Nehemiah with FMI says, “The problem is not really a blasphemy law or the Constitution of Pakistan. The problem is that the people of Pakistan, the Muslims of Pakistan, they have become extremists.

“The ‘mobism’ where a mob just goes [to] burn Christian houses or kill Christians in Pakistan? This is the major problem because critics urge that the laws are frequently exploited for personal vendettas, leading to false accusations and mob violence.”

Baptism in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of FMI)

FMI supports Pakistani church planters representing Jesus in their communities. Yet, these believers face daily dangers for their faith.

“Life for a Christian in Pakistan is walking-on-a-sword situation or sitting-on-the-gun-powder situation…. You never know when a mob or an individual is just simply [going to] approach you and try to kill you or burn down your house or persecute you for any reason.”

Legal reform is good, but true change in Pakistan will only come through transformed hearts in the Gospel.

Nehemiah asks, “Please pray for spiritual awakening in Pakistan that fosters mutual respect, understanding, and peace among all communities, breaking the cycle of fear and oppression caused by these laws.

“And I request to please pray for FMI church planters, that God would grant them discernment and guidance to navigate these complex and sensitive situations with grace and love.”

Learn more about FMI’s ministry in Pakistan.

Header photo courtesy of Asfand Yar/Unsplash.

Recently, a group of anti-Christian activists threatened Shukar saying if he didn’t stop teaching the Adult Literacy Class, they would kill his son.

Regan Miller with Mission India says, “In response, Shukar went ahead and filed a complaint with the police. But before anything could come of that, the activists actually showed up at Shukar’s house and his son was asleep.

“Ten people took this 20-year-old son out of the village and beat him to death. They actually brought him back into the village afterward and put his body on display.”

(Representative photo, courtesy of Mission India)

It is a parent’s worst nightmare. Devastatingly, this extreme persecution is a reality for many believers with Christian persecution in India on the rise.

Miller says, “Our partners in India know that when they choose to share the Gospel and are compelled to live for Jesus, they’re taking a huge risk.”

Mission India is supporting Shukar and his family as they grieve. Pray that Shukar and his family would know the Holy Spirit’s comfort. Ask God to gird up Shukar’s faith, that he would be a steadfast example for Christ in persecution.

The ministry also asks Christians to pray for the mob of extremists who killed Shukar’s son. Miller says, “We’ve seen miraculous situations where the worst persecutors that you would never expect to follow Jesus end up coming to faith in Christ because the Holy Spirit works a miracle in their hearts.”

Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes both share the Gospel and give adult students lifelong skills to enrich their lives. “Teachers like Shukar end up praying over the students [and] discipling them. It’s so much more than education,” says Miller.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

“So a lot of times by the end of the class, graduates not only have a fifth-grade level of education, they know how to save money, they have become entrepreneurs, they know how to take care of their health, and they know who Jesus is and a lot of them choose to follow Him.”

Ask the Lord to strengthen the faith of Adult Literacy Class teachers who may face persecution. Pray they would be faithful witnesses for Jesus.

Mission India is releasing a 7-day devotional highlighting Christian persecution in India. It’s all leading up to the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on November 3.

Sign up here for Mission India’s IDOP devotional and learn more about praying for persecuted believers like Shukar.

Representative header photo of a church in India, courtesy of Mission India.

The radical Muslim mob beat him unconscious, and his family was placed under police protection. Last week, Masih passed away from his injuries. He was a well-respected businessman in his community.

Piles of shoes and other material burn outside the Christian shop.
(Photo courtesy of FMI)

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says no Pakistani Christian is safe from false blasphemy charges and the vigilante mob.

“Many of them are just ginned up, false accusations. But the point of that is that the justice system is really afraid because once it gets said that an individual violated a blasphemy law, then the court systems are in a tricky spot because they’re afraid. They know what the power of the mob is [and] that vigilante justice that will kick in.”

Although there is fear, videos from Masih’s funeral showed fellow believers publicly praising Jesus.

Pray faithful Christians in Pakistan would cling to and proclaim the Gospel.

“We need to pray that truth is revealed,” Kelley says. “We need to pray that these Christian leaders would have boldness and they would have courage. If they were here, that’s what they would be asking for. They would say, ‘Pray that I have boldness. Pray that I have courage.’”

Please also pray for the attackers, that they would recognize their need for a Savior in Jesus Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Junaid Nawaz/Unsplash.

Now, Rev. Jason Woolford, President of Mission Cry says, “They can’t go back to work, they can’t go to school, their stuff is still burned, their churches were still torn down, and the government is not doing anything to help these Christians to get those things back.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission Cry)

A Mission Cry team recently went to Pakistan to support Christians displaced by the attack.

“We’re going to take 100 of these people who are living in a field and we’re going to feed them for 30 days and we are going to disciple them with the G300, which is in the back of our Mission Cry NASB Bible in Urdu,” says Woolford.

Above all, the displaced Christians had one request – new Bibles.

“I can’t imagine, if I’m living in a field, I’ve lost my house, I have no church, it’s been burnt down, my kids can’t go to school and I’m living in a field, I would be trying to figure out something. And I’d like to think that I would ask for a Bible! But in fact, that’s their first request.”

