The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged President Joe Biden to raise concerns about religious freedom and human rights in India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit this week.

The Indian government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, has supported discriminatory policies that severely hinder and restrict the religious freedom of minority groups, commissioners said.

“With India’s upcoming state visit, the Biden administration has a unique opportunity to explicitly incorporate religious freedom concerns into the two countries’ bilateral relationship,” said USCIRF Commissioner David Curry.

“It is vital the U.S. government acknowledge the Indian government’s perpetration and toleration of particularly severe violations of religious freedom against its own population and urge the government to uphold its human rights obligations.”

Discriminatory policies commissioners noted include hijab bans, anti-conversion laws and the Citizenship Amendment Act, which excludes Muslims from the fast track to citizenship offered to other migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

“During this state visit, we ask President Biden to raise religious freedom with Prime Minister Modi directly, including by urging him to amend or repeal polices that target and repress religious minorities,” Commissioner Stephen Schneck said.

USCIRF repeatedly has recommended the U.S. Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern for engaging in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.

Eighteen members of the U.S. Senate and 57 members of the House of Representatives—all Democrats—also sent a letter to the White House urging Biden to discuss human rights issues with Modi, Reuters reported.

Violence continues in Manipur

In the Manipur State of northeast India, mob violence that began May 3 has developed into “ethnic cleansing” and “religious persecution” against Christians, said Pastor Thong Lun of Greater Houston Burmese Christian Fellowship.

Thong’s church has a longstanding ministry among Burmese refugees in northeast India, and he has maintained close contact with sources there.

At least 250 churches have been burned in the Manipur State, a month and a half after mob violence began there, Thong reported.

Conflict between the predominantly Christian Kuki ethnic group and the mostly Hindu Meitei people began as a political dispute over land rights and scheduled tribal status. Scheduled tribes have constitutionally granted property protection, and tribal members are entitled to political representation, educational benefits and affirmative action in employment.

However, after mobs raided police stations and seized more than 5,000 weapons, both Kuki and Meitei Christians have been targeted.

On June 2, Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh announced the death toll reached 98, but other sources estimate a significantly higher number of fatalities.

More than a month after mob violence began in the Manipur State of northeast India, at least 250 churches have been burned, and casualty reports grow daily.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the region in mid-May and called on the minority Kuki and majority Meitei ethnic communities to observe a two-week truce.

“The violence did not stop,” said Pastor Thong Lun of Greater Houston Burmese Christian Fellowship. Thong’s church has a longstanding ministry among refugees from Myanmar who live in northeast India, and he has maintained close contact with sources there.

“The majority-Hindu Meitei did not stop,” Thong said. “They attacked villages.”

Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh announced the death toll reached 98 on June 2, but other sources estimate twice that number of fatalities.

“In remote tribal areas, there are people who have been missing for weeks, and there is no way to know if they are dead,” Thong said.

Officials report more than 300 people have been injured, and about 37,000 displaced people are in relief shelters. More than 4,000 cases of arson have been reported.

From political dispute to ethnic cleansing

Conflict between the Kuki, a predominantly Christian ethnic group, and the Meitei, who are mostly Hindu, began as a political dispute over land rights.

Riots first broke out in response to May 3 protests calling on the government to grant scheduled tribe status to the Metei people. Scheduled tribes have constitutionally granted property protection, and tribal members have access to political representation, educational benefits and affirmative action in employment.

The political situation is “complicated and difficult for anyone on the outside to understand,” Thong acknowledged.

But he views the mob violence—and the lack of protection offered by state police—as clearly evil.

“It is ethnic cleansing,” Thong said. “And there’s also religious persecution involved. … The Meitei Hindu nationalists are determined to wipe out the tribal Kuki Christians from the land.

“But the mobs also are destroying Meitei Christian churches and killing their own people who are Christians. Mobs raided police stations and took about 5,000 guns they are turning on their own people.”

Thong expressed hope President Biden will raise issues of human rights and religious freedom—particularly the persecution of Kuki Christians in Manipur—when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in the United States for a White House visit and state dinner in two weeks.

The Kuki Christians desperately need humanitarian aid, and ethnic and religious minorities in the region need protection the state police are failing to provide, Thong said.

He urged Texas Baptists and other concerned Christians to pray for an end to violence in Manipur and for the protection of those who are helpless, such as refugees from Myanmar—such as his own mother—who have been living near the border.

“She moved to India two years ago” after the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, he noted. “In the town where she has been living, she was frightened by the fighting and burning. Now, she is moving back to Burma—even though there is no safety there, either.”

