Church Relinquishment Ordered by Government Officials

Pyramids - Flickr/Joe Pyrek
Flickr/Joe Pyrek

On August 23rd, several Christian leaders in the city of Omdurman were arrested and imprisoned for a six-hour period. Rev. Ayoub Mattan, a moderator for the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC), and Kuwa Shamaal (also transliterated Kwa Shamaal), head of missions at the church, were among the Christian leaders arrested. Pastor Shamaal, who had been previously arrested on December 18th, and then acquitted on January 2nd of this year, received new charges ranging from spying to inciting hatred against the government.

Police also arrested Rev. Yagoub Naway and Pastor Musa Kodi. The forementioned Christians were interrogated along with other SCOC church leaders, including finance secretary Abdulbagi Ali Abdulrahaman and deputy finance secretary El-Amin Hassam Abdulrasool, before all were released on bail. Six other members are in hiding after learning that the police are wanting to arrest and interrogate them as well.

Sudan's Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments had written a letter dated August 14th, ordering the Christian leaders to hand over the church leadership to a committee appointed by the government ministry -- a move that may have been made to sell off the church property in Sudan's bid to rid the country of Christianity. When the church leaders refused, police opened a case against them, even though it's unclear what law they were enforcing.

Since 2012, Sudan has expelled foreign Christians and bulldozed church buildings on the pretext that they belonged to the formerly residing South Sudanese. Besides raiding Christian bookstores and arresting believers, authorities threatened to kill those who did not leave or cooperate in their efforts to find other Christians. Previous reports on the difficulties experienced by believers in Sudan are available here.

Due to the severity of the church situation, please intercede on behalf of these pastors who were arrested on false charges. Ask God to strengthen their resolve and position as His appointed spiritual leaders when dealing with the opposing government officials. Also pray for the members of their congregation that they too will be strengthened to withstand the attempts of the enemy to halt the Lord's work from being accomplished through the church. May all of God's people in Sudan be firmly grounded on His promises and remain at peace, for our Lord Jesus assuredly states, "...I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).

  • 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 pile of rubble - corregated metal, wood, and various other objects - is heaped where a building once stood.
    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.

  • Church Leaders Face Violence from Multiple Sides
    A large church with several spires.
    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.

  • Displaced Christians Driven From Their Homes
    A large group of people are gathered around a small mosque.
    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.

  • Military Officers Arrest Christian Refugees
    A group of men are standing together. They appear to be singing.
    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.