Authorities in Sudan are obstructing efforts by a church to rebuild and even to use their place of worship, says Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
The Coptic Community in Wad Diab Al Gaba had been using the same building to worship in for three decades. The building was on land belonging to a fellow believer, Zaki Wanees Abadeer.
In 2019 a rainstorm inflicted heavy damage on the building, which was only constructed of basic materials. In response, the church, numbering around 350 people, agreed to demolish what remained of the church and build a sturdier church of bricks and mortar.
Fundraising and building efforts began and by the end of last year the work was nearly complete.
It was at this point that a group of Muslim extremists intervened, filing a complaint to the local authority against Abadeer. The authorities decreed that all building work and worship activities cease until a proper permit was issued. The necessary permits have not been forthcoming.
CSW, which supports persecuted Christians around the world, has raised concerns that Sudanese authorities often act to facilitate the establishment of mosques but use every bureaucratic trick in the book to inhibit the establishment of churches.
Such concerns are amplified by the ongoing Sudanese civil war, in which places of worship have often been targeted by both sides of the conflict. Even were the war to end tomorrow, many Christians would be left without a church building to worship in and would likely face huge obstacles in building or rebuilding one.
Mervyn Thomas, the founder and president of CSW, said, “We urge the authority in Northern State, Sudan to grant this church the necessary permits to enable them to continue worshipping peaceably and to complete the reconstruction of their place of worship.
“This community of 65 families has used the church for 30 years and is now left without a place to gather safely, which violates their right to freedom of religion or belief as guaranteed by the constitution and Sudan’s international obligations.
“The context of a war does not permit this type of repression of the right to FoRB [Freedom of Religious Belief], and we call for urgent action to be taken to resolve this issue.”
He urged the international community to support religious freedom in the country.
He said, “We also call on the international community to ensure that any negotiations regarding post-conflict reconstruction include the needs of vulnerable religious communities who may have lost access to both registered and unregistered properties, and whose buildings may require comprehensive reconstruction.”