Mervyn Thomas, founding president of the Christian Solidarity Worldwide human rights organization, likewise called for the protection of vulnerable communities.

“Manipur has been in a state of shocking violence for over a month now, and it is clear that the measures taken by the state and central governments thus far have been insufficient to halt this crisis,” he said.

“We extend our deepest condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in the violence and stand in solidarity with those displaced from their homes. We call on authorities in Manipur to ensure that vulnerable communities are protected, that those who have been displaced are able to return home safely and afforded any assistance they may need to rebuild their lives, and that those responsible for these egregious acts are brought to justice.”

Ukrainian Baptists may not be beating swords into plowshares yet, but some have started by converting a weapon of war into a pulpit to proclaim the gospel of peace.

Elijah Brown, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, tweeted June 8 from Kyiv: “Hundreds of Ukrainian pastors are in a conference to study 1 Peter under the theme of serving as pastors in a time of suffering.”

Along with a brief video clip of the worship service, Brown posted on Twitter a photo of himself and Pastor Igor Bandura, vice president of the All-Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Christian-Baptists, standing behind a “very special pulpit.”

 “It is a missile shot down over Ukraine that some of the lay Baptists converted into a pulpit on the one-year anniversary of the war and in the spirit of Isaiah 2:4,” Brown explained.

In that passage, the Hebrew prophet envisions a time when God “shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (NRSV).

‘The things that make for peace’

Over the past 15 months, Ukrainian Baptists have been focused on pursuing “the things that make for peace” in a nation torn by war.

In the days and weeks immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Baptist churches provided respite care for internally placed people from Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.

During the winter months, Baptist congregations became what Ukrainian Baptists called “centers of hope and heat” when many homes lacked both.

With assistance from the Baptist World Alliance and the European Baptist Federation, Ukrainian Baptists developed mobile kitchens and staffed them in areas where people were unable to prepare their own meals.

During a webinar in February, Bandura noted the toll ministry in a war zone has taken on pastors—both those who were displaced from about 300 churches in Russian-occupied territory and those who have been serving day-in and day-out to meet needs.

“Most of our pastors are really tired,” he said. “You can see this when you speak with them and when you look into their eyes.”

To encourage them, the Baptist Union sponsored two-day and three-day retreats for pastors and spouses—and organized the June conference.

“It’s an honor to be in Kyiv with them,” Brown tweeted.

Sixteen members of Bege Baptist Church of Masala in central Nigeria were released June 4 after being kidnapped nearly a month earlier.

Gunmen abducted 43 individuals during a May 7 morning worship service at Bege Baptist Church in Nigeria’s Kaduna State, John Joseph Hayab, national field director for Global Peace Foundation-Nigeria, reported.

“Some escaped on their way, and the bandits released others who could not walk the long distance,” Hayab wrote in a June 7 email to the Baptist Standard. “Four weeks later, the remaining 16 were released after ransom had been paid, with also some support from their Muslim neighbors.”

Hayab, Kaduna State Chair of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Christian Solidarity Worldwide local Muslims contributed funds toward the ransom and also purchased a motorcycle requested by the kidnappers as part of the payment.

“We are grateful to the local Muslims who contributed towards the ransom, and pray that from now onwards, the two religious communities will work together to bring this painful era of kidnapping, violence and killings to an end,” he told CSW.

Relief mingled with continued concern

While religious freedom advocates applauded the interfaith cooperation that helped secure the release of the kidnapped Baptists, some registered concern about continued attacks on Christians and the government’s failure to provide security.

“We are grateful for the freedom of the 16 church members and for the efforts of the local Christian and Muslim communities to secure their release. However, local authorities in Kaduna and national leaders need to adopt much stronger security and legal protections to stop the ongoing cycle of violence against religious minorities” said Trent Martin, advocacy and training coordinator for the 21Wilberforce human rights organization.

“The United States must also not turn a blind eye to the deteriorating situation in Nigeria and should redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern to encourage swift action to end these widespread attacks on religious freedom.”

When the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued its annual report in May, it recommended Nigeria be designated as a Country of Particular Concern—a nation whose government engages in or tolerates “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations.”

“Rampant violence and atrocities across Nigeria continued to impact freedom of religion or belief for many Nigerians,” the report stated, pointing specifically to attacks on churches and individual Christians by the Islamic State West Africa Province.

In a May 1 virtual event marking the release of the report, Commissioner Frank Wolf—author of the International Religious Freedom Act when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives—described the situation in Nigeria succinctly.

