Officials in the Sudan, the almost completely Muslim remainder of the
nation from which a Christian and tribal South Sudan broke away from
recently, say they won’t be issuing any more new licenses for church
buildings.
They explain that what with the “arrests, detentions and
deportations” of Christians, some of the existing buildings already are
empty.
The announcement came just recently from Al-Fatih Taj El-sir, the
minister of guidance and endowments for the nation of Sudan. It was
documented
in a report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
“The minister explained this decision by claiming that no new
churches had been established since the secession of South Sudan in July
2011 due to a lack of worshipers and a growth in the number of
abandoned church buildings. He added that there was therefore no need
for new churches, but said that the freedom to worship is guaranteed in
Sudan,” CSW said.
The ministry, however, explained that the announcement comes against a
backdrop of a massive repression campaign against Christians in the
portion of the old Sudan that now is almost entirely Islamist.
Just before the Sudanese announcement, CWS noted that Catholic priest
Father Maurino and two expatriate missionaries were deported.
“The two missionaries, one from France and the other from Egypt,
worked with children in Khartoum. According to Fr. Maurino, no reason
was given for the deportations,” CSW reported.
But the goal isn’t hard to determine, with Maurino explaining that
Christians are in trouble in Sudan since the government sought to
Islamize the country and eliminate the Christian presence.
CSW’s own documentation gives evidence, since 2012, of “an increase
in arrests, detentions and deportations of Christians and of those
suspected of having links to them, particularly in Khartoum and
Omodorum, Sudan’s largest cities. There has also been a systematic
targeting of members of African ethnic groups, particularly the Nuba,
lending apparent credence to the notion of the resurgence of an official
agenda of Islamisation and Arabisation.
“The campaign of repression [has] continued into 2013, with foreign
Christians being arrested and deported at short notice, and those from
Sudan facing arrest, detention and questioning by the security services,
as well as the confiscation of property such as mobile phones, identity
cards and laptops. In addition to the arrests and deportations, local
reports cite a media campaign warning against ‘Christianisation’,” CSW
reported.
In February alone at least 55 Christians linked to the Evangelical
Church in Khartoum were detained without charge, the report said.
Andrew Johnston, CSW’s advocacy director, said, “The recent spike in
religious repression in Sudan is deeply worrying. The minister’s claims
of guaranteeing freedom to worship are at odds with regular reports of
Christians being harassed arrested and in some cases expelled from the
country at short notice. We urge the Sudanese government to end its
campaign of harassment against the Christian community and respect the
right of all of its citizens to freedom of religion or belief, as
outlined in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Sudan is a signatory.”
Sourced from
World Net News
