ERITREA: 10/40 Window, Religious Proselytizing, Conversion and “Persecution of Christians”
Sophia Tesfamariam
August 18, 2007
On 3 May 2006, the Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was released and if you are like me and have been following the outrageous and unsubstantiated reports submitted to the Commission by disgruntled runaway diplomats, reporters sans couth, “unnamed Asmara-based diplomats”, “persecuted Christians”, self serving NGOs such as “Compass Direct”, “Strategic World Impact”, “Voice of the Martyrs”, “Release Eritrea”, “Nehemiah Project”, “Joshua Project”, “Gideon's Bible International”, Samaritan's Purse”, “Open Doors”, “Christian Solidarity Worldwide”, etc. etc. over the last year, you were not surprised to read what the 2006 Reports on Religious Freedom in Eritrea contained.
The 2006 USCIRF Report was once again a compilation of unsubstantiated, grossly and maliciously exaggerated, twisted and inaccurate, deceptive “cut and paste” directly from statements, articles, prayer alerts, press releases, Christian news alerts, etc. etc. from the above groups and individuals. In the past, I have detailed the activities of the above mentioned mercenary individuals, one and two-person cyber groups and their “work” in Eritrea . Today, while the topic is still about religion in Eritrea , I want to share with you some bit of information that I came across about Christianity and how Eritrea is targeted for agendas (by internal and external enemies), to plant seeds for future ethnic and religious chaos and conflict in an otherwise tolerant and harmonious nation.
At one time or another, Eritrean Americans such as myself have been asked, where is Eritrea ? We have responded with “Eritrea is across from Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea”, Eritrea is in North Africa”, “Eritrea is on the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa”, Eritrea lies East of Sudan and is bordered by Ethiopia in the South and the Red Sea in the East”, “Eritrea is near Djibouti”, “Eritrea is in East Africa”, etc. etc. Did you know that Eritrea is also in the “10/40 window”? If you are puzzled, I understand completely, because I was too. So, what is the 10/40 window? The “10/40 window” refers to:
an area of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians in the world... a geographical location measured on a map by 10 and 40 degrees North latitude, stretching through North Africa, the Middle East, India, and China, all the way to the Indonesian islands. With a total population of 3.2 billion, including 80% of the worlds poorest of the poor, the 10/40 Window includes 64 countries and many hundreds of separate people groups within those countries. Every major non-Christian world religion was born out of this location, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Shintoism and Taoism…the primary spiritual battleground in the world today…the Church's final evangelistic frontier…"
The 10/40 window is an area targeted by Evangelical Christians for proselytizing and conversions, a latitude zone which includes a number of countries where Christian missionary efforts are colliding with indigenous customs and religious beliefs, and Islamic establishments. Religious groups based in the United States -- including Pat Robertson's 700 Club -- have suddenly discovered the issue of "human rights" when it involves expressions by Christians in predominantly Muslim societies. A number of organizations are involved in the "Praying Through the 10-40 Window" campaign, including the Christian Information Network, AD2000, and Robertson's "World Reach" project. Eritrea, whose population is evenly divided between Christians and Moslems and has been purposely labeled “Islamic” by western media outlets. The motives are not hard to decipher.
WINDOW” works through:
Witnessing,
Indigenous church planting,
Networking partnerships,
Discipling leaders,
Orphanage and medical ministry and
Water well projects. And there is more:
By strategically locating the well at the home of a local pastor, the community is blessed and relationships are built. This enables the planting of churches and ministries without the fear of government persecution. Just as malls in America are a gathering place for commerce and recreational activity, water wells in the 10/40 window provide the same hub of social interaction…”
As long as we are trying to learn about the 10/40 movement and its campaign against the sovereignty, security and ethnic and religious stability of countries such as Eritrea, we might as well know the tools that are being used to advance such insidious agendas. Eritrea is not only listed as a country in the 10/40 zone, it is also part of the UPG153 Vision campaign. According to these strategists, UPG153 Vision is:
a focused church planting strategy among a select list of 153 "ripe and ready” Unreached People Groups (UPG's). These people groups have been selected because they meet practical criteria which accelerates ministry activity in their midst. Availability of scripture and field contacts nearby are examples of this common sense approach…”
In Eritrea, the “Unreached People Groups” have been identified (by the Joshua Project and the 10/40 Movement) as the Saho, Bilen, Afar and Kunama peoples, and have been strategically targeted for church planting and expansion. According to the literature available, these “strategic” workers are able to enter these countries through Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), serving as medical providers, humanitarian workers, technical experts, teachers etc. Most entered Eritrea with a varitey of USAID and UN teams.
