Faith leaders in Kenya called for calm after the International Criminal Court in The Hague committed to trial high-ranking politicians for crimes against humanity in connection with violence following elections in 2007.

Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, fellow presidential candidate William Ruto, cabinet secretary Francis Muthaura and radio journalist Joshua Sang will be tried for an orchestrated campaign to displace, torture, and kill civilians. More than 1,200 people died and around 650,000 were left homeless in clashes in the Rift Valley, Nyanza, Nairobi and Central provinces.

“We call for sobriety and restraint as Kenyans engage in discussion and interpretation of the decision and its ramifications,” said the Rev. Peter Karanja, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, in a statement on 23 January.

The council in 2009 urged the court to investigate the violence, following failure by the government to establish a local justice system to deal with the causes.

The unrest began as clashes between supporters of presidential candidates Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.

Kibaki, the current president, who is of the Kikuyu community, was declared the winner, while Odinga, currently the Prime Minister, from the Luo people, alleged the vote had been rigged. The clashes ended after Kofi Annan, the former UN general secretary, brokered a peace deal, in which the two agreed to form a coalition government.

Ahead of the announcement, Christian and Muslim leaders had called for peace, expressing concern that the violence could recur.
“We should never allow what happened in 2007 to repeat itself again. We must accept one another and live in peace,” said Cardinal John Njue in Kajiado, near Nairobi, on 22 January.

Anglican Archbishop Eliud Wabukala urged citizens to remain calm and allow the law to take its own course. He called for acceptance of the outcome and support for the court’s process.

Sheikh Mohammed Khalifa, organizing secretary of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, said, “I urge Kenyans to accept the outcome. This should not be used to say that those who have been indicted are guilty,” he said.

The faith groups had been leading peace and reconciliation work. Peace committees in the villages urged the communities to forgive each other.

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As Egypt approaches the anniversary of the protest movement that overthrew former president Hosni Mubarak, the country still finds itself torn by sectarian violence.

On Oct. 9, a demonstration in Cairo protesting an attack against a Coptic church in the Aswan province last week erupted into the worst violence since Mubarak’s ouster in February. Between 17 and 24 people were killed and between 180 and 200 people were wounded.

Coptic Christians, who comprise about 10 percent of Egypt’s 80 million people, blamed the church attack on Muslim radicals.

According to media reports, Egyptian troops, which accused the Cairo protestors of shooting at them, shot rubber bullets and tear gas into a crowd of thousands. Demonstrators denied the charges and said the protest was a peaceful one, though perhaps others not associated with them had fired at the soldiers.

Addressing the nation on state television Monday (Oct. 10), Egyptian prime minister Essam Sharaf said the clashes between army forces and Coptic Christian protesters had brought the country back to the kind of violence seen at the onset of the revolution. “Instead of going forward, we found ourselves scrambling for security,” said Sharaf.

Despite scenes of unity during the revolution, when Muslims joined Christians in protests against continuing sectarian violence and Christians were seen protecting Muslims during their prayers at Tahrir Square, attacks against Christian targets have continued.

Prior to the recent attack, some 24 people had been killed, 200 injured, and three churches attacked during the first five months of the post-Mubarak regime.

Christians say they fear growing control by conservative Islamic groups. The second article of the Egyptian constitution declares Shari’a, or Islamic religious law, as the law of Egypt, leaving Christians fearful of their future place in the country if that provision is enforced.

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The Bishop of London said recently that the riots that have beset the U.K. in the last few days, while appalling, are not wholly unexpected.

Dr. Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, said in a statement that while the true motivations behind the riots have yet to be discerned, in due time there must be a clear analysis of gang culture and the role it plays in London.

“The events of the past few days in London are appalling — but not wholly unexpected,”Chartres said, according to Inspire Magazine. “Whatever the real motivations of those who have brought violence to our streets, there will be a proper time for sober analysis and an assessment of the role of gang culture in the capital.”

The riots began last Saturday after Mark Duggan, 29, was shot dead in Tottenham by the police. Because details regarding the death were not clear, there were initial riots that led to numerous fires, looting and violence.

Within days the rioting reached eight more areas of the U.K. including the cities Birmingham and Liverpool, largely through the use of social networks including Facebook, Twitter and encrypted messages using BlackBerry Smart Phones.

Chartres has called upon the Christian community to help in clearing debris and lending aid to victims. “The situation is unpredictable and it is important that we keep in touch and support one another with prayer and practical assistance.”

Not an Arab Spring

David Sullivan, director of HFC International, said the rash of riots cannot be compared to the Arab Spring, which was primarily ushered in as a call for freedom from oppressive leaders and dictators. Neither, he said, was it a reaction to poverty.