“Nigeria is the most dangerous country in the world for Christians,” Wolf said.

Terrorist attacks claimed the lives of more than 200 Christians in the states of Benue and Kaduna in late March and early April in the aftermath of an election season.

“Despite government rhetoric calling for interfaith unity, the Nigerian government has generally failed to enact meaningful policy reforms and changes to address the drivers of violence impacting religious liberty,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in an April 19 statement.

In a widely viewed video, Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, expressed satisfaction at having secured Muslim dominance politically. During El-Rufai’s eight years as governor, predominantly Christian southern Kaduna experienced a significant rise in armed attacks.

CSW described the situation during his years in office as characterized by “thousands killed, thousands more displaced, and hundreds of villages destroyed, occupied by militia or too dangerous to approach.”

Anyone who spoke out against abuses—as well as members of targeted communities who tried to defend their homes—were “regularly detained arbitrarily and indefinitely, disarmed, or harassed judicially,” CSW noted.

Baptist church among buildings demolished

As the end of his time in office approached, El-Rufai ordered the demolition of more than 900 buildings—some belonging to a minority Shi’a community and others belonging to Christians, including Alheri Baptist Church on May 22.

Mervyn Thomas, founding president of CSW, welcomed the release of the 16 kidnapped Baptist worshippers and applauded members of the local Muslim community who contributed to secure their release.

“However, the comments of former governor El-Rufai illustrate that the situation remains highly charged as violations in southern Kaduna continue to manifest along religious fault lines while those with the power to end them have prioritized other agendas,” Thomas said.

“We also lament the unnecessary loss of lives in the latest irregular demolitions in Kaduna State, which largely target religious minorities or political opponents of the former governor, and were once again conducted in defiance of court orders.

“We urge the Nigerian authorities to challenge anyone who fosters religious division, to do far more to combat religion-related violence, and to prioritize the protection of vulnerable communities.”

Thomas also called on the international community to draw attention to the human rights crisis in Nigeria and to urge “redress and compensation for the extrajudicial killings and demolitions in Kaduna State.”

John Gongwer, executive director of 21 Wilberforce, urged Nigerian religious and political leaders to work with the international community to seek reform.

“The reality is that this sequenced cycle of incident-lament-action-call has become a broken record and will continue to be until Nigerians work together with their international partners for change,” he said.

Gongwer noted 21Wilberforce is in discussions with Nigerian pastors, national and regional faith leaders, and Nigerian political and judicial officials to develop and support initiatives “that monitor and report on threats to religious freedom and, perhaps more importantly, to work to equip local partners on how to respond to and help mitigate these threats and human rights violations.”

When a dam in Ukraine was destroyed, sending floodwaters downstream and thousands fleeing for their lives, and a deadly train crash in India left vast humanitarian and spiritual needs, Texas Baptist Men responded to both tragedies through existing local partnerships.

“The primary need right now is financial resources to mobilize the local efforts,” said Mickey Lenamon, TBM executive director and CEO. “In both cases, our partners are meeting acute needs, and we are striving to support them as quickly as possible.

“Each time they provide a meal, pray with someone in a hospital or transport a family to safety, they are doing so in the name of Christ”

The dam explosion in Ukraine is the latest catastrophe resulting from the Russian invasion of the country.

“We have ministry partners there that are begging for help with inflatable boats, power banks, water, transporting people to safety,” said Rand Jenkins, director of the TBM ministry advancement team, relaying information from the Ukrainian partner.

The extent of deaths, injuries and damage is not yet known.

The ministry partner in Ukraine sent an urgent text to Jenkins June 6: “We have a church we partner with that’s there, right next to this flooding. They have four minivans they use to take people to safety. People are lining up to receive help—food, clothes, etc.”

In India, more than 270 people are dead and 1,200 injured. TBM already has begun transferring international relief funds in response.

“For the last several years, TBM has been quietly building the infrastructure of a disaster relief network in this very area,” Lenamon said. “We have people on the ground. When the wreck happened, TBM partners knew how to step up in the name of Christ.”

Initial funding provides relief for victims and their families.

“Our ministry partner is providing meals and temporary housing to victims and their families, as well as visiting, praying with, counseling and encouraging victims in hospitals,” Lenamon said.

Rupert Robbins, TBM disaster relief associate director, spent weeks in the region of India where the wreck occurred.

“Our partners in India are going ahead with responses as a step of faith,” Robbins said. “They are coordinating with doctors and hospital officials to determine the most pressing needs that we can address.”

