Barnabas weekly newsletter 21 December 2010

An Iranian pastor has been sentenced to death for apostasy from Islam.

Youcef Nadarkhani (33), a father of two, was arrested in October 2009 after he objected to the teaching of Islam to Christian children in schools, and he has been held in prison ever since.

“Their conditions are no longer bearable. The people are living behind locked doors, they are compelled to take long leaves of absence from work, in Mosul and other cities, as a result of the dangers they face...

“It is as if they are in prison: without work, without study, without Church meetings. Fear rules over all situations and in all places.”

This extract from a report received by Barnabas Fund last week from a senior church leader reveals the bitter reality of life for Iraqi Christians amid unrelenting attacks against them.

Christians in the Indian state of Karnataka are living in a “climate of fear, persecution and harassment”, says a senior leader after four attacks by Hindu extremists in one day.

Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, spoke out following the incidents at different churches during services on Sunday 5 December.

In contexts where Christians are persecuted, it is often children who suffer the most. When anti-Christian violence causes families to flee their homes at a moment’s notice, the children’s education suffers dramatically as survival becomes the priority.

Christian children also suffer more subtle forms of persecution within schools in Muslim-majority countries where Islam is the door to education. They are discriminated against and marked down or failed in exams, and forced to engage in Muslim practices.

Barnabas Fund is helping Christian children get a good education in a Christian environment.

With Christmas just around the corner, 2011 will soon be upon us – and it’s not too late to order a copy of Barnabas Fund’s year journal. This valuable devotional resource has pages for you to record your thoughts and reflections throughout the months, as well as uplifting Bible verses, and short testimonies, prayers and poems from Christians around the world who have suffered for their faith. It is available now at a special offer price of £5 (plus £2 P&P).