Home » Christian Persecution News » Africa » Senegal
Category Archives: Senegal
Ramadan Challenge: Day 5 – Senegal
In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus said,
“How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.” Mark 4:30-32
SUMMARY
Senegal is an atypical African country that defies most people’s expectations. Home to at least twelve diverse ethnic groups and one of the most stable democracies in Africa, the nation has fostered a reputation of mediation, tolerance, and acceptance. This is rare for most of the African continent. The capital, Dakar, sits on the westernmost point of Africa overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, which feeds both its fishing and tourist economies. As a Muslim country and black nation, Senegal acts as a cultural and political bridge between the indigenous African and Islamic worlds.
With a mostly agricultural economy, Senegal has been devastated by droughts, and as these dry periods push citizens from rural to urban settings, social issues such as alcoholism and drug use have permeated the population. Though the tradition is slowly dying away, the practice of genital mutilation is still performed in spite of government reform. Also, the nation is plagued by multiple health problems, including intestinal and parasitic infections and sexually transmitted diseases. Due to lack of sanitation, medical personnel, and adequate medications, many of these preventable diseases result in death. A growing practice of sending children to live in schools that, in turn, disperse the children to the streets to beg for money and food has resulted in a malnourished, uneducated, and forgotten generation. Even though the nation prides itself in its ideals of acceptance, the Diola tribe of the Casamance region has engaged in violent revolt against northern Islamic neighbors.
Due to the level of religious freedom, a source of pride for the Senegalese, Christians are able to worship freely and evangelize. The New Testament has recently been translated into seven languages and seventeen other translations are in the works. Though ninety percent of the population claims the Islamic faith, Christianity is starting to take hold as hearts remain open in the Senegalese people. God’s at work in the nation, and He is moving mightily.
PRAYER POINTS
• Pray for spiritual breakthroughs among the Muslim majority.
• Pray for the the small body of believers to boldly live out their faith in a way that draws Muslims to Christ.
• Pray for indigenous churches to be planted among many unreached people groups.
Blaine Scogin, Prayer Director of Persecution Watch and Voice of the Persecuted
Nightly Call scheduled through Ramadan
Time:
9 p.m. Eastern time
8 p.m. Central time
7 p.m. Mountain time
6 p.m. Pacific time
Call Number:
712-775-7035
Access Code:
281207#
Recommended: For those who may be subject to added charges for conference calls. Please download the app, it’s free!
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all of your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
Available International IDOP Prayer Conference Call Numbers
(Note: If using one of the call numbers below, you may experience issues in your country. If you are unable to connect, try using the VoIP dialer available at this link. Click on VoIP dialer, go to this number 712-775-7035 in the drop down menu—enter access code 281207 (do not add the # symbol)—enter your name and click on the ‘Place Call’ button.)
Australia +61 (0) 3 8672 0185
Austria +43 (0) 732 2781155
Belgium +32 (0) 9 324 29 17
Brazil +55 61 4040-4314
Bulgaria +359 (0) 2 495 1527
Canada (712) 775-7060
Chile +56 (0) 44 890 9161
China +86 (0) 510 6801 0117
Costa Rica +506 4000 3885
Croatia +385 (0) 1 8000 065
Cyprus +357 77 788854
Czech +420 225 852 060
Denmark +45 78 77 36 35
Dominican Republic (829) 999-2585
Estonia +372 614 8061
Finland +358 (0) 9 74790032
France +33 (0) 1 80 14 00 56
GCC/Arabian Peninsula +973 1656 8325
Georgia +995 (0) 706 777 110
Germany +49 (0) 89 143772955
Guatemala +502 2458 1416
Hungary +36 1 987 6821
Iceland +354 539 0323
Indonesia +62 (0) 21 51388813
Ireland +353 (0) 1 437 0318
Israel +972 (0) 76-599-0026
Italy +39 06 8997 2187
Japan +81 (0) 3-5050-5075
Kenya +254 (0) 20 5231033
Latvia +371 67 881 516
Lithuania +370 (8) 37 248962
Luxembourg +352 20 30 10 03
Malaysia +60 (0) 11-1146 0070
Mexico +52 (01) 899 274 5015
Netherlands +31 (0) 6 35205061
Nigeria +234 (0) 1 440 5221
Norway +47 21 93 53 35
Pakistan +92 (0) 21 37130640
Panama +507 838-7821
Poland +48 32 739 96 40
Portugal +351 21 114 3145
Romania +40 (0) 31 780 7760
Slovakia +421 2 333 255 32
Slovenia +386 (0) 1 828 03 25
South Africa +27 (0) 87 825 0107
South Korea +82 (0) 70-7686-0015
Spain +34 931 98 23 70
Sri Lanka +94 (0) 11 5 322961
Sweden +46 (0) 31 781 06 26
Switzerland +41 (0) 43 550 70 55
Taiwan +886 (0) 985 646 917
Turkey +90 (0) 212 988 1713
Ukraine +380 (0) 89 323 9978
United Kingdom +44 (0) 330 606 0527
United States (712) 775-7035
Vietnam +84 (0) 4 7108 0080
Rising Islamist militancy across Sahel belt threatens African Christianity
As the world focuses on potential military advances against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, it risks overlooking another vast region where militant Islam is a growing threat to the Church – in the continent where the Church is growing fastest: Africa.
