Sudan has seen genocide, war, and persecution for as long as some can remember, but is finally coming out of the dark. The nation’s new transitional government is making real reforms that allow the Sudanese people to live and worship more freely.
Observers are witnessing something that hasn’t happened in decades, Sudanese Christians worshipping freely without fear of persecution. It’s a relief after years of suffering under Islamic Sharia Law.
“Christians had become used to seeing their places of worship destroyed, being arrested and charged with apostasy and blasphemy that were levelled against them because these are in the penal codes,” Dwight Bashir from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said.
Last year President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown and now faces charges of genocide before the International Criminal Court. The new transitional civilian government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, is transitioning Sudan out of the dark. “The worst of the persecution no longer exists. There’s no more attacking of churches,” Bashir says.
He recently travelled to Sudan with two USCIRF commissioners to meet with Hamdok and the delegation agrees it’s clear he’s intent on enacting real reforms. The State Department has downgraded Sudan from a major violator of religious liberty to a watch list, but for Hamdok, change is not coming easy. Just last month he survived an attempt on his life.
“For him to succeed he needs to be protected. His cabinet needs to be protected. He’s brought two Christians into his cabinet which would have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago,” Bashir explains. Much work remains, like changes in zoning laws so Christians can build churches, along with other reforms that will allow the people of Sudan to worship more freely as their conscience dictates. However, for the first time in a long time there’s hope against many odds those changes are coming.
Sources: VOM Australia, CBN News, Australian Prayer Network
Thank the Lord for the answered prayers for Sudan.
Pray this new era will bring not only true freedom to worship but also an expansion of God’s kingdom in the nation.
Ask the Lord to protect Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his cabinet, and work through them to bring peace and stability to the nation.