Kenya
Evangelist Arrested in Zanzibar, Tanzania
Elsewhere on island off East Africa, Christians prohibited from worshipping at university.
By Simba Tian
NAIROBI, Kenya, August 19 (Compass Direct News) – Christian university students on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, a predominantly Muslim area off the coast of East Africa, have been denied the right to worship, while on another part of the isle a Christian leader has been jailed.
Sources said evangelist Peter Masanja, a resident of Zanzibar’s southeastern town of Paje, was arrested by security agents sometime in early August. Earlier this year Masanja, a member of the Pentecostal Church in Zanzibar, would invite Christians to his house, as he had made part of his land available for church activities. Area Muslims interpreted it as plans to establish another church there, the sources said.
The rumor angered local residents, and they vowed to prohibit any Christian activities, the sources said.
“It was only after her husband failed to return home that Masanja’s wife knew that there was something amiss,” said a source who requested anonymity. “After several days of searching, reports reached the wife that Masanja had been arrested and imprisoned in Kilimani cell.”
Pastors from Tanzania’s Zanzibar Island sought to meet with prison authorities about Masanja’s arrest, but officials informed them that the person in charge of the prison was away on official business, said Bishop Obeid Fabian, chairman of an association of congregations known as the Fraternal Churches.
“We are asking for prayers for him and his family, that he would be released,” Fabian said.
At Zanzibar University, a private school in Tunguu 18 kilometers (12 miles) from Zanzibar Town, Islamic administrators have denied Christian students freedom of worship while retaining that constitutional right for Muslims, said Samson Zuberi, Christian Union students coordinator.
Three Christian Union student leaders have protested to school officials and threatened to go to court over the discrimination, he said. Although freedom of worship among Christians has long been restricted at the university, the decision to ban it completely caused an outcry. The vice-chancellor’s office on Dec. 28, 2009 issued the order forbidding Christian students from conducting their affairs and meetings on the school campus.
Numbering about 100 at a university with more than 2,500 students, the Christian students say they have felt the administration increasingly discriminating against them. There are two mosques at the university, which is sponsored by an Islamic charity, Dar el Uman Charitable Association, registered in Geneva, Switzerland, according to the school’s Web site.
In an April 12 circular, university Dean of Students Mavua H. Mussa warned those defying worship regulations to seek other learning institutions, saying that the ban on religious activities in lecture theaters, halls of residence or anywhere else on campus was absolute.
Students said the ban violates sections 19(1) and 20(1) of the Zanzibar Constitution of 1984, which provide for freedom of association, including religious groups, free of government control. Articles 19(1) (2) and 20(1) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 provide for the same freedom, they said.
Fabian told Compass by telephone that the students will seek counsel from Christian students at universities in Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, Tanzania.
“We have advised that before they take the case to court, the three Christian Union leaders should travel to get counsel from their fellow students at the universities of Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, especially the Christian law students, to get the correct interpretation of the Tanzanian constitution on the right of worship,” Fabian said.
He added that the students – Zuberi, regional Christian Union Student Chairman Ronald R. Urassa and Christian Union Student Secretary Neema Alex Langalli – need to raise US$800 each for the travel.
Similarly, the dress code at the university has caused tensions, sources said, as officials have threatened to expel female Christian students if they do not wear a veil and headscarf, or the Buibui and Hijab. University regulations state that, “For a female dressing, the clothes must cover from head to an ankle.”
Some of the lecturers have put female Christian students out of class if they do not wear the required Islamic dress, sources said.
They also noted that during the current Islamic month of Ramadan, a period of fasting by day, life for Christian students becomes difficult as university regulations forbid them to cook for themselves, and all cafeterias on or near university campuses are closed. The location of the school makes it difficult for Christian students to find meals outside the university cafeteria.
Even if they remain off campus, the conditions and practices of landlords discriminate against Christians, the sources said.
In predominately Sunni Muslim Zanzibar, churches face numerous challenges. There are restrictions on getting land to build churches, open preaching is outlawed and there is limited time on national television to air Christian programs. In government schools, only Islamic Religious knowledge is taught, not Christian Religious Education.
Zanzibar is the informal designation for the island of Unguja in the Indian Ocean. The Zanzibar archipelago united with Tanganyika to form the present day Tanzania in 1964.
Muslim traders from the Persian Gulf had settled in the region early in the 10th century after monsoon winds propelled them through the Gulf of Aden and Somalia. The 1964 merger left island Muslims uneasy about Christianity, seeing it as a means by which mainland Tanzania might dominate them, and tensions have persisted.
www.compassdirect.org
Greetings from Sylvia and Joshua in Kenya
A month has passed by since I came back to Kenya to continue with the vision that God has given to Joshua and I to establish 'Heaven on Earth', a community for orphans, widows and the aged.