Lenamon asked for people to pray for the victims and that God would use these ministry efforts to “spread God’s love and hope across Ukraine and India. These tragedies just break my heart.”

To support TBM international relief efforts financially, click here.

East Texas Baptist University women’s basketball team played games with schoolchildren, taught young people how to dribble and shoot, assisted a prison ministry, competed against local teams and shared their faith on a recent trip to Northern Ireland.

The student-athletes and coaches partnered with the International Sports Federation and served alongside the Salt Factory Sports group in Belfast as part of ETBU’s 16th Tiger Athletic Mission Experience.

At William Foote Memorial Primary School, the Tigers played castle ball, bucket ball and American football with the students. The ETBU team also conducted basketball clinics at Harmony Hill School and Holy Trinity School in Belfast, teaching students various skills and playing games.

“One kid said to me, ‘Once you find something you love, it becomes dangerous to stop learning,’” said Erin Berry, a senior psychology major at ETBU. “The more I have let those words sink in, the more meaningful they have become.

“As Christians, we must obey [God’s] will for our lives by taking time to connect with him through truth and his word.”

Traveling to Lisburn, the Tigers faced the Phoenix Rockets. Following the game, the two squads joined together in fellowship.

ETBU students also had opportunities for sightseeing and learning more about Northern Ireland, visiting Belfast Castle, Cave Hill Country Park and the Ulster Museum. They also toured the monastery of Saint Mo-Choi of Nendrum, the Inch Abbey and the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, where Saint Patrick is buried.

Joining in worship and ministry

At the cathedral, ETBU junior worship studies major Abigail Taylor played the piano and led the team in worship.

“Being able to worship together in this place was an indescribable experience,” Taylor said. “It was a humbling and precious time for me to be able to worship in such a beautiful cathedral on the other side of the world. The presence of the Holy Spirit was felt like never before.”

Splitting into small groups, the ETBU student-athletes spent one day participating in various sports camps and clinics at three schools.

“In the moments we got to spend with the kids each morning, we let the joy of Christ shine through us in everything we were doing,” said Michaela James, a senior elementary education major at ETBU.

The team led a Saturday morning basketball camp for children from throughout the community. The Tigers joined campers and their families for lunch, providing the student-athletes an opportunity to interact further and share how Christ has impacted their lives.

Traveling to Dublin, the ETBU team faced the Ireland Women’s Under 20 National Team and enjoyed spending time with the team in a luncheon following the game.

“Playing against some of Ireland’s best players in our age division has been an incredible experience and is an opportunity I will never forget,” said Tiffany Bickford, a freshman psychology major.

On Sunday, the team went to Lagan Valley Vineyard church to participate in morning worship, and they traveled to St. Anne’s Cathedral for evening worship and prayer.

 Between worship services, they ventured to Saint George’s Market to enjoy the culture and explore food, clothing and jewelry vendors from Belfast.

The Tigers also partnered with Lagan Valley Vineyard Church to assist the church’s prison ministry, which shares the love of Christ with inmates and their families in Northern Ireland. ETBU student-athletes and coaches visited with members of the ministry, and they helped clean and organize a new facility the organization will be moving into.

In the final game of the trip, the Tigers defeated the Dublin Lions. Mollie Dittmar, a senior ETBU mathematics education major, reflected on conversations among the teams post-game.

“It was so much fun talking with the girls and comparing the similarities and differences from our lifestyles,” Dittmar said. “My prayer is that through our words and actions, the love of Christ was on full display.

“The Lord moved in my heart and the hearts of others throughout our team on this trip. This was an incredible experience, and I am so thankful for this opportunity.”

The women’s basketball team and staff expected lives in Northern Ireland to be shaped on the trip, but God also worked in the lives of the ETBU student-athletes.

“We began our trip thinking about the lives of people in Northern Ireland that would be changed but found quickly how this experience transformed us from the inside out,” ETBU Women’s Basketball Head Coach Blake Arbogast said.

 “To watch our team serve and share the gospel in a country divided by hatred based on what street they live on, the school they attend, or even what side of a wall they live on, was very powerful.

“We are grateful for the work that our partner, Salt Factory Sports, does to further God’s kingdom through sports ministry in Northern Ireland. We are grateful to the individuals that worked tirelessly to make this trip possible through prayer and donations to allow our group to travel to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.”

KHARTOUM, Sudan (BP)—At least 60 infants and children have died in a Khartoum orphanage since the civil conflict began in Sudan, the Associated Press reported May 31 amid an extended ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian aid.

