FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hindu Mob Stones Church Meeting in a Tent

You are free to disseminate the following news. We request that you reference ICC (International Christian Concern) and include our web address www.www.persecution.org. Contact Jeremy Sewall, Policy Analyst, 1-800-ICC (422)-5441, jeremy@www.persecution.org.

(July 18, 2008) The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.www.persecution.org has just learned that a church that has attracted thousands of Hindu converts is now the target of strenuous Hindu opposition. The church, called Heavenly Feast, currently has nearly 15,000 members and is meeting in a tent in Kottayam, a city in the state of Kerala, India.

The Hindu group SMBP group has their own Hindu prayer building close to the Heavenly Feast tent. SMBP started growing concerned a few months ago after thousands of Hindus, including members of the SMBP, started converting to Christianity through the ministry of Heavenly Feast. In return, the SMBP has been accusing Heavenly Feast of setting up its tent illegally.

They have been hosting rallies for the last month and have partially destroyed the tent, stopping a ministry of the church that fed 1,500 people every day.

The weekend of July 5, the SMBP asked the government to close the church. On July 6, members of the Hindu group were trying to stop the public from going into the Heavenly Feast tent and were abusing church-goers with foul language as they entered the tent.

During one of the services the Hindu party began to throw stones into the tent, injuring 25 people.

Police arrived and fired rubber bullets to clear out the crowd defuse the situation. Police stopped families from going into the tent to protect them.

As a result, the head of the district, the District Collector, declared a 10-day curfew on the area. She said that until the property issue of the church is resolved, the church cannot meet. The curfew bans people from gathering in groups within 500 meters of the local district office, Hindu SMBP office, and the Heavenly Feast tent.

Pastors in the area are afraid because it is believed that the Hindu party has a hidden plan to continue attacks on other churches.

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ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC delivers humanitarian aid, trains and supports persecuted pastors, raises awareness in the US regarding the problem of persecution, and is an advocate for the persecuted on Capitol Hill and the State Department. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.