Indonesia: Public flogging in accordance with Sharia.

 Attacks on Converts to Christianity

Uganda:  A Muslim husband splashed acid onto his wife after suspecting she had converted.  After he witnessed a Christian couple praying with his wife, and in “the middle of the prayers, my husband walked out and began calling Muslims and mentioning that infidels were at his house,” Janati Kyoleka, a 25-year-old mother of three—aged 5, 2, and 5 months—who had secretly converted in December, explained in a Feb. 26 report:

When my friends saw the Muslims approaching the homestead, they took off….  My husband began questioning me whether I had embraced Christianity.  I kept quiet. He started beating me with sticks, and my 5-month-old began crying, and before the arrival of the neighbors, my husband had already poured acid on me, and I lost all consciousness.

She regained consciousness in a hospital bed.  Acid burns covered the right side of her body, from breast to thigh, including genitalia. “I know my marriage with my husband is over,” Kyoleka reflected, adding, “I am grateful to God that my children are with me.”

A local church couple have since taken her and her children in:  “The responsibility of taking care of Kyoleka and her three children is not easy, but God will give us sufficient grace and providence,” said a member of the Christian family.

Iran:  Four converts to Christianity that were arrested on the charge of “acting against national security by forming a house Church,” were sentenced to a combined total of 35 years in prison. By forming and meeting in a house church, they were further accused of “widespread association with missionary groups, as well as evangelical Christian groups outside the country.”  According to the Feb. 3 report, “Judge Moghiseh – who has earned the nickname the ‘Judge of Death’ for his harsh treatment of prisoners of conscience – reportedly spoke ‘obscenely’ to the Christians and would not listen to their defence, only citing the report of the intelligence agent.” Apparently deeming his sentencing too lenient, the “Judge of Death” further informed the Christian prisoners of conscience that “your actions are worthy of death.”

Malta:  A Muslim man stabbed a former Muslim who converted to Christianity in an attempt to kill the apostate and please Allah.  Simar Halil Hannan, 26, apparently with the help of an accomplice, stabbed Lamir Mohmmad, 29, in the neck.  The men are originally from Syria.  During the court hearing, testimony was offered that “In Syria there was a practice whereby if they kill an apostate, they are assured passage to Heaven in the afterlife.” Although prosecution insisted that his client “was now living in terror of the men,” which “led to a heated exchange with the court,” according to the Feb. 12 report, the accused were granted bail.

Somaliland: On Jan. 25, a Christian couple and their newborn baby were arrested.  On the next day, police searched and seized from their home recriminating evidence of Christianity.  Promoting any religion other than Islam is banned in Somaliland.  On that same day, they arrested Aster, an Ethiopian (and therefore likely Christian) woman that had been living with them. On Jan. 31, they were presented before a judge who informed them that they “are suspected of spreading Christianity.”  The prosecutor has 45 days from the date of arrest to complete his investigation and gather evidence, at which point they will be judged.  As last reported, they remain incarcerated and denied access to their lawyer.  This story is not without precedent: a few months earlier, on Oct. 5, 2020, a Somaliland police colonel announced that a husband and wife were also arrested for being “apostates and evangelists spreading Christianity.” Police reportedly entered the couple’s house after being alerted by “suspicious activities.” On finding Christian materials inside their home, police apprehended and hauled away the couple, who have three children. During the same conference, the police colonel repeated that “whoever dares to spread Christianity in this region should be fully aware that they won’t escape the hand of the law enforcement officers and that the spread of Christianity will not be allowed and is considered blasphemy.” He also encouraged citizens to report on those they suspected of being Christian, which may explain how this latest couple was outed as Christians.

Attacks on Christian “Blasphemers”

Pakistan:  Haroon Ayub and Salamat Mansha, two Christian men, both aged around 26, were arrested and are being charged with blasphemy—which carries the death penalty—because Muslims lied and told police that they were proselytizing, including by saying that the Muslim prophet Muhammad had “strayed” from the truth and other words that amounted to  “acts of terrorism.” On Feb. 13, the day of the incident, a group of Muslims came across the two Christians reading the Bible in a park.  The Muslims began questioning the two, including by asking them for any Christian literature that might help them understand their religion. The Christians gave them a booklet titled “Water of Life,” and the Muslims left.  Haroon then returned home, while Mansha stayed in the park. “A few minutes later,” and to quote from their defense lawyer,