For example, there was an Indian teacher who came to Eritrea under a 3-year government contract to teach at a High School in Segeneity. When his contract ended, he returned in 2000 to Eritrea as an Anglican pastor and lived in Eritrea with his wife and children for 5 more years before leaving. Compass Direct and Open Doors, who have been actively campaigning and producing the bulk of the anti-Eritrea propaganda for the last 5 years, reported Rev Nelson Fernandez's departure from Eritrea as an example of "persecution of Christians in Eritrea". I will be surprised if his story is not listed on the 2006 Report on Eritrea from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom as one example of “persecution of minority churches in Eritrea”.
As Eritreans, it behooves us to know what the effects of these aggressive proselytizing by “Evangelical Christians” has been on Eritrea's security, sovereignty, religious and ethnic harmony. The people and government of Eritrea have got to remain vigilant lest Eritrea's independence be eroded by self serving individuals and groups who have jumped on the “religious persecution” bandwagon advanced by individuals like Nina Shea of Freedom House and the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, Kevin Turner of Strategic World Impact, Todd Nettleton and Glenn Penner of Voice of the Martyrs and other individuals and groups such as Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Open Doors and the Samaritan's Purse.
We have read several reports of Churches being “planted” in Eritrea. I read a recent report by a husband and wife team, Jonathan and Margaret Falk, who have been in Eritrea since 2002. According to Jonathan Falk, in an article he posted on the New Horizon's site:
Since 1992, there has been an Orthodox Presbyterian effort to plant a church in Asmara, Eritrea. Before Pastor Steve Miller was forced to leave the field in 1997, he established a steering committee to help guide the believers here. Various OP pastors visited Eritrea from 1997 to 2002, providing further training to the congregation. When we —the Wingards and the Falks— began our work in Eritrea in 2002, one of our priorities was to train indigenous leaders for the church. It was with great rejoicing that Zecharias Abraham (one of the men from the steering committee) was ordained and installed as an evangelist for the Presbytery in December of that year. Now we have reached another milestone. Mikias Mekonnen has been ordained and installed as a ruling elder in Mehrete Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian Church (MYEPC). Mikias is a gifted young man. While studying at Mehrete Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian Theological College (MYEPTC), he was also completing a degree in civil engineering at the University of Asmara . Zecharias, Mikias, and other graduates of the College have worked together to build a healthy, growing church…”
All this on tourist visas, amazing!
So what exactly is the Government and people of Eritrea supposed to do as these “plantings”, “conversions”, and “proselytizing campaigns” take place in their own country? Do they not have a responsibility to protect the security, tranquility and sovereignty of Eritrea and the “victims” of these illicit campaigns and agendas? I believe they do. The 2002 proclamation requiring registration of religious groups in Eritrea is the least the Government can do. Complying with the minimum requests is the least these “newly planted” churches can do if their agenda is truly “holy”. The USCIRF also has a responsibility to uphold the rule of law and stop giving credence to unlawful, “unholy” activities in Eritrea in the name of “Christian Persecution”, no matter who is advancing them.
Finally, allow me to share an excerpt from an article written Nina Shea, Director, Freedom House's Center For Religious Freedom, and who has served since 1999, as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and is the woman behind the “Christian Persecution” political campaign against Eritrea, is someone who has never visited Eritrea, but had the audacity to pen (on 23 April 2006), a “cut and paste” opinion on H.E. President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea, in the Washington Post, proving once again that her USCIRF reports are not about religious freedom in Eritrea, but rather, are used for the advancement of Freedom House's agendas for extra-constitutional and illegal regime change in Eritrea and other targeted nations on her list. The end justifies the means, I suppose!
In a New York Times report, Jeffrey Goldberg writing about Nina Shea and her Christian Coalition in a 1997 Article under the title “Washington Discovers Christian Persecution” says:
Shea belongs to a new and potent political coalition that includes Reaganite conservatives, labor activists, veterans of the Soviet Jewry movement and, most important, evangelical Christians. These unlikely partners are united by their desire to "remoralize" American foreign policy. Within the past year, they have seized an issue, Christian persecution that existed on the margins of the human rights agenda and yanked it to the center of America’s foreign policy debate… With thousands of lay Catholics and Protestant ministers having joined the fight against Christian persecution, it might be seen as a genuinely mass movement. But it's hardly a movement that arose by spontaneous combustion in some church basement. Midwifed by a handful of veteran organizers, this is an issue manufactured in the mile-square section of Washington that produces the most priceless of political commodities: the wedge issue. It is a process of political manufacturing that Washington seems to have perfected the taking of a simple, transparently righteous issue and turning into a political football…”
The same article quotes her as saying:
"…No one is paying attention to anything they (Human Rights Watch) say or do or write anyway… I've got the numbers, I've got the endorsements in all the Christian communities. I've got the power. It's our side that is setting the agenda now…"
Yes, it does seem like she has set the agenda, gotten the endorsement in all the Christian communities, and she may even wield power at Freedom House and the USCIRF, but Eritrea is a sovereign nation with sovereign rights and nothing she produces, or reproduces, in her Annual Reports will change that fact, or force the Government and people of Eritrea to relinquish their rights to development, security and peace. Eritrea is and remains a model for religious and ethnic harmony and tolerance.
