fireballs into the house.

“When we tried to put out the fire, they hurled stones at us, while others were pulling down the garden fence and setting the other side of the house aflame,” Wahba told Watani. 

Security forces pulled Wahba and his sister out of his blazing house.

On the same day that violence erupted in Marsa Matrouh, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a report denouncing Egypt’s legal system for not bringing people to justice for violent acts against Christians and their property.

According to the report, in the last year there have been more than a dozen incidents in which Coptic Christians have been targets of violence.

“This upsurge in violence and the failure to prosecute those responsible fosters a growing climate of impunity,” USCIRF Chairman Leonard Leo states in the report.

Since 2002, Egypt has been on the USCIRF “Watch List” as a country with serious religious freedom violations, including widespread problems of discrimination, intolerance and other human rights violations against members of religious minorities, according to the report.

Commenting on the Marsa Matrouh attack, the Theban Legion reporter stated that among the mob were members of Bedouin communities who are intolerant of plurality and diversity in society.

“The law of the land is supposed to be a civil law, and we would like to see a civil law applying to everybody,” he said.

Report from Compass Direct News 

INDIA: NEWS BRIEFS

Recent Incidents of Persecution

Kerala, October 31 (Compass Direct News) – Suspected Hindu extremists burned down a school building run by a church on Oct. 16 in Kuravilangad. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the main building of St. Mary Higher Secondary School was destroyed in the fire, and authorities found materials used to set the school ablaze on the premises. Church authorities demanded an investigation, and government officials have visited the site. The school has a reputation for holding seats open for poor Dalit Christians in spite of strong opposition from the upper-caste Hindus. A police investigation was ongoing at press time.

Karnataka – Mangalore police on Oct. 14 assaulted a Christian for participating in a recent protest rally against attacks on churches. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that local police targeted Herald D’Souza for taking part in the rally, dragged him to a police station and severely thrashed him, then charged him with rioting. The head constable, identified only as Gopalakrishna, assaulted him without initiating any inquiry. D’Souza sustained serious injuries on his backbone, chest, face and hands. A complaint has been registered against the head constable, but senior police officials are pressuring the Christian for a settlement.

Andhra Pradesh – Police on Oct. 14 arrested Christians in Kamareddygudem village of Nalgonda district. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported that at about 8 p.m., as the five-member Operation Mobilization (OM) Christian media team led by Kummari Rajesh was screening a film on Jesus, a group of extremists arrived on motorbikes. They assaulted the OM team and destroyed equipment worth more than 200,000 rupees (US$3,950). Rajasekhar Sarella, legal counsel for the Christians, told Compass that Rajesh filed a First Information Report against the extremists at Thripuraram police station, and the extremists filed a counter complaint. The Christians were charged with “unlawful assembly” and “hurting religious sentiments.” They were released on bail on Oct. 20. Police also arrested Hindu extremists Gundeboina Lingaiah, Srinivas Reddy and Narshingh Venkatreddy for damaging property and voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapons. The extremists were also released on bail.

Karnataka – Unknown assailants set a church building on fire on Oct. 13 in Yadavanahalli, Bangalore, burning it down at 1 a.m. According to the Global Council of Indian Christians, a pulpit, tables, sound system, fans, music instruments, lights and other furniture of St. Anthony church were reduced to ashes, with damages estimated at around 100,000 rupees (US$1,975). Police claimed that it was an accident, while the Electrical Inspectorate of Karnataka ruled out an electrical short circuit. Church authorities have filed a complaint, and at press time a police investigation was underway.

Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) disrupted worship and threatened Christians on Oct. 12 in Madanapally, Chitoor. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that about 20 extremists barged into Krupa Prayer House shouting the Hindu devotional slogan “Jai Sri Ram [praise lord Ram]” and told the Christians not to conduct future worship meetings. The Hindu extremists planted a stone in front of the church and told the Christians that they were planning to build a Hindu temple there. A GCIC representative told Compass that the matter was settled, with a police official promising to give the Hindu extremists land for a temple elsewhere.

Uttar Pradesh – Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists allegedly belonging to the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak and Bajrang Dal on Oct. 12 disrupted worship, desecrated Bibles and vandalized furniture at a church in Anola. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported that at about 10 a.m. some 15 to 20 extremists led by Sanjeev Saxena stormed into an Assemblies of God Church, denouncing Christ and cursing. They warned pastor Jallal Masih and the nearly 35 believers not to worship in the church building again. A representative of the Christian Legal Association told Compass that no Sunday worship has been held there since then.

Tamil Nadu – Hindu extremists attacked a church and damaged a statue of Mary on Oct. 9 in Ganapathy, Coimbatore. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the assailants entered the church premises, broke the glass cabin and damaged the six-foot tall statue. The incident sparked protest among Christians, resulting in about 100 church members gathering on the road demanding protection and the immediate arrest of the Hindu extremists. Police have arrested three extremists, said the GCIC, and at press time calm had returned to the area.