At least 26 of the deaths at the Al-Mayqoma orphanage occurred in a single weekend May 26-27, with some victims as young as 3 months, AP reported. Starvation was cited as a common cause of death, as fighting blocked aid to the orphanage and impeded evacuation.

More than 822 civilians died in fighting through May 19, the Sudan Doctors Syndicate announced, and more than 3,200 were injured.

Empower One, an evangelistic church-planting group seeking to provide humanitarian aid to refugees of the conflict, is encouraging support for Sudanese relief efforts.

“Our desire is to provide relief for the Sudanese refugees who are arriving into South Sudan with no food or water,” said Chad Vandiver, U.S. director of Empower One Network. “Many of them need new clothes.

“We’re wanting to provide relief to them through our church planters in South Sudan. They are ready and willing to provide relief while having gospel conversations among the refugees.”

Vandiver is a former International Mission Board missionary who has worked with Empower One for a year in establishing “flagship church multiplication centers” in key locations in South Sudan. Centers are designed to include churches, pharmacies, clinics, primary and secondary schools, water kiosks and radio towers.

“We desperately need Southern Baptists to give toward the crisis in Sudan in order to meet the needs of the people on the ground,” Vandiver said, suggesting gifts to Send Relief and Empower One.

The civil fighting displaced 1.65 million Sudanese as of May 29, the U.N. International Organization for Migration reported, with more than 1.2 million displaced internally. About 85,200 had made it to South Sudan, the organization said.

‘A catastrophic situation’

More children could die as fighting continues, officials have warned, with AP reporting at least 341 children remain at Al-Mayqoma orphanage. Among them are 231 infants ranging in age from 6 months to a year, referencing interviews with a dozen doctors, health officials and others.

“It is a catastrophic situation,” AP quoted orphanage volunteer Afkar Omar Moustafa. “This was something we expected from day one” of the fighting.

More than 13.6 million children in Sudan need life-saving humanitarian support, UNICEF reported May 29.

A one-week ceasefire was extended five days May 29. But the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, monitoring the situation, said both sides have continued fighting in Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, Reuters reported.

Still, fighting has sufficiently decreased during the ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach some of those in need, according to reports.

Fighting began April 15 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group ahead of a scheduled transitional government aimed at establishing democracy. Several attempts to strengthen human rights in the nation have failed.

Sudan suffered decades of civil wars that began in the mid-20th century before the country split in 2011, establishing Sudan as a majority Muslim north and a majority (60.5 percent) Christian South Sudan.

As the war in Ukraine continues, those who once called the country home think about it daily, living apart from family, anxious about the future.

More than 14 months ago, Russia invaded Ukraine, tearing families apart and causing trauma. Since then, millions of women and children have been living as refugees in countries neighboring theirs but also in Germany, Italy, Canada, the United States and elsewhere.

Texas Baptist Men has ministered to thousands of people who fled their homes after the war began.

As needs continue to evolve, TBM seeks to meet them. Most recently, TBM sent a psychotherapist to a women’s conference in Warsaw, Poland. Denise Jenkins led sessions on emotional healing and overcoming post-traumatic stress.

“I set up the sessions to discuss PTSD and equip the women with ways to overcome and create positive thoughts amidst the situation,” she said. “As we interacted during the conference, I realized that they also needed permission to feel the way they do, to be able to start a life, even if only temporary, where they are, and it would not negate their future ability to return home.”

 Over the past year, “a strong sense of despair has set in among the Ukrainian refugees,” said Mikhail Baloha, pastor of a Russian-speaking church in Warsaw. His wife, Oksana, organized the conference for some of the thousands of women and children the church works with daily.

 “Denise’s presence here, her abilities, her time with them, has been even more valuable than I thought it would have been,” Oksana Baloha said after the conference. “In Ukraine and many former Soviet countries, there are no resources for psychological support.”

Dealing with difficult emotions

Leonid Regheta, pastor of River of Life Church-Dallas, helped translate for Jenkins. The Ukrainian-born pastor still has friends and family in Ukraine and has seen the psychological needs created by war firsthand as he has ministered in Ukraine.

 “As spring in Texas springs, it usually harbors tornadoes,” he said. “When the storms arise, sirens ring across communities and Texans take precautions. The same sirens ring in Ukraine. But instead of warning of tornadoes, they portend bombs. The sirens repeatedly elicit immediate fear.”

 Jenkins’ breakout sessions equipped the ladies to work with their children.

“Being able to talk with these ladies and hear what they endured showcases the terrible fallout from the war and fully explains their feelings of despair, worry, and anxiety. They feel lost, forgotten and often useless in stopping the war,” she said.

