KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments has threatened to arrest church leaders if they carry out evangelistic activities and do not comply with an order for churches to provide their names and contact information, Christian sources said. The warning in a Jan. 3 letter to church leaders of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) arrived a few days after Sudan President Omar al-Bashir told cheering crowds that following the secession of largely non-Islamic south Sudan last July, the country’s constitution will be more deeply entrenched in Shariah (Islamic law).
“We will take legal procedures against pastors who are involved in preaching or evangelistic activities,” Hamid Yousif Adam, undersecretary of the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment, wrote to the church leaders. “We have all legal rights to take them to court.” Sources said the order was aimed at oppressing Christians amid growing hostilities toward Christianity.
“This is a critical situation faced by our church in Sudan,” said Yousif Matar, secretary general of the SPEC.
Share with others: