 7/23/10 Pakistan (Dawn.com) President
Orders Probe into Murder of Christians
President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday asked the authorities
in Punjab to investigate the murder of two Christian brothers in
Faisalabad. Taking note of media reports about the murder of two
brothers outside a court in Faisalabad on Monday, the president called
for immediate steps to arrest the culprits. Mr.
Zardari condemned the incident and said it had brought a bad name to
the country. He said that life of every person was sacred and no-one
could be allowed to take law into his own hands. He expressed
sympathies with the families of Pastor Rashid Emmanuel and Sajjad
Emmanuel and asked the provincial government to pay suitable
compensation. The brothers, accused of having
distributed blasphemous material, were gunned down on the premises of a
sessions court in Faisalabad on Monday. Police had produced Rashid and
his brother in the court to obtain their remand. The brothers were
about to leave the place when they were gunned down. The killing
sparked violence in the slain brothers’ native area of
Daoodnagar where 10 people were injured. MNA
Farahnaz, in her adjournment motion, a copy of which was made available
to Dawn, termed the murder of two Christian brothers a
“horrific incident” and stated that international
polls had shown “a trend of increasing violence and
brutality” towards minority communities in Pakistan.
“This is very disturbing and needs to be urgently addressed
on the floor of the house,” the motion says. Full
Story
Praise
that President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the horrific murders of two
Christian brothers and that he has called for immediate steps to arrest
the culprits.
Pray
that the family of the two murdered brothers will be comforted and
strengthened by the Lord and that they will not become embittered.
Pray that
the Pakistani Christians will continue to spread the Gospel in bravery
and prudence and that all Pakistanis will accept Jesus as their
personal Lord and Savior.
Pray that
the international community will continue to expose the persecution of
Pakistani Christians.
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7/23/10
Nigeria (ChristianToday) CSW Calls for Urgent Security Review after
Fatal Attack on Christians in Nigeria
The head of Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Rev Nuhu
Dawat, of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, have called upon the
Nigerian authorities to urgently review security arrangements for the
volatile Plateau State after another deadly attack on Christians last
Friday. Ten people, including children, are believed
to have been killed in the attack on Mazah village by Fulani Muslims in
the early hours of Friday morning. The attackers frightened villagers
out of their homes by firing gun shots before hacking them down with
machetes as they attempted to flee. They also burned homes and churches
to the ground. CSW said the attackers focused on important residents in
the village. The Rev Nuhu Dawat managed to escape with one of his
children, but his wife and two other children were killed. “Once
again, unarmed and peaceful villagers have been attacked and murdered
in their beds, and once again there are indications that the security
forces have not taken effective action, despite being in a position to
do so,” Rev Dawat said. Hundreds of
Christians have died in recent sectarian clashes in Plateau State. CEO
Andy Dipper, of Release International, said: “We’re
appalled to hear of yet more violence against Christians, who have been
warning for some time now that they feared further attacks. We appeal
to President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration to take firm
action now to ensure that the military and police carry out their full
responsibilities and protect Christians properly. We acknowledge it is
a huge task but enough is enough." Full
Story
Pray
that Rev Nuhu Dawat and his remaining child and all the others who have
lost loved ones by the despicable murders by Fulani Muslims will turn
to the Lord for He can heal the pain of their losses.
Pray
that President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration will take firm
action to ensure that the military and police will carry out their full
responsibilities and protect the Christians.
Pray
that the authorities will promptly arrest
and prosecute the Muslim extremists.