Karnataka – Hindu extremists on Oct. 5 burned Immanuel Full Gospel church, and police forced its pastor to give a false statement in Kanaji Pura, Chamarajanagar. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that extremists set fire to the church, damaging the pulpit, Bibles and hymn books. The extremists along with police officials had threatened pastor C.J. Patrick two weeks prior, telling him to cease worship and shut down his church. A police complaint has been filed, but police have pressured the pastor to falsely state that it was an accident and not an attack. A GCIC representative told Compass that the case was closed, as the pastor gave the false statement in writing.

Uttar Pradesh – Police raided a church based on a complaint filed by Hindu extremists belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, or VHP) for forceful conversion on Oct. 2 in Baradabari. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that police investigated The Alliance Ministry’s Life Church, taking away a church register and other documents. After the enquiry police returned the register and allowed pastor Rajender Gautham to continue his ministry, but on Oct. 4 summoned him again. They told him to halt future worship meetings in the church building, as the VHP had threatened to attack Christian meetings in the area.

Chhattisgarh – Violent attacks rattled the Christian community in Dantewada district in the past month, with Hindu extremists seriously injuring a Christian woman attending a funeral with an axe blow to the head. As Christians gathered for a memorial service for Somli Bai of Narli village on Sept. 29, an angry mob attacked them, injuring about 35 Christians, six of them seriously. A woman identified only as Bode was admitted to a hospital with a serious head injury from an axe, as was Raju Karma, who was critically wounded and his motorcycle burned. Some of the Christians took shelter in a nearby jungle, with three persons missing. On Oct. 5, a mob demonstrated in front of Indian Pentecostal Church in Kirandul, 10 kilometers (six miles) from Narli, accusing the pastor of forcible conversions. He has reportedly gone into hiding following death threats to his family and him. In Bacheli (three kilometers from Narli), pastor Sudarshan Pani told Compass that Hindu extremists tried to kidnap Satish Basra, pastor of the late Bai’s church. Local residents foiled the kidnapping attempt. Police have been informed of all the incidents, but a First Information Report has not been filed, according to local sources. “These troubles have been started by outsiders who have come into the Kirandul-Bacheli area and are inciting local people against Christians,” Pastor Pani said. “A few high-caste families have voluntarily accepted Christianity in the past few days and this has added more fuel to the fire. The convert families are firm, but the pressure is being felt by the entire community.”

Karnataka – Police on Sept. 28 disrupted a worship service and detained a pastor in Hubli. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that police took the pastor for questioning based on Hindu extremists’ allegations of forceful conversion. Worship came to a halt as police ordered members to stop the meeting. Saying that that he had not caused any disturbances and was conducting the worship service in a Christian’s building, pastor Daniel Kote was released after questioning. Recently Hindu extremists had attacked another worship meeting led by Pastor Kote in Hotel Chalukya, resulting in services moving to the church member’s building.

New Delhi – Hindu extremists belonging to Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh vandalized a church, accused the pastor of forcible conversion and brought down the roof and a wall of Rehma Faith Church on Sept. 17 in Peeragarhi, west Delhi. The same mob on Sept. 18 arrived at the church with saffron flags, vandalized the remains of the church and pelted Christians with stones, while police stood by as mere spectators, reported the Christian Legal Association of India. A child and three church members were injured in the attack. A complaint has been registered and police protection has been provided on the church premises.

Andhra Pradesh – A revenue inspector and his workers demolished a church building on Sept. 3 in Hyderabad. According to the All India Christian Council (AICC), the revenue inspector identified only as Srihari said that he had carried out the demolition according to orders from another revenue inspector identified only as Sudhakar. The pastor, identified only as Jairaj, had all pertinent documents for legal ownership of the land, but the inspector refused to listen to him and went ahead with the demolition work. Hindu extremists reportedly had earlier pressured the pastor to vacate the building. Pastor Jairaj has sought help from the National Minority Commission. Moses Vattipalli told Compass that AICC has decided to file a case against the revenue officers.

Report from Compass Direct News

VIETNAM: AUTHORITIES BULLDOZE HISTORIC BUILDING IN LAND DISPUTE

Promise of negotiated settlement fades; Catholic leaders threatened with legal action.

HANOI, September 26 (Compass Direct News) – Authorities in Hanoi have responded to months of Catholic prayer vigils and demonstrations over disputed land by destroying the one-time residence of the papal nuncio in central Hanoi.

In suddenly bulldozing the land that once served as the Vatican embassy and residence near St. Joseph’s Cathedral last Friday (Sept. 19), the government broke its promise to Catholic leaders in February to negotiate a settlement concerning the property.

The destruction of the building held sacred by Catholics is the latest blow to Christians’ long struggle to get the government to return confiscated church properties. Catholic, Protestant and other religious leaders deemed the government response to peaceful Catholic pressure a serious setback for religious freedom.

Authorities cite Vietnamese law stipulating that lands subject to “land management and socialist land reform policies in place before 1991” cannot be considered.