Beyond the workshop sessions, Jenkins provided limited personal counseling.

“The ladies I spoke with, some dealing with PTSD, but all were dealing with difficult emotions,” she said. “Some were distraught—torn between the desire to return to ‘home’ but enjoying the new-found life in Warsaw with their children.

“Much like World War II forced women into the workforce, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has done the same: Showing a freedom, a liberty and empowerment not previously afforded,” Jenkins said.

“I simply told them and assured them the choice is theirs to make. They felt relieved just hearing that.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—U.S. State Department officials continued to point to religious freedom atrocities in Russia, China and Afghanistan as they released their annual report on threats to religious liberties across the globe.

“Far too many governments continue to freely target faith community members within their borders,” said Rashad Hussain, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, at a May 15 event with Secretary of State Antony Blinken marking the release of the 2022 International Religious Freedom Report.

“A second theme and trend the report highlights is the increase of government restrictions on access to holy sites and places of worship.”

Hussain pointed to Russia’s war in Ukraine as one cause of destruction to religious sites and noted the ways Chinese authorities have caused Muslims and Buddhists to lose sacred spaces.

“We have all seen the sad pictures of Ukraine’s civilians sifting through the rubble of their beautiful and most historic churches destroyed by Russia’s brutal war of aggression,” he said.

“Uyghurs have witnessed the PRC (People’s Republic of China) Government destroy or repurpose their mosques or cemeteries. Authorities also destroyed the monasteries of Tibetan Buddhists and expelled monks and nuns.”

Hussain also spoke of how members of Afghan communities who “do not toe the Taliban’s narrow theological line” need to flee or hide their religious identity.

The report, which assesses conditions in 199 countries, also looks at policies and laws, including those about blasphemy and apostasy, that “criminalize religious expression” and extend discrimination against religious minorities and others who differ from rules of an accepted theology.

“The report describes growing bigotry at the societal level in many places around the world,” said Hussain, who noted “the ongoing and deeply disturbing proliferation of antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and xenophobia that target religious and nonreligious communities.”

Progress noted in some areas

As they marked the 25th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act—which requires the annual report and established the ambassador position—State Department leaders described how religious freedoms are being truncated and trampled upon, but also noted the progress for religious rights that occurred in some countries.

“Belgium formally recognized its Buddhist minority, which entitles Buddhist religious organizations to teach their faith in state schools and eventually to apply for federal funding to do so,” Blinken said in his remarks.

“Lawmakers in Brazil codified religious freedom guarantees for Afro-Brazilian indigenous communities at the municipal and state levels across the country. They also passed legislation making it a crime to carry out discriminatory acts against any religious practices.”

Organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom praised the State Department’s report.

“We welcome this latest report highlighting the deeply concerning persecution and violence targeting Muslims, Christians and other religious minority communities in India and China,” said Corey Saylor, CAIR’s director of research and advocacy.

Both CAIR and USCIRF have urged the Biden administration to add India to its list of countries of particular concern, and the commission, in its own recent report, recommended four others: Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria and Vietnam.

Already listed as so-called CPCs are: Myanmar (which the department and USCIRF refer to as Burma), China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Blinken is expected to announce the department’s determinations of CPCs and its second-tier “special watch list” by year’s end.

Officials of USCIRF—which also was authorized a quarter century ago—responded to the report with a reiterated request that those countries known for egregious violations be penalized with “tangible consequences” by the administration and Congress.

“Across the world, millions experience discrimination, harassment, imprisonment, violence and other gross human rights violations for peacefully exercising their freedom of religion or belief,” said commission Chair Nury Turkel.

“The International Religious Freedom Report is an invaluable tool in the fight to hold violators accountable and improve global religious freedom conditions.”

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom compiled 2,000-plus names on its Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List, but the watchdog agency acknowledges the names of millions of others who face persecution and oppression remain unknown.

Nevertheless, commission leaders said they created the database to “put a human face” on the global issue of religious repression.

The commission announced May 5 it surpassed the 2,000 mark in its database. The list includes victims who have been detained, imprisoned, placed under house arrest, disappeared, been forced to renounce their faith, or been tortured for practicing their religious belief or advocating for religious freedom.

“Shockingly, people all across the world face prosecution, prison time, state-sanctioned extrajudicial acts, and other forms of punishment for peacefully exercising their freedom of religion or belief and defending others’ rights to religious freedom,” Commission Chair Nury Turkel said.

