India (MNN) — A self-styled Sharia Court is doing its best
to silence the Gospel in India. The panel
of Muslim clerics expelled three pastors from Kashmir state over
allegations of forcible conversions.
However, the row created by the situation has believers
raising the alarm. In mid-January, Muslim clerics issued a fatwa against
them for "luring the Valley's Muslims to Christianity."
David
Bast with Words of Hope says, first, "The Sharia court is not an official institution. It's
not a government court. This is simply a group of Muslim clerics who set
themselves up and say, 'We will dictate what happens because Kashmir is
Muslim.'"
Second, the current crisis was sparked by video, posted in
October 2011, of a pastor baptizing Kashmiri Muslim youth. There were calls to kill the pastor and to
burn down churches and schools in the Valley.
Within hours of the warning, the pastor was arrested. The panel
also accused two other Christian workers of being accomplices. As a result, says Bast, "Active ministry has ceased for the moment, as far as we know, and the Christians who were involved in that have had to flee
for their lives."
Specifically, the expulsion is costly in terms of outreach. "Our
team has experienced directly the results of that ruling because one of those
three was heading up the work that we're involved in. The report we're getting
from the direct for South Asia where Words of Hope is involved is basically
that Christian ministry has shut down in Kashmir."
Bast goes on to say that before this happened, there was one
above-ground church in the capital city. Now, there are none. It's
unlikely that the situation will improve much. The Sharia court has also called on the government to take over
management of missionary schools. There
are several media reports indicating the Sharia court wants to introduce
Islamic prayer and to allot classes for Islamic studies at these schools.
Jammu/Kashmir is India's only Muslim-majority state; Muslims
account for 67% of its population. In the Valley, Muslims are the overwhelming
majority constituting 97% of the population.
Bast notes that although there is dispute with Pakistan over
the region's identity, "Legally,
it's part of India, so it should be governed by the constitution of the state
of India which guarantees religious
freedom, but that's not happening there
right now."
Words of Hope's ministry includes Gospel broadcasts in eight
languages to four countries. It is the only region where Words of Hope broadcasts
to audiences which are predominantly Hindu (Hindi, Bhojpuri, Dogri, Garhwali,
Nepali), Buddhist (Tibetan, Dzongkha) and Muslim (Kashmiri).
Please pray for Words of Hope's continued efforts in South
Asia. Bast requests, "Pray for the believers that are still there. They are very much
under pressure. They're probably mostly underground. They're being intimidated,
so pray that they'll be strengthened, that they'll be courageous, that
they'll be able to stand."
