Persecuted Church: Sudan – World Watch List #12

Population: 30.9 million (number of Christians unknown)
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Republic
Source of Persecution: Islamic extremism/Dictatorial paranoia

Although Islamic law has not yet been fully implemented, the government and society try to squeeze Christians in all spheres of life and the level of violence has escalated. Christians face growing threats from Muslim communities and Islamist government officials, yet the number of believers is rising. The independence of South Sudan means future instability for Sudan, with a huge loss of revenue. Christians are afraid the religious and ethnic cleansing will continue, particularly along the border with South Sudan.

Please Pray:

• Praise the Lord that the number of Muslim-background believers in Sudan is rising
• For Christians in the disputed border regions, where churches and schools have been attacked
• Give thanks that Open Doors has been able to offer humanitarian assistance as well as discipleship and outreach training.

A leader in Southern Kordofan, Sudan, recently said to a Christian brother, “Your prayers are important, especially during these days… We have nothing to offer you, but I know God in heaven will reward you.”

Persecution dynamics:

Both the government and society try to squeeze Christians in all spheres of life and the level of violence has escalated in the past year. President Al-Bashir is losing support and his regime is in trouble. It has lost 75 per cent of its revenue with the independence of South Sudan, and of its remaining revenue, the press estimates 70 per cent goes to fighting in Darfur and disputed border regions with South Sudan.

During the May 2011 invasion by Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), more than 75,000 people were violently displaced from Abyei region. Homes, schools and churches were burned and looted and water supplies sabotaged. Since April 2012 it is reported that more than 10,000 displaced Dinka Ngok people have returned to the region. The church believes that their presence is essential in Abyei politically, but even more so spiritually, as a testimony to largely unreached tribes in that region.

The future for the church in Sudan is uncertain. The level of fear among Christians is growing slowly and there is reason to fear that Sudan’s leaders – be it al-Bashir or new Islamist leaders – will just continue the religious and ethnic cleansing, particularly in the border areas with South Sudan.
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More from Wikipedia – Human Rights in Sudan

Slavery in Sudan: Some organizations, in particular Christian Solidarity Worldwide and related organizations, argue that enslavement exists in Sudan and is encouraged by the Sudanese government. As an example of such allegations, in The Wall Street Journal on 12 December 2001, Michael Rubin said:

…[O]n 4 October, Sudanese Vice President Ali Uthman Taha declared, “The jihad is our way and we will not abandon it and will keep its banner high.

Between 23–26 October, Sudanese government troops attacked villages near the southern town of Aweil, killing 93 men and enslaving 85 women and children. Then, on 2 November, the Sudanese military attacked villages near the town of Nyamlell, carrying off another 113 women and children. A Kenyan aide worker was also abducted, and has not been seen since.

What’s Sudanese slavery like? One 11-year-old Christian boy told me about his first days in captivity: “I was told to be a Muslim several times, and I refused, which is why they cut off my finger.” Twelve-year-old Alokor Ngor Deng was taken as a slave in 1993. She has not seen her mother since the slave raiders sold the two to different masters. Thirteen-year-old Akon was seized by Sudanese military while in her village five years ago. She was gang-raped by six government soldiers, and witnessed seven executions before being sold to a Sudanese Arab.

Many freed slaves bore signs of beatings, burnings and other tortures. More than three-quarters of formerly enslaved women and girls reported rapes.

[E]stimates of the number of blacks now enslaved in Sudan vary from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands (not counting those sold as forced labor in Libya)….