Amongst other factors, the chaos in Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi – characterised by easy access to weapons of all sorts combined with the increasing presence of jihadists – has had a spill-over effect into Africa’s vast Sahel region. This spans the African continent from Senegal in the west to western Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia in the east. (The ‘Sahel’ describes the ecological and geographic region between the Sahara Desert and the humid and fertile savannah belt north of Africa’s tropical rainforest).
The most dramatic example of this Islamist militancy is in northern Mali, where Islamist militants and foreign fighters made common cause with Tuareg rebels to take over a large portion of the country in 2012. For most of the year, until the French military were forced to intervene, armed Islamist groups ruled the region, banning the practice of other religions and desecrating and looting churches and other places of worship.
In addition to the main group involved then, the jihadist Ansar Dine, other militant groups active in the Sahel region include Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Boko Haram and Islamic State (IS).
A new report from Open Doors International, a charity providing support to the global Church under pressure, shows that the rise of Islamist militancy in the region is undermining freedom of religion. According to the report, puritanical and militant versions of Islam (particularly Salafism/Wahhabism) are increasingly taking root – in a manner that reflects recent developments in the rest of the world – as a result of Islamist missionaries and NGOs from the Middle East, funded by (until recently) oil-rich Gulf States like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Fertile ground
The Sahel, which encompasses parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, has been predominantly Muslim for centuries. Due to a mix of environmental, demographic, economic and political factors, all the states that exist in this region are very fragile.
Troops from Mali and Niger, supported by their French counterparts, conduct regular joint operations to hunt for militants in the western part of the region.
The report indicates that the Islamist groups in the region are very hostile to Christianity and show this through violent acts. Northern Mali has witnessed violent attacks against Christians and churches – notably in 2012, during jihadist occupation. There have also been a series of abductions by jihadist groups, which kidnap Christian workers not only to finance operations through demanding ransoms, but also to deter Christians from working in the region. The Swiss missionary, Beatrice Stockly, kidnapped in Timbuktu in January, is still being held hostage by AQIM.
In neighbouring Niger, Islamists burned down more than 70 churches, as well as Christian homes, schools and orphanages, in a series of arson attacks in January 2015.
Rampant radicalization
Islamist groups in the Sahel, like others elsewhere, don’t tolerate other Muslims who adhere to a version of Islam different from their own. Violence and terror is their preferred modus operandi. The report suggests that any further increase in their numbers and influence would add to the difficulties Christians are facing.
Even if these groups do not succeed in imposing Sharia and establishing Islamic “caliphates” at a national level, they will still contribute to the overall radicalisation of the population and the spread of an extremist and intolerant version of Islam, says the report. It says this has created an environment in which any Christian outreach ministry – not to mention the very existence of the Church itself – faces violent resistance.
The radical militancy of jihadist groups in the Sahel is also spilling over further south and giving rise to terrorist attacks in predominantly Christian parts of West Africa, notes the report. The attack on the Grand-Bassam resort in Ivory Coast (March 2016) has highlighted the vulnerability of these countries.
In the long-term, unless these groups are defeated, it is very likely that they will intensify their campaign of terrorism and violence in southern Nigeria and other West African countries which have thus far been relatively spared from terrorist activism, warns the report.
It concludes that the situation for Christians in the Sahel is precarious. It says the region is becoming a new major hotspot for Islamist groups, many of which have allied themselves to international terror franchises like IS and al-Qaeda. It is very important that the countries in the region strengthen their cooperation against these militant groups, says the report, adding that countries outside the region capable of providing assistance should also help.
In addition to robust and decisive military action, the report says it is also important not to adopt a purely one-dimensional approach. The socio-economic and political realities in the region, of which the militant groups take advantage, also need to be transformed, it says. It is only when these underlying realities are changed that Christians and non-Christians will be able to enjoy security and freedom in the region.
VOICE OF THE PERSECUTED 