Tags

Qatar

• Pastor Deported Without Reason

  

  On May 22, Pastor Nemencio Bonton was deported from Qatar to his native Philippines without any reason being given. According to Middle East Concern, this deportation follows a letter he received on April 20 giving him 30 days to leave the country. Bonton was senior pastor of the Qatar International Christian Ministry, which ministers to expatriate workers in Qatar. He also worked as an electrician. Despite appeals from his employer as well as from the Chief Protocol Officer of Qatar's ruler, Bonton was deported along with his wife and four children. He had lived in Qatar for twenty years and had no previous problems with the authorities. This is the second confirmed deportation of a pastor from Qatar for religious reasons this year.

  Pray for Pastor Bonton and his family as they make the transition to life in the Philippines. Pray for the church during this change in leadership.

• Government Authorizes Church Construction

  

  The government of Qatar has authorized the construction of churches in the country, something unprecedented in this Arab Gulf state, according to a report from ZENIT on February 25. A government representative said that this is part of "Qatar's conviction in favor of freedom of worship." Though Islam is the dominant religion in Qatar, there are thousands of Christians, many of them immigrant workers.

• Christian from India Deported

  

  A Christian from India who had worked in Qatar for the past twenty-two years has been deported, along with his wife and twelve-year-old son. As of yesterday, authorities had given no reason for the deportation. Arokiyasamy Stanislas Chellappa, 51, worked in a hospital in Doha, as well as leading a fellowship of Tamil-speaking Indian Christians in his home. According to Compass, when he was arrested on December 9, he asked police what he had done. "We don't know," they replied. "It is just written that you have to go back home." All that anyone can surmise is that it is because of his religion. Despite advocacy from his employer and from the Indian embassy, Middle East Concern reported on January 21 that all appeals have failed and that the family is to leave Qatar today.

  Qatar has been considered a leader in democratic rights in the Arab Gulf states. While non-Muslims cannot proselytize nor meet for public worship, private services such as Chellappa was leading have been permitted.

  Pray for the family as they establish their life in India. Pray for the other Christians in Qatar who face similar uncertainty.