Mission Cry is giving every believer a Bible to replace the ones vandalized in the attack. You can help!

“I’m asking people to pray. But I’m also asking people to help fund the containers and help fund these projects that we do because it’s the one thing that gives these people hope because everyone is forgetting about them [except for] a few Christians. So pray and also help give to make a difference in the lives of these people.”

Click here to donate to Mission Cry’s Gospel ministry.

Header photo courtesy of Paul Jai/Unsplash.

However, World Mission’s Greg Kelley says it may not be over.

“What we’re hearing is that Christians right now all across this country are terrified. They’re literally terrified because what they’re hearing is that Muslims are planning similar attacks in other cities.”

The Minar of a Masjid in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Asfand Yar/Unsplash)

The Pakistan government has arrested nearly 150 people connected to the mob and deployed more than 6,000 police to the area. But is it enough to stop more coordinated attacks?

Kelley says, “Let’s not forget, this is the second most populated Muslim country in the world and you have 135 million people living in that country. It’s about 1% Christian. So this is a massively highly-concentrated Muslim community, and the scary part about it is how quickly that mob can be mobilized.”

You can support our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in Pakistan with World Mission.

“They’ve lost everything,” says Kelley. “There’s opportunities to sow into organizations like World Mission and others who will be responding to this tragedy.”

Click here to give to World Mission.

Also, Kelley says, “We can pray for church leaders who are going to be intimidated and be shying away from preaching the Gospel with boldness, but that’s exactly what we need from them right now in Pakistan.”

Header photo courtesy of World Mission.

Yesterday, a mob of hundreds of people stormed the predominantly Christian neighborhood Jaranwala in Faisalabad. So far, at least five churches have been burned as well as many believers’ homes.

Nehemiah with FMI says, “Before they burned these churches and houses, they tortured Christians, they vandalized and they demolished everything. While I’m talking to you right now, riots continue in Jaranwala in the same city and radical Muslims have blocked all major highways.”

Pakistan (Photo courtesy of FMI)

Videos show some local police, rather than stopping the violence, actually joined the protestors. Other police, “even if they’re not part of the riots, they are just standing there alongside with these mobs and watching them burning these churches and then vandalizing everything.”

The Gospel is needed more than ever in Pakistan.

Nehemiah asks, “Please pray for FMI partners because we have partners in the same city. I was able to connect with him and, of course, he was scared, he was afraid. But he’s still standing on the ground and…he is serving in this very, very difficult and dangerous situation.”

Ask God also for protection over churches and Christians in Faisalabad.

Header photo of the Minar of a Masjid in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Asfand Yar/Unsplash)

Last Thursday, June 29, Haroon Shahzad posted 1 Corinthians 10:18-21 regarding food sacrificed to idols. He didn’t include any additional commentary in his post besides the Bible passage. A Muslim villager screenshot the post and accused Shahzad of blasphemy. Muslims were beginning the festival Eid al-Adha in which an animal is slaughtered for the celebration.

The screenshot of the Christian’s post circulated on local media, and on Friday a local mosque made an announcement on loudspeakers prompting Muslims to gather in protest. Shahzad and dozens of other Christian families fled the village.

Pakistan (Photo courtesy of FMI)

Nehemiah with FMI says, “Pakistan has a culture of mob. There is a ‘mob-ism’ in Pakistan where a Muslim mob would come and they vandalize the entire village, kill people, burn that village, and this is very, very common.”

Police have registered a blasphemy case against Shahzad and are pressuring him to turn himself in.

A new agreement signed on June 17 in Pakistan now allows blasphemy cases to be tried under the country’s anti-terrorism laws.

Nehemiah with FMI says, “It also makes the charges of blasphemy an offense for which bail is not possible. The moment you are charged, cops are gonna come and pick you up and you vanish. They punish people in a few days without even hearing their side of the story, and most of the time, access to attorneys [is] being denied to such accused people.”

FMI supports Pakistani believers as they share the Gospel in their communities, and sometimes is able to offer legal aid when Christians are targeted for their faith.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

“We have people on the ground who share news with us. Every day, there are multiple stories. Every day, there are people who are being killed, who are being framed in false accusations. They are behind bars for doing nothing, for just posting a verse on Facebook.”

Awareness allows you to pray. Nehemiah asks, “I would just request our brothers and sisters to pray for protection and power for believers. Pray that people in Pakistan who have not yet heard the Gospel would be given that opportunity. Pray for open doors for Christians to share Jesus and lives to be transformed.”

Header photo courtesy of Abuzar Xheikh/Unsplash.

Africa’s largest populated nation is, indeed, deeply divided. With a Muslim-majority in the north and Christian-majority to the south, more and more Christians are fleeing the north as attacks continue from extremist Muslim groups like Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen.

Nigerian Christians, in particular, are cautious to see how Tinubu will tackle the issues of Islamic extremism and attacks on Christians.

