by: F.R. Duplantier

"Sudan, Africa's largest country geographically, has endured a civil war that spans four decades," reports the Institute on Religion and Democracy. "But since 1983 Sudan has been devastated by a jihad or holy war led by the militant National Islamic Front, the ruling regime in Khartoum, against all in Southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains who opposed the imposition of Shari'a, or Islamic law. The government-sponsored terror has resulted in the deaths of at least two million moderate Muslims, animists, and Christians."

In a summary of the religious persecution in Sudan published on its AngelsInSudan.com website, the Institute on Religion and Democracy points out that "tens of thousands of women and children have been abducted and taken north into slavery." The Institute notes that "aerial bombardment has killed many and displaced up to five million people. In 1998, government aircraft bombed civilian hospitals, feeding centers, and refugee camps some 40 times. Churches are also favorite targets." The summary also cites the Sudanese government's use last year of "its UN-sanctioned veto power to ban all relief for two critical months, bringing 2.5 million to the brink of starvation. In addition, food is denied those who will not convert to Islam."

The Institute on Religion and Democracy insists that the religious persecution in Sudan is "not just a 'civil war' or 'famine' as the press blandly describes it. It is genocide. Since 1983, more people have been killed in Sudan than in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Rwanda combined. This is not an inevitable part of the civil war that has been grinding on since 1983," the Institute asserts. "It is a deliberate strategy by the government to empty the south of non-Muslims and to keep the oil-rich land for itself." The government is constructing an oil pipeline out of southern Sudan "in cooperation with partner companies such as Canada's Talisman Energy and the China National Petroleum Company." The Institute warns that the ruling regime in Khartoum, the National Islamic Front, "will soon be able to purchase high-tech weapons of warfare in exchange for oil, and complete its intended decimation of the people in southern Sudan."

With fewer than 20 shopping days left until Christmas, now might be a good time to reassess our holiday budgets and see if we can't divert some of those gift-giving and feast-fixing funds to the relief of the besieged believers in Sudan. The money that might have gone to a superfluous gift our children will never miss or to the extra course (and calories) we and our spouses can surely do without -- this money could work wonders in a land of desperate need. Let's all go to AngelsInSudan.com on the worldwide web and make a donation in the name of a loved one. Let's encourage our friends to follow our fine example. And, as we thank God with our families for the freedom and prosperity we enjoy, let's pray for the deliverance of our Sudanese brethren.