Greg Musselman with The Voice of the Martyrs Canada explains, “The Houthis and al-Shabaab are now sharing weaponry; they’re becoming more aligned, in a sense.”

As described here, the Houthis are giving al-Shabaab access to more advanced weaponry systems. In return, al-Shabaab shares its coastal intelligence network and years of expertise in piracy.

A calligraphic logo used by Ansar Allah, a Shia movement in Yemen commonly called the Houthis, with Arabic text: “Oh ye who believe, be supporters of God” (Quran 61:14)
(Wikimedia Commons)

“These groups have these weapons, they share intelligence, and that makes it very scary for persecuted Christians in those nations as these radicalized groups take more and more control of their countries,” Musselman says.

As radical control grows in Yemen and Somalia, believers continue to quietly share the hope of Christ. “In Somalia, they have one of the fastest-growing Churches in the world,” Musselman says.

“Instability causes people a lot of fear, but also opens them up to the Gospel.”

Yemen and Somalia are some of the world’s most dangerous places to follow Christ. For example, Yemeni citizens are not allowed to convert to Christianity. More about that here.

Similarly, believers in Somalia keep their faith a closely-held secret, as al-Shabaab demands the death of Christians if discovered. More about that here.

“Often, we can’t talk about stories [like these] because of the security issues. We don’t want to put anybody else in any further danger. But we can be encouraged that God is working amid all the challenges these believers are facing,” Musselman says.

“Because of the fear, the unhappiness with [the] regimes leading these countries, they (people) just see no hope. And that’s when many of them are turning to the Lord.”

Pray that the Gospel will penetrate the hearts of many hopeless people.

“Let’s pray for God’s work to continue in Somalia and Yemen. Yeah, they have heavy Muslim populations, but there is an emerging Church,” Musselman says.

“Believers are willing to risk their lives to bring the Gospel to some of the world’s most dangerous places.”

Header image depicts al-Shabaab insurgents during an attack on Somali National Army positions in 2023. (Wikimedia Commons)

Some have compared Sudan’s potential future to that of Somalia. Somalia’s chaos and violence have made it rampant with humanitarian crises and violations of human rights. In the words of John*, a Gospel worker in Sudan: “Al Shabaab is still waging one of the largest and deadliest insurgencies in the world. [There is] massive poverty [and] a continuation of violations of not only law, [but] international humanitarian law with just impunity. Human life has almost no value.”

In short, “It’s a place that has become so radical [that] there’s not a corner where you can find peace[…] let alone an awareness of the value of life that we know that God has. It’s very difficult in Somalia.”

Unfortunately, John thinks some of patterns that led to Somalia’s current state can be seen in the recent years of Sudan’s history. He’s concerned that should total collapse come, dangerous factions already present in Sudan could gain more power. 

But God has a plan, and we can pray for a different future for Sudan. “It’s easy to be complacent, but I would encourage Christians to pray, ‘Lord, stir my spirit, stir my heart. Help me care about the things that you care about, and bring them into the way I live my life and make my decisions.’”

John says that prayers like that could incite transformation within the Church. Christians in Sudan need support. They need to know that the global Church is paying attention. They need practical support stemming from the generosity of Christians with more resources. And they need your prayer for Sudan’s future.

*Name changed for security purposes

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

Earlier in July, extremists killed another Christian as he traveled home from a different evangelism meeting. At the event, police maintained tight security. But extremists ambushed a group of Christians as they crossed through a swamp.

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “I hope the Ugandan government responds. I hope that the perpetrators are held accountable. I know in the case of one of these murders, there has been someone arrested. We will see what happens as far as the justice system, the court system, and how the case moves forward.”

Islamic extremism

The majority of Ugandans practice Christianity. But in recent years, the Islamic State has fought to gain a foothold in the country. In November 2021, two suicide bombings in the capital Kampala shut down Uganda’s parliament. Nettleton says, “It’s certainly something that the Ugandan government is going to have to address: the rise of violent Islam even within their own borders.”