Jessica McDonell was with us for two weeks and returned home refreshed and renewed by the Spirit of God and the love of the Kenyan people here. It was such a blessing to have her with us for that short time. Jess is planning to return in September with other people who are interested in the vision we have here to restore people back to God and His wonderful blessings.
God is so faithful to us here and has enabled 10 people to do the second semester of Bible School here in Homa Bay. I have seen such transformation in the lives of some of the people who have been involved and committed to this training. Some of these people will become teachers and leaders at 'Heaven on Earth' and will join us in the vision.
We have started a nursery school at Buche Village where 'Heaven on Earth' is being established and 70 children have been enrolled. These children now have books and pencils, the teachers have set up a curriculum and uniforms are being made for them. The children are being fed nutritional porridge each day and have been wormed and will be medically checked shortly. We need now to build latrines and wash rooms for the school.
In December last year we purchased 1. 2/3 acres of land with two mud huts on it and we have been having church there now for a few weeks. The number of people attending is increasing as we encourage them to preach the gospel and bring friends and relatives to join us in this community of believers. Many have been baptised in water and the Holy Spirit and we will continue to teach them and guide them about what it means to be saved and part of a New Testament Church.
Over 50 trees have been planted for fruit and for building materials which will be watered and cared for during the coming dry season.
Our next step is to purchase another 1.1/2 acres of land next to our land with two buildings which can be used for the school, church and living accommodation for our voluntary workers. This land can be purchased at a very small cost of approximately $1,000 Aust. including legal expenses, (still being negotiated). If there is any surplus money it can be used to purchase additional adjoining land, yes, the land in the village is certainly not expensive compared to the land in the towns.
At this time we are using public transport to and from the village along roads that have huge potholes, these roads are soon to be restored and a road which will give us better access to the village is also to be cleared.
A new motor bike here costs around $1,200 Aust, these are used as a means of transport by the locals, many carrying three or four people at a time, locally known as African Taxies or Boda Boda. Having our own motor bike for travelling to and from the village would be less expensive and more practical.
We are believing that God will raise up people who will raise funds for the purchase of this land and other expenses. All of us are working on a voluntary basis and we are believing that God will continue to send us volunteers to partner with us in this vision.
I will be returning to the village this week and live amongst the people. I want to join with the teachers to help in the school and to learn more of the Luo language.
We are also starting an adult education class shortly to help the village people to learn English and Swahili ( Kenya's national language).
Malaria is one of the biggest killers here and we have purchased mosquito nets for some of the families and will continue to look for ways of reducing and even eliminating this problem.
We are planting herbs and trees that will repel the mosquitoes and flies in the area and cleaning away contaminated water and rubbish. Building latrines (pit toilets) can also be an important part of the solution.
June update...
I am just back from the village today and amazed at what God is doing.
REVIVAL!
Around 15 more people prayed for salvation, many coming to the house to receive Jesus.
We now have 70 children in the school and have a waiting list.
We met with many of the parents yesterday and we had the opportunity to preach the gospel to them.
They are from many different religions and denominations and most have never heard the gospel message.
Many responded to the call for salvation and healing.
When the meeting was finished we all went to the place where the church building will be and they cleared the land and measured out the area. Many offered to dig holes and supply poles and are very much committed to the vision of Heaven on Earth.At the moment the children are being taught in the church of the Leja Maria, ( a cult) even they are ready to join us in the vision.The building is packed with the 3 classes and we are believing God that the new building will be ready within a few weeks.
We are grateful to God and to those who faithfully pray for us and support us in this ministry here and pray that God will continue to bless you abundantly and give you the desires of your heart as you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Thank you so much.
Sylvia, Joshua and the team here at Heaven on Earth
Family of 17-Year-Old Girl Abuses Her for Leaving Islam
Young Christian beaten, shackled to tree.
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 15 (CDN) — The Muslim parents of a 17-year-old Somali girl who converted to Christianity severely beat her for leaving Islam and have regularly shackled her to a tree at their home for more than a month, Christian sources said.
Nurta Mohamed Farah of Bardher, Gedo Region in southern Somalia, has been confined to her home since May 10, when her family found out that she had embraced Christianity, said a Christian leader who visited the area.
“When the woman’s family found out that she converted to Christianity, she was beaten badly but insisted on her new-found religion,” said the source on condition of anonymity.
Her parents also took her to a doctor who prescribed medication for a “mental illness,” he said. Alarmed by her determination to keep her faith, her father, Hassan Kafi Ilmi, and mother, Hawo Godane Haf, decided she had gone crazy and forced her to take the prescribed medication, but it had no effect in swaying her from her faith, the source said.
