FOUR CHRISTIAN WOMEN MOWN DOWN GOING TO WORK

Four Christian women were killed as militants from a passing car raked their minibus with automatic gunfire.

On Wednesday 21 January nine Christian Iraqi women were on their way to work in the laundry at Habaniyah US military base. Suddenly, four masked men, in a white Opel, machine-gunned our minibus and four women died, recounted survivor Maggi Aziz, 49. None of the passengers escaped the attack, 50 miles west of Baghdad, unscathed. Maggi herself was speaking from a hospital bed with wounds to the leg, shoulder and head.

Ashkik Varojan boarded the bus on Wednesday morning having decided to hand in her resignation, rather than live in fear of reprisals for cooperating with the coalition. Necessity had driven her to work to support her paralysed husband and four children. On hearing the news of her death, Anjel, her 20 year old daughter fainted with grief. Vera Ibrahim, who survived, said t continue this work. I am afraid. They wanted to kill us all. Suzanne Azat, also a survivor, and Mussa Adam Abu Shaba, whose sister Nadia was killed, believe the assailants were insurgents fighting against the coalition forces.

DEMOCRACY

On Monday 19 January there was a mass demonstration in Baghdad led by the Shi a leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani against the US plans envisioned to ensure a stable and lasting democracy. According to the Financial Times, some of the demonstrators were carrying pictures of Jesus to make it appear that Christians were supporting the Shi as, even though virtually all Christian leaders are against Al-Sistani s policies.

Barnabas Fund works to support Christian communities mainly, but not exclusively, in the Islamic world where they are facing poverty and persecution. Barnabas Fund, The Old Rectory, River Street, PEWSEY, Wiltshire, SN9 5DB, UK. Tel: +44(0)1672 564938, Fax: +44(0)1672 565030, E-mail: info@barnabasfund.org Web: www.barnabasfund.org

PASTOR AT PRAYER SHOT DEAD

TAJIKISTAN

16th January 2004 A pastor who was also an active missionary has been shot dead while he was praying in a chapel.

At 9.00pm on Monday 12 January gunmen burst into a churchyard in Isfara in the north of Tajikistan and fired several rounds through a window at Sergei Bessarab as he was kneeling in prayer. Forum 18 news agency reported that on hearing the gunfire, his wife, Tamara, rushed to her husband s side but he was already dead. Reuters also carried the story and confirmed he was shot 13 times with a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

A local newspaper had only a week before attacked Bessarab for his missionary work in this staunchly Muslim region. Women are often seen wearing the veil in villages and alcohol is taboo, indeed shops stocking it have sometimes been burnt down. The hard-line Islamic Revival Party garnered a large majority of the local vote in recent elections, despite central government attempts to curb the growth of Islamic extremism. Bessarab s handing out of Christian literature aroused considerable local anger. Nevertheless police have not yet confirmed that the suspected motive for the murder was his missionary activity.

APOSTASY CAMPAIGN

Local opposition to the missionary work of this pastor is typical throughout the Muslim world. The reason lies in Islamic law, shari a, which states that any male who converts from Islam should be put to death. Barnabas Fund is currently engaged in a major international campaign on behalf of converts from Islam focusing on the Islamic law of apostasy and the treatment of converts in Islamic societies. The Fund is calling upon Muslim religious leaders to condemn the harsh treatment of converts and to make public statements calling for a reform of shari a teaching on apostasy to clearly affirm that Muslims who choose to convert to another faith are free to follow their personal convictions without fear of punishment or harassment. Further details of the campaign can be obtained by contacting Barnabas Fund or visiting the Apostasy Campaign pages on our website http://www.barnabasfund.org/apostasy.htm

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