These disciples of Christ are passionately sharing God’s Word in North Eastern Nigeria.
(Photo, caption courtesy of World Mission)

Greg Kelley with World Mission says, “The Muslims, although primarily concentrated in the northern part, really control that country. They are in the most influential places, politically speaking, and so obviously, it’s scary. Christians are concerned because they feel like they’ve been living in a country that has essentially had zero accountability.”

Twelve of Nigeria’s 36 states have Sharia law and blasphemy cases are used as a cudgel on minority Christians in those areas.

“The reality is much of the things are taken care of outside of the limelight,” says Kelley. “The people who are being accused don’t have the resources maybe even to have an attorney or any kind of representation. So that’s happening in the courts.

“But I think the worst matter is the ruling by public opinion and what I refer to as ‘mob rule.’ The mobs are emboldened by the government looking the other way.”

The Blasphemy Mob in Action

Perhaps one of the most disturbing examples of recent blasphemy accusations comes from one year ago. Deborah Emmanuel, a female student at Shehu Shagari College of Education, asked her fellow students not to post religious content on their academic WhatsApp group.

After the innocuous request, Kelley says that Emmanuel “was accused…by her classmates of blasphemy and she was set on fire.”

Emmanuel died in the attack by Islamic students over her apparent blasphemy. The one-year anniversary of her death was May 12. Her killers still have not been brought to justice.

Kelley says, “It’s just mobs being activated. That, to me, is the scarier aspect of where [the blasphemy law] is going.”

Time Will Tell

Blasphemy accusations and resulting violence have garnered attention with newly-elected President Tinubu taking office. How will he handle Muslim extremism moving forward?

(Photo courtesy of World Mission)

“The Christian community is literally just on their knees. They’re pleading and begging the world to take notice, to come to their defense, to come to their aid,” says Kelley.

No matter how justice and political policies are directed in Nigeria, God is still moving through the global Body of Christ.

You can be a tangible encouragement to Nigerians by giving to World Mission. Through World Mission, Nigerian believers are empowered to share the Gospel with unreached Muslims through solar-powered audio Bibles called Treasures.

Also, you can raise awareness for persecuted Nigerian Christians by sharing these stories on Facebook, Instagram, and other forms of social media!

Finally, please pray for Nigerian Christians and their witness of the Gospel in the midst of horrific persecution. Ask the Lord to protect Nigerians from evildoers, and to raise up godly leaders who value justice. Pray for wisdom for Tinubu as he begins his tenure as the nation’s president.

Pray for all of Nigeria’s 223 million people to know the life-saving message of salvation in Jesus Christ!

Header photo of Nigeria President Bola Tinubu (Photo courtesy of Chatham House – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26223891)

Khan has repeatedly skipped court hearings on charges of selling State gifts. He was ousted in April last year after a no-confidence vote in his leadership.

Imran Khan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan (Photo courtesy of Chatham House, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

This latest surge of violence goes to show the power of the mob in Pakistan. It’s a picture of a growing trend.

Nehemiah* with FMI says mob violence and Muslim extremism has infected Pakistan’s streets.

“Muslims in Pakistan, they have adopted this ‘mob-ism’ where…the mob of people will just go and kill people. This culture of mob in Pakistan is growing like anything. These Muslims will just come and kill anybody in Pakistan, and the situation is nobody arrests them because there is a fear of TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan],” says Nehemiah.

“Pakistan was already struggling with economic crisis, with political instability. On top of that, people are facing day-to-day terrorist activities. The people are dying. They’re afraid to go to work.”

For local Christians FMI supports, life is increasingly dangerous in light of growing “mob-ism.”

Nehemiah says, “The Pakistani government has asked the local churches that they have to establish their own security of the churches. The government has said they cannot protect Christian churches anymore…so Christians, the youth, young boys, they are acting like security guards in Pakistani churches now.”

The only thing to stem the swelling mob tide will be changed hearts. Pray for the people of Pakistan to have their eyes opened by the Gospel.

Header photo of Lahore, Pakistan where Khan’s supporters clashed with police. (Photo courtesy of Syed Bilal Javaid via Unpslash)

*Full name withheld for security.

The employee has been suspended, and authorities have started an investigation.

Nehemiah with FMI says the whole incident was caught on security footage. “This Muslim man added while he was shouting at this woman that he will bring clerics to frame her in a false accusation. And then he said that he was mad at her and he will cut her down. The female officer can be heard calling the man out for threatening her and daring him to register a blasphemy case against her.”

Blasphemy laws

It’s an example of how blasphemy laws in Pakistan can be used against Christians, even outside of religious situations. The laws forbid saying anything against Muhammed, the Quran, or Allah. It gives Muslims a feeling of power over Christians, even in petty disputes.

Nehemiah says the law was first passed in the late 70s and early 80s. “This is one of the laws that is strictly enforced. Most of the time, people don’t go to court. Right away, they decide the situation on the street.”

“This is one of the reasons why mob culture is very common in Pakistan.”

Ask God to strengthen Pakistani Christians who live under this constant threat. Nehemiah says, “They live on the sharp edge of a sword. Many of these people who are being accused of blasphemy are part of congregations with these brothers and sisters who are serving with FMI. Pray for safety, security, and wisdom, how they can deal with such situations.”

Header photo courtesy of FMI.