Violence Against Houses of Worship – Page 7 – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

Nigeria – ICC Report: “Muslim Mob Burns Down Christian Shops, 8 Churches in Nigeria”

ICC Report: “Muslim Mob Burns Down Christian Shops, 8 Churches in Nigeria”

Washington, D.C. (February 23, 2010)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on February 21 a Muslim mob burned down several Christian shops and eight churches in Kazaure, northern Nigeria. The mob carried out the attack after Muslim traffic police fatally assaulted a Muslim tractor driver. Unfortunately, it is common for Muslims to attack Christian minorities in northern Nigeria without any provocation by Christians.

The police chased the tractor driver for refusing to stop after a traffic violation in the city of Kazaure. The police caught the driver and severely assaulted him. The driver was later taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead on February 21 at 8 PM local time.

Soon after, a Muslim mob attempted to attack the police station but was chased away by the police. Enraged, the mob turned their attention instead on one of this region’s most vulnerable targets-Christian churches and shops. The mob burned down the following churches: Deeper Life Bible Church, Catholic Church, Apostolic Church, ECWA Church, Redeem Christian Church, Anglican Church, Word of Faith, and Assemblies of God Church all in the city of Kazaure.

According to ICC sources, there had been tension in Kazaure after the January Christian-Muslim conflict in Jos, Nigeria, in which over 300 people were killed.

Most of the residents of Kazaure are Muslims. The city is located in the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa. Christian minorities in northern Nigeria regularly face discrimination and violence by the Muslim majority.

The Emir of Kazaure, the police authorities, and authorities of the Jigawa state have condemned the attack.

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa and South Asia, Jonathan Racho, said, “We strongly condemn the attack against Christian businesses and churches. We are seriously concerned with the attacks on vulnerable Christian minorities in Kazaure by Muslim mob. We call upon officials of the state of Jigawa and the federal authorities of Nigeria to fully investigate this latest attack against Christians and bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice.”

Please call the Nigerian embassy in your country and politely ask Nigerian officials to fully investigate this latest attack and bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice.

Nigerian Embassies:

Country

Phone

Fax

Email
USA

(202) 986-8400

(202)362-6541

UK

0207 839 1244

0207 839 8746

Canada

(613) 236-0521/3

(613) 236-0529

chancery@nigeriahcottawa.com
Germany

+49-(030) 21230

+49-(030) 21230212

info@nigeriaembassygermany.org

West Bank: 2 West Bank mosque arson suspects released to house arrest

West Bank: 2 West Bank mosque arson suspects released to house arrest
— Jerusalem Post reports: “Two men arrested earlier this month in connection with the arson attack on a mosque in the West Bank village of Yassuf were released to house arrest for a duration of 60 days by a Petah Tikva magistrate on Sunday.”
— “The suspects, Zvi Succot and Shlomo Gilbert, have been banned from contacting others, and have had a no-exit ban imposed on them.”

Malaysia charges three over Allah row church fires

— BBC reports: “Prosecutors in Malaysia have charged three Muslim men with firebombing a church in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, earlier this month.”
— “They are the first suspects to appear in court in connection with a series of attacks on Christian places of worship.”
— The violence began when a High Court judge ruled that a Roman Catholic newspaper had the right to use the word Allah to refer to the Christian God.”
— “Up to 11 Christian churches have been attacked in the past three weeks.”
— “The men pleaded not guilty and were released on bail.”

A Kuala Lumpur police officer inspects the damage to the Metro Tabernacle Church which was destroyed by a fire bomb in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Desa Melawati,08 Jan 2010 (Photo AP)

Greece: 4th arrest over Crete synagogue burning

Malaysian Churches Face Violence

Malaysian Churches Face Violence – Religious Groups Attacked Following Recent Court Ruling
— VOA quotes Voice of the Martyrs Todd Nettleton: “If there is no freedom to change your religion—to change from being a Muslim to being a Christian—then there really isn’t freedom of religion.”

Indonesia: Churches torched by Muslim mob in Indonesia

Indonesia: Churches torched by Muslim mob in Indonesia
— AP reports: “A Muslim mob torched unlicensed churches and priest’s home in western Indonesia last week and security forces have deployed to ensure order, a government spokesman said Monday.”
— “No one was hurt when hundreds of villagers burned down two Protestant churches Friday in Sibuhuan village, North Sumatra provincial spokesman Baharuddin Djafar said. No arrests were made, but he promised authorities would ‘investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to court.’ ”
— “Christians say it has become increasingly difficulty to obtain licenses to operate churches and that violence is more frequent.”

Malaysia: Another church vandalised in Malaysia — 11th church attacked

Malaysia: Another church vandalised in Malaysia — 11th church attacked
— Grace Global Prayer Church

Greece: Arsonists attack Crete synagogue

Greece: Arsonists attack Crete synagogue
— Jerusalem Post: “The Etz-Hayyim Synagogue in the Greek city of Hania on the island of Crete has been targeted by arsonists for the second time in three weeks, police said on Sunday.”

Malaysia: Fifth Church Attacked, Failed Attempt on Catholic Convent

In Malaysia, Reuters reports that a fifth Christian church, All Saints Anglican church in Taiping, was attacked and outside walls blackened, and reports of a failed attempt to use a gasoline bomb on a Catholic convent. R.E.A.L. has posted on the initial attacks on January 8 and the follow-up attack on January 9.

— Reuters reports: “Would-be arsonists in mostly Muslim Malaysia struck at a convent school and a fifth church on Sunday while church leaders called for calm in a row over Christians’ use of the word “Allah” to refer to God.”
— “Police in the sleepy city of Taiping, around 300 km (185 miles) from the capital Kuala Lumpur, said a petrol bomb was thrown at the guard house of a Catholic convent school but failed to go off.”
— “They also said they had found several broken bottles including paint thinners outside one of the country’s oldest Anglican churches, All Saints, Taiping, and said one of the building’s walls had been blackened.”
— “On Sunday, Malaysians packed churches to listen to sermons of ‘reaching out in friendship to all, including Muslims’ and ‘keeping the peace in multi-religious Malaysia’ but many felt their religious rights were being trampled.”
— “Christians account for 9.1 percent of the 28 million population.”
— “Malaysia is mainly Muslim and Malay but there are sizable ethnic Chinese and Indian communities who mainly practice Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.”

Malaysian Christian Churches Firebombed

Malaysia: Fourth church attacked in Malaysia as Allah row deepens

A Kuala Lumpur police officer inspects the damage to the Metro Tabernacle Church which was destroyed by a fire bomb in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Desa Melawati -- January 8, 2010 (Photo AP)

Malaysia: Fourth church attacked in Malaysia as Allah row deepens

Malaysia – Reuters: Fourth church attacked in Malaysia as Allah row deepens
— “In the latest attack on early Saturday, unidentified attackers flung a home-made petrol bomb at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in a suburb in Selangor state. The two-storey bungalow sustained minor damage, church officials said.”

Malaysian Christian Churches Firebombed