An American missionary who survived a brutal attack by Hindu militants on Jan. 13 has returned to the States to continue healing, according to the Pittsburg Post-Gazette.
Joseph Cooper, 68, a Pentecostal missionary from New Castle, Penn., was returning home from a church meeting with a number of Indian Christians when the group was attacked by radical Hindus on the outskirts of Trivandrum in Kerala State. Cooper sustained a deep cut to his right palm as well as other injuries.
Eleanor Cooper, Joseph’s wife, told the human rights group International Christian Concern (ICC) from the couple’s home in Pennsylvania that her husband and an Indian pastor, Benson Sam, and his family were surrounded by Hindu militants carrying sticks and knives. Joseph Cooper said he thought he was the main target of the attack and could feel hatred emanating from the armed group. As the attack became fierce, the other pastor threw himself on top of Cooper to prevent his sustaining further injuries. The attack ended when other Christians came running to the scene, causing the attackers to flee.
“What makes this attack so bold is that the target victim was a Westerner,” reported Elizabeth Kendal, researcher for the World Evangelical Alliance’s Religious Liberty Commission. “Usually it is Indian Christian workers who are attacked because they can be beaten and even murdered with relative impunity. However, Western governments will not tolerate attacks upon their citizens and a response is demanded.”
Persecution of nationals
ICC reported that the assault on Cooper is the first such violent attack that has occurred against foreign missionaries in Kerala. Native Christians however, including Pastor Sam, have faced persecution in the past. The All India Christian Council reported that smaller incidents against Kerala’s Christians have gone unpunished. That likely encouraged the militants to try more extreme tactics, the council said.
The BBC reported that Indian police suspected members of the fundamentalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organization were responsible for the attack, and later arrested 10 RSS members. However, leaders of the RSS denied involvement and claimed that Cooper made “inflammatory” comments at the convention. The Christians at the meeting denied the accusation by the RSS. Hindu leaders in Kerala demanded that Cooper be arrested.
While in the hospital, Cooper received deportation orders that demanded he leave the country within a week. Police superintendent T.K. Vinod Kumar told reporters the pastor was deported for breaking a law that forbids visitors with tourist visas from speaking at religious gatherings. Cooper denied the charge, as did Indian Christians who worked with him.
(EP)
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