“By documenting these cases, USCIRF shares the horrific stories of not only those individuals experiencing severe violations of their fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief, but also of the millions of others who are forced to live under the tyranny of religious repression.”

The list includes Hkalam Samson, former president of the Kachin Baptist Convention, who was sentenced on Good Friday to six years in prison in Myanmar for his human rights advocacy; and Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo, pastor of Monte de Sion Independent Church in Palma Soriano, who is serving a seven-year sentence in Cuba for participating in peaceful protests.

It also includes:

• Mykhailo Reznikov, a Ukrainian Baptist pastor detained by Russian military in occupied Mariupol in March 2022 while he was searching for food for members of his church. His whereabouts are unknown.
• Wang Shunping, a Chinese Christian detained last August for “organizing and sponsoring an illegal gathering”—an event for young people that included prayer, Bible study and music lessons. His current status is unknown.

“The U.S. government must support victims and their families, push for the release of religious prisoners of conscience, and hold accountable those governments and officials that perpetrate or tolerate these egregious religious freedom violations,” said Abraham Cooper, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

“USCIRF will continue to put a human face on these largely unknown victims and call for justice for those individuals targeted on the basis of their religion or belief.”

Rioting mobs have destroyed at least 40 churches and forced thousands of Kuki, Zomi and other minority hill-dwelling tribes—most of them Christians—from their homes in the Manipur State of northeast India.

“This is ethnic cleansing, as well as religious persecution,” said Pastor Thong Kho Lun of Greater Houston Burmese Christian Fellowship, which has a longstanding ministry among refugees from Myanmar.

Thong has been in close contact with Christians in Manipur, including Thongkhosei Haokip, general secretary of the Kuki Baptist Convention, who asked Christians in America to pray.

Rioting began May 3

Looting, vandalism and arson began in Manipur on May 3. Riots broke out in response to protests that focused on calls for the government to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the Meitei people, a predominantly Hindu group who constitute the majority population in Manipur.

Members of scheduled tribes constitutionally are granted certain property protections and have access to political representation, educational benefits and affirmative action in employment.

Tensions between the majority Meitei people and minority tribes in Manipur over land ownership and affirmative action have existed for decades. However, Thong said, Christians in the region blame the latest surge of violence on a rising tide of militant Hindu nationalism.

“Mobs started burning churches, and then they went house to house,” Thong said, noting his sources said members of the mob secured weapons by raiding local police stations.

“The police cannot control the mobs,” he added.

Vee Tetseo, general secretary of the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, provided a list of 16 named fatalities, 27 burned villages and at least 10 Evangelical Baptist churches destroyed, along with a field office and staff quarters in Meitram.

Some sources indicate up to 40 Kuki churches and 20 Meitei churches have been burned. Precise numbers are difficult to obtain because Internet connections have been disabled and travel is limited.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported the chief minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh, said on May 8 that 60 people were killed, 231 were injured and 1,700 homes had been burned down.

Some female students at a Christian boarding school reportedly were sexually assaulted.

The Times of Israel reported two synagogues were burned down and a Torah scroll was torched.

Reuters reported authorities evacuated about 20,000 people to camps guarded by the military.

Thong said his sources in Manipur said evacuees in the camps are subsisting primarily on bread and water, and even that is in short supply.

Asia Pacific Baptists call for peace

The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation issued a statement condemning “all forms of violence” and calling for “calm and the restoration of peace in Manipur.”

The federation—a regional affiliate of the Baptist World Alliance—includes 65 member conventions and unions in 22 countries and more than 40,000 churches.

“The reports of attacks on churches, sacred spaces, properties and individuals are deeply troubling and a violation of fundamental human rights,” the federation stated.

The statement underscored the group’s belief “that violence in any form is never a solution and only results in harm, loss of lives and destruction of property.”

“We urge all parties involved to engage in peaceful dialogue and find a nonviolent resolution to their differences,” the federation stated. “The right to freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental human right, and any attack on places of worship, sacred spaces and individuals practicing their faith is unacceptable. We call upon all parties to respect the sanctity of sacred spaces and properties.”

The federation urged authorities “to take swift action to ensure the safety and security of all individuals and all communities affected by this violence and to bring those instigating conflict and the perpetrators to justice.”

“We acknowledge the longstanding coexistence of different communities in Manipur and pray that the long-term grievances are suitably addressed in consultation with the people,” the statement of the federation continued.

“We assure the people of Manipur of our prayers and support towards building a peaceful and inclusive society where every individual can live without fear or discrimination.