The USCIRF Annual Reports should not be used as political tools by the likes of Nina Shea and Freedom House to promote personal or political agendas.
The 2006 USCIRF Report was once again a compilation of unsubstantiated, grossly and maliciously exaggerated, twisted and inaccurate, deceptive “cut and paste” directly from statements, articles, prayer alerts, press releases, Christian news alerts, etc. etc. from the above groups and individuals. In the past, I have detailed the activities of the above mentioned mercenary individuals, one and two-person cyber groups and their “work” in Eritrea . Today, while the topic is still about religion in Eritrea , I want to share with you some bit of information that I came across about Christianity and how Eritrea is targeted for agendas (by internal and external enemies), to plant seeds for future ethnic and religious chaos and conflict in an otherwise tolerant and harmonious nation.
At one time or another, Eritrean Americans such as myself have been asked, where is Eritrea ? We have responded with “Eritrea is across from Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea”, Eritrea is in North Africa”, “Eritrea is on the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa”, Eritrea lies East of Sudan and is bordered by Ethiopia in the South and the Red Sea in the East”, “Eritrea is near Djibouti”, “Eritrea is in East Africa”, etc. etc. Did you know that Eritrea is also in the “10/40 window”? If you are puzzled, I understand completely, because I was too. So, what is the 10/40 window? The “10/40 window” refers to:
an area of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians in the world... a geographical location measured on a map by 10 and 40 degrees North latitude, stretching through North Africa, the Middle East, India, and China, all the way to the Indonesian islands. With a total population of 3.2 billion, including 80% of the worlds poorest of the poor, the 10/40 Window includes 64 countries and many hundreds of separate people groups within those countries. Every major non-Christian world religion was born out of this location, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Shintoism and Taoism…the primary spiritual battleground in the world today…the Church's final evangelistic frontier…"
The 10/40 window is an area targeted by Evangelical Christians for proselytizing and conversions, a latitude zone which includes a number of countries where Christian missionary efforts are colliding with indigenous customs and religious beliefs, and Islamic establishments. Religious groups based in the United States -- including Pat Robertson's 700 Club -- have suddenly discovered the issue of "human rights" when it involves expressions by Christians in predominantly Muslim societies. A number of organizations are involved in the "Praying Through the 10-40 Window" campaign, including the Christian Information Network, AD2000, and Robertson's "World Reach" project. Eritrea, whose population is evenly divided between Christians and Moslems and has been purposely labeled “Islamic” by western media outlets. The motives are not hard to decipher.
WINDOW” works through:
Witnessing,
Indigenous church planting,
Networking partnerships,
Discipling leaders,
Orphanage and medical ministry and
Water well projects. And there is more:
By strategically locating the well at the home of a local pastor, the community is blessed and relationships are built. This enables the planting of churches and ministries without the fear of government persecution. Just as malls in America are a gathering place for commerce and recreational activity, water wells in the 10/40 window provide the same hub of social interaction…”
As long as we are trying to learn about the 10/40 movement and its campaign against the sovereignty, security and ethnic and religious stability of countries such as Eritrea, we might as well know the tools that are being used to advance such insidious agendas. Eritrea is not only listed as a country in the 10/40 zone, it is also part of the UPG153 Vision campaign. According to these strategists, UPG153 Vision is:
a focused church planting strategy among a select list of 153 "ripe and ready” Unreached People Groups (UPG's). These people groups have been selected because they meet practical criteria which accelerates ministry activity in their midst. Availability of scripture and field contacts nearby are examples of this common sense approach…”
In Eritrea, the “Unreached People Groups” have been identified (by the Joshua Project and the 10/40 Movement) as the Saho, Bilen, Afar and Kunama peoples, and have been strategically targeted for church planting and expansion. According to the literature available, these “strategic” workers are able to enter these countries through Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), serving as medical providers, humanitarian workers, technical experts, teachers etc. Most entered Eritrea with a varitey of USAID and UN teams.
For example, there was an Indian teacher who came to Eritrea under a 3-year government contract to teach at a High School in Segeneity. When his contract ended, he returned in 2000 to Eritrea as an Anglican pastor and lived in Eritrea with his wife and children for 5 more years before leaving. Compass Direct and Open Doors, who have been actively campaigning and producing the bulk of the anti-Eritrea propaganda for the last 5 years, reported Rev Nelson Fernandez's departure from Eritrea as an example of "persecution of Christians in Eritrea". I will be surprised if his story is not listed on the 2006 Report on Eritrea from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom as one example of “persecution of minority churches in Eritrea”.