Traditionally, he added, many Somalis believe the Quran cures the sick, especially the mentally ill, so the Islamic scripture is continually recited to her twice a week.
“The girl is very sick and undergoing intense suffering,” he said.
Her suffering began after she declined her family’s offer of forgiveness in exchange for renouncing Christianity, the source said. The confinement began after the medication and punishments failed.
The tiny, shaken Christian community in Gedo Region reports that the girl is shackled to a tree by day and is put in a small, dark room at night, he said.
“There is little the community can do about her condition, which is very bad, but I have advised our community leader to keep monitoring her condition but not to meddle for their own safety,” the source told Compass. “We need prayers and human advocacy for such inhuman acts, and for freedom of religion for the Somali people.”
Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government generally did not enforce protection of religious freedom found in the Transitional Federal Charter, according to the U.S. Department of State’s 2009 International Religious Freedom Report.
“Non-Muslims who practiced their religion openly faced occasional societal harassment,” the report stated. “Conversion from Islam to another religion was considered socially unacceptable. Those suspected of conversion faced harassment or even death from members of their community.”
www.compassdirect.org
God is moving in Archers Post (March 2010)
Reported by Vincent
Church: We had a very powerful service of the Holy Spirit moving powerful. The Lord spoke to us about walking in Humility, so that we can maintain the flow of the move of God. We were so blessed. A big number of people from the Manyattas came in. This was a sign that the Land is now open for the Gospel. We are now starting classes for them so that they can be taught the principles of the Bible, help them know how to walk with and in the Lord. It was wonderful to embrace brothers and sisters, who have never been in Church, coming and giving their lives to the Lord. Please keep us in prayers and help where possible.
Pastors/Leaders:- Many Pastors have ever been in Conferences; but this Conference has resulted in a very positive unity of the Body of Christ. Many of the leaders who could not come together, share together, live together, have broken the boundary of their religions and accepted to serve the Lord Jesus owner of the Church without walls so that Christ, can be LIFTED above all.
Many of the Pastors and Leaders are testifying of the Lord HEALING THEM, DELIVERING AND SETTING THEM FREE FROM many bondages. We thank God that chains were broken in lives of Pastors and leaders, those who were struggling with sin, were set free, those who were struggling with unforgiveness were set free, those who were in bondages of immoral characters confess that since they surrendered their hearts God have set them free. Jesus is LORD. We are praying that they will remain free, as they have know the TRUTH OF THE LORD’S WORD.
Rains: After the opening of the fountain of David; the Lord has changed the climate condition of the land, the heat is not hard as it has been, we are still receiving rains. This afternoon, we received showers of rains. There is a cloud covering the region, which has never been there since I knew Samburu and the Northern Region. I can tell you this is a wonderful phenomenon that remains to be UNIQUE. God is great.
Children: - 10 children were born during this Conference, being children of pastors and leaders, they decided to call them Crusade, Conference. We had three (3) resurrections of people in the meetings.
Our Maralal Pastor (Daniel Lekmain) of Arise and Shine Worship Centre got a miracle of Motor Bike immediately he left from the Conference. He is very happy and excited about the Lord’s intervention and answering his prayer. We are also praying that He will be able to build the Church as they are in the process.
WITCH RUNS OUT OF TOWN: A Norwegian Witch who has been consulting with powers of witchcraft just moved out of Archers Post with all her dogs, cats more than 100 of them to another region we don’t know. She has been a big stronghold in town but thank God that after the fountain of David opened, all unclean things are being swept away. Also the head priest, wife and driver went to Nairobi, think to consult their higher powers but we are lifting Jesus and I know they will not succeed. The blood of Jesus covers our lives. If he will not repent, the Lord will strike him.
Deliverances, Healings and Salvations: Every day we are ministering to many people who are turning out to be prayed for salvations. Only yesterday, we ministered to 10 people who gave their lives a fresh to the Lord in tears. We witnessed a woman, who had a spirit of a dog in her, she was delivered, also we prayed for another woman who had a spirit of a python, she was set free by the blood of Jesus. The brother whom you prayed for, who had backslidden was also in Church and testified how the Lord has healed his family and children.
IMPORTANT:-This afternoon, we prayed for a woman who have been playing harlotry in town, she accepted to give her life to the Lord and asked the Church if we can help her do some other business a part from selling her body. Pray about this, we need to act urgently; to help her sustain herself and her children, she is a single mother. Many testimonies are flowing.
Thank you and God bless you.
Vinnie & Priscilla.
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