| |
 7/22/10
China (ChinaAid) Family of Imprisoned Uyghur Christian Denied Visiting
Rights Since Uyghur Christian prisoner Alimjan Yimit (Alimujiang
Yimiti) was moved in April to No. 3 Prison on the outskirts of Urumqi
to begin serving a 15-year sentence, it was expected that the normal
rules regarding monthly supervised family visits would allow his mother
and his wife Gulinuer and children to see him again. After being held
for over two years in a detention center in Kashgar and denied all
contact with family, the possibility of seeing Alimjan was their sole
consolation in light of this extremely harsh and unjust sentence. After
the first visit in April, reported on by China Aid, Alimjan was allowed
only one other twenty minute interaction with them in May. Alim's
lawyers have never been allowed to meet with him since being moved into
prison. Each week Gulinuer mails a letter to her husband only two of
which she knows he's been given. She has yet to receive a reply. Thank
you for upholding Alimjan's family in your prayers. Gulinuer is also
very grateful for some of you who have taken the time to e-mail her
your words of encouragement and sympathy and sign the online petition
at www.FreeAlim.com. These acts serve as tangible evidence of your
faithfulness to firmly stand with Alim and his family and the Uyghur
church in China through this trial. Full
Story
Pray
that God will continue to sustain Alim in prison.
Pray
that God will give relief to the frustration and powerlessness
Alim’s family feels and that there be a change in the hearts
of the officials so as to allow his family to visit Alim in prison.
Pray
that this injustice will be triumphed over
and that Alim will be released.
Pray
that God will be glorified through this
difficulty and that the Uyghur believers will be strengthened and
multiplied no matter what the outcome.
| |
7/22/10
Indonesia (AsiaNews) Insults and Threats from Islamic Extremists at
Prayer Meeting
A group of 500 Islamic extremists
blocked Christians from the Huria Protestant Church (Hkbp) in a field
where the Sunday service was taking place. The incident occurred on
July 18th in the city of Pondok Timur in Mustika Jaya sub-district,
district of Bekasi (West Java). Muslims blocked all the routes to
prevent Christians from leaving the field. They began to insult them,
terrorizing them. The group of Protestant believers prays outdoors
because their hall for religious functions was closed on the grounds
that it was illegal. The situation improved when a
representative of the Bekasi Office for Religious Affairs, along with
200 policemen, arrived at the site. Luspida Simanjutak, head pastor at
the Hkbp church, told AsiaNews: "We were forced to sign a pact with
them, forcing us to stop our faith celebration but we strongly rejected
the proposal. We asked the representative to help our congregation to
leave the site without harm. Their goal is one and one alone, to
eradicate all churches from Mustika Jaya”. It
is not the first time that the Hkbp church was targeted by Islamic
extremists. "At Pondok Timur - continued the pastor - the Muslims have
forced local government to outlaw the place where we held our services.
They've already done so twice”. For years
the Christians of Bekasi have been targeted by Islamic fundamentalists.
Early in 2010, radical groups blocked religious services, prevented
Christians from access to existing churches and stopped the
construction of new churches. Full
Story
Pray
that the Lord will place a hedge of protection around all Indonesian
Christians and that the authorities will protect them from attacks by
the Islamic extremists.
Pray
that the Indonesian Christians will continue in worship and that they
proclaim the Good News of salvation with courage and discernment.
Pray
that those of the Islamic faith will
realize the deception within their faith and they will receive the Good
News of Salvation which is only through the redemptive work of Jesus
Christ.
Pray
that the international community will
continue to expose the persecution of the Indonesian Christians.
| |
 7/19/10
Uzbekistan (MNN) Crackdown on Christians worsens in Uzbekistan Uzbekistan is cracking down harder on Christians than ever
before. The Uzbek government fears that Christians will cause social
unrest. Several unjust rulings have been made against Christians since
the start of 2010. The homes of numerous Christians as well as churches
have been raided, and many Christians have been fined for sharing their
faith, holding religious services, and illegally distributing Christian
literature. Within the last three months, however, pressure has
increased to the point of unlawful imprisonment for their Christian
activities. It has also been indicated that the
government may be concerned that Christianity will lead to terrorism.
"Christianity, as a minority religion in these places, is seen as a
disruptive influence. And some may associate disruption with the
concepts of terrorism as that region may define them," explains Carl
Moeller, President of Open Doors USA. Beyond putting
the integrity and well-being of believers on the line, the Uzbek
government has also caused uninterrupted evangelism to be difficult.