“Particularly in the last few months, there have been several attacks against former Muslims who are evangelizing Muslims.”

And the Islamic State isn’t the only extremist group working in Uganda. Nettleton says, “Certainly al-Shabaab is active in Kenya. The Islamic State is spreading in West Africa, even in northern Mozambique. So there are a lot of different influences that are happening within Uganda, kind of driving this rise of radical Islam.”

Pray the attacks would not discourage Ugandan Christians from sharing their faith.

(Header photo courtesy of Fredrick Kimbugwe from Pixabay)

Sub-Saharan Africa is “the new global terrorism hotspot,” Foreign Policy claims. Terrorist attacks constantly put Nigeria in the headlines, and Islamic State affiliates tried to secure control of the Mali-Niger border at the end of May.

Jesus is working throughout Africa as well. “There’s so much the Lord is doing, and the literature is a large part of that,” Helen Williams of World Missionary Press says.

“I’ve recently met with several African leaders, and they all feel that this is Africa’s time.”

A new opportunity

Scripture booklets printed by World Missionary Press are the “fuel” a new partner needs to plant churches in 26 African countries. Islamist groups like Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, and the Fulani seek to control land and people in many of these nations.

“The early Church went to every home with the Gospel. It’s a good model for the Church in the last days. Every person deserves to be given an opportunity to hear the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.” –WMP church planting partner in Lesotho
(Photo, caption courtesy of World Missionary Press)

WMP’s new church planting partner is working in “Sudan, Gambia, Chad, Mali, and Niger; some of these are hard places for the Gospel. [The ministry partner is] in the French part of Africa and the Sahel region, which is particularly difficult,” Williams says.

“The literature is a great tool to leave with people and use for training.”

By supporting WMP, you can help church planters in Africa get the tools they need for outreach and discipleship. “These opportunities keep coming, and we cannot meet them without the support of those who pray and give and hold us up before the Lord,” Williams says.

“We can’t just suddenly make it happen; we look to the Lord for the income to buy the paper, pay for the containers, etc.”

Praise God for doing great and mighty things in Africa! “This ministry has grown,” Williams says, speaking of WMP’s new partner.

“Even in difficult circumstances, in Muslim-dominated areas, they see people come to the Lord.”

Header and story images courtesy of World Missionary Press.

Leaders fear increased terrorist activity in neighboring India following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. Experts also warn of emboldened jihadists in Africa.

“There’s this feeling that ‘mighty America’ has been defeated, and now we (terrorists) can do whatever we want. We’ve got momentum on our side,” Voice of the Martyrs Canada spokesman Greg Musselman observes.

The power shift in Afghanistan comes at a critical time for the Western war on terror in Africa. A coalition of West African terrorists recently compared the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to a French troop reduction in the Sahel.

Boko Haram
(Photo courtesy of Think Defence via Flickr: https://rb.gy/cpvmlt)

Terrorist activity is up by 33-percent in the Sahel region compared to last year. Last month, former French intelligence agent Claude Moniquet said Europe must maintain an active presence, not reduce it:

“Why are we in the Sahel? Very clearly, to keep the threat as far as possible from European borders. It may seem like a dangerous policy, politically and legally questionable, but is a question of security for Europe.”

“Christians and other Muslims are very concerned about what’s happening in Afghanistan and fearful that it’s going to happen in other nations, especially in Africa. The Taliban [seems to be saying], ‘we have defeated the United States, we’ve defeated NATO, we’re the victors now,’” Musselman says.

“That (message) is giving a lot of emotional support to Islamic groups around the world.”

Terrorist activity in countries like Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Somalia often coincides with persecution. “Christian leaders [are concerned] that groups like the Boko Haram, or the Fulani herdsmen, are going to get [bolder]; they are going to become even more radicalized,” Musselman says.

Pray God will protect His children from danger. Find more ways to help through VOM Canada here.

By “supporting organizations that are trying to make a difference…we can strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ that want to remain in their communities and share the message of God’s love through His Son Jesus,” Musselman says.

