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church

• Another Church Threatened with Closure

  

  Christians in Algeria are requesting prayer for leaders of a church in the village of Ait Atteli as they contend with legal action intended to enforce the closure of their place of worship. If the action is granted, this will be yet another one of the many churches affiliated with the officially recognized Protestant organization, the Église Protestante d'Algérie, forcibly closed by the authorities.

• Christian Leader Beaten for Protesting Church Burning

  

  The ninth church building within the past two years was set ablaze in Sudan on January 3rd, 2021. In the weeks leading up to the recent arson attack, hate messages against the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) in the rural Tambul area of Al Jazirah state were circulating on social media, calling for action against Christians. Pastor Jubrial Tutu describes the incident as direct persecution. According to Rev. Kuwa Shamal, head of the SCOC, the attackers "targeted the church because they do not want to see any sign of the cross in the area."

• Registration Applications Denied

  

  Although religious communities in Uzbekistan would like to obtain official permission (to exist), as required by the state, all their applications have been blocked. Protestant churches, Shia Muslim communities, along with groups of other minority religious affiliation, have not only had their registrations denied, but now they are being subjected to subsequent fines, torture and other punishments.

• Church Building Destroyed

  

   

  In the early morning of October 30th, authorities arrived with equipment and began demolishing the Assemblies of God church in Santiago de Cuba. The church, led by Pastor Faustino (Fausto) Palomo Cabrera, belongs to a legally recognized denomination.

• Churches Closed by Pandemic Remain Unopened

   

  

  As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the world, places of worship in many nations have been closed to prevent the spread of the virus. While all places of worship and entertainment were initially closed in Algeria since March, governing officials decided to gradually reopen various religious centres as of August, beginning with large mosques consisting of over a thousand worshippers.

• Appeal Fails to Halt Seizures

  

  On September 17th, a court in the city of Almaty upheld an earlier decision to seize two buildings owned by the New Life Protestant Church. The facilities were being used for worship, as well as a means of support for those suffering from drug and alcohol dependency.

• Strict Opposition to Missionary Activity

  

  In July 2016, Russia passed religion laws restricting "illegal missionary activity" by either citizens or foreigners. This activity could involve speaking to people about religion, or the distribution of either printed, audio or video materials. Between January and June of this year, there have been 42 known prosecutions, resulting in 36 convictions. All those who were convicted received fines.

• Court Upholds Church Closure Order

  

  The Spring of Life Church in Makouda is the second largest Protestant church in Algeria with about 700 members. In October 2019, it was ordered to be closed, along with two other churches (see this report). The closures happened under Ordinance 06-03, which states that permission must be obtained before using a building for non-Muslim worship.

• Churches Converted to Cultural Centres

  

  As China continues its crackdown on churches, some state-approved Three-Self Churches have been "voluntarily" converted into cultural centres. In Jiangsu province, the Flowing Stream Church was disbanded in 2019, accused of "occupying the village's cultural base." It has now been turned into the "Yangzai Township Flowing Stream Village Cultural Service Centre" where the socialist principles of President Xi are promoted, in the governing officials' attempt to spread "positive energy" to the community.

• Hundreds of Crosses Removed

   

  

  In the early morning of July 7th, more than 100 security personnel arrived at the Aodi Christian Church and Yinchang Christian Church in Wenzhou. They came with cranes and removed the crosses from atop the church buildings. Door locks were also broken, and some church property was destroyed. When church members tried to intervene, they were physically assaulted, resulting in several injuries. The elderly among them were not exempt from mistreatment, for a senior man in his 80s was disrespectfully pushed to the ground.