"This has a chilling effect on the capacity of individuals to share
their faith, to open Bible studies up to neighbors, and to allow people
to come to their churches with honest questions," confirms Moeller. Despite
the present danger, evangelical Christians are still reaching out and
living the Gospel. Uzbek Christians ask for your prayers as they travel
this difficult road. Pray for boldness, for safety, and for relief from
such heavy persecution. Pray that this crackdown would strengthen the
church and not weaken it. You can also be an
advocate for Uzbek Christians by contacting your local representatives
about the issue and urging them to respond to the injustice. Full
Story
Pray
that the Lord will fortify the Uzbekistani Christians during the
persecution by the Uzbekistani government.
Pray
that the believers will be bold and wise in sharing the Gospel.
Pray
that Christians will contact their U.S.
representatives to urge them to take definitive action against the
injustices.
| |
 7/16/10
India (ANS) Missionaries Facing Severe Opposition in Three Villages Several
Christians—including three Gospel for Asia-supported
missionaries—are in danger after opposition to the Gospel
reared up in their villages. The first situation occurred when Beena
Dhonai, a believer who attends a church led by GFA-supported missionary
Abhi Dhat, shared her faith with some other women from her village. The
women told Beena, her family and her pastor, Abhi, to stop telling
people about Jesus or face serious consequences. In
another village in the same state, Gospel for Asia-supported missionary
Somu Murali’s life is in danger. Somu, who is pastor of a
small church with an average attendance of 25, is the target of a
political group that opposes Christians. Somu asks for prayer for
grace, wisdom and boldness to face the situation courageously. He also
asks for prayer that all the believers in the church will remain strong
in their faith and that God would protect the Bridge of Hope center and
the students from any harm. Finally, he asks for prayer that the men
seeking to harm him would turn to Christ. A
Women’s Bible Team in another state also needs your prayers.
This team is comprised of five women who are students at a local Bible
college. They were on their way to distribute tracts and Bibles in a
village when some youth, known for their anti-Christian views, stole
their bags and set the tracts and Bibles on fire. One of the women was
physically assaulted during the altercation. The attackers even filed a
complaint with the local police accusing these women of forcing people
to change their religion.The attackers withdrew their police complaint
the next day, yet the local people continued to ruthlessly pursue the
missionaries, threatening them and the local GFA-supported pastor,
Debesh Azad, with bodily harm unless they leave the village. Pastor
Debesh and the women’s team request prayer for
God’s protection to be on all of them, including
Debesh’s family. They also seek prayer for the people in the
village, that God would speak to their hearts and reveal the truth
about the love of Jesus. Full
Story
Pray
that Beena, Somi, Debesh, and all the believers in the church will
remain strong in worship and in sharing their faith.
Pray
that God will protect the Bridge of Hope center and the students from
any harm.
Pray
that God will speak to the hearts and
reveal the truth about the love of Jesus to their persecutors and that
they will turn to Christ.
| |
 7/17/10
Russia (AP) Bishop Killed in Russia's Dagestan Officials in
Russia's largely Muslim republic of Dagestan say that a Christian
bishop has been shot to death by unknown attackers. A spokesman for the
republic's police, Vyacheslav Gasanov, said the victim of the Thursday
evening shooting in Makhachkala, the capital, was Artur Suleimanov, the
bishop in Dagestan for the Russian evangelical denomination Osanna. Dagestan,
which is about 90 percent Muslim, is plagued by insurgent violence,
with many of the militants inspired by or affiliated with Islamic
separatists in neighboring Chechnya. Also Friday,
Gasanov said two militants were killed by police in a clash in the town
of Khasavyurt the previous day. Full
Story
Pray
that the authorities will promptly arrest and prosecute those that
brutally murdered Artur Suleimanov.
Pray
that the authorities will protect the Dagestan Christians from the
attacks by radical Muslims.
Pray
that the Dagestan Christians will continue
to spread the Gospel in bravery and prudence and that the Russians that
are spiritually lost will accept Jesus Christ as the Savior of their
souls.
| |
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