“Most [believers] want to stay in their village; they want to stay in their area. They don’t want to leave the country unless it’s necessary.”

Header image depicts a Emirate Islami (Taliban) flag hanging on the wall of the former U.S. Embassy near Massoud Square in Kabul, Afghanistan.  (Wikimedia Commons)

Islamic militants have averaged 14 violent events per day for the past ten years, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. In the Sahel, terrorist activity is up by 33-percent compared to last year.

The United Nations explored similar warnings last week. In a report issued to the UN Security Council, experts said Africa was the hardest-hit region during the first half of 2021. General Stephen Townsend, the commander of U.S. forces in Africa, warned about terrorism’s “unabated” expansion in the continent at the end of June.

“It’s a threat, and you see the way they (terrorists) are going into countries we had not seen [them] involved in before; you think of countries like Burkina Faso and Mali,” Greg Musselman with Voice of the Martyrs Canada says.

“Islamic groups are growing stronger and stronger. That is not only causing problems for Christians, it’s causing problems for the general population.”

A second caliphate?

Multiple extremist groups are fighting amongst themselves for territory and control in Africa. One name keeps rising to the top: the Islamic State. The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS raised this concern in meetings last month.

“Islamic State is becoming more and more of a threat while, at the same time, the U.S., European Union, and other countries now are looking more at the threats from China and Russia,” Musselman says.

“It’s kind of like taking the eye off the ball, and Islamic State is just getting stronger and stronger.”

Trademark IS moves, like the crucifixions in Mozambique earlier this year, raise concerns about a second Islamic State caliphate. This in-depth report explains how the threat could soon become reality.

(Image capture courtesy Prayercast.com)

“A couple of years ago, with the caliphate that they had tried to set up in Syria and Iraq, there were some 6000 troops from West Africa that were fighting with Islamic State. They’ve gone back home, and now they are trying to bring that brand of Islam into their areas,” Musselman says.

Learn how you can help persecuted Christians through VOM Canada here.

“We need to pray for our brothers and the sisters that are suffering and feeling hopeless; feeling a lot of fear because of groups like Islamic State and Boko Haram, and the others that are causing these problems,” Musselman says.

“Pray that God will give our government leaders His wisdom [regarding this issue].”

Header image courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs Canada.

Trans World Radio (TWR) is teaming up with humanitarian aid workers to provide practical help and Gospel hope.

“The content that we are broadcasting, particularly in this area stuck with disaster, speaks to the heart to give hope; directing people specifically to Jesus Christ as a source of living water,” TWR’s Sphiwe* says.

(Photo courtesy of TWR)

Better yet, hope is taking root. Sphiwe quotes the following response TWR received from a Mozambican in one of the troubled regions:

“When we want to give up, someone speaks about God to us, and that keeps us going despite these difficulties.”

As described here, terrorists wreaking havoc in northern Mozambique call themselves al-Shabaab, but there’s no known connection to Somalia’s militants. These extremists drove more than a half-million people from their homes last year, while attacks in late March uprooted another 17,297 people.

“In addition to the regular disasters that come, natural disasters, we are currently faced with the insurgents up in the north, in the Cabo Delgado region,” Sphiwe says.

There’s no end to the crisis in sight. Sphiwe requests prayer in four ways: “We pray for resources to continue airing the program. We pray for protection for the people on the ground,” she begins.

“We pray the program can reach the hearts of people that have suffered, but also the perpetrators of the difficulties.”

Last but certainly not least, “pray for the organizations and donations that are coming to answer physical needs of these people,” Sphiwe requests.

Help send radios to Mozambique here through TWR.

* Name withheld for security purposes.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of David Peterson/Pixabay.

FMI supports local pastors, church planters, and evangelists in Kenya. Their Kenya director Elijah* says al Shabaab activity is driving NGOs and educators away from northern parts of the country.

