Malaysian Church Buildings Attacked

Late in the night of January 8, a firebomb was thrown into the Metro Tabernacle Church in Kuala Lampur, destroying the building’s lower level offices. Eleven more Malaysian churches have been attacked since then – some with firebombs, some with bricks, and some with paint. Time magazine explains the motive behind these attacks:

The reason . . . is a recent judgment by Malaysia’s high court that the word Allah is not exclusive to Muslims. Judge Lau Bee Lan . . . rescinded the prohibition order that forbade the Malay-language edition of the Catholic monthly the Herald to use Allah to denote the Christian God.

The Malaysian government, which relies on the majority Muslim population for support, has appealed the decision saying the ban should remain. The government recently blocked the release of Malay Bibles and continues to restrict religious freedom in a variety of ways. For example, it is illegal to evangelize Muslims. 60% of Malaysia’s 28 million people are Muslim. The Christian population (about 9%) is concerned that “the vehement opposition to the Allah ruling reflects a growing Islamization in a multireligious society.”

Coptic Christians Killed

Seven Coptic Christians were shot and killed while leaving a Christmas eve service on January 6 (they follow the Orthodox calendar) in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. This is just the latest in a long line of attacks against the oppressed Christian minority in Egypt.

Church Burned in Algeria

The Associated Press reports that on January 11, a large Islamist mob looted and burned a Pentecostal church in Algiers, Algeria. The police stood by and allowed the mob to burn Bibles, Christian books, pulpits, and desks. One Algerian Christian says this shows that “Islamist intolerance considers there is no room for Christian religious practices in Algeria.”

Believers Shot in Pakistan

On December 26 Imran Masih and Khushi Masih were attending a wedding in the Punjab Province of Pakistan, when they were shot in the chest when they refused to convert to Islam. From Compass Direct News:

Soon after they arrived at the wedding, a group of Muslim youths armed with AK-47 assault rifles surrounded them and began shooting into the air, as is customary at village weddings. They were not alarmed, they said, assuming the young Muslim men were simply celebrating joyfully.

“One of the green-turban-wearing Muslims peremptorily told us to recite the Islamic holy Kalima [profession of faith] or face direct bullets and the lethal consequences,” said Khushi Masih.

Both Christians said that they joyfully refused, and instead they began reciting Psalm 91.

“Our decision infuriated them,” Imran Masih said, “and instead of shooting into the air, they shot us, leaving us only after being convinced that we were dead. Praise the name of Lord Jesus Christ, who raised us from the dead!”

How Then Should We Live?

These are just four recent examples of the regular oppression, suppression, and persecution Christians face in many Muslim-majority countries. These stories should lead us to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

They should also cause us to consider the sacrifice that will be necessary to reach Muslim countries with the gospel. Muslim nations have the fewest Christians and the most persecution.  For example, eight out of the top ten countries on Open Doors’ World Watch List are Muslim nations.

The kind of Christian who gets offended when a clerk at Target says “happy holidays” rather than “merry Christmas” when checking out, probably won’t consider moving to a city where Christians are gunned down on Christmas Eve or shot at a wedding. Yet that is exactly what needs to happen. Algeria is 99% Muslim and 99% of the ethnic Malay people are Muslim. Their constitution declares that to be a Malay you must be Muslim. If the Malay, or the Algerian, or the Yemeni, or the Moroccan people are going to believe, thousands of believers need to leave their culture and enter these places with the gospel. Those who go must be prepared to be slighted, to be looted, to be hated, and even to be killed.

Are we making and are we becoming the kind of disciples who would even consider a calling like this?