A Sudanese pastor leading a Christian prayer service for healing was arrested on charges of “witchcraft.”
Authorities in El Hasahisa town in Al Jazirah State interrupted the prayer meeting at Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church on Nov. 21 to arrest Pastor Abdalla Haron Sulieman, reported Morning Star News. The meeting, which was in a mostly Muslim area, was to pray for the pastor’s mother, who could not walk because of an infection in her legs.
After she was healed, others gathered to seek healing. Angry Muslim extremists pressured police to arrest Sulieman for being a “witchdoctor.”
Some Christians believe Sulieman’s arrest is more proof of Christian persecution in Sudan.
In 2019, Islamist dictator Omar al-Bashir was deposed from his 30-year reign, and Sudan’s religious freedom, subsequently, progressed in a positive direction.
Ongoing violations of religious freedom
However, a coup in October 2021 has raised concern that Christians will again experience state-sponsored persecution.
Sudan is No. 13 on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian. From 1999 to 2018, Sudan was on the U.S. Department of State’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern” because of “systemic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom,” stated Morning Star News.