“We have seen a mass exodus of teachers coming out and fearing to serve in those specific areas,” Elijah says. “Most of the teachers are young people. Some of them have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. When they are in those places, they can be the witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in those areas. What we are seeing is discouragement.

“But to the people who have hope in Jesus Christ, even when they are passing through persecution, I know they have inner healing from God.”

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

While FMI is focused on church planting and spreading the Gospel in Kenya, they also want to help the local Church meet the tangible needs in their communities.

Elijah explains, “As we are working alongside our brothers in the northern part of Kenya, we’ll be doing a baseline survey to see the need [and] how we can best approach that instead of using the models which some of the NGOs have been using.”

The FMI strategy also means that the ministers they support are local to their Kenyan communities and can build authentic relationships. “Building relationship here means to be on the ground, understand the culture of the people, understand what they are doing, understand how best we can mitigate the processes to reach our goal and also to create peace and harmony.”

Learn more about FMI here and how you can partner with them as they advance God’s Kingdom!

Also, Elijah asks, “Pray for the church planters [and] the evangelists…to speak to their hearts words which can bring transformation in their life.”

*Last name omitted for security purposes.

Header photo courtesy of FMI.

To some degree, that remains true, as Kenya provides ready access to hotspot areas and has a reliable infrastructure. However, there is rising concern over the recent increase in attacks by Al-Shabaab in northern Kenya.

Ruins left by al Shabaab, Mogadishu 2017. (Photo courtesy of AMISOM Photo / Tobin Jones/Flickr/cc)

Who is Al-Shabaab? They’re an extremist group running raids between the border of Kenya and Somalia. Under the evaluation of the Fragile State Index (formerly the Failed State Index), Somalia ranks number two on the list due to the lack of a functioning government.

Terrorists run amok in Kenya

FMI’s Bruce Allen explains the lawlessness and piracy issues neccesitated a response. “There is a multinational peacekeeping force on the ground in Somalia, trying to keep the peace between rival warlords; terrorist groups like Al Shabaab, which is an offshoot of al Qaeda. Kenya is a part of that multinational peacekeeping force.”

A Kenyan Police Woman during International Women’s Day on 6th March 2014 that was celebrating Female Peacekeepers in Somalia. (Photo courtesy of AU/UN IST PHOTO / David Mutua/Flickr/CC)

The warlords and terror groups running rampant in Somalia want the peacekeepers out, Allen says. “Kenya happens to be a real easy target because they neighbor Somalia, so there’s that proximity so that they can launch attacks and raids across the border into neighboring Kenyan counties.” Al Shabaab’s goal is to motivate Kenya’s government to withdraw peacekeeping forces from Somalia. Kenya wants to stabilize the region.

Is it fixable?

Mix in political, economic, tribal, and military strife, and you’ve got a recipe for trouble. Al Shabaab’s attacks increase at the end of the year, usually marking specific anniversaries for the terror group. Sometimes, it’s merely a statement.

Within the last 10 weeks, there’s been an attack on the Kamuthe Primary School, executions of 11 Christians, and an attack on Camp Simba, a military base in Kenya. The most recent scare was a bomb threat on January 30 at Doctor’s Park in Parklands Nairobi, which forced an evacuation.

If nothing else, the extremist group has succeeded in creating terror, Allen says. “One of the teachers in that recent attack in Garissa, a teacher, Robert Kibutu, who lives right outside the school’s residential area, said that ‘we are so sad, and at the same time scared because we are targeted for being non-local government workers that belong to the Christian faith.'”

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

Intrepid ministry

This is the atmosphere into which FMI aims its newest vision. At the end of 2019, FMI laid the groundwork for a national leadership team in Kenya. This year, he says, “We’re looking for the church planting partners that we’ll end up supporting in Kenya, to become very aware of Islam and especially radical Islam that is growing there and how to respond appropriately.”

The goal: saturate unreached parts of Kenya with the Gospel. They want to see church planters mature into a network that spreads throughout the Horn of Africa. FMI wants to facilitate, mobilize, and inspire these indigenous church planters to lead congregations to maturity so that eventually, that church plant becomes autonomous.