“We call upon all citizens and groups of the society to engage in a reflective, constructive dialogue to find a peaceful resolution. Let us work together towards reconciliation and healing, and toward building a peaceful Manipur.”

In a May 9 statement, the Baptist World Alliance noted more than 750 homes of Baptist church members were destroyed, damaged, or ransacked and looted.

“We call upon all people of goodwill to pray for peace, lift their voice as ambassadors of reconciliation, and live with generosity on behalf of all impacted by this violence,” the BWA statement reads.

“To community and government leaders, we urge authorities to take immediate and appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of all individuals, and to bring perpetrators of violence to justice. We call for the rebuilding of devastated communities, care for the displaced, and resolution of long-term grievances through constructive dialogue. We call for the protection of all places of worship, and a commitment to rebuild damaged places of worship, including the over twenty Baptist churches that have already been reported as destroyed.

“As we grieve for all who are suffering, we pray for the establishment of healing, just peace, human rights and religious freedom for all. We pledge to stand together with you in prayer and support in working together with you for a future where every diverse community lives in reconciliation and peace that results in flourishing freedom for everyone.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally was posted May 6. It was updated May 8 after the updated number of 40 destroyed churches was confirmed. According to a May 9 report by CSW, Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh said on May 8 that 60 people were killed, 231 were injured and 1,700 homes had been burned down. The article also was updated to include the May 9 statement from the Baptist World Alliance.

KHARTOUM, Sudan (BP)—At least four churches have been destroyed and a congregation directly assaulted in Sudan, signaling the earliest reports of religious suffering in the fight for governmental control that erupted in mid-April.

While it’s not clear whether the damages are the result of targeted religious persecution in the country that has failed to find democracy through decades of civil war, religious liberty advocates have expressed concern.

Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry supporting persecuted Christians globally, said the fighting that has killed hundreds of civilians could provide a cover for targeted attacks on Christians.

“One of the dangers of the situation in Sudan is that persecution and targeting of churches and Christians can be ‘disguised’ in the midst of airstrikes, missiles and gunfire,” said Nettleton, host of VOM Radio and chief of media relations and message integration for Voice of the Martyrs.

“VOM contacts know of at least four churches in Sudan that have been destroyed since the fighting began. While it’s difficult to determine if the churches were specifically targeted, we don’t hear reports of mosques being destroyed, so it seems enemies of the gospel are taking advantage of the fighting and chaos to target churches.”

Assault by paramilitary forces

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a ministry advocating globally for religious freedom, told of an assault by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on an individual congregation to seize church facilities.

“Places of worship have also been violated,” CSW said in an April 27 press release. “CSW learned that on 17 April an Anglican church in central Khartoum was seized as a military base by suspected RSF fighters, who damaged six cars, and forced 42 people who were sheltering there, and who included the church leader and his family, to leave the building after physically assaulting several of them.

“The church is a five-minute drive from the army headquarters. In Bahri, Khartoum North, the Evangelical Church was bombed and partially burned.”

At least 291 civilians had been killed in the conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Army as of April 26, according to the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate. Christians are included in the number, as Khartoum—ground zero of the conflict—is a main city for Christians in the majority Sunni Muslim country.

“VOM contacts say an increasing number of Christians have been killed in the fighting,” Nettleton said. “Again, it is hard to determine if Christians are specifically being targeted. Sources also report injured Christians are being turned away at state hospitals, and that Christians are being denied food relief that is being provided to Muslim citizens.”

Escalating violence

The current fighting in Sudan began within days of a scheduled transitional government aimed at establishing democracy in the country after several failed attempts to strengthen human rights there.

Sudan suffered decades of civil wars that began in the mid-20th century before the country split in 2011, establishing Sudan as a majority Muslim north and a majority Christian South Sudan.

The current fight for control is exacerbating preexisting violence in Sudan, CSW said.

“While fighting is severe in areas across the country, the situation in the fragile Darfur region, where levels of violence were already worrying prior to the outbreak of current hostilities, is particularly alarming,” CSW said in its press release.

“Not only does the RSF have a substantial presence in the area; in El Geneina, western Darfur, the SAF has aggravated ethnic tensions by withdrawing its forces to other affected areas while the police handed weaponry to members of African tribes, who have had no choice but to defend themselves against RSF, which consists of predominately Arab tribes.”

Nettleton urged Christians to pray for God’s protection over Sudanese Christians, for a peaceful solution to the newest conflict, for a long-term political solution that allows more religious freedom in Sudan, and for “wisdom and discernment for church leaders as they shepherd their flocks during this very difficult season.”