Christian Woman Punished for Not Following Sharia Law

28 April 2004


	^{Christian women from Southern Sudan}

One of the main topics of negotiation in the peace talks in Sudan has been the implementation of sharia law for non-Muslims. An April 28 news release from Compass Direct reports that a young Christian woman in the capital city of Khartoum was beaten and fined for not wearing appropriate head covering.

Cecilia John Holland was traveling on a transit bus on the evening of April 13 when ten public-order policemen stopped the bus and arrested her. When she protested that she was a Christian and from the south, she was struck in the neck and forced into a van with other women deemed to be dressed inappropriately. The next day she was taken to the Sizana Islamic Court where she was not allowed to speak in her defense. She was found guilty and sentenced to 40 lashes fined 10,000 Sudanese dinars ($50 Cdn).

The Khartoum government claims that the issue of sharia law in Khartoum and other primarily Muslim areas of northern Sudan has been resolved; that the southern leadership (the SPLM) have agreed to a single Islamic law in the north. This claim has been denied by an SPLM spokesman.

Pray that the peace talks in Sudan will succeed and that both sides will be willing to negotiate in good faith. Pray for Cecilia and other Christians living in northern Sudan, as they face the challenges of an imposed sharia law.

For more information on Sudan, click here. The Voice of the Martyrs has been actively ministering to Christians in Sudan for several years. Last January, as part of the mission's annual Operation Christmas Blessing, VOM carried out a major distribution of school packets for students in eastern Sudan. To view a brand new video report of the project go to our multimedia site, PersecutionTV (click here).

Sudan

Country Information
Population
49,197,555 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Sudanese Arab (70), Fur, Beja, Nuba and Fallata (30)

Religion
Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

Leader
President (to be determined)
Transitional military leadership in place

Government type
Presidential republic

Legal system
Mixed legal system of Islamic law and English common law

Source: CIA World Factbook
Pray for Sudan
Pray that Christians throughout Sudan will continue to entrust themselves to Christ and preach the Gospel boldly, knowing Jesus is the ruler over the kings of the earth (2 Timothy 1:7-12, Revelation 1:5).

Pray also that peace, justice and religious freedom may be firmly established.

Sudan News

Church Building Destroyed While Authorities Watch

A demolished Pentecostal church building in Khartoum.
Photo: CSW

On July 8th, approximately 30 individuals equipped with heavy machinery demolished a Pentecostal church in the El Haj Yousif area of Khartoum as police officers and military personnel looked on without intervening. By the time the demolition was finished, the worship hall – which had been constructed in the early 1990s – was reduced to rubble, along with the church's administrative offices, guest house, and other adjoining buildings.

Read more...
Church Leaders Face Violence from Multiple Sides

A church in Sudan.
Photo: Flickr / David Stanley (cc)

The bishop of the El-Obeid diocese in Sudan recently suffered a harrowing ordeal at the hands of both members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and those of the opposing rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On December 1st, Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali reported that he was travelling with a deacon named Joseph. The ministry team had just arrived in El-Obeid when they were suddenly stopped and harassed by the SAF. The troops seized the small sum of money in U.S. dollars that the bishop was carrying, claiming that it was forbidden currency. During the robbery, the soldiers also physically harmed the two men.

Read more...
Displaced Christians Driven From Their Homes

A group of people in Sudan.
Photo: Wikipedia / Nina R (cc)

Residents of the Al-Makniya area of Sudan's River Nile state drove 34 displaced Christians from their homes on October 19th. Those responsible for the displacement explained that they did not want any Christians nor black people in the area.

Read more...
Military Officers Arrest Christian Refugees

Photo: VOMC

Amid the ongoing civil war in Sudan, a group of over 100 Sudanese men, women and children travelled to the city of Shendi on the banks of the Nile River in search of refuge from the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group, RSF. There, the refugees – most of whom are members of the Sudanese Church of Christ – sought shelter in an affiliated church building.

Read more...