Students for the Relief of the Oppressed

In Islamic countries, converting to Christianity can carry severe penalties. Around three months ago, four believers in Libya were imprisoned because of converting from Islam. In a wonderful answer to prayer, they were recently released from prison. What a reminder to be thankful that the LORD our God cares for every land on earth, that his eyes see everything, that his ears are attentive to our prayers, and that his hand is mighty to save.

On Monday the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, signed a bill regarding Swat Valley and surrounding areas which puts this north-western area of Pakistan under Islamic law. This constitutes a concession to the Taliban and bad news for Christians in the region since the Taliban openly acknowledge that the penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity is death. Please pray for this situation, that Christians would be bold, even to death, and that before long the Taliban would be overturned.

Here in America, we feel like we're hitting rough times economically. It's hard to show Christian generosity when your stock just lost nearly half its value, and your retirement keeps moving further and further off. So we tell ourselves, forgetting that Christians in Pakistan face death daily for Christ's name, while we hesitate to give even out of our abundance for his sake. During the month of March, we are trying to raise money for an emergency relief fund. This will give us the resources to offer immediate assistance to persecuted Christians around the world, when and where they have the most pressing need. Thanks to a generous donor, any gifts made to SRO in March will be doubled, up to $2,000, and put towards our emergency relief fund, so please consider contributing this month. "Then the righteous will answer him saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or na...

Being a Christian in Pakistan has been difficult for a long time. In recent weeks their plight has grown even more difficult, as the Taliban are increasingly trying to enforce Islamic beliefs. The extreme application of sharia law will give rise to many serious problems for Christians, with the most serious application being death for converts from Islam. Please pray for the safety of the Christian community. If you would like to help the Christians practically then please get in touch with us, and we can provide you with further details.

In the province of Bauchi, Nigeria, there has been a worrying incident of violence. The Barnabus Fund reports “An outbreak of violence on 20 February between Muslims and Christians in Bauchi city, the capital of Bauchi state in Northern Nigeria, has left at least nine Christians dead. Six of them were shot and three killed with machetes. At least six churches, perhaps as many as 13, have been burnt down, as well as three mosques.” Please keep the families of the murdered Christians, their churches, and all other believers in that area in your prayers. Ask that peace would be restored, and that the Nigerian Christians would resist the desire to return evil for evil.

“There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practiced.” This was the opening line of a document, leaked a couple years ago by the government of the military regime in power in Burma since 1962. Burma (Myanmar) is listed 5th on the Restriction of Religious Freedom Index, only behind such anti-Christian countries as Saudi Arabia and Iraq. At least four to six percent of the 55,390,000 population of this country is Christian. The majority of the rest of the country’s population is Buddhist. The government has restricted the building of churches and in 2004 it was illegal to print or import the Bible into Burma. More recently there continues to be censorship of local publications of the Bible. In 2007 a Buddhist monk, backed by the military burned down a church and in ongoing ethnic struggles, 27,000 of the predominantly Christian Karen tribe were driven from their homes. In a more recent example of the persecution of Christians in Burma, pastors in Rangoon were forced to si...

Somalia has not earned for itself an enviable reputation over the past two decades. The country has suffered from border disputes, drought and war ever since its independence and has not had a functioning government in almost twenty years. It is a nation well-known for its warlords, Islamist militia and, just recently, pirates. Last November Somali pirates successfully captured and held ransom the Sirius Star – the largest ship ever to be captured. The Saudi oil-tanker was released this last month. Other than the occasional mention in the news, most people probably associate Somalia with Blackhawk Down, a movie documenting the downing of a Blackhawk helicopter and the killing of U.S. Army Rangers by Somali militias in 1993. The newly formed government based in Djibouti has just elected Sheik Sharif Ahmed, a more moderate Islamist leader, as their president. However, he and his government face a hard task ahead of them as the Islamist militia in Somalia (Al-Shabab) are unlikely to recog...