Sullivan told ANS that in the looting people were taking things such as “TV sets and mobile telephones, sneakers and gold chains,” which are not basic necessities. Instead, he said it was likely due to the fact that faith in British society is being replaced with a “grey morality where no right nor wrong is taught. “[It] is now taking its toll.”

Other Christian leaders across the U.K. have also called for prayer and practical assistance in the aftermath of the riots.

Billy and Caroline Kennedy, who are leaders of Pioneer, urged Christians to get involved if they live near areas that were affected by rioting, and to urge their churches to get involved as well.

Adrian Hawkes of Rainbow Fellowship told ANS the riots are a signal that young people need to know that God gives meaning in life. Some ministry members were caught in the melee. “Gareth and Jo who lead Rainbow live right by the main fire, I understand his garden is covered with ash.”

Hawkes told ANS other friends “lived in a flat above the carpet shop which was the first place to go up in flames. They escaped with their baby to their car and went to stay with in-laws.”

Seventh Day Adventist Pastor Stewart wrote in an email to ANS, “As a Church we pray that peace will reign in the hearts and minds of all those who are troubled today and that through our actions, we can show the world the Prince of Peace in a time when many are troubled and in fear.”

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Muslim and Christian leaders came together recently to commemorate a tragedy in a small Christian neighborhood in Pakistan two years before, and to denounce the perpetrators, who have not been punished.

The leaders came together in an interfaith event that was held at the Sacred Heart Church in Gojra last Monday, to mark the second year anniversary of the August 2009 tragedy, where 10 people died, including a family of seven who were set on fire; and dozens of Christian homes were razed to the ground.

Two Muslim leaders apologized for the violence during the event. The Muslim Sufi leaders said they regretted the violence which is inconsistent with the “spirit of Islam,” Catholic News India reported.

In 2009, some 800 Muslims attacked Christian neighborhoods in Gojra in the Punjab region, setting buildings on fire and attacking people, leaving 10 dead. Although 70 suspects were arrested, all were acquitted.

Father Aftab James Paul, director of the diocesan commission for interfaith dialogue and ecumenism in Faisalabad told Catholic News India that the apologies of the Muslim Sufi leaders are “hugely significant.

Paul said, “Even though they weren’t in any way involved in what happened that day, the peer Sufis (Sufi masters) described Islam as a religion that does not condone killing and condemned the massacre,” Catholic News India reported.

Many of those in the interfaith conference, who were victims of the violence, were angry that no one was punished, and that all those who were arrested were set free by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad.

Victor Babu, whose family was murdered in the attack, recalled the event saying, “Threatening announcements from nearby mosques echoed in our houses. My wife and pregnant daughter rushed to the home of her in-laws when we heard her father-in-law was shot dead. Both were burned alive,” Catholic News India reported.

Another victim, Naveed Masih, was jailed for defending himself and his family. He spent over four months in jail, and lost his career as a former boxer. He now sells liquor for a living.

One of the speakers slammed Pakistan’s blasphemy law saying, “These innocents are not only Christian martyrs, but also of Pakistan. The blasphemy law has caused severe damages to the soft image of Pakistan in the comity of nations,” The Christian Telegraph reported.

From 1926 to 1985 only seven blasphemy cases were registered. However, after the late dictator Zia ul Haq promulgated the law, over 4,000 cases were registered to date.

In an interfaith mass, Rt. Rev. Bishop Joseph Coutts of the Diocese of Faisalabad said in his message, “The blood of the martyrs is seed of the church. The early Christians were persecuted by the Romans and Jews, (and) before conversion, Paul also persecuted Christians, but Christianity flourished very fast.”

At the same time, Coutts stressed the need for change, Christian Telegraph said. “There is injustice in society, and efforts must be made for a just and peaceful society in Pakistan.”

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A Bishop in the U.K. slammed the U.K. government recently for failing to take sufficient action in Syria after a massive slaughter of its civilians.

Bishop Mike Hill of Bristol said the U.K. government is not giving enough attention and interest to the “wholesale slaughter that is occurring in Syria,” according to Christian Today.

Last Sunday, scores of peaceful protesters were killed in Hama by the army of Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

Pivotal to region

“Syria is a pivotal State and its future political and religious stability has implications not just for Syria itself, but for the region, in particular for Christianity in the region,” Anthony O’ Mahoney, director, Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College, University of London said on Vatican Radio.

O’ Mahoney, who is a Reader in Theology and the History of Christianity, stressed that one must avoid Syria becoming another Iraq—something the Syrians themselves don’t want.