On Monday (Sept. 22) the Vietnam News Agency reported that the Catholic Church ceded the Nha Chung Vatican Embassy property to the state in 1961 and that it would be turned into a library and park.

“Bookworms will soon be able to enjoy the facilities offered by a brand-new library, located at 42 Nha Chung Street, in Hoan Kiem District,” the state reported. “In addition to all of the services usually offered by a library, situated on the premises of an existing three-story, French-designed building surrounded by greenery and including a childrens’ playground, the renovation, which began last Friday, aims to better meet Hanoians’ demands for relaxation.”

Sources said Vietnam’s frequent pronouncements of new openness to religion, and the formation of a joint Catholic/government working committee regarding relationships with the Vatican and other outstanding matters, may have led Catholics to test the waters. Late last year Catholics began to hold prayer vigils outside the fence of the long-vacant Vatican Embassy seized by the government in the mid-1950s.

The historic building property on Nha Chung Street is adjacent to the Hanoi archbishop and cardinal’s residence and only a half block away from St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

The daily morning and evening prayer vigils began to draw large crowds, especially on Saturdays and Sundays, when thousands came to Masses at the cathedral. Authorities in a country where demonstrations are not allowed became seriously worried when warnings to stop went unheeded.

In discussion with Catholic leaders in late February, the government agreed to negotiate a settlement in good faith on the condition that Catholic leaders would call a halt to the prayer vigils. Archbishop of Hanoi Ngo Quang Kiet told Compass in April that after agreeing to a joint working committee, the government showed no sincerity in building relationships or in settling grievances.

In late August an aide to the archbishop told Compass in Hanoi that the twice daily prayer vigils had resumed. At that time about 100 people participated each time, but the number and intensity was growing. Catholic leaders made no secret of their appeal to prayer and assembled people as their only tools in their struggle with the government for redress on confiscated properties.

In recent weeks the Redemptorists at Thai Ha, also in Hanoi, also began prayer vigils to recover some of their large property. Over the years their part of an original plot of 60,000 square meters had been reduced by government confiscation to less than 2,000 square meters.

According to observers, the Catholics conducted themselves during their vigils with decorum and order as they reverently marched, prayed and sang. The government’s response however, quickly escalated from accusing the Catholics of interfering with traffic to accusing them of all night public disturbances – and then accusing Catholic leaders of inciting riots and breaking religion laws.

 

Catholic Leaders Warned

Authorities this week delivered a written warning to Archbishop Kiet warning him of “extreme action” if he did not stop the daily prayer vigils. They also issued a warning to four priests at a Hanoi church locked in the land dispute. The archbishop and priests are accused of “stirring the population” and encouraging illegal religious activity.

State and Hanoi city media releases and radio and TV coverage during September painted the Catholics in the worst possible light; sources said the media fabricated stories and paid people to speak against the Catholics. With no opportunity to make their side of the story known through Vietnam’s state-controlled media, Catholics are reporting events through VietCatholic News, Zenit and other overseas news sites.

Catholic calls for media to retract specific, demonstrably false stories and appeals to press laws have gone entirely unheeded. Rather, sources said, improbable accusations and vicious slander against Catholics sharply escalated.

Vietnam Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man, archbishop of Saigon, wrote a letter to all priests, religious and faithful on Monday (Sept. 22) denouncing the state’s media lies. Unrest is spreading throughout Vietnam’s Catholic community, believed to number more than 7 million, as the letter by the cardinal and others by bishops are read in the churches.

 

Thugs Bussed In

Demonstrations escalated this week with estimates of 7,000 to 10,000 people, including students gathered at Thai Ha on Wednesday night (Sept. 24). It was said to be the largest public demonstration since the Communist unification of Vietnam 33 years ago.

Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 24), hundreds of police and plainclothes officers tried to control an upset crowd of Catholics as a statue of the Virgin Mary was removed from the Vatican Embassy area under police protection and taken to an unknown location. The next day, sources said, authorities recruited gangs that included uniformed Communist youth league members and others and bussed them to the site, where they attacked Catholic protestors outside the archbishop’s residence.

Similar gangs destroyed property, including sacred items at Thai Ha, the same day.

The state media also announced that the 17,000-square meter Thai Ha Redemptorist property in Hanoi is also to be turned into a public park.

The reversion to old-style, default Communist repression involving violence cloaked in lies is also worrying to Vietnam’s Protestants, some of whom have joined Catholics in the prayer vigils.

Protestant leaders contacted by Compass were united in their disappointment in and condemnation of the government’s belligerent response to peaceful prayer vigils.

“Sadly, the government has again shown its true attitude toward religions,” said one Protestant leader. “We have doubted the sincerity of recent improvements, and now they have clearly shown everyone what is still in their hearts.”

Some Vietnam observers fear the government’s belligerence may be evidence of hard-liners’ ascendance in an ongoing struggle with more moderate reformers. The timing of this property destruction, some Vietnamese church leaders said, is calculated to take advantage of uncertainty in the United States, especially as elections draw near.  

Report from Compass Direct News