As Eritreans, it behooves us to know what the effects of these aggressive proselytizing by “Evangelical Christians” has been on Eritrea's security, sovereignty, religious and ethnic harmony. The people and government of Eritrea have got to remain vigilant lest Eritrea's independence be eroded by self serving individuals and groups who have jumped on the “religious persecution” bandwagon advanced by individuals like Nina Shea of Freedom House and the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, Kevin Turner of Strategic World Impact, Todd Nettleton and Glenn Penner of Voice of the Martyrs and other individuals and groups such as Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Open Doors and the Samaritan's Purse.
We have read several reports of Churches being “planted” in Eritrea. I read a recent report by a husband and wife team, Jonathan and Margaret Falk, who have been in Eritrea since 2002. According to Jonathan Falk, in an article he posted on the New Horizon's site:
Since 1992, there has been an Orthodox Presbyterian effort to plant a church in Asmara, Eritrea. Before Pastor Steve Miller was forced to leave the field in 1997, he established a steering committee to help guide the believers here. Various OP pastors visited Eritrea from 1997 to 2002, providing further training to the congregation. When we —the Wingards and the Falks— began our work in Eritrea in 2002, one of our priorities was to train indigenous leaders for the church. It was with great rejoicing that Zecharias Abraham (one of the men from the steering committee) was ordained and installed as an evangelist for the Presbytery in December of that year. Now we have reached another milestone. Mikias Mekonnen has been ordained and installed as a ruling elder in Mehrete Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian Church (MYEPC). Mikias is a gifted young man. While studying at Mehrete Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian Theological College (MYEPTC), he was also completing a degree in civil engineering at the University of Asmara . Zecharias, Mikias, and other graduates of the College have worked together to build a healthy, growing church…”
All this on tourist visas, amazing!
So what exactly is the Government and people of Eritrea supposed to do as these “plantings”, “conversions”, and “proselytizing campaigns” take place in their own country? Do they not have a responsibility to protect the security, tranquility and sovereignty of Eritrea and the “victims” of these illicit campaigns and agendas? I believe they do. The 2002 proclamation requiring registration of religious groups in Eritrea is the least the Government can do. Complying with the minimum requests is the least these “newly planted” churches can do if their agenda is truly “holy”. The USCIRF also has a responsibility to uphold the rule of law and stop giving credence to unlawful, “unholy” activities in Eritrea in the name of “Christian Persecution”, no matter who is advancing them.
Finally, allow me to share an excerpt from an article written Nina Shea, Director, Freedom House's Center For Religious Freedom, and who has served since 1999, as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and is the woman behind the “Christian Persecution” political campaign against Eritrea, is someone who has never visited Eritrea, but had the audacity to pen (on 23 April 2006), a “cut and paste” opinion on H.E. President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea, in the Washington Post, proving once again that her USCIRF reports are not about religious freedom in Eritrea, but rather, are used for the advancement of Freedom House's agendas for extra-constitutional and illegal regime change in Eritrea and other targeted nations on her list. The end justifies the means, I suppose!
In a New York Times report, Jeffrey Goldberg writing about Nina Shea and her Christian Coalition in a 1997 Article under the title “Washington Discovers Christian Persecution” says:
Shea belongs to a new and potent political coalition that includes Reaganite conservatives, labor activists, veterans of the Soviet Jewry movement and, most important, evangelical Christians. These unlikely partners are united by their desire to "remoralize" American foreign policy. Within the past year, they have seized an issue, Christian persecution that existed on the margins of the human rights agenda and yanked it to the center of America’s foreign policy debate… With thousands of lay Catholics and Protestant ministers having joined the fight against Christian persecution, it might be seen as a genuinely mass movement. But it's hardly a movement that arose by spontaneous combustion in some church basement. Midwifed by a handful of veteran organizers, this is an issue manufactured in the mile-square section of Washington that produces the most priceless of political commodities: the wedge issue. It is a process of political manufacturing that Washington seems to have perfected the taking of a simple, transparently righteous issue and turning into a political football…”
The same article quotes her as saying:
"…No one is paying attention to anything they (Human Rights Watch) say or do or write anyway… I've got the numbers, I've got the endorsements in all the Christian communities. I've got the power. It's our side that is setting the agenda now…"
Yes, it does seem like she has set the agenda, gotten the endorsement in all the Christian communities, and she may even wield power at Freedom House and the USCIRF, but Eritrea is a sovereign nation with sovereign rights and nothing she produces, or reproduces, in her Annual Reports will change that fact, or force the Government and people of Eritrea to relinquish their rights to development, security and peace. Eritrea is and remains a model for religious and ethnic harmony and tolerance.
The USCIRF Annual Reports should not be used as political tools by the likes of Nina Shea and Freedom House to promote personal or political agendas.
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