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, under the administration of then president George W. Bush, the Baath Party was toppled. Amid a power vacuum minorities—especially Christians—paid the price.

“The Christian communities have suffered a great deal within the region within the last two to three decades. People are concerned about the large numbers of Christians leaving the region, impoverishing the region and making it less than what it was,” O’ Mahoney told Vatican Radio.

O’ Mahoney said on Vatican Radio that Christians who are indigenous to the region need protection. “[The] Christians who are indigenous to the whole of the region are losing their relationship to the land of Christ’s birth, so the future of stability in Syria is important and the future of Christianity in Syria is important.”

The popular uprising in Syria is onto its fifth month, and there is no indication that al-Assad will concede. It is estimated that some 2,000 protestors have died amid government crackdowns, with some 3,000 arrests.

Initially protestors sought for reforms, but amid the melee demands have escalated to a call for al-Assad to leave after 40 years of power.  Concerns have been raised by analysts regarding sectarian killings, more so as Syria has a range of ethnicities and religions.

The reigning Al-Assad family is of the minority Alawite sect, a derivative from Shi’ite Islam. Other minorities include Druze, non-Arab Kurds and Christians. The majority are Sunni Muslims.

Last month, the Alliance of Middle Eastern Christians (RCMO), a Canadian-based group, appealed to Damascus to open up talks with the protesters. “Syria … is suffering from painful events … violence is causing many casualties and wounding scores,” according to Vatican Radio.

RCMO warned, Vatican Radio reported, against “external interference in local Syria’s affairs, or any form of sectarian incitement, whether from governments, entities or third parties that aim only to exploit the crisis in order to achieve its interests and maintain or even increase the state of tension, causing more material and human losses.”

International concern

International concern was raised after the latest crackdown by Syria on peaceful protesters where some 24 are believed to have died, and 150 arrested. Syrian state media blamed “armed groups” for the assault, CNN reported. However, activists say the disturbance was initiated by the Syrian military.

Four member countries of the U.N. Security Council—France, Portugal, Germany and the U.K. are drafting a resolution that is expected to condemn the action of the Syrian government.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is slated to meet with delegates of the Syrian-American community, and U.S.-based Syrian activists “to discuss the urgent situation in Syria,” Mike Toner, acting spokesman, said to CNN.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in Baghdad, “Violence needs to stop as quickly as possible,” CNN reported.

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JOS, Nigeria, August 2 (Compass Direct News) – Security officials are trying to determine suspects and motives for two weekend bomb explosions in predominantly Muslim areas of Jos where three churches and the residences of Islamic sect leaders are located.

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An international human rights group said recently that some 800 people have died in riots in Nigeria that swept the country since April’s presidential election that gave a new mandate to its Christian leader Goodluck Jonathan.

Human Rights Watch issued a report last Monday urging the new government to work fast to ensure that those responsible for the violence are arrested and that justice is served, Christian Today said.

In northern Nigeria Christians wept over mass graves where their loved ones were hurriedly buried. ICC reports that the government rushed the burials so that there would be no exact figures of the number of the victims, Christian Today said.

The unrest began on April 18 when early returns in the elections already showed that Jonathan, from majority Christian southern Nigeria, had a sizeable lead over his Muslim opponent, Muhammadu Buhari.

The Muslim majority north broke out in simultaneous riots that occurred in almost every state in the north, Christian Telegraph said, quoting an International Christian Concern report.

Supporters of Buhari also staged demonstrations claiming the elections had been fixed. However, international observers dubbed the polls as the fairest in the history of Nigeria—while HRW says it was also the most violent.

Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher of HRW told Christian Today, “The newly-elected authorities should quickly build on the democratic gains from the elections by bringing to justice those who orchestrated these horrific crimes and addressing the root causes of the violence.”

The HRW based its report on interviews with 55 witnesses including clergy from both Christian and Muslim faiths and members of the police, according to Christian Today.

The homes, churches and businesses of Christians who were suspected of supporting Jonathan were torched, and the Christian Association of Nigeria said at least 170 Christians were reported killed, according to Christian Today.

However, others say that the number of Christians who died in the north could be higher. An ICC spokesperson said, “Nigerian government authorities were in such a hurry to hide the extent of the massacre, that they organized mass burials of the victims almost immediately after the attacks. As a result, the exact death toll remains unknown,” Christian Telegraph reported.

Greatest losses in Kaduna State

ICC said the most losses, however, were in Kaduna state, the northern part of which is majority Muslim, and the southern part of which is majority Christian. ICC estimates more than 300 people were slaughtered in Kafanchan town in southern Kaduna, and Zonkwa town in the northern part of the state, according to Christian Today.

