Somali House Church Attacked for the Second Time

The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has just learned that a Muslim mob attacked a house church in Tayeglow, a town 198 miles from Mogadishu, Somalia's capital. Dozens of Muslims, including children and women, demolished the church and attacked the Christians worshipping at the church with spears, machetes, sticks and stones. Two elders of the church, Mr. Faysal Amin, 50, and Mr. Mubarak Hussein, 45 [not real names for security reasons], suffered serious injuries as a result of the attack. The attack was probably in response to the conversion of the only son of a prominent Muslim religious leader in the district. This is the second time that Muslim extremists targeted the church for attack. In the first attack, which took place in 2007, a Muslim gunman opened fire on the Christians at the church and seriously wounded the pastor. The pastor of the church has not yet fully recovered from the injuries he suffered from the 2007 attack. Currently, his father, Mr. Yasin Seid [not real name for security reasons], is the pastor of the church. Mr. Seid suffered minor injuries during the latest attack. When Muslims convert to Christianity in Somalia, they face death. In the past twelve months alone, five Somali converts to Christianity have been killed. Even Somalis who live in neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya face persecution from their fellow Somalis. ICC's regional manager for Africa, Mr. Jonathan Racho, stated, "Christians in Somalia are faced with unprecedented persecution from Islamic extremists who are hell-bent on destroying them. Please pray for Christians in Somalia and help them in the ways you can."