Hindus force Christians to 'reconvert'*

Attack is just a part of increasing worldwide antagonism

Posted: May 12, 2007
Voice of the Martyrs

Hindus have confronted a group of Christian evangelists, forcing them
into a nearby village temple to perform a ritual to "reconvert" them to
the Hindu religion, according to a new report from the Voice of the
Martyrs which is documenting some of the increasing persecution by
Hindus around the world.

While this most recent physical attack was reported by VOM sources
inside the Indian state of Orissa, other attacks – albeit verbal – also
have reached into the United States.

Hindus have been launching a series of attacks against Christian
organizations dedicated to promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A report from the Hindu American Foundation accused a long list of
Christian organizations, including some providing aid in India, of
promoting hatred.

"The proliferation of websites promoting religious hatred is an
unfortunate consequence of the universality of access to the internet,"
said Vinay Vallabh, the lead author of the report.

Among those targeted verbally included the Southern Baptists' missions
board, Gospel for Asia and the Minnesota-based Olive Tree Ministries,
which aims its ministry at teaching Christians about their beliefs.

"We must vigorously identify, condemn and counter those who use the
Internet to espouse chauvinism and bigotry over the principles of
pluralism and tolerance," Vallabh said.

While the attacks in the United States have so far remained verbal,
those within India almost always result in physical violence, according
to VOM.

In Orissa, more than 15 Hindus stopped a small number of Christian
evangelists on a village road, verbally abused them, and then forced
them into the local temple for the ritual, the report said.

Sources within India told VOM that the evangelists were witnessing and
handing out New Testaments and Gospel tracts.

"When chaos broke out, the extremists took the evangelists to the police
who put them in jail … and confiscated more than 30 New Testaments and
Gospel tracts," the report said.

A short time later, in Andra Pradesh state, a mob of Hindus attacked a
pastor and a team of women evangelists, VOM sources reported.

"As believers completed distributing literature, Hindu extremists first
started beating [Pastor David] and then assaulted the ladies sitting in
the car," the sources said. "Some Muslim women joined the attack and
started verbally abusing the women.

"They asked Sister Sarita why she was working to convert people to
Christianity and yet she looked Muslim," the sources said. The Christian
literature was burned, they reported.

In yet another recent violent attack, VOM sources said two Christian
leaders were attacked and beaten by Hindus in Maharashtra state. Local
media reports said they were accused of converting Hindus to
Christianity before they were attacked.

"It's highly shameful. It's as if the [extremists' organization] just
does not understand the concept of law and order," Congress leader Rajiv
Shukla told area media.

There have been many other reports of pastors and leaders being beaten
for representing Christ in India. Voice of the Martyrs Canada noted just
a few:

* A Christian worker identified as Pawar was attacked in his home.

* Rev. P. Abraham and a college professor were seriously hurt while
returning from a church meeting.

* Evangelists from Salem Voice Ministries were attacked and beaten by
militants in Kerala state.

The incidents are being reported even as Indian states adopt various
pieces of "freedom" legislation concerning religion.

"Rajasthan State has a so-called 'Freedom of Religion Bill' that is used
as a tool in the hands of fundamentalists to harass Christians," said
VOM contacts, who report on the various attacks, discriminations and
persecutions of Christians because of their beliefs.

"The cases of anti-Christian attacks in this area keep increasing, and
the State Administration turns a blind eye to the persecution," they
said, according to The Voice of the Martyrs.

"The situation for our brothers and sisters in India is deteriorating,"
VOM spokesman Todd Nettleton said. "But God is faithful, and even in
these difficult times with so much persecution, the church there is
growing. We are thankful for the courageous example of Indian Christians."

Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, interdenominational ministry
working worldwide to help Christians who are persecuted for their faith,
and to educate the world about that persecution. Its headquarters are in
Bartlesville, Okla., and it has 30 affiliated international offices.

It was launched by the late Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who started
smuggling Russian Gospels into Russia in 1947, just months before
Richard was abducted and imprisoned in Romania where he was tortured for
his refusal to recant Christianity.

He eventually was released in 1964 and the next year he testified about
the persecution of Christians before the U.S. Senate's Internal Security
Subcommittee, stripping to the waist to show the deep torture wound
scars on his body.

The group that later was renamed The Voice of the Martyrs was organized
in 1967, when his book, "Tortured for Christ," was released.