HRW pegs the number of deaths at higher than 500. Some 1,000 families were displaced and are now in government camps. Over 200 were rendered homeless while hundreds of other Christians have fled, Christian Telegraph said.

Attacks with machetes

A group of students in a Christian college were pursued by a mob and were driven against a wall where they were beaten and struck with machetes, killing four students and one Christian lecturer, Christian Today said.

There are also reports of serious abuse and excessive force wielded by the police and military with reports of eight cases of unarmed citizens in Kaduna and Zaria who were killed and detainees who were beaten, Christian Today said.

Dufka told Christian Today, “The Nigerian authorities should promptly investigate these credible reports of unlawful killings and other abuses by members of the security forces. The use of violence by rioters, mobs, and state actors alike needs to be stopped.”

President Jonathan has set up an investigating committee to look into the riots, but the HRW reported that Christians are not confident that justice will be effectively rendered, Christian Today said.

Sources:

http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue12912.html

http://in.christiantoday.com/articles/post-election-violence-in-nigeria-claimed-800-lives-rights-group/6271.htm

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A missionary group that evangelizes in countries where Christians are at high risk and face grave danger called recently for prayer and covering for those who may become vulnerable to revenge attacks due to the death of Osama bin Laden.

Open Doors, a missionary group that works with Christians in some of the most oppressive countries in the world, said that while bin Laden’s death is a significant event especially for those who were victims of terrorism wreaked by the al Qaeda, Christians are still enjoined to pray for persecutors, citing Romans 12:14, according to its website.

Ten years ago, al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and forced two of them to crash into the Twin Towers in New York City and a third to strike the Pentagon. The fourth was run to the ground when the plane’s passengers overtook the hostage takers, The Christian Post said. Some 3,000 died from all four attacks.

Open Doors, on its website, cited four prayer requests. The first request was asked on behalf of those who had suffered from violence through the years caused by al Qaeda, according to its website.

Al Qaeda has spawned member groups in different parts of the world. In a number of other countries, local terrorist units formed on their own initiative, inspired by the ideology and works of the al Qaeda.

Open Doors asked for prayers for the victims of al Qaeda violence, that they would receive comfort from God amid news of bin Laden’s death, which may trigger sad and traumatic memories, according to its website.

Vulnerable to revenge attacks

The second prayer request from Open Doors is for protection of those who would be vulnerable to attacks of revenge from al Qaeda. The Christian Post said that Christians who are ministering in Middle Eastern countries are now at very high risk.

CIA director Leon Panetta also said Americans and U.S. allies should be vigilant, even as he issued a heightened terror alert last
Monday, according to The Christian Post.

Open Doors asked on its website that believers pray that God gives wisdom to those in power, so they will be guided on how to best protect their people, particularly Christians who live in Muslim-majority countries.

Photos may trigger violence

President Barack Obama said recently that he will not release post-mortem photos of bin Laden saying it could trigger more violence or become an instrument for propaganda, CBS News said.

Obama said, “It is important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool,” according to CBS News.

Mike Rogers, chairman of the Republican House Intelligence Committee agreed that such photos should not be publicly released. “[T]here is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East,” CBS News reported.

Open Doors’ third request is prayer for Christians, especially from Pakistan and Afghanistan, who have suffered from extremist Muslim movements through the years, among them the Taliban and al Qaeda. On its website, Open Doors asked Christians to pray “That the Lord may protect them against evil and fill their hearts with the peace of Jesus Christ.”

The fourth and final prayer request on Open Doors’ website is prayer for persecutors, “That the Lord may continue to confront them with the love of Jesus Christ through His Word, dreams, television and radio programs and the Internet.”

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Christian leaders are raising questions as to whether it is right to use mixed martial arts as means to spread the gospel.

Adam Groza, a vice president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in California, has strong feelings about the bloody sport, calling it “violence porn” in his column for the Baptist Press, according to The Christian Post.

Groza wrote in his column, “[V]iolence is not part of the plot, it is the attraction. Violence for violence’s sake, as opposed to instrumental or redeeming violence, desensitizes the viewer to the graphic horror of watching two people pummel each other for the sake of entertainment,” The Christian Post reported.

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, however, wrote in his blog that MMA can be a vehicle to spread the gospel. He wrote, “[Some] churches are making a self-conscious effort to reach young men and boys with some kind of proof that Christianity is not a feminized and testosterone-free faith that appeals only to women.”

MMA is the first competitive fighting sport to combine a wide range of fighting styles including kickboxing, boxing, wrestling, jiujitsu, karate, taekwando and others. It was banned in the U.S. a decade ago, but in the last five years gained mainstream status and is regulated and legal in 42 states, The New York Times said.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is according to The New York Times the premier brand of MMA. It draws millions of viewers, and in 2009 the UFC was the top-earning pay-per-view event, The New York Times said.