Finding your part in the story

The hope is that churches take ownership of ministry and outreach in their communityies and reproduce themselves in other communities. However, acknowledges Allen, the challenge of an ongoing insurgency won’t make that easy. “Pray through this situation in Kenya. Pray for the courage and resilience of Christian teachers of the orphan care workers, of the pastors.”

Aside from supporting FMI to resources these partners with Bibles and other study tools, it’s important to understand the context of the Church under fire. Persecution will come, so “Pray wisdom for the pastors to lead their congregations through the tough times of shock and grief,” especially since FMIs ministry is in its fledgling stages in Kenya.

Headline image courtesy of Ingoman, Released into the public domain | Wikimedia Commons

An American businessman and British charity worker are among the dozens of people who fell victim to explosions and gunfire. Citing a statement issued by al-Shabaab, Reuters reports the militants “carried out the attack in revenge for U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”

Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs USA says it’ll be interesting to see whether terrorists were specifically targeting Christians in this attack. The Somalian militants favor this type of pursuit.

“At both [Westgate Mall] and the university in Garissa, people were asked at gunpoint: are you a Muslim or a Christian? The Christians were shot; the Muslims were allowed to go,” he recalls.

“There were several instances where they (terrorists) [said], ‘ok, you say you’re a Muslim – quote some Koranic verses for me. Let me see for sure you’re a Muslim before I let you go’.”

What happened?

This is the third major attack instigated by al-Shabaab on Nairobi soil in six years. As questions continue to mount, security systems are under review. According to BBC News, the al-Shabaab gunmen captured on security camera footage were reportedly sighted on the hotel compound in recent days.

“There really isn’t any way to say ‘we’re going to eliminate this threat, we’re not going to have this’,” Nettleton observes. “You can ramp up security, you can be very cautious, but a determined foe can get into a place like that and wreak havoc.”

As outlined here by Associated Press, a suicide bomber began the 19-hour siege in a luxury hotel on Tuesday afternoon. Armed gunmen took over from there, forcing scores of people into hiding.

(Photo courtesy of VOM Canada)

“This is the same area where the mall was attacked several years ago,” he notes.

“It’s al-Shabaab again making their presence felt in Kenya, reminding the Kenyan government [and] reminding the Kenyan people that they are there and nobody is safe.”

The Somalian terror group took credit soon after the attack began.

“It will be interesting to see if they were specifically targeting Christians during the course of this attack,” Nettleton observes. “I have not heard that [about] this attack…but obviously the story is still being told.”

Why would they target Christians? Nettleton says believers don’t fit the terrorists’ vision for East Africa.

“Ultimately what they want is Sharia law and an area of Islamic control in Somalia, and then expanding out into some of the surrounding countries.”

What’s next?

With connections to al Qaeda, al-Shabaab has a long legacy of terror in Somalia. As described here, al-Shabaab translates to “The Youth” in Arabic:

Al-Shabaab is recognised as a terrorist organisation by many Western countries and rules according to a strict interpretation of Islamic laws known as Wahhabism (the same form of Islamic rule imposed in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan). This form of Islam is so extreme that even Sufi Muslims have been driven underground.

“As you think about Gospel workers in Kenya – both international and Kenyan – pray for their safety, because this is a situation that hits close to home. Some of them live in that area; many of them are in that area often,” says Nettleton.

(Photo courtesy of ILRI via Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/g8FAuM)

“Pray for safety and pray against fear.”

The attack could also trigger feelings of animosity between the Kenyan Christian and Muslim populations. “Muslims who have absolutely nothing to do with al-Shabaab could feel the wrath of Christians,” Nettleton explains.

“Let’s pray against a spirit of division and that Christians will be able to show the love of Christ and show forgiveness, even after an attack like this.”

Find more ways to support persecuted Christians on VOM’s website.

Header image is a graphic obtained from Wikimedia Commons depicting the al-Shabaab war flag.