A number of Christians are MMA professionals such as Diego Sanchez, Rich Franklin and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The New York Times estimated some 700 white evangelical churches in the U.S. have an MMA ministry.

The purpose is to draw men from the ages of 18 to 34 to church. Groups include Anointed Martial Arts in Temecula, Calif., which combines the gospel with martial arts through its program, ChristJitsu, The Christian Post said.

Gary Kruger, an instructor, told The Christian Post, “[W]e will expose the men to the physical techniques found in MMA, but more importantly use this teaching time as a way to expose the men to the reality that as Christians we are in a spiritual fight and called to fight the good fight of faith.”

Another group is Victory Christian Fellowship in State College, Penn., which includes MMA as part of its outreach. Dave Hatfield, an organizer of the group told The Christian post, “We use our MMA outreaches to tap into guys’ natural desire to conquer and compete and point them to their Creator and the fact He has plans for them to become not only beloved sons, but also warriors for Him.”

Many who are not familiar with MMA are dismayed by the sport’s violence and the blood that is sometimes shed. However, advocates of MMA say that performing the sport involves a lifestyle of discipline required of every athlete.

The Christian Post refers to Todd Thomsen, who commented in an article about the topic published in Baptist Press Sports, “The MMA competitors usually congratulate and thank each other at the end of a match. Some of them are the best of friends outside the ring while they fight each other in the ring.”

James-Michael Smith, a bible teacher who trains in MMA and hopes someday to compete professionally wrote in The Examiner, “[T]the presentation of Jesus as a fighter, and Christianity as rough and tough, is simply not in line with the Gospel message.”

Smith noted that Jesus “fought” by turning the other cheek, especially during his crucifixion. “To deny or distance oneself from this reality of the Gospel–even though done with a desire to reach people with the message of Christ–is basically creating a Jesus in one’s own image…in this case, the image of a cage-fighter,” he wrote in The Examiner.

Still, Smith says that MMA is a sport that Christians can engage in. He writes, “There’s no need to re-image Jesus as a fighter in order to appeal to the MMA lover…just as there is no need to re-image Jesus as a football player in order to appeal to the Superbowl lover! Jesus is Jesus.”

It is the message of Jesus, in the end, that will have a lasting change in people’s lives, “even the most battle-hardened fighter’s heart,” Smith wrote in the Examiner.

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Although it has been popular of late to blame Christian biblical beliefs for bullying (especially of homosexuals), a new study confirms that violent and dysfunctional home life, alcohol and drug abuse are to blame.

A study by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and CDC shows that people who bully, have been bullied or have experienced both are more likely to have experienced direct violence within their families, substance abuse, low grades, and mental health problems, according to the LA Times.

Although smaller studies had indicated links to some of these factors for some time, this is the first time that a major study has established all the above as factors associated with bullying, and added family violence to the list, the LA Times said.

The study was based on data from a 2009 Massachusetts Youth Health Survey, according to its website. It was published in the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Participants answered questions regarding their health, grades, drug use, experience of violence at home and other questions. They were also asked if they had ever bullied someone, and if they had ever been bullied, the LA Times said.

Based on respondents answers, four categories were drawn, namely bullies (doers), victims (those who were maltreated), bully-victims (those who maltreated others and who were maltreated) and neither (those who did not have any experience with bullying), according to the website.

The study showed that 43.9 percent of students in middle school participants, and 30.5 percent from high school respondents had encounters related to bullying, thirdage.com said.

However, the category with the highest risk factors were the bully-victims, who were three times as likely to have suicidal thoughts, inflict harm on themselves, and to have experienced or witnessed abuse and violence at home, thirdage.com reported.

The survey indicated that risk factors were also significantly elevated for bullies and victims, compared to those who were in the “neither” category, according to LA Times.

The study showed that large percentages of respondents in the bullies and bully-victim categories stated that they had recently used alcohol and drugs, compared to victims and respondents in the “neither” category, the website said.

The 2009 Massachusetts Youth Health Survey was conducted from January to June, in 138 public middle schools and high schools. There were 2,859 middle school respondents, and 2,948 high school respondents, the website reported.

The report said that its finding “expands upon previous documentation of an association between childhood exposure to family violence and subsequent mental health problems (e.g., anxiety and depression) and involvement in general physical aggression, dating violence, and weapon-carrying,” the website said.

The study recommended a continuance of bullying prevention programs and strategies in school, particularly those